62 year old single american male moving to Varna to semi retire

@sanerob

Varna's a pretty big city now, I'm pretty sure they can squeeze in one more. :-)

I'm not American, but I spent many years in the USA (Boston, Chicago, San Francisco), and I popped down to Miami a few times. Bulgaria is very different, but very charming in its own way. It's also much more affordable, especially in the realm of medical care. And much less chance of being shot by a crazed gunman when you're down at the mall. :-)

I've never seen Bulgaria make it onto the lists of the World's Best Retirement Destinations. But I've lived in several that do (Argentina, Chile, Panama, France, Spain, Cyprus) and I'm very happy with my choice.

@sanerob I'm originally from South Africa.  Have been living in Varna 18 years now.  I think Bulgarians are quite welcoming of foreigners/expats.  Just beware they also tend to believe all foreigners are rich and a great target for ripping off!!!

Give me a buzz when in Varna.  Would love to meet up for a drink and a chat!

I was just visiting Varna for 2 weeks to grieve the passing of my dog and best buddy of 19 years.  I  found it still to be a very nice city and took note of how old buildings are being renovated , sidewalks repaved , new pedestrian streets. I did notice that people do not generally make eye contact on the streets or walking in the sea garden just to say good morning or what ever. I appreciate Americans are perceived or considered to talk to much.  My Bulgarian friend said you need to be introduced to people first. I appreciate knowing the language would help much  but it sure seems hard. 

Any thoughts ? Or like anything if you want to make a change in your life everything takes time.

Take it slowly, especially with the language. I'm wrestling with it, but learn a few more words every visit. Google Translate helps! But many younger Bulgarians speak some English.

I'm really blessed to be buying my house in a small village and in having a wonderful neighbour. She's been so helpful and introduced me to many people, as well as involving me in village activities. She speaks no English, but we use Google Translate and my few words of pidgin Bulgarian. Just listening to people talking helps the words and meanings to sink in.

I think once you're staying somewhere or committed to staying, people are more willing to open up. On previous visits, apart from occasional random chats on the bus, we spoke to few Bulgarians and none in depth. In a city, especially a tourist city, most non-Bulgarians are only there a short time, so locals won't invest effort into getting to know them. Once you're staying, neighbours will talk to you, you can join clubs and groups relating to your interests (even if they're all in Bulgarian!), and you'll get to know people.

I've had similar experiences in towns in my home country where many people only stayed a limited time, anything from 2 weeks to 2 years on work contracts, and I was one of them. Locals didn't want to bother making friends with anyone from "away" because they knew the person would be moving on. Commit to stay, and it changes.

@janemulberry

Life is how you live it and where you live it.   You exude that attitude!   Happy people are happy anywhere no matter what.    In spite of a few locals thinkiing I and any foreigner are walking ATM's and suckers for obvious scams (which happen everywhere) I am very happy with my decision .  I keep my BS Radar turned on High sensitivity till I get to know someone and that is good advice for any place in the world. 

I find that MOST Bulgarians are happy people and much more so in the smaller towns and locations.   Big cities are rat races and traffic jams anyplace and there is no shortage of those in the larger cities, 

@sanerob

Speaking of Varna, I just completed a year of visits to Varna to visit my intended while she finished her contract.  There is a lot to like as well as enough road ruts to cause frequent cursing.  It has a good airport with generous airfares.  Lots of things to do and see that are not as touristy as St. Vlas-Sunny Beach- and Nessaber.   

    I was just visiting Varna for 2 weeks to grieve the passing of my dog and best buddy of 19 years.

    -@sanerob

Also, I meant to say, so sorry for your loss. Losing a beloved pet hurts so badly.

@sanerob

How are you legally staying in Bulgaria as an American when Bulgaria is an EU member. Your Visa expires in 90 days and they want outrageous requirements for Americans.

I visted Sofia, flew to Varna, stayed in Golden Sands.  I was considering purchasing a house there for cash until I was bait and switched (scammed) by the Realtors there and discovered a horror of red-tape requirements after hiring an attorney there.

I am only going from memory here.

The attorney informed me I must become a "permanent resident" to stay full time in my house. And for this I will need to buy minimum 250,000 EUR for the house IN CASH, pay huge taxes, form a "corporation" then give the Bulgarian government financials to "verifiy" (investiage) all sources of income in the United States. Why they would need to "verify" income when I am already paying cash is a mystery to me.

Besides all this, ALL,  the houses I went to see suddenly dissapeared off the market in 24 hours. Isn't that amazing? I spend hundreds of hours researching online to buy the house on want near the Black Sea. Then I confirm all the houses are available to show. Then I show up in Varna < 24 hours later. And suddenly, all the houses are gone. For each house there was a creative excuse. I was told not to be upset or worry, because the property brokers have new houses to show me - which are all garbage or villas, or very overpriced compared to the listings.

And that was before I was informed of the crazy legal requirements for American citizens.

I don't presume to know how you are doing it. But best of luck to you, and if you succeed please let me know. I will raise my glass to you if you can pull this off my friend, so please let me know. Thank you.

I have some friends from Bulgaria that have told me about how corrupt the country runs and the realtors are top of the lists. I am at the early stage of planning but I know having trust worthy friends who can recommend trust worthy lawyers it might be possible.

I hope to semi retire to start and just rent for the ease of everything. I am still working full time but lost my best pal dog of 19 years and might just go for an early retirement until social security kicks in . I know it is scary but hope to pursue this. To be truthful the way American is going down hill and I rather deal with corruption in a foriengn country that have the US government fuck me and think they are doing me a favor. LOL

Did you notice how safe Bulgaria is . They dont have the low level criminals and guns there. They have a much lower standard of living but that is actually very appealing .

@sanerob

I know some folks here have had some bad experiences, and obviously I'm sorry to hear these stories.

But my experience of Bulgaria has been almost entirely painless, and my only regret is not having moved here sooner! It's possible that I'm incredibly lucky, and I'm the only expat having a good time, but that seems exceedingly unlikely. :-)

During my working life, I lived in the cosmopolitan cities of Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, London, Paris, Barcelona, Helsinki, Singapore. All safe, with a great quality of life, but massively expensive. I was then in Latin America for many years (Argentina, Chile, Panama). While there are always good points, overall I was WAY less happy there, and far MORE exposed to crime, and corruption/thievery that directly affected me. Bulgaria, in comparison, seems very safe, and the corruption that exists is far away from me and does not affect me in any way. And it's far cheaper than all of them (with the exception of Argentina, for reasons which are not good ones).

In Bulgaria we've been very lucky to get to know several locations. We have a flat in downtown Plovdiv (Bulgaria's 2nd city and former European Capital of Culture), along with our house in a lovely village in the Balkan Mountains. Plus, we have a holiday studio in Bansko, the country's largest ski/mountain resort. Each one is a delight, and I'd happily live there full-time, The locals (and my neighbours) are have been unfailingly welcoming and friendly. Again, it seems exceedingly unlikely that I've managed to pick the only 3 decent spots in Bulgaria. :-)

However, I did buy (several times) via a large and reputable property agent, so I did not go on adventures in backwoods country with small local agents with a lack of provenance. I didn't buy in a small, remote villages... I chose places that were already popular, highly-regarded, and growing (location, location, location - right?). Finally, I paid good money to get good properties, and I didn't insist on finding something for 5k. :-)