Your first days in your home in Bulgaria

I had visited the Veliko Tarnovo region of Bulgaria four time's prior to moving there.

On my third and fourth visits I met with further expats and also met with an estate agent, who could find me an apartment in Veliko Tarnovo, so I could get started. The agent spoke good English and was also very generous and helpful with other matters - he even picked me up from Sofia Airport on my moving trip.

After returning to the UK, I started a Wise account (formerly TransferWise) which made doing payment transactions in Bulgaria a doddle!  To this day, I swear by Wise. They have, so far, been great.

After the fourth visit in January 2020, to which I experienced deep snow and a temperature of minus 15°C, I was in a situation to make a decision on when to move. I decided in June 2020, to move in September. I communicated with both the estate agent and the couple planning my removals, by WhatsApp. The removal guy was British, living near VT.  The agent found me a brand new property, in a quiet tree lined street, in the centre of VT, a stone's throw form the fruit and veg market. He sent me a video of the apartment over whatsapp and the bonus was, it included a garage, which was great, as I had a lot of stuff that I wouldn't need in the apartment. The rent wasn't cheap, but, because it was very central brand new and it was going to get started, I decided to take it.  The beauty was, it was free to occupy from any date, which was good, because my removal date changed. Instead of September, it came forward a month, leaving me just two weeks to pack up my wears, in my bedsit in Balham, South West London. I bought 150 empty boxes of various sizes from a local packaging company, who charged a fortune, but I had little choice - I don't drive, due to epilepsy. I packed around 10 boxes a day and finished on day 12, with just bedding and a few clothes to pack remaining. I had over 120 boxes and packages, stacked four high in my bedsit. 

The removal guy arrived on the afternoon of the 18th of August, with his long wheelbase panel van and additional trailer. Then the work started. He had to stay with the van, whilst I humped all the boxes and some furniture down two flights of stairs. He couldn't help bring things down, because of the risk of something being stolen - London is a dangerous place!

We finished three and a half hours later. He departed immediately to Dover and I took my now packed suitcase and cabin bag and checked in at a local hotel in Clapham for the night, having a dram with a friend in the evening.  The next day (19th) I went back to the bedsit, met with the owner and handed the keys back. I left that afternoon, for Gatwick Airport. I stayed a further night in a Gatwick hotel, next to the terminal, for a 4am check-in on the 20th, for the flight to Sofia.

I arrived at Sofia Airport, around 11.30am and the estate agent was there to meet me and drive the three and a half hours to VT. We stopped a few times for coffees.

Arriving in VT, we went immediately to the apartment owner's office and signed the necessary documents. I'd already transferred a deposit to him.

I felt very proud of myself, getting this far, especially as only 20 months earlier, I was on my back with a hip broken in four places, to which I endured two operations - the latter being a total hip replacement, which was the result of a serious work accident, that I also suffered ptsd from. I sued the employer and won.

It was a special moment opening the door to my new apartment. For ten years in London, I'd lived in just one room - a poor quality of life and for six and a half years, I did a back breaking job in a mainstream supermarket, working often, 75 hours per week. I now felt I'd escaped that horrible life, horrible job and horrible environment.

My first task in my new home was to buy some food, which, wasn't too difficult, with both the fruit and veg market down the end of my road and a supermarket next to it. I was in business! Of course, not knowing how things properly work, that didn't go entirely to plan... I'd naturally assumed the supermarket would have sensible carriers - errrmm no... They had weird looking cloth sacks, that could only carry a handful of items and had ridiculously long handles - I needed eight to carry my shopping! Hey ho, I heaved them back to the apartment, thankfully, there was a lift in the block!

After putting the food away, I rested for the remainder of the day, going out for a meal later on. I had no bedding, or kitchenware, so I checked in at a local hotel for two nights.

The second day, I searched Google maps for places to buy bedding, as I discovered my UK bedding was the wrong size. I went to Jysk, which was a bit of a hike, as I had no clue which bus would take me there. But still, I managed it, and Jysk called me a cab to return home with my heavy shopping.

I made lunch in the apartment and sat at my balcony table and chairs, taking in the attractive trees and street view.

Day three (22nd) the removal guy, his wife and another guy arrived and we unloaded my stuff. Having the garage at street level, was a godsend, as a lot went straight in there. I had marked every box and package, with where to place them.

The first week after my things arrived, was a mixture of unpacking and buying things I needed. It was a challenge trying to find places to buy things, but I did well and, I have to say, Google maps really helps.

The language was obviously going to be a barrier, but, that didn't stop me, Google Translate, assisted me at every scenario, whether it was buying lights, electricals, bedding or pharmaceuticals, Google translate came out and I just showed  assistants what I wanted in Bulgarian text.

After a week, I'd pretty much unpacked - just a few boxes left and all the empty boxes were folded flat and put down in the garage.

It was now time to sort out obtaining a residency card. I contacted the estate agent, who would help me. Unfortunately, this guy wasn't always that reliable - he was fine getting the apartment and picking me up from Sofia, but getting important necessary steps done to obtain a residency card was tedious.  The first step was getting a bank account. I managed to get the documentation myself, through my landlord and a notary, to supply to the bank, in order to open the account. I also had all the other details they needed, such as income etc., nonetheless, it took three weeks to open!

In the meantime, I obtained private medical insurance, from a local broker (SDI).

If you don't have a residency id card, you cannot register with the public health service, but in order to get an id, you need health insurance, so private has to suffice. Thankfully, it wasn't expensive, just 180 Leva for one year.

Finally my bank account was open. It was a learning curb and a trial of my patience, as to the bureaucracy of Bulgarian form filling!

I gave up on the estate agent after the bank account was opened and switched to another Bulgarian guy, everyone on Facebook was recommending... And a great guy he was too! He made sure I had everything I needed to apply for the residency id. We then went together, to the KAT office and started the process. I chose an express service, which meant I could collect the card in seven days. The KAT office want proof of the following... Bulgarian Bank account details, debit card details, passport, proof of income, health insurance certificate and proof of address and the right to stay there. A week later I proudly collected my 5 year residency card, which, because Brexit hadn't officially happened yet, was a full EU type card.

It was now the middle of September and whilst applying for residency, I was exploring more and more. I learnt where many of the mainstream stores were, DIY, bedding, clothing, supermarkets, barber shops etc., I was socialising with expats at a local bar and had met many people.  I was thoroughly enjoying Veliko Tarnovo. But life's never boring... I was in the bar one day and the wife of the removal guy introduced me to a lady, who clearly liked me. Cut a long story short, we had a short fling. It was short, just two weeks and it ended, when I found out she was seeing someone else at the same time - my, now, wife's ex! Yep, she was seeing the same guy my wife was dumped by!  I found this out, when I met my wife to be. We met the first time in the same bar in VT, only really by accident, as the existing lady was talking with other men and went and sat at a table, where she was sitting. We chatted a little and exchanged numbers. I left with the existing lady and went off to dinner with friends. That weekend the short fling ended and I contacted my future wife and went to lunch with her. She told me about her appalling relationship with this guy and how she had been dumped and how she thought he was seeing someone else. Well, the next day, I'm back in the bar and certain people in the know, told me he was seeing my ex fling. Whilst I was in the bar, my wife to be, texted me and asked to meet up. The rest is history, I went to her apartment on the edge of VT and from there everything grew. It was love at first sight.

It was silly to keep two apartments, so I moved in with her and her kids. I kept paying the rent on my apartment, as I could store all my stuff there.  But we decided in late November, that we would move to Varna, as that was her home city - she'd never really wanted to move to VT.

We moved on 10th December to Varna, again, using an expat removal guy, but with a bigger vehicle - in fact we needed two vehicles.  By now I'd moved 3 times in just 4 months! It was worth the hard work!

We rented in Varna for 16 months and then last year in April, bought our own place.

We married in Varna, in May 2021, which in itself, was a challenge with all the bureaucracy, having to deal with both the Bulgarian and UK authorities and the Covid restrictions.

Have I looked back?  No.  Do I miss the UK and London?  No, not one iota.

Would I return?  Definitely not.

Do I miss anything?  Sometimes - custard, Marmite, fruit pies and sponge puddings, but I've found a way to buy those.

Have I been back to the UK to visit? Yes, to visit my aunt in Weston Super Mare - flew direct to Bristol.

Do I miss my friends? Yes I do, but we speak on the telephone every few days.

What do I like about Bulgaria?  Independence, Autonomy, low tax rate, low cost of living, beautiful country, great people - I have embraced Bulgarian culture and food. Good health service.

Dislikes?  Bad roads and pavements!

Feel free to ask me questions!

Ian

• Very beautiful story. Love is everywhere in Bulgaria.

@cyberescue1 that's a really lovely story Ian. ❤

@Anastasija_gust thank you Anastasija.

@grumpyoldbird thank you Elaine.   I should add, I wasn't remotely thinking of getting involved with anybody when I arrived, but, as they say, it always happens when you're not looking!

Beautiful story. I read it two times.

Hello everyone,

Wow @cyberescue1👏🏽

Thank you so much for taking the time to share such a beautiful story with us.

It is more than inspiring.

Cheers,

Cheryl

Expat.com team

@Cheryl thank you for the opportunity Cheryl 😊

@Anastasija_gust "twice"