UK/NZ to new life in Bulgarian.

@Bizet Cottage

Hi

Just wanted to say hi, and welcome. I too am a Kiwi married to a Bulgarian National ....... we lived and worked in the U.K for many years, and have been in Plovdiv Bg,  going on 6 years now. Hope all goes smoothly for you.

Regards,

Alex.

My two cents-worth is: "bring as little as possible". I blanch when I think of all the stuff that I brought over at comparatively great expense that's now been stored for well over a decade. I can't imagine what it costs to ship stuff over from NZ these days but my advice is to be absolutely ruthless when deciding what you "can't bear to part with". You can buy pretty much anything you need here in BG and whatever isn't available or costs too much can be found on Amazon Germany (often shipped to BG for nothing) or bought from other German suppliers or ones in the UK and shipped over surprisingly cheaply by the specialist shipping companies.

@Sticky59 Thank you! We honestly can’t wait to make the move.

Hubby is wearing two hats at the moment. He lectures during the day and then, after work, puts on his author’s hat and writes fiction. I think he’ll really enjoy being able to focus on his writing and finally having a bit more time for himself.

Our family is spread all over the world. His children are in Scotland and Switzerland, while mine are in Western Australia, the Gold Coast, Auckland, and Wellington. They’re all busy building their own lives, which is exactly what we hoped they would do. We’ll visit them, they’ll visit us, and with Europe on our doorstep we’ll also have plenty of opportunities to explore.

We’re both looking forward to a slower, more relaxed pace of life, becoming part of the local community, and embracing everything that comes with living in Bulgaria. 😊🇧🇬

@JimJ Thank you. We’ve moved quite a bit over the years—from New Zealand to the UK, back to New Zealand, and several times within New Zealand—so we’re fairly familiar with the relocation process.

We won’t be bringing much in the way of whiteware or furniture, but we’ll definitely be shipping a Full Container Load (FCL) and perhaps a few additional items via (LCL) if needed.

We understand there’s a limited three month window after arriving in Bulgaria to import our household goods, so we’re planning around that.

One thing we definitely have to bring is our books! I write, my husband writes,and both his daughter and his late sister are/were prolific writers, so books are very much part of who we are.

We’ll also be bringing our quality bed (our wool-filled mattress is far too comfortable to leave behind!), kitchen and dining equipment, tools, security cameras, and a few other things that have taken a lifetime to collect and mean a lot to us.

We’ve given away far too much during previous international moves, and this time we’ve decided not to do that again. I’m sure relocating won’t be cheap, but we’d rather take the things that are important to us than spend years replacing them. Whatever we don’t take, our grandchildren will be delighted to have, and anything left over can be donated.

My passions are cooking and painting, so those are definitely coming with me!

I’ve already started sorting through everything and slowly packing (it’s a big job). One advantage of having worked in international relocations is that I know how to pack for overseas shipments, prepare a detailed inventory, and photograph everything before it goes into the container. It takes a little longer, but it can make a real difference to the overall shipping costs.

I’ve found the FIDI website really helpful for understanding what can and can’t be imported. I’m also planning a few trips over beforehand, so I’ll take some clothing and other essentials with me each time, and purchase a few things in Bulgaria until our shipment arrives.

I suspect our most expensive piece of “cargo” will be hubby’s cat! 😂 He may cost us an arm and a leg to relocate, but some things are simply priceless.

@Bizet Cottage

If your cat is a real member of the family, be prepared to keep him indoors. Pet poisoning is endemic here, and you'll very likely have to contend (as we do) with neighbours who think that cats are suitable airgun targets.

@JimJ 😂 Thank you for this advice, we’ll definitely be doing that.

She already has her own catio and a water fountain, so I suppose giving Her Majesty a separate outdoor entertainment area in Bulgaria wouldn’t be too far-fetched! She absolutely rules our household with an iron paw.

She’s incredibly inquisitive and has to inspect and sniff everything, but when it comes to food, she won’t eat a thing unless it’s served up to her on a platter by her loyal staff. 😹

She’s getting older now and doesn’t really wander, so I imagine she’ll be perfectly content supervising us from her own little outdoor kingdom while we do all the hard work in the garden. I’m fairly sure she’ll expect us to landscape it to her exact specifications too! 😂🐈🇧🇬

@Bizet Cottage

You don't own a cat, the cat owns you!

@Bizet Cottage

Be careful. She doesn't need to wander to find poison - if there's a poisoner in the neighbourhood the poison will come to

her..

@JimJ not if my husband has anything to do with it. My grandchildren teases him all of the time, as to who he loves more, Missy Kitty or me lol. I think his priorities before getting internet, something to sleep on, a vehicle, a new oven, fridge, washing machine, curtains etc, will be that his cat is sorted.

@Bizet Cottage

My wife has a similar theory about me and our cats - I'm taking the Fifth on that one.

It is unfortunately a fairly common practice in Balkan countries; you might be lucky but you should always be very aware of the danger. You'll find some past discussions of the topic on this site, and you can easily Google the reports going back years in local newspapers.

Here in Sofia it's quite a problem and poisonings of dogs and cats run in spates. Some friends in a village have lost six cats and a dog to poison; two of our cats were shot but survived - they're strictly indoor cats now. "Better safe than sorry" is my motto...

Hello Bizet Cottage,

I can see the conversation is already flowing nicely, so I will keep it short. 😊

Just wanted to say welcome on board, and I hope you enjoy being part of the community!

Cheers,

Cheryl

Expat.com team

@Bizet Cottage
My wife has a similar theory about me and our cats - I'm taking the Fifth on that one.
It is unfortunately a fairly common practice in Balkan countries; you might be lucky but you should always be very aware of the danger. You'll find some past discussions of the topic on this site, and you can easily Google the reports going back years in local newspapers.

Here in Sofia it's quite a problem and poisonings of dogs and cats run in spates. Some friends in a village have lost six cats and a dog to poison; two of our cats were shot but survived - they're strictly indoor cats now. "Better safe than sorry" is my motto... - @JimJ

Its on the rise in Austria, every week I see a post on Facebook groups warning people that poison had been spotted.

@Cheryl thank you, I really appreciate it.

@JimJ Thanks for the advice. My husband will be pleased to know his “queen of the household” will be getting her own secure outdoor entertainment area after all! 😄 She’s getting older, doesn’t really wander, and is quite content supervising us, so a catio and supervised outdoor time sound like the safest option. I’m so sorry to hear about your friends’ pets and your own cats. That’s heartbreaking. We really appreciate you sharing your experience—it helps newcomers like us be better prepared. 🐈💙

@SimCityAT this is terrible.

There is a great you tube channel of a UK and New Zealand couple who have relocated to Bulgaria..."Hannah Life in Bulgaria".

@Zooldrool yes I follow them, he grew up not far from where we live. We are really looking forward to moving over, I’d be there now if it wasn’t for my husband’s work, also I have to wait for my pension.

@Bizet Cottage

Oh that's super cool. No rush...bulgaria certainly isn't going anywhere fast...that's one of its charms.

@Zooldrool thank you

It sounds as if you have a wonderful plan and I hope it all works out!

Moving our cats here is likely to cost us more than buying the house did!

What to move? Things that are personal and not easily replaced, or likely to be way more expensive in Bg than NZ. Books, paintings, any pieces of furniture you especially love. The wool products, for example, would almost certainly cost far more here.

What not to bother bringing unless you had spare space in a container and could fill it up or the same cost would be basic furniture items you're not particularly attached to, everyday kitchen appliances, fridge, washing machine, etc. Those can easily be replaced here.

@janemulberry

You could always drive over with the furries (and their pet passports) - it's not an enormously long trip and undoubtedly cheaper than using a Pet Transport company..

@janemulberry thank you, yes our cat is probably going to cost us the price similar to a business class airfare. I will bring all of my kitchen and dining stuff for sure. I’ll definitely be bringing the stuff that brings us joy.

@Bizet Cottage

All manner of "stuff that brings joy" is available in and behind the Chalga clubs in Sofia's Studentski grad....😎

https://tinyurl.com/4h4fuky3

Since I've long ago given up wearing a suite and (bow)tie every day, I dress very informally nowadays, ie jeans/shorts and t-shirt.  This is one of my favourites, although I went for an orangey-beige one since we have a long-haired ginger monster... 😎

https://tinyurl.com/2nkzsvyr

@janemulberry
You could always drive over with the furries (and their pet passports) - it's not an enormously long trip and undoubtedly cheaper than using a Pet Transport company.. - @JimJ

That was the original plan, especially as we have five to move. But I haven't driven for years because of a weird type of migraine that affects my speed and distance perception, among other things. And hubby isn't feeling well enough now to drive. I think  might need to test out my driving ability with some lessons, but I fear I'll be that sort of overly cautious driver who putters along at 20km/hr. At that rate, it will be a very long journey!

@JimJ

Only 20% cat hair? Your cat isn't trying hard enough. I'm sure all my garments are now at least 50%

@janemulberry

You can get different percentages 😎  I should add that i buy mine from Temu - same shirts but a quarter the price...

I definitely need one that says "Minimum 50% cat hair content".

Sadly I can't feel that Temu is so cheap anymore, with the 3 euro tax fee per type of item! It's quite put a dent in my enthusiasm for Temu Bg shopping. Things are often much cheaper in the UK anyway, but it was nice getting things delivered rather than having to lug them over in checked in baggage.

@janemulberry

Cheapskate! Buy 5 t-shirts and pay an extra €3... 😎

Not to mention that Temu often gives you €3 discount on items to offset the tax.

@janemulberry

Talking of which, you might like to check out Trendyol - they're a Turkish company but have warehouses in the EU. The last thing I ordered from them arrived in Sofia the following day!

They're cheap for some things, less so for others..

@Bizet Cottage

Hope you don't mind, but changed your header. It now less confusing to other titles.

@SimCityAT

We'll know who to blame when Interpol starts getting interested in our discussions...😎

@JimJ

I will have a look.

Hiya, I have a question  i have a resident card. Was wondering  do i need visas  to go through EU countries, or  can u use my card ,  i am thinking of driving down .

well to catch my  neighbour out , ive been broken into my house was smashed up and  i didnt know , the police  closed my door and my neighbour went round and  lleft all my doors open so i had every animal living in my house, plus  the old neighbour was  doing her shopping  in my house  and stole loads, ive  put cameras up and  security  now , they are not the best they left my alarm going off for 2 days ill i got someone to reset it . plus my neighbour  is still stealing my fruit trees  and wood and water when she can , i wish i never bought the house but i do love bulguria

@megs44

No you don't need a visa for the EU, but you are only allowed to travel 90 days out of 180. Not likely to get checked if driving over land.

@SimCityAT

Hiya thank you. I am going to drive from the UK. I was  just wondering so I can use my resident card and so i need to use my uk passport

Hiya can anyone let me know the best way to drive from the UK to Bulgaria? Thank you for helping

Hiya can anyone let me know the best way to drive from the UK to Bulgaria? Thank you for helping - @megs44

Depends where you live in the UK.  Either Dover or maybe Hull to the Continent.  Been a while.  In August, likely queues at the border due to EES.  Allow several hours.

Your residence card is checked for a speedy Schengen entry.  Of course you need your passport (validity requirements must be adhered to). 

Then you can drive all the way inside Schengen if you go via Romania.  If you drive through Serbia, you exit Schengen and then re-enter to get into Bulgaria.  Best to avoid Serbia. 

But overall, pretty much motorway all the way.

You'll need toll vignettes for some countries depending on your route (Austria, Hungary etc).  Belgium is supposed to be introducing vignettes in 2026.    In which case, you can alternatively drive via France but you have pay for the Peage (toll).   Idea is to get to Germany in a short time as no vignettes and no speed limits (mostly) there.

I believe Luxembourg has the cheapest fuel.  In any case, use Google Maps to find filling stations off the motorway - usually a lot cheaper.

Make sure your car is covered in the EU for insurance and breakdown.

I think it'll take you 3 days to reach Bulgaria.  Must be 2300km at least. But it depends where you are going and where you came from.  It was 1800km from Budapest to my folks place but we don't drive there any more (last time was 2023).  Bulgaria must be at least 500km more.

@fluffy2560

Thanks, I will need to sleep on that one. It will be cheaper to fly with less hassle lol. I don't think my back or hips will survive lol. I can't get there till Christmas this year; we had a loss in the family, so that put us right back. How are u finding it over there since they changed the money to euros? It bent my purse when I was last there; everything was so much, even my elecric i was paying 80 lev a month. Now it's 170 euros a month; I am going to buy batteries for my Christmas lights and use them instead. Even my water isn't funny. I wish they kept the lev