New members of the Bulgaria forum, introduce yourself here - 1st quarter of 2015

Hi, I'm Lawrence. I'm from the US living in Chicago, headed to Plovdiv as soon as I get my visa sorted. I am an advertising creative director specializing in brand & marketing strategy, available for project work in the US and EU. I'm the social type, love to cook and take photos. I can't wait to really explore Bulgaria. Once here, my first task will be to start learning Bulgarian.

best,

Lawrence

Welcome Lawrence I too love to cook, the food in BG is fantastic!!! You can not fail to get a tasty filling dish or two and those really awsome little coffee's mmmm coffee......... oops!
Good luck mastering the language I would like to learn it too even just to know why my GPS yells abuse at me when I am out driving around the country!
Best wishes mate hope you enjoy this chapter!
Steve.

Hi Steve,
Thanks for the note. I looked up where your house is located, looks beautiful. If you are ever in the Plovdiv area, by all means look me up.

Cheers.

Lawrence

Hello Lawrence,

Welcome to Expat.com!

Thank you for your this introduction.

Please do not hesitate to start a new topic if you have any questions on the Bulgaria forum.

Thank you,
All the best,
Christine

Hi all
        We have lived in Bulgaria for 2 years .I read the forum regular i find it useful
     info on here.
                                       DIESEL

Hello, I am VillageGirl. Been living in Bulgaria for nearly 10 years; the first five in Sofia, now in a village near Plovdiv, Hope to make some acquaintances on forum and give/get information and advice about living here.

Hi Lawrence,

Welcome to Bulgaria (when you get here). My husband lived in Chicago years ago. We live near Plovdiv and would be happy to meet you sometime.

VillageGirl

Hello everybody I'am Karim from Tunisia, I have a job proposal in Sofia, capital of Bulgaria the job is a technical support agent in a company named Convergys/stream (actually I work at the same company in Tunisia) I want to have an idea living costs per month in Sofia and if you have any idea of the salaries of such jobs in call centers
thank you very much

Hi everyone, john from Ireland and I'm in Burgas. I'm only half an expat as I split my time between working  here and in Ireland - do I lose half my rights to the forum then?? 

Be glad to meet up with anyone in Burgas to swap experiences. Not least my astonishment that Burgas has been wetter than Ireland this last 6 months - 'Clare to God, it's true...

Watch out watch out there will be a stroller about??.....................................

Hi Stroller,,How are you?,,Life in Sofia ok?,,been so busy in uk,gearing up for big move to VT,,very excited,,,

Hi Eddie,
All great herein Sofia. I'm moving to a new apartment tomorrow so I'm busy packing etc. Didn't realise that I could buy so many pairs of boots and shoes in a few months:-)

How's your packing going?  Do you know many people in VT?

Good knowing all ok in Sofia,,Not packing yet,,Just flying over for a week 2nd march to finalise everything,,Then hoping to move out to VT April,,,yes i have a few friends in the area,who i am meeting,they have been helping me with loads of info,,Few jobs to be done,which i am looking forward to,,really excited about move,, eddie

Ahem Miss Stroller,
question......... why do you have so many shoes and boots woman you only got one pair of feet haha!!!!!!!!
(yeah yeah go on tell me I would'nt, could'nt understand you'd not be the first!)
lfc v ev nil nil!!!!

Hi All ! Is this a thread for Bulgarians who live/ work in Brussels?

Hello everyone,

Just a quick reminder that this thread has been created for the new members to introduce themselves. It would be great if we could all stick to the topic of the thread and avoid being off-topic, please. If you have any other topic you wish to talk to about, please do not hesitate to create a new thread on the Bulgaria forum.

________________________________________________________________________
Hello Nona Luna,

This thread is actually for all expats who are looking to settle down in Bulgaria or who are already are in Bulgaria to introduce themselves. Can you tell us something about you please? Are you an expat in Bulgaria?

Thank you,

Shaazia
Expat.com Team

Hi, I am a Bulgarian Considering to move to Brussels for a few months and looking for job opportunities either in english/ german..

Hey all! I'm a Norwegian expat who moved to Sofia 3 months ago. I live here with my husband (who's Bulgarian). I've looked for some jobs, but no luck so far. I spend my time indoors mostly, trying to learn Bulgarian.

I like to be here, even though the weekdays can be a little slow when I'm alone. Bulgarians are friendly and think it's very cute when you (try) to speak their language.

Hej,

It depends where you live , in Sofia , you can find easily some jobs in some IT/customers  calls centers , Norske / Svensk are pretty rare and wanted , I do not see any issue for you to negociate a good wage.On the seaside there is lot ressort in Sunny Beach/Nessbar, the menu is even written in scandinavian languages and I believe that Norvegians natives can find also some work , many scandinavians come here for cheap holidays .

Good luck and Welcome,

regards,

Hi looking to buy in Bulgaria have no idea where to start. Any help great fully appreciated

Hi Frankie you need to consider a few basic things, the Airport you would commute to and from, the type of area you would like, countryside, mountain retreat, near the coast, in a city?
The age and condition of the house, and the type of house size requirments?
The local towns and surrounding arears, all schools, police station, church, railway,then bars,shops, stores, petrol stations, etc...
I would get a map of the country and look where you want to consider then search on-line for any information on these places, house prices, employment if required??
It is a big and varied place I went for a countryside retreat it is a peacefull village and the views are spectacular, you open the door on to rolling hills, and cattle bells and chickens in the background, with a few neighbours around, I have renovated my property using a local builder and his team, and welcome you to the country and wish you well in your search?
Cheers Steve.

Hi everyone ~ my friend and I are moving to a village near Veliko Turnovo this year, probably May time. So looking forward to the move And the journey. We plan to take a steady drive out, fitting in as much of the beautiful scenery as we can (via France, Germany, and wherever else we can  )
I will be reading through some of the links on here to get a taste of what's in store, and also perhaps make new friends to meet up with at some point. It would be particularly great to hear from anyone who lives in the area we are moving to.
Looking forward to chatting ☺
Lezlee

Hi Lezlee,,Good luck with your move to BG,,i am moving to a small village in VT called Vinograd in March,,i am a couple of years off retiring age,but excited about big move,,Got so much info off expats on forums and friends i know in area i am moving to,,i am driving over ,,route planned also,,just bought a second hand 4x4 i am taking over,,my eldest daughter is going to follow later,,,if you need any info,just ask,ok,,,Regards eddie

Also, my friend is saying that we have to pay 20% tax on 'Everything' we bring with us in import tax (from clothing to furniture & bedding, to camera, laptop and personal things). Can someone please advise on this please. Many thanks ☺

No you don't have to pay import tax on personal itms, regardless of what they are

Hello, my name is Danial Barncord, I currently live in Texas and am planning on moving to Bulgaria beginning of next year. We have been looking at houses on the internet and plan on a trip there in September to look and buy a house. What do I need to watch out for? Do I need to get a lawyer from there? Is there any company I should stay away from?

Thanks

I didn't bring import tax on anything I brought with me. However, I had personal belongings shipped to me recently, all old clothes, journals, pictures etc. and I had to pay import tax on them of about 40 bgn. As far as I understand, you get one time that you can not pay import tax on personal items, and they recommend saving that one time for when you are shipping your household or large items like a car or boat over.

Hello Danial, it is alway a good idea to have an attorney, most importantly have him check if the tile of the house is clear, I've heard ppl here selling properties that owe back taxes and/or are not theirs. As far as real estate agencies go the one I used to find my apt with is good in my personal experience (Явлена). As I'm sure you know when buying a property everything is negotiable and remember that Bulgaria is deffenately a buyers market so make sure you get a good deal. Good luck, Kris

Beautifull country and bless land, it's Bulgaria.
With the green spot and park's all around
Sofia with Vitousha mountain as backround I m in wonderland <3 <3 <3

Hello everyone,

I am currently a member on the Turkey (Izmir) forum, and would like to relocate to Bulgaria.

How can I make this my the Bulgaria forum my "homepage"?

sithrica wrote:

Hej,

It depends where you live , in Sofia , you can find easily some jobs in some IT/customers  calls centers , Norske / Svensk are pretty rare and wanted , I do not see any issue for you to negociate a good wage.On the seaside there is lot ressort in Sunny Beach/Nessbar, the menu is even written in scandinavian languages and I believe that Norvegians natives can find also some work , many scandinavians come here for cheap holidays .

Good luck and Welcome,

regards,

Hey I live in Sofia. I have applied for a few customer/callcenter jobs, and Swedish does seem to be more wanted than Norwegian. While I have a decent understanding of Swedish, I can't really write it like a native. Secondly, I have no previous experience with these kinds of jobs nor any education higher than secondary/high school. Guess I'll keep trying.

I would also be interested in learning more Bulgarian - does anyone have any experience with the different schools/institutions here (especially Sofia)? Quality, price, and whatever else.

Hello Daiime,

If learning Bulgarian is important for your work/life he you can check Accent Language School, they are know to be the best in this fiel, though they work mainly with corporate clients I think.

Daiime wrote:

sithrica wrote:

Hej,

It depends where you live , in Sofia , you can find easily some jobs in some IT/customers  calls centers , Norske / Svensk are pretty rare and wanted , I do not see any issue for you to negociate a good wage.On the seaside there is lot ressort in Sunny Beach/Nessbar, the menu is even written in scandinavian languages and I believe that Norvegians natives can find also some work , many scandinavians come here for cheap holidays .

Good luck and Welcome,

regards,

Hey I live in Sofia. I have applied for a few customer/callcenter jobs, and Swedish does seem to be more wanted than Norwegian. While I have a decent understanding of Swedish, I can't really write it like a native. Secondly, I have no previous experience with these kinds of jobs nor any education higher than secondary/high school. Guess I'll keep trying.

I would also be interested in learning more Bulgarian - does anyone have any experience with the different schools/institutions here (especially Sofia)? Quality, price, and whatever else.

Well I think you should not be shy , I am working for a IT company as system engineer and believe me the fact that you do not have technical skills is not big problem actually in the company where I am ( mb the biggest IT company in BG ) , more than 60% do not have technical background connected to IT - softskills are more important in their case. The fact that you speak ( and here i can see also that BG who pretend to master french do not ... )a scare langage here  is great advantage. You re native scandinavian .I know that SWE-NO-DK are like brother langage ,FYI -  I tried to learn swedish for some time.  Give a try , you have nothing to loose , I rather think that also you can be pampered ( foreigner from western countries have some bonus for the sympathy) by your management .
Good Luck.

I'll be living in Plovdiv in early April.

Hi,
I just saw your note, let's meet for a coffee/drink, I'd love to connect and have a few questions about learning the language and buying a car. Your husband lived in Chicago? I am in Evanston and can see the skyline out my window. I love Chicago but am very excited to be coming to Plovdiv.

I plan on arriving on April 5, my type D visa is being processed.

Best,

Lawrence

Hi Lawrence,

Cannot manage to pm you, yet. Let me know when you arrive in Plovdiv. We will be happy to meet you in the city. In the meantime, I will try to figure out how to navigate the pm feature on the site.

VillageGirl

VillageGirl wrote:

Hi Lawrence,

Cannot manage to pm you, yet. Let me know when you arrive in Plovdiv. We will be happy to meet you in the city. In the meantime, I will try to figure out how to navigate the pm feature on the site.

VillageGirl

To activate your PM system you first have to post a certain number of times. The posts have to be informative and topical. This is done to prevent people from joining up then flooding the system with spam emails. 
You could try contacting admin for details by going to the bottom of this page and click on 'contact us'