Cabled internet not WIFI

Hi, this may help .... but I am no expert. We put an internet connection into one of our apartments back in 2017 ... we were preparing to spend more time out here in Bg . i noticed it was fibre right into the router. We have the basic and still get around 60 meg on average .... which can vary in speed throughout the day. If you are looking for fast internet, def. dont live in a village.

Hope that is of help to you.

All routers have an RJ45 ethernet cable slot.  You just need to buy an RJ45 cable to link your computer directly to the router, thereby, avoiding using WiFi.

The difference in speed should be significantly more using a cable.  Make sure the cable you buy is marked "Category 6" or above.

Roughly speaking, if you get a speed of 75Mbps through WiFi, you can expect double that speed via a cable. As Sricky59 said, you can only expect fast speeds in cities or towns. Don't expect high speed in villages or remote areas, it won't happen.

I'm in Varna. My WiFi speed is around 105Mbps and wired 250Mbps, but I pay for a higher speed, as we have television, three computers and four phones.

@digitalnomad1

In cities, you can have that. Wghere do you plan to move to?

@cyberescue1

Was going to say, every router I have ever had you can plug your devices into it. I think I have 4 spaces.

Okay thanks, sorry I don't fully understand the technology of WIFI.

I am used to an ethernet cable to my PC via a telephone line and fibre to cabinet connection.

I'm presuming this isn't usually available in rental apartments.

How will it likely work in a rental apartment?

Will there be a WIFI router in my apartment?

No phone line?

And I can turn the WIFI signal into something as reliable as fibre to cabinet or fibre to premises by plugging an ethernet cable into the WIFI router at one end and my PC at the other end?

Will this be more reliable than WiFi but less reliable than fibre to cabinet or fibre to premises?

Will I have to pay for this internet access or has the landlord paid for it and will be adding it to be included in my rent?

@digitalnomad1

This is a typical standard-looking router, but they seem to come in all shapes these days.

@digitalnomad1

Some places might have internet included, others might not, so you will have to get it yourself from one of the providers in your area.

Hi SimCity you aren't really answering my questions.

So if the apartment advert says something like - WIFI included, am I right in presuming there's probably no physical cable connecting that apartment block and my apartment within that apartment block to fibre or cable TV type wired internet?

It's just a wireless WiFi router plugged into the electric in each apartment within the apartment block?

So how can I expect to achieve a good reliable internet connection even with an ethernet cable to my PC from the WiFi router when there's no cables linking the WiFi router to the internet?

Okay an ethernet cable might transmit the internet signal to my PC from the WiFi router better than without the ethernet cable, as the router isn't having to wirelessly transmit the internet to a WiFi receiver on my PC, but there's still no solid dependable cabled internet connection to my router it's just WiFi to my router which might not be dependable eg if the weather's bad?

I think the tennant needs to establish with the landlord what internet is available in an apartment block or house before renting

How Is Internet Connected In Apartment Building?

Cable internet remains the predominant choice for apartments, yet availability for fiber service or fixed wireless may also exist. It’s advisable to inquire with the owner or leasing office about available internet options, enabling you to compare providers and select the plan that best fits your requirements. The choice between fiber, cable, DSL, satellite, or 5G home internet depends on your location and the building's age. Fiber-optic internet stands out as the optimal option for performance, offering speeds up to 1, 000 Mbps—surpassing cable—in both speed and reliability but typically at a higher cost.

To implement building-wide internet access, it’s necessary to set up a Main Distribution Frame (MDF) closet and run fiber connections to Intermediate Distribution Frames (IDFs). However, determining the fiber's availability in your specific apartment complex requires some investigation. Some buildings bundle internet service into rental costs, allowing residents to simply purchase a router for connectivity.

Do Some Apartments Come With Internet?

When renting an apartment, it's essential to check if utilities like internet are included in your lease, as some apartments offer Wi-Fi services that may be part of the rent or chargeable. Fiber-optic internet is the best option for speed and performance, reaching up to 1, 000 Mbps, though it tends to be the most expensive. While many apartments are pre-wired for specific internet types, such as cable or DSL, it's important to confirm what services are available and what is included in your rental agreement.

Some landlords are increasingly installing internet in all units, which can enhance living convenience

Why is it all so complicated?

C'est la vie!

Maybe a 6 month stay is too short to get a fibre or cable internet setup going if it's not included in the rent, unless the probably longer running internet contract is not fulfilled.

Hi, this may help .... but I am no expert. We put an internet connection into one of our apartments back in 2017 ... we were preparing to spend more time out here in Bg . i noticed it was fibre right into the router. We have the basic and still get around 60 meg on average .... which can vary in speed throughout the day. If you are looking for fast internet, def. dont live in a village.Hope that is of help to you. - @Sticky59

Is fibre/ cable internet available in the villages?

Why is internet slow in villages?

It would depend on the village, we have fibre optic in our village, but our neighbouring villages do not!  We also have the option of paying more for a higher speed if wanted.

@digitalnomad1

Wifi included is usually just a shorthand way if saying an internet connection is included in the price, complete with your own router you can connect ethernet cables to if you want. The only time I've seen something different was in a resort type place where you had to sign to a communal connection.

If you are don't have residency you'll find it difficult to arrange your won connection, best to ask the landlord of anywhere you're interested in renting for the provider and ask them to do a speed test and send you the results, my wife and I teach online and always do this for anywhere we visit. As a back 4g/5g is very fast and affordable here (as long as you aren't in the middle of nowhere), most phones can be used as a wifi hot spot.

A lot of villages do have good internet with fibre connections, there are a lot of smaller,independent companies that are often better than the big providers but it will 100% depend on the specific place, this site shows providers in a lot of places http://kabelna.com/

Thanks everyone

I've seen a few rental websites which look more like it's the landlord directly listing the property for rent rather than real estate agents.

Rentola is one and some of the rent prices seem very low like 150 or 200 euro per month for something I'd expect to cost more.

Are these fake prices? But why would anyone post fake rental adverts, is it just to grab the readers attention then they give you the real price later?

@digitalnomad1

They are fake prices, rentola make their money from having you pay to contact their alleged landlords, check them out on trustpilot or just click an ad, you can't see any details without signing up, this should be a big red flag.

If you want to find places without an agent try on Olx, you can filter to only see ads from private individuals or check out some Facebook groups.

Thanks Ed

Please everyone share any good websites for affordable house and apartment rentals in Bulgaria either posted here or sent by PM to me.

Thanks Ed
Please everyone share any good websites for affordable house and apartment rentals in Bulgaria either posted here or sent by PM to me. - @digitalnomad1

Define where in Bulgaria. Define "affordable" in this context.

As a rule, apartments in blocks have individual internet connections, via fibre optic, to a router in the apartment.  That router is also likely to carry the TV signal.  The speed of the internet connection (and the number of TV channels available) is dependent on the package the landlord has signed up for.  The usual router will normally have four (or fewer) Ethernet ports for wired connections, plus 1 or 2 TV ports (you'll likely pay extra to have both working). The bandwidth (speed) available for the wire-connected devices depends on the speed of the router; you can increase the number of ports available by connecting a switch. The total bandwidth is shared between all the connected devices, but they'll be unlikely to be using their maximum allocation all the time, so the speed experienced by any individual device at any given moment can well approach the total nominal bandwidth. Some landlords include the cost of the internet/TV service in the rent, others charge extra; it should be spelled out in the contract.

Maybe I'm awfully naive, but I'd have thought that this kind of stuff would be included in any Digital Nomad 101...

Thanks Jim.

I've never rented before.

My work enables me to live anywhere with a reliable internet connection.

Ideally I'd live near the sea though expect that might be more expensive. But I won't have a car so would like to be close to things.

I just like the sea and beaches and that happy tourist vibe. I like mountains too but don't like walking up hills these days I prefer level ground.

So ideally anywhere between Varna and Burgas would do within one mile of the sea.

But maybe there'll be super savings deals elsewhere that would sway me.

There's a website called immot dot bg that an estate agent said is the Bulgarian equivalent to rightmove, but at the same time they said a large percentage of the adverts on there are old or inaccurate. There may have been another website mentioned as being another Bulgarian equivalent to Rightmove but I forget it's name.

Anything to do with property rental or buying is not simple and not getting any simpler in any country.

I'd have thought that buying might be a bit premature at the moment - BG isn't everyone's cup of tea.

That said, FB Marketplace is a good place for property deals - and you can advertise that you're looking for somewhere to buy, I think.

Property near/on the sea is still likely to be cheaper than in the major cities, but some places are dead out of season.

Anything to do with property rental or buying is not simple and not getting any simpler in any country. - @digitalnomad1

Sorry, I beg to differ. As long as you do the homework, knowing the local language is also very helpful, but there are translators available to help.

The only hard part is finding the right property for yourself. It might get a bit harder if you have a partner, because you both have to agree on the place. Especially with Bulgaria, people in the UK, see these lovely stories in The Daily Mail. The Family couldn't afford the high prices, so bought a 4 bedroom property for €30,000 with a little land. They see the price and think wow! Then fail to do anything else in research.

What I mean is generally across Europe and UK-

There's a big shortage of accommodation,

There's so many expired clickbait and misleading adverts which you might try to filter out eg on Rightmove filter out sales or rental adverts including house share student accommodation retirement schemes and shared ownership, but it will still show them

I agree completely that most sites' search engines are very poor at filtering out unsuitable listings, often because those listings are paying extra.

As Jim said, don't consider buying without spending some time in Bulgaria first. It's very Marmite.

If you can afford Varna, that's probably going to be best for you. Try Bulgarian Properties. They have a lot of rentals. Avoid Sunny Beach. It will be very cheap at this time of year but that's because it's dead in winter and overrun with the 18-30 crowd in the summer.

I met a fairly young Bulgarian man living and working in England in the NHS last year, very able and pleasant and he was of the opinion that Bulgaria isn't a nice place to move to mainly because - they have these gypsies (his words not mine) who will strip your house down to the bricks if you leave it unattended for any length of time, or there's a good chance this will happen. And this had happened to people he knew including his parents.

So perhaps a good place to start for anyone wanting to rent there and get a feel for the country before buying would be to see if they can find any expats who would want a modest rent paying responsible house sitter for the 10 months of the year when they're back in the British isles or another country 😇

@digitalnomad1

You're more likely to find that the house-sitters want paying, rather than the other way round....

The "house-stripping gypsy" scenario is fairly uncommon, albeit not unheard of. Burglary and other forms of crime can happen anywhere (in our supposedly-swanky suburb of Sofia, people in our FB group post CCTV footage of burglars inside their house while they sleep, so don't let yourself get too blasé).

If you flash the cash, or even let neighbours think that you're well off (not difficult in many villages!), then tongues will wag and the wrong people will sooner or later get to hear about it. Don't fall into the daft trap of thinking that your neighbours are unpaid security guards - they're just as likely to be burgled as you are, and they pretty certainly don't spend all night in a rocking-chair on the porch cradling a shotgun... Burglars learn to keep the noise down very early in their careers! 😎

@digitalnomad1

You might perhaps be a little confused by WiFi. If your apartment has internet installed, then there's an "internet box" put there by the service provider. It's connects to the outside world via cable, phone line, fibre optic line, or maybe even mobile data (5G etc.). As most folks prefer it, there's a way for this box to provide WiFi in the apartment. This "box" might be a modem or router or combined modem/router unit. Therefore, the WiFi is just as reliable as whatever the input medium is. Some of the providers (A1, Vivacom, etc.) can be a bit stingy and install fairly cheap/slow routers (i.e. slower WiFi) but there are plenty of high speed routers available that make your WiFi so fast, it's debatable whether you need a direct cable connection. But, if that's what you want, just buy some Cat 5/6/7 cable and plug it into one of the output ports on your box.

For extra reliability, the best option is a backup internet connection using a MiFi box (low cost, portable, mobile router) and some prepaid data SIMs.

Our village house is out in the sticks in the Balkan Mountains, but I have fibre internet to my door. I don't pay for the fastesr speed, so it's around 20 lv per month for 100 Mbps. For most applications this seems to be plenty. I installed a high speed router so my WiFi is not much slower. I have done some Cat 5 wiring in the walls, but not for reliability or speed.... just for distance, as my WiFi signal won't reach the lower floors of the house, and I was too cheap to pay for two separate fibre lines in. :-)

I do have a backup internet with my MiFi box, but 99% of the time that my fibre goes down, it's because my electricity went down and then I have no lights, no computer, no TV, no heat. If I really can't take 10 mins off, I can watch YouTube videos on my mobile phone. :-)

To find a rental (or research the typical availability/pricing) I suggest you look at Suprimmo and Bulgarian Properties. The latter specializes in expats, and you can easily do a rental contract remotely with them.

I also suggest you take a closer look at Bansko. It's not a beach location, but it's a charming ski/mountain town next to the spectacular Pirin National Park. I have a holiday flat here and it's a lovely little place that's very livable year-round. More importantly, it has developed into a hot spot for Digital Nomads over the last few years, so there are plenty of rental offers here with excellent internet, either at the apartment itself, and/or nearby in the associated co-working space. This strikes me as a slightly more sociable approach that might be more pleasant that just plonking yourself down in a random spot in Bulgaria and hiding away in your apartment for 6 months. :-)

Theres another clickbait false prices website called properstar dot co dot uk,

some of these websites dont have good functionality, eg i want to see a monthly rental price, not a daily or weekly price.

bulgarianproperties and suprimmo do seem to have better functionality and genuine adverts. Theres a few good rental prices around the £200 monthly mark, but these soon increase to £300.

Making contact with an EA probably helps who may have other options not yet advertised or may be able to find a rental or house in ones price bracket. And searching facebook as someone mentioned.

BTW i'm also posting on the ireland forum as a bit like jim i'm considering moving there long term.

Bulgaria negatives influencing this are -

1 the language barrier.

2 the alphabet barrier.

3 excess heat and sunlight in summer, my skins quite white, and i don't like temperatures over 20c.

4 the strip your house to the brick if you go on holiday burglar problem.

5 rising house prices in bulgaria perhaps due to an eastern european influx.

6 rising health insurance prices?

ireland bad points -

1 high petrol prices.

2 high electric prices.

3 high house prices.

4 higher food prices than bulgaria.

5 excessive rain.

6 municipal water fluoridation

7 open borders?

Both ireland and bulgaria are better than britain though in my opinion of their future prospects, britain for me is basically finished, its too far gone and it ain't coming back.

Basically nowhere on earth is perfect to live - politically, financially, weather and temperature wise, population density wise, etc.

My ideal weather / climate / season would be 20c (24 7 365) with light cloud cover throughout the day, 600mm annual rain but only at might, a constant light breeze, and daylight from 7am to 930pm. But unfortunately there isn't such a place on earth 😁

BTW a fun fact??

AI Overview

One popular theory for the origin of April Fools' Day is that it stemmed from the historical confusion and mockery of people who continued to celebrate the New Year around April 1st after the calendar change to January 1st.

The Calendar Change Theory

In 16th-century France, the new year was celebrated for a week, culminating around April 1st, as part of the Julian calendar and the spring equinox. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar (the one most of the world uses today), which officially moved New Year's Day to January 1st.

News traveled slowly, and communication methods were limited. People who were slow to hear about the change, or who stubbornly resisted it and continued to celebrate the New Year in April, became the butt of jokes and were labeled "April fools".

Sorry I meant in my ideal 20c temperature world it would only rain at night.

If only all people on earth spoke one language whether that be Bulgarian Iranian Chinese Congolese etc. I think it's not ideal how there's so many languages. Or maybe we're not meant to travel far and would be better staying local like centuries past so many languages would be okay.

Learning a language is difficult and I feel like I've got better things to do with my time. It's basically recoding everything like a computer programmer difficult but a bit pointless and not very spiritually rewarding in my experience.

They say to speak like a native takes 30 years and best achieved if that starts before age 11.

I think it's a fairly tedious process learning a language.

I recently did two English vocabulary size tests online and one estimated i know about 16800 words the other 21500. That's a lifetime of learning and I feel like I'm still learning English!

I'm so impressed by English speaking Dutch German and Scandinavian people. But they learn English from age 6.

I read if you know the 1000 most used words in a language you can understand 75% of what's been said. Yes nice theory!

It's the listening part where I find my language skills evaporate. I must know about 1000 German and french words but there's about 30,000+ of them!

And then what about all the dialect variations.

And then throw in a different alphabet.

Overall I'm most impressed by English speaking Slavic language natives - the former Yugoslavia Romania Poland Hungary etc. with a different alphabet.

Very clever people.

Also insurance is more expensive in Ireland than Bulgaria but wages are higher.

Overall I think being able to clearly express myself in my mother tongue is better than learning maybe 10% profficiency in a foreign language. Even if one prefers to be quiet.

I'm probably better off in Ireland to be fair. Even though that's hardly a paradise.

But in Europe with so many languages I think people generally tend to keep social interactions a bit more simple.

I don't want to have to spend the rest of my life using Google translate every day.

Of the five countries In the British isles I like England the least.

But I do like the British isles geographically. Ireland is nicer as there's lower population density.

I hope you find what you're looking for. It does sound like Bulgaria might not be the best choice for you. It certainly comes with a fair share of challenges.

If you're not using your BG property, I've found it best to insure via a UK company offering foreign holiday home/rental properties.

I teach English online to a class of academics in China, and have done similar but in person with Bulgarian academics.

One thing they all struggle with is the poor English spoken by many/most native Anglophones. "Auntie", once the infallible source of examples of good English, is now so simultaneously preoccupied with both diversity and inclusivity that she no longer has any linguistic standards...😥

I hope you find what you're looking for. It does sound like Bulgaria might not be the best choice for you. It certainly comes with a fair share of challenges. - @janemulberry

As an environment Bulgaria like anywhere has its pluses and minuses, and the pluses and minuses of your environment will tend to shape the life you live. I wouldn't say there's usually a right or wrong choice of country to buy a permanent residence in per se.

I teach English online to a class of academics in China, and have done similar but in person with Bulgarian academics.
One thing they all struggle with is the poor English spoken by many/most native Anglophones. "Auntie", once the infallible source of examples of good English, is now so simultaneously preoccupied with both diversity and inclusivity that she no longer has any linguistic standards...😥 - @JimJ

Germans will talk about how they can't understand people well in the next town eg. due to dialect differences, few people talking the standard german they're taught in school.

I dont think in britain dialect is a big factor in terms of being able to comprehend each other, and becoming less so since TV came about. Local accents and slang being not quite the same as local dialects, i get the impression its more pronounced in eg. germany.

AI overview

The Cologne dialect, known as Kölsch, is a regional variety of German spoken in and around the city of Cologne. It is a central member of the Ripuarian dialect group and is famously shared as a name with the city's local beer, leading to the local saying that Kölsch is "the only language you can drink".

Linguistic Features

Kölsch differs significantly from Standard German (Hochdeutsch) in both sound and structure:

Pronunciation Shifts:

The "G" at the start of words often becomes a "J" (e.g., Geld becomes Jeld).

The "CH" sound is frequently pronounced as "SCH" (e.g., Kirche sounds like Kirsch).

Standard German "PF" is replaced by a simple "P" (e.g., Apfel becomes Appel), similar to English.

Vowel Richness: It has a larger vowel system than Standard German and features a distinctive "singing" pitch accent (tonality).

French Influence: Due to the Napoleonic occupation (1794–1815), the dialect contains many French loanwords, such as Parapluie (umbrella) and Plümo (duvet).

Cultural Status & Usage

Endangered Status: While understood by millions, only about 250,000 people actively speak Kölsch daily. UNESCO classifies it as a potentially endangered language as younger generations increasingly favor Standard German.

Carnival Culture: The dialect is most prominent during the Cologne Carnival, where it is the primary language for traditional songs and greetings like "Kölle Alaaf!".

Local Philosophy: The "Cologne Constitution" (Et kölsche Jrundjesetz) consists of 11 rules in dialect that define the city's laid-back mentality, such as "Et es wie et es" (It is what it is).

Learning & Resources

Akademie för uns Kölsche Sproch: This specialized academy offers courses, publishes dictionaries, and works to preserve the dialect.

Popular Media: Bands like BAP, Bläck Fööss, and Höhner perform rock and pop music entirely in Kölsch, helping it remain culturally relevant.

Public Transit: Some Cologne trams even announce stations in the local dialect (e.g., announcing "Chlotwischplatz" instead of Chlodwigplatz).

If I lived in a remote house where burglary was a big concern as ugly as it may look I'd investigate fitting a high spiky perimeter fence surrounding the house about 2 metres away, with a strong locking gate. Anything to sleep well at night or go out for the day without men in Balaclavas breaking in 🔐.

Or maybe very strong exterior doors and bars over the all windows would suffice, features I've seen on several Bulgarian village houses for sale actually, a bit like in LA too.

A person's home should be their castle 🕍🕌⛪💒🏰🏠🏕️

@digitalnomad1

The best you can do is to make your castle more secure than than those of your neighbours and hope that thieves will pick the lower-lying fruit. Conversely, beefed-up security indicates that you're not short of a bob or two and that consequently more effort from them is likely to yield a better return. You'd be surprised what these dregs of society will, and can, steal - and the local Plod has an abysmal record when it comes to clear-up rates and property recovery. The less you can afford to be robbed, the more you need decent insurance.

Our suburb is pretty densely populated and properties have high walls/secure doors/window grilles/security shutters/CCTV/COT etc. Nonetheless, there's no shortage of thieves, from chancers to druggies to organised groups.

Don't get complacent or let your guard down - you never know what will happen, or when!

I'm not really sure how we got here from a discussion about wired/WiFi internet ...😂

I'm not really sure how we got here from a discussion about wired/WiFi internet ...😂 - @JimJ

Thanks Jim

yes i thought i'd keep all my topic on the one thread if possible and nobody will care much if i derail it. 😁

I now think my ideal scenario whether in ireland or bulgaria is to buy a decent affordable house on a big flat plot of land, with space for a touring caravan and one or two 20ft shipping containers - if there are not any secure and damp proof existing outbuildings, fit a good double glazed door in the shipping container and keep "most stuff" in the container, and the house free from clutter.

Maybe shipping container number 2 could be converted to granny flat.

Maybe a prefab garage might be useful too.

Plant some conifers around the border about 7 meters apart and leave them to just grow to ful lsize, for privacy if there are no existing trees.

Fit a 6ft perimeter mesh metal fence around the exterior of the house or property with a solid locking gate fitted if possible.

If you live in the middle of nowhere hundreds of meters from the nearest neighbours in many ways one is a sitting duck for burglars at night.

I'm not really one for appearances, more functionality, and cost saving / bargains.

But i have all the toys and trinkets i need for life and my mission is not to collect more "stuff".

I reckon for £10k i could get two 20ft containers delivered and a 6ft metal mesh perimeter fence fitted, and possibly even a prefab garage if i bought it 2nd hand.

In Bulgaria, you're unlikely to get a house hundreds of metres from the nearest neighbours, or at least, that's how it is in the region our house is in. There are village houses, or there's agricultural land with no houses. Unless you buy in one of the many tiny deserted villages, population 1, chances are you'll have neighbours living reasonably close. I find the balance here ideal. Lovely neighbours nearby, but not almost on top of each other like in the UK.

Our suburb is pretty densely populated and properties have high walls/secure doors/window grilles/security shutters/CCTV/COT etc. Nonetheless, there's no shortage of thieves, from chancers to druggies to organised groups.
- @JimJ

Not so much a point as an observation.

I live in a country where an unlocked door isn't that big of a problem because nobody will test it.

Of course there are some places in larger towns or cities that do have crime, but it's pretty rare in most of the country.

We see coppers around occasionally, but there isn't much need for them in everyday life.

I was absolutely shocked at the difference between the UK and here - I simply didn't believe it was possible to not care about personal crime victimhood because it's hardly a thing here.