Should I move to Bulgaria and work or not

Hi! That's a tough decision!

It sounds like your increased expenses if you move will use up all of the increased pay, and you'll have less cash in hand each month. You'll also be leaving your friends and your usual networks behind, and have  anew language to deal with outside of the office, as well.

But Sofia is an interesting city. This could be worth doing if you want the experience of living in a different city and a different country, or if moving will give better earning potential in the long term - for example if there's more opportunity for promotion working in the Sofia office, or if you'll gain new skills due to the move that will enhance your CV.

Only you can weight up which has most value to you, and how adaptable you are to dealing with lots of change, also how easy you'll find it to make friends and new social networks if you move. There's no right or wrong answer, we're all different in what our priorities are. I moved from Australia to the UK and hope to soon move to Bulgaria.  My brother lives one street away from where we grew up. And we're both happy with our choices!

Where in Sofia is the job based? If you live in the city centre, a car is often a nuisance rather than an advantage - public transport is good and cheap, and you can rent a car when you need one rather than paying for parking, fighting for a space, and risking getting ticketed/towed if you take a chance.

What kind, and size, of apartments are you looking at; the rent you mention is somewhat on the high side unless it's right in the centre or fairly large. Living in the centre means you combine having nightlife close by with poor air quality, a tricky choice to make! The southern suburbs are cooler, cleaner, quieter, and above the pollution; parking is easier or you can rely on public transport - in that area more bus/trolley/tram than metro. Rents are usually cheaper than in the centre, even in the more "posh" suburbs.

@AlexandruAlex

Congrats on the job offer! At the very least, it reassures you that you're employable internationally. :-)

But...

It doesn't strike me as a particularly compelling offer, unless the company/role is something which offers lots of upside potential. Or it's a job/project which would look great on your resume, even if it was only for a few months. You'd have to weigh up these intangibles against the short-term pain.

You're a EU citizen, so you can move anywhere in the EU to work. Usually, the smart play is to find a job in one of the wealthiest (and highest paying) countries, rather than the poorest.

In terms of the economics, being a remote worker for 700 is almost certainly a better deal than a being an office worker for 1,000 (1,100 including your rent allowance). Living (and working) in the family house and eating the family food will be WAY cheaper than renting a place in Bulgaria's most expensive city (and commuting to work).

On the flip side, you're EU, so there are minimal formalities involved in relocating. It depends where the office is, but you perhaps don't need a car to commute (Sofia has a good metro/bus system). You probably could rent a room in a shared apt/house, rather than trying to rent your own place (which would be far more than 100 euros).

Personally, I prefer remote working wherever possible. If you work for clients in wealthy countries (e.g. USA) you can typically earn more than a local job in a poor country (e.g. Romania, Bulgaria). But you'd probably need great English, rather than wanting to work in your native language. And you probably should be trying to earn a bit more so that you can pay something to your folks for your room/food/laundry. The Bank of Mum and Dad can be very generous, but every little contribution helps. :-)

If you've never been working (or living) outside of Romania, then you might fancy a bit of adventure. Financially, you'll be worse off, but I doubt you'll die of starvation. In any case, even if you only stay for a few months, I'd guess you can always go home and resume the remote working.

the problem is my company added a clause, if i leave sooner than 1 year, they force me to pay around 1500 euros maybe more, for training rent allowence and everything they did for me, this is my only stop to come, need to decide....in 2 days i start and my journey is about 7 hours by car.

i'm not sure maybe i won't accommodate in first year or something

Bruno said something similar on another topic, the guy said he is 2000 euro in debt from working here. I think is the same company and he leaft early than 1 year.

If I come back home after 6 7 8 months, i don't want to have a 1500 euro debt, because i bring around 1200 euro with me to start working there money i will never get back

the adventure sounds so great but the logical thinking pushing me back so hard...........mathematics are never wrong...

@JimJ

very close to Serdika metro station is a big  business tower wink wink

It sounds as if you've already made your decision. Trust your own sense of what is best for you.

@AlexandruAlex

Are they not giving you a work trial?

Have you looked at jobs(dot)bg and the other employment sites to get an idea of the kind of salary on offer for whatever it is that you do?

It may well be that you can find a similar job with another company with more favourable conditions

@AlexandruAlex

You're leaving this to the last minute, so I'm guessing you're not super motivated. :-) But here's my MBA-level analysis for ya... and, as before, you can summarize it as "it depends". :-)

The wink, wink doesn't help. I can see Bulbank and PWC, who are both great companies. (And the centre of Sofia = expensive.)

If the job is with a top-tier company, and it's a really good job (i.e. not grunt work, probably not a call centre rep), then these are very positive factors to weigh against the low-ish pay.

If it's a REAL training program over many (6-12) months and genuinely upskills you, and makes you more employable, then this too could be a very good thing. Employable in this context, is many more potential jobs open to you, at a substantially higher salary (1.5k, 2k, 3k).

The basic maths (700 vs. 1000+100) does not capture these aspects, and you haven't shared them with us.

The whole repayment thing is scary (it even has a scary name, TRAP, for Training Repayment Agreement Provision), but it can be entirely reasonable (and legal) if they're genuinely giving you some valuable training. Have a read...

https://www.business.com/hr/trap/

Clearly, some companies provide meaningful training (e.g. 6-12 months, 3-8 hours per day) and the TRAP is a sensible way to protect this investment. But, equally clearly, some companies provide marginal training (a few hours, for a few days) that has no real value, and they use the TRAP to tie employees into low-paying jobs. You need to figure out which camp your company is in.

I don't know the legalities of Bulgaria in relation to TRAPs, but I'd guess they're legal. Enforceability is an entirely different issue, especially as you're a poor (relatively) foreigner. I doubt that it easy or justifiable to chase you for the money if you run home to Romania. But they could easily withhold your last month's salary (another 1,000 + 100). If you want to stay in Bulgaria, it might be easier to make your life miserable. In any case, the TRAP is 1,500 and your salary is 1,000 so it's not actually a massive penalty, whereas 5k on a 500 salary would definitely put a company in the latter camp.

I wouldn't personally want a TRAP, especially if there's no cooling off period (i.e. 7 days or 30 days) where you can change your mind without penalty. And, probably, I would reject this offer based on the TRAP and the salary on offer. BUT I would seriously consider making an exception based on the criteria I gave above (top company, great job, meaningful/useful training, genuine employment/salary upside).

Next time you get such an offer, don't leave your analysis to the last minute... and maybe fly over and have a look at the city/office/company and chat to some of your fellow (potentially) employees. :-) This would typically be far more useful than anything I could offer.

The job is in a call center/chat for a fitness device brand, very popular top 3.

I don't see any grow possibilities.

The problem is for example let's say I earn around 1100 euro in BGN, after rent and all taxes (benzin + public transport + clothes for work each month etc), I will be left with around 500 600 euro maximum for living food buy myself a shaorma...visit some musems take a girl out etc. The problem is not mainly this, but the fact that maybe I can't integrate with the people, maybe I have any kind of life personal matter that occurs, is a bit huge to ask me to pay until I finish 1 year with them.

They added this clause, but they forget that I bring from home 1200 euros minimum to pay rent until I get the salary . So if I lose 1200 + time, why they can't accept that I might not accommodate in 3 maybe 5 or 7 months and I want to leave?

The add for this job is right here [link under review]

@AlexandruAlex

So you're budgeting for public transport AND petrol. plus the clothes you wear which you apparently have to buy every month?

I ran my own company for many years, after working in senior positions in various organisations and having over 100 people reporting to me.  I'm not sure that I'd have been too keen on hiring someone who can't seem to make their mind up, plan ahead in any meaningful way, or see all sides of a situation.  You're looking at a call centre job, offering a reasonable salary for that type of job.  The company's offering you training in their product(s), which will make you more valuable to them in the longer term, and they'd like to be sure that the investment they're making will have some sort of return.  Your concern seems to be what effect the move might have on your bird-pulling chances, rather than how you can use this opportunity to advance your career and make a valuable contribution to your employer.

To be brutally frank, it sounds as though the best outcome for all concerned here is if you don't make the move to Sofia at all.  You need to get your head together, look closely at your priorities - and decide what you want to be when you grow up...

@JimJ

There are no real growing cases, is just...customer support, there is no team leader or quality or upper position on this project.

If they wait for me to invest around 1200 + just to work, they should also asume to lose the same amount with me, in case I won't adapt.

If I would have 0 costs moving there, and I will only depend on them until first full salary, yea, I would have no issue with that clause.

@AlexandruAlex

That sounds like a somewhat unusual set-up. All in all, I'd stay put if I were you: if there were opportunities to advance in the company, it might be worth gambling on but your gut is clearly telling you not to do it.

There are plenty of other jobs available: "pass on this one and keep looking" would be my advice..

@AlexandruAlex

If you are still living with your parents I'm guessing you are still young. If you are wanting to explore different countries you could try the channel islands, accommodation is free, also food. Unless things have changed you don't pay income tax. For first 2 years. Check out the hotels. You only need English, but other languages are a bonus.