People Are Quietly Leaving Bulgaria… Here’s Why

We're Fresh Startsticks, a family of five who left the UK and bought a house in rural Bulgaria, searching for a reset and more freedom. But something doesn't feel right. And it's not just us. Brits rushed to Bulgaria, but now many are quietly leaving. For years, Bulgaria has been seen as one of Europe's last affordable escapes. Bulgaria has now officially adopted the Euro, becoming part of the Eurozone. And while that sounds like progress, it's also bringing something else with it. Inflation is sitting around 7% and people on the ground are starting to feel it. The question that a lot of you guys have been asking, is it still worth the escape to Bulgaria? We're very sick today. However, the work does not stop. We've got to sort out our wood stock. We're coming to the end of winter and we need to move this from here and put it over there. We need to remove this whole fence. All of that behind me is going and we're putting a new fence there and we're going to relocate the wood over to the other side because we don't want it anywhere near the house. Hello. Hello. Well, you know what today is going to be like. I'm going to be standing there watching him do all the work. No, it's actually a Bulgarian thing to stand and watch five people watch one person do the work. So I expect it to be fair. I'll go grab all the kids then. No, it's all right. That's where the wood stock is going to be. We're going to move that zinc stuff off the top there as well and replace it with something else. Aren't we, Chris? Aren't I? Yeah, we are because that is not safe. You keep telling me and if I don't listen I'll look with a black eye again. Black, you won't be ending up with any eye. We went out the other day and we took the boat car out as you guys saw and we met some of our villagers and that was quite interesting because that was actually one of the first times that we met a lot of the people that's actually in the village and it was so nice. You know, very welcoming. They were like, hi, how are you? There was a couple there that could speak a little bit of English and pretty much now every time we go past them it's like How's it go? Well, it is, isn't it? Yeah, I think so. Not drastic or dober den or something Bulgarian. Okay, well if you can get me some gloves I can actually help you. Sounds like a plan. A lot of British and a lot of foreigners have rushed over to Bulgaria and unfortunately sometimes they do make mistakes. They buy a house that they haven't got the funds to renovate. They move somewhere where they can't find work. They move over to Bulgaria and they don't integrate. This can have negative effects on people's experience when they move abroad. People in Bulgaria say that they feel lonely and they're suffering from loneliness. A lot of that happens in Bulgaria. Especially when you're rural, right? Garlic shoots are coming up here. They're quite hardy plants as I said last time when I was planting it. We've got another one there, this one here, got one here and another one there. In here is the potatoes. We have some potatoes here as well. Yeah, so I'm not sure what I'm going to put in that space here but we have got cucumbers and we've got peas and other beans as well. There's already a trellis in this area and I think I might continue to use the trellis to grow things that run on a trellis. This here, it may already be grapes. It's a different type of grape to what we've got over there. This one is larger grapes I've been told. The other ones that we have are more wine grape, more rakiya. A lot of the trees are actually bearing this year. It's bearing, there's loads. That tree there is doing very well. Chris cut that one down and it's already bearing. The walnut tree is starting to bear as well. This year might be a good year. We tidied up the trees last year. We might find that this year we get an even bigger bloom than what we expected. Dirt along here does get very dry so you've got to You can still find cheap properties in Bulgaria. You can still find community. You can still find a little bit of freedom. There are a few things that are changing in Bulgaria as a result of things like the war in the Middle East. The inflation has skyrocketed and they are having a small energy crisis too. These are things that you need to consider if you're thinking about moving to Bulgaria. I'll definitely give you guys an update on the electricity invoice we just Yeah and a lot of people break up too. I think the last time I thought about this, breaking up and doing things together was normally through camping and putting up tents and now in Bulgaria a lot of people are breaking up just by moving to Bulgaria. Moving abroad is very stressful especially when you're leaving behind all of your networks, your support and you're moving somewhere completely new and you don't know the language and then you've got to try and integrate, get to know the language, settle in a place that you're happy in. If you're rural or you've got a house that you then need to renovate, it's all of that on top. So there is a steady incline of people actually coming to Bulgaria more so than those leaving. That's changed quite a lot since 2021. There was more people leaving than people coming so you'll find that a lot of people are actually seeing that there is a benefit in coming to Bulgaria. However, like we said, there are some drawbacks. A lot of people come here as well and buy homes on weekly or monthly payment plans and that's obviously a no-no because if you haven't got any steady income coming in and you miss a payment, you potentially could lose your home and then you're homeless within Bulgaria. If you can't buy cash, it's a dangerous place to be unless you've got guaranteed income. I'm not talking about pensions, I mean guaranteed income. Pension's not an income, that's something you've earned, that's something that was owed to you. Income is when you're working and actually getting paid for the job. You don't want to be living on your pension and then that's disappearing through buying a property, you still probably need to do so I think it's very wise not to be too excited and jump at deals where it seems like you just pay a small amount every month and you pay whenever you pay off and that could be 20 years from now and within that 20 years or five years, something can happen and you do not have any income and you're stuck in Bulgaria and you will lose your property. And that can have a negative effect on people and cause them to go home. At the moment, land and property is still reasonably cheap. Saying that, if you're buying now as a newcomer, you are probably going to be forced to buy in as a company name, which could be a negative. You basically don't own the home until you pay for it or until you become a resident within five years and then maybe you can apply to own the property as an owner. When you buy a house within the company status, you will have to also submit annual returns. A lot of people are finding that that instability is not really what they wanted. They would prefer to own the property outright and the land and not have to continuously doing this submission every year. For us at the moment, our annual submission with our accountant is around 50 euros per year. There is an extra cost that you've got to consider. And some people don't want the hassle of submitting accounts for the property or the home where you live. So in that case, that can be very annoying because it just feels like you're constantly asking someone else every single year regarding the property you should own. The war in the Middle East, it is still having a direct effect on inflation in Bulgaria. So what we're finding is that the cost of food and the cost of living is going up. The Bulgarian government has said that they are trying to protect the consumer and making sure that prices don't rise above what consumers can afford. However, in real terms, this is not being felt and it is having a real impact on their disposable income. So a lot of people are finding that they have less money to actually live their life. Bulgaria was supposed to be the place where you found freedom and you had a little bit more time and money to spend on yourself and your family. It's changed since we first came and things have gotten more and more expensive. And myself, even though there's a lot of things that are cheaper than you can find elsewhere in Europe, it's still now creeping up to almost European values. And that's very concerning for the local Bulgarians who are finding it very hard. And now you're adding a mix of expats from Europe and also the UK who are coming here looking for a better life and finding out that things are not as easy as they thought it would be. For those of you coming out and looking to buy a plot of land, trust me, land takes time. It takes money. It can be very daunting. It can be very stressful. And the minute you've dug it up, it grows back again. The minute you cut it, it grows back again. And you just got to be constantly maintaining your land. If you're thinking of coming to Bulgaria and doing other things other than looking after your land, I'd rethink that very, very carefully or opt for a house with smaller land or move to a slightly more urban area where you've got a smaller garden and you can grow, you know, reasonable quantities of food to keep you and your family. But if you're going to go rural, trust me, you're going to be spending a lot of time working your garden. In rural Bulgaria, you definitely have the freedom to be able to grow your food. You've got lots of land out here and you can buy the properties at quite reasonable prices. Saying that, when you live rural, you're going to realise that jobs are not plentiful and money is not plentiful in these rural areas. So if you are of retirement age, that can be a benefit and also a negative for you. But if you are working age and you're looking to seek opportunity within Bulgaria, you may not find it here. I'll be honest with you, it's very hard. It's very hard in most places outside of Sofia and even then, it's certain industries like telesales and that kind of stuff. And outside, it's rural, it's more hands-on work like, you know, property development, well, building properties, labouring. And even then, Bulgarians are favoured before English or Europeans are. So you've got to be very careful about Bulgaria and you've got to be prepared to go outside of Bulgaria and do things or try to create something as long as you've got the right permits within your area and doing a business that could benefit locals. And that might actually become a very, very good thing to do. But I don't see many Westerners or foreigners doing that in Bulgaria. It just seems like finding an English-owned or European-owned business is very rare, apart from the big corporates, which is very weird. So that's why I was disappointed about Bulgaria. Their entrepreneurship has not been allowed to flourish here. If you're looking to find a job in Bulgaria, have a flourishing income, you will need to live near to Sofia. I think it was saying the other day that some of the job posts were actually saying Bulgarians first, firstly, and they were saying that you need to be based living in Sofia. So that's going to be, if you want to live rurally, you've got to bear in mind that you will struggle to make an income. If you work remotely or you have an online business, that's perfectly fine. Living in rural Bulgaria allows you to have the time and work online. And you have got very good internet service. We have no problems with that. But if you are looking to come over here and find an income from the local economy, you will definitely need to be closer to Sofia because that's where it is. If you are looking for other areas outside of Sofia, Plovdiv, Pleven, Stara Zagora, those kind of places will have more jobs. But again, ask for the prices you're asking in Europe or the UK. It doesn't work in Bulgaria. I've seen people come and try it. It just doesn't work. They're not going to pay over the odds. Because what you'll find in Bulgaria is that a lot of people are talented. A lot of people can fix their own roofs and fix their own plumbing. And if they can't, they'll make it work. So your price will determine whether they go with you or not or do it themselves. And that's how I feel as well. We're happy to pay a fair price, but we're not going to get ripped off because it's just what it is. It's a Bulgarian economy. So you need to be fair with everyone. Come with a plan, come with a mindset, come to create a business or service that everyone needs in the local village. We know lots of people where we are would love to use a plumber or electrician. So if you've got those skills, you can use those skills to help people out and make reasonable money to live a very good life in Bulgaria without being classed as too expensive. The Bulgarian stock exchange is actually doing very well compared to various years before. And so a lot of people are still asking the question whether it is still worth investing in Bulgaria. Bulgaria is still one of the less developed countries in Europe. So if you're looking to still remain in Europe and find a more simpler way of living, then Bulgaria still has it. You will have to just bear in mind that things are going up. When you come here, it's not going to stay the same. So again, long term plan in Bulgaria. If you come here, don't think you're going to come here and sit down and things are going to stay cheap forever. Be prepared if it does get more expensive, are you going to stay here? And if you're not going to stay, there's nothing wrong with that. If you've got to leave and find something better for you in two years time, three years time, you don't feel pressured to stay somewhere that doesn't work for you. You can come here for two or three years, enjoy it, but don't come thinking it's going to stay the same because it's like Elaine said, it's developing. When something develops, it changes. It goes more expensive and it will benefit the likes of the bigger corporations who've got the billions of dollars to throw in this country and to reap the benefit and to control certain areas within Bulgaria. So you've got to think about this. If you are coming here, make sure you've got a long term plan financially to keep yourself. If it does go the other way of not being cheap and it becomes Germany in terms of cost. The cost of building materials have gone through the roof and where something was a thousand pounds for materials, it's now become close to eight thousand pounds and that's where we must be savvy. We've managed to get some cheaper deals than that, but you've got to really work really hard and you've got to get lots of quotes from people, even recommendations from people turn out to be more expensive than ones we've found ourselves. So you've got to do your own work and save money that way and do not rush into anything. If you come to Bulgaria, scout the place out, go to every single hardware store you can in your area before you need the stuff and write down all the stuff you need and compare all the prices so we do need it, you know exactly where to go because we've done that and we did that in the first place. We bought something and thought that's reasonable. We've gone to the shop next door down the road and it's like four left cheaper and then we've gone to another one, 10 left cheaper and you think whoa. But now as we go around I think what do I need and I think let me just go into this hardware store to see if they've got it in. I'm surprised I make a note of it and when I do need it I know where I'm going first rather than losing lots of money because throughout the year that can work out to hundreds if not thousands of pounds you spent which you didn't need to spend. A lot of people have moved to Bulgaria and they're realising that the visa process is extremely difficult and it's long. Bulgaria is pushing for pensioners to come over and live in the country and you can get your visa quite easily. Another way of people getting their visas in Bulgaria is through marriage. So if you marry a Bulgarian you can get your visa very easily. That's what Elaine did with me. What? I'm black Bulgarian. They've just recently released the digital nomad visa and so you can also get your visa that way as well. However if you don't have a contract in Bulgaria or if you're not a digital nomad or if you're not a pensioner or married to someone that is Bulgarian you're going to find it very difficult to move over to Bulgaria and get your visa D. And also what you got to remember is all of this entails you going back on the plane or boat on a car and going back to the UK just to fill in some paperwork. Yes I know it sounds stupid. And it's for the paperwork to come all the way back to Sofia. Yeah so you fill in the paperwork in London, central London by the way, then the paperwork gets DXed back to Bulgaria and Sofia. Then you've got to wait until you get the acknowledgement saying you've been cleared to come and then you come back to Bulgaria to collect your papers in Sofia. Every year in total this can cost you in excess of two and a half thousand pounds. That's one cost that a lot of people did not plan for and even though you may get your visa for one year, the next year things may change, criterias, regulations may change and then you've got to do it all over again and that's costing you again another two and a half thousand pounds. And don't get me wrong prices may go up so it may be three four thousand pounds this time. So that's one of the biggest problems and that's one of the biggest reasons people are quietly selling their things in Bulgaria and moving back home or moving to another country. I would say this though for those of you who are not sure and everything we've said to you is kind of like we're not sure about Bulgaria it's a beautiful place but there's other countries like Serbia which is very very easy and Hungary you don't have to go back to the UK. There are countries you can escape to and have an easier time getting a For instance Serbia you can buy a property it can be one thousand or two thousand euros and that qualifies you to get a visa as long as the property is livable and I've looked online and you can still see properties for that kind of money and it's not actually as bad as the ones I've seen in Bulgaria. And the one that surprised me the most and this one surprised me the most is Portugal. Portugal is still relatively easy to move to and get a visa and the properties for 15,000 euros you can still buy a property that's not derelict and not falling down and you got all year weather which is not minus 22 in the winter. So those are countries you can do your research on this because not every country is going to suit everyone. Portugal may not suit people Bulgaria might if you like dogs and if you don't like dogs you better start liking them. But you know you just got to be you got to look at it if Bulgaria doesn't sound like it's for you come and try out try before you buy if you can stay rent somewhere cheap because there's some places that you can find on a short of six months just try it out for yourself go and see the area or if not then look around see what you actually want from your life and consider other countries what can actually settle. One thing people in Bulgaria for is because they cannot find things that stimulate them it could be anything from doing martial arts it could be paragliding it could be skiing it could whatever it was these countries have these things but may not be what you want it to be. Like my situation Bulgaria is not really a boating culture I like to go somewhere like Greece or Turkey what's got a lot of nice blue sea ocean and is all year-round weather so therefore I've got to decide how I use my time in Bulgaria and also somewhere else to get that whether I travel to these countries for three or four months and enjoy it and come back or we get a second home. We found that if you're going to live in rural Bulgaria your kids may find it a they would do in a city for example in Plovdiv or maybe Sofia but we do need to travel out to maybe the nearest place for us would be Riliko Tarnovo main city for your kids to be stimulated to do something. With kids as well you've got to look at the opportunities they've got growing up the opportunities there are different to what you're going to find in Europe especially the UK in UK they've got more opportunities to do more things where Bulgaria again what I can see around me in the general field of Bulgaria lots of farming lots of development work. I try to read all the comments where we can we get so many messages privately as well as on so we do try and keep up to speed we appreciate each and every one of you for messaging with all your comments good or bad right or wrong it doesn't matter this what we're here for is to speak and communicate as humans and see where we can all be better in our lives and do things better for ourselves as well but be nice but be nice what's wrong with you lot was always it's always me as well it's his fault it's always my fault you know I'm a nice guy but like I said be nice because as I said we've never proclaimed to be experts at doing this we're experts at disappearing and turning up in one place and and we'll end up in Russia tomorrow we're experts at doing that you've said Russia so many times in the last three videos right I don't know why but I'm just saying that anyway one of many countries we didn't know it was gonna be in Turkey the other day you know it was something which jumps in our car I slipped and banged my head and then we went to Turkey and I might hopefully not slip again but we might go somewhere else and it could be anywhere it could be Russia like I said it could be anywhere it's one of these countries what it's just saying it seems wrong at the moment but no we don't care we are going to do it anyway and go wherever we want to go and take you guys with us so if you want to come with us on our journey hang on and hit that subscribe button right guys have a lovely week ahead and we'll see you next time have a fantastic day guys bye