I'm moving to Bulgaria in April from Chicago

Hey there,

Should you have any concerns and questions about living here, please contact me.

Nacho

Hi Nacho,

Thank you for reaching out! My main concern right now is finding a job, so I CAN live in Bulgaria haha. Do you have any helpful tips for someone who speaks only English (American) looking for a job that can get them a work visa? Best,

-Donald

Well, english language is never enough here, as you might get surprised... a lot of people speak it fluently. Sofia is your greatest chance. All other cities are far behind in regards to mentality and job opportunities. Sofia is a s***e though. I don't like the city and its people, but this what it is. Average salary there is 800-900 euro. You can try with a mountain resort as well, but that would be very optimistic.

Hello everyone,

just to inform you that this new thread has been created from your posts on the Sofia forum for better interaction.

@ Donald, feel free to read the different topics (under the categories) of the forum.

All the best,
Bhavna

Hi Donald,

Teaching English is actually a natural starting point and always an option for people from England and the USA. Especially if having some teacher training/experience and/or realted University degree.

I own a language school in Sofia and will be interested to see you once you arrive.

Best regards,

Kristiann

As for a visa based on a job here, I do not have advice. But you could look into a visa based on freelancing if you have any skills that you can use freelancing. From what I understand it might be one of the easier ways (barring marriage) to get a Bulgarian long-term visa.

Depends on your skills. IT pays very well considering cost of living. Call centers pay decently I believe and if you're young without children to worry about, could work. There are Western companies which would value English but again, depends on what you can do for them or convince them you can do.

Had a friend from CA who lived in Sofia for 13 years teaching English. Made enough to live on and loved it. Freelancing is a good option to. In the states it can be tough to live off it but you must consider if you're freelancing and getting paid in USD for say, writing of some kind, that money transfers very well to the BG economy where most things are pretty cheap. Could you right now in Chicago find a way to do freelance writing for $1500 per month? You can't live off that in Chitown but that's like 2500 leva a month and you'd be living very well in Sofia.

You have until April. I highly suggest figuring a way to work over the internet and remotely and earn in USD. Then remember the cost of living in Sofia. I suggest 1500-2K leva per month at least. But that's only 1K- 1500 USD per month.

If you want to teach English, get your CELTA.  Don't do it online, take the in class course.  It's about a month long course, and is worth every penny you spend on it and the gruelling hours spent to complete it.  Additionally it's good to have if you make teaching abroad a career or even a short term career, as it's recognized and respected world wide and each class is audited by a person from Cambridge.  For some of the countries that pay more and that are harder to get into, this is sometimes a bare minimum requirement besides a BA.  With this, it's even better if you have a BA / MA in English or you are a state certified teacher.

http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teachin … ons/celta/

Good luck!

Easiest job to get is in a call center, I literally think call centers employ half the city    I got 3-4 friends doing that. As far as visa you should hire an immigration attorney, I doubt you'll have any problems getting one.