New members of the Bulgaria forum, introduce yourselves here - 2019

Hi Kris,
I think that this expat forum don't really works, because answers are from about 2 or 3 years.
regards
Pinkelchen

Actually, it works quite well depending on the specificity of the question.  There also is a Varna forum, but does not seem as active.

Hello David,
Varna, is very nice. So much culture, the beach, good food, and kind people.
The most gypsies are in the villages.

Hello,
you might want to look at Internations.com. They are a social meeting group comprised on expats. There could be a Varna group.

Hi - At least in Sofia, there are seem to be as many Bulgarians as expats in InterNations. Events are in English, except for the Russian subgroup, and another subgroup whose purpose is to practice speaking Bulgarian.

Hi all can someone help me! I am looking for a upvc window company in or around General Toshevo area as I want to replace windows and doors in our new home in Lyulyakovo
Thanks in advance Dave

I paid 10% of the house price at the notary. It also covered the lawyer.

We will move to Plovdiv in December.
I am retired, (Belgian) my daughter is 13, and my wife is Bulgarian.
First we rent an house, to have plenty of time to buy one in the next future, around Plovdiv.
I would like to meet people while having a cozy evening in a cafe and changing the several experiences..

Hi everyone, just registered here, wonder why you must select only one country of interest or only one region / city within that country when you might be looking at 2 or more countries and certainly at more than one region / city within each.

Sorry, had to say that because I was forced to enter information that was not accurate, for no reason at all.

Hello there,
Milford here from Canada!
Planning to explore bulgaria in January 2020 preferably Plovdiv & Stara Zagora..
Has anyone moved there recently?
Open for friendship..

Cheers,
Ford

I have a lot of experience in this.   The culture is that every worker you hire will assume it is a job for life and completion is not as important to them as to you.

You should write out a list of expectations in Bulgarian (translation is on line) with payments only upon completion.   DO NOT pay for any services that are not 100% complete to your satisfaction.

Do not give anyone your credit card.   Be sure that you shop prices and you pay personally for the materials and inventory and secure the materials or they will be stolen--likely from your contractor and returned to the store.

This is not a harsh approach, it is one that responds to the generation of Russian rule and the culture of stealing from the government.  It is totally acceptable in Bulgaria. 

I have been very successful in completion of my properties but have had to fire several subcontractors who refused to play by the agreements.   AND CAMERAS---get them!   Your contractors know where the materials are, where the keys are and guaranteed to be the ones to steal or tip-off someonw who they will split the money with.   No Exceptions. 

John Vann

Plovdiv often,   You will love it.

Pomorie is marginal and is somewhat behind the times.   Close by is Ravda, Sunny Beach and St. Vlas.

It will be years for Pomorie to catch up---Witness the number of large projects that have been left abandoned or incomplete.  It may be cheaper but not by much that either Ravda or St. Vlas.  I just saw a 3 bedroom condo at Diamond that was purchased for E250,000 go for E80,000.   My realtor called me about it and I looked at it but declined.  Why?    Most annual maintenance fees are pocketed by the developer and a close look at these projects will show substantial deferred maintenance that is beginning to devalue units 15 to 20 years old.  It wasn't worth E50,000 in my view because the entire building was deteriorating.  This was a development by a well-known developer.   He is very rich and I suspect he will get richer by collecting fees without repairs. 

I chose to build my own villa and did so very efficiently.  No matter what your budget is you are better off purchasing a separate property where you can control what goes on.   Read the posts about bad neighbors in condo and apartment buildings.   I also have a penthouse in a very high end property.   Now four years later the same thing is happening.   What a shame!     And the cooking odors are another thing to overcome. 

Ravda is a great choice as is St Vlas.   Property prices are on the ropes and you can buy at a fabulous discount.  Restaurants of choice are in Ravda and St Vlas which are now permanent communities.   Sunny Beach is a Spring Break Party all Summer and abandoned in the Winter. 

If you would look south of Burgas the area around Sozopol is also nice. 

Just remember that there are different standards of what certain cultures will accept.

Hello,    It only works as good as we make it and i am trying to do my part as an American Expat who loves it here.

Hello there,

I will be in BG in the second week of January 2020.I am exploring region between Plovdiv & Stara Zagora..Is this nice zone to live in BG?
Could you please assist?

Every place in Bulgaria is good.   good food and good people.

Small villages have a closer-knit community however be careful of gypsies.  Rent in different places till you feel comfortable.   I have homes in St. Vlas and Sofia.   Avoid condos as developers pocked the fees and do not do any maintenance in most properties.

hello, are you looking for permanent living here of just for holidays?  are you planning to work or make your business ?
Yes there are a lot of wonderful and amazing places you can live.

Thanks John!

Hello Rawad,

I am planning to set up Business in BG.

Hence looking for nice area and location to start with.

Thank you!

Hi, I joined the group yesterday, we will be moving just south of Varna in the next year or two.
We have a house and visit 2 to 3 times a year, we don't have a satellite contract, does anyone know if there is a Bulgarian equivalent of Freeview and if so where I can buy it please?
Thanks Lisa

Hi,
try Bulsatcom, I think they are the most popular satelite TV company in Bulgaria.  Their website is www.bulsat.com. Unfortunatelly, I think there is no English version. The premium package is like 16 lev/month (8Euro/month).
One of their offices in Varna is blrd. "Vladislav Varnenchik ''  № 106.
regards
Slav

I have both cable-satellite and have enhanced the service with an Amazon Firestick.  I can obtain many channels for free and also change the language.   You might look at that for part-time use.

hi,
I have found this forum by chance.  I am Bulgarian , but live permanently in London, with my family.
I would like to help with advice and information to people, that wish to settle in Bulgaria.
Regarding your asking, when you are buying a property in Bulgaria, all the taxes should be not more than  4 % of the buying price (there is a small difference in the amount of tax , depending in which area you are buying a property):
Let's say you are buying an apartment in Varna for 100 000 Euro. The total amount that you should pay for all the taxes for the deal is 3 312 Euro.
Have in mind it's way more easy for a non-Bulgarian to buy an apartment than a house.
The reason is, along with the house you are buying the land with it, and at the moment the law says that only Bulgarian citizens could buy land. So , you have to set up a Bulgarian Ltd. company, and then the house along with the land becomes asset of the ltd. company. You have to pay every year to an accountact , to saign off your Ltd. company tax year, althogh you do not have no bisness activity - you still have to pay between 300-500 lv for this service( or maybe more, I move dout long time ago and have not checked the current prices for accountants).
Hope that info was helpful.
regards
Slav

Hi again,
just want to appologize, because it seems my information regarding buying a house with land in Bulgaria by EU citizens  is a bit old. Since 2012 EU citizens  can buy freely house with attached land. But restrictions apply for buying agricultural land.

Hi there

My husband and I live in Cape Town, South Africa.  We are approaching retirement (in a few years' time), and we are contemplating retiring in Bulgaria.  I'd love to make contact with South Africans living in Bulgaria, whether working or retired. 

Thanks
Jax