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Taking into account the enormous increase of foreigners inflow, this is really a very welcoming destination for foreigners. Both for work and for tourism. Business also.

@Cheryl

I've not yet fully moved to BG (in the planning stages, lots to do lol) but I've visited more times than I can count and I've never had a bad experience. Lovely people.

The only challenges you will face are of a more personal nature. For example if you're not Orthodox Christian you likely won't have a place to go worship unless you're willing to drive many many many miles (hundreds in some cases).

Learn the language. Get as much proficiency before you go as you can. The resort areas and tourist spots are often also in English but outside of that you're buggered if you can't speak or read a lick of it. BulgarianPod101 is great for this.

One thing I love about Bulgaria is that if you show them respect (which of course, doesn't even need suggesting) they will show it back x 10. Very helpful people who, if you need their help, will give it to you with their whole chest. One minute you're asking where the grocery store is, next you're being fed meat, cheese and rakia in some random old lady's house haha. 10/10 experiences all round.

Hi all,

While I am seeing many pros in favour of us take a plunge into BG from a Third world country ,can some body here share their personal views/real time experience(s) on the following issues :

(a)聽 Cost. of living聽 ( we know its very cheap (dirt cheap !) from the westerners perspective but may not be the same from the easterners perspective ? Thats a sticky. point.!

(b)聽 Any discrimaition faced there based on univerally experienced factors ?

(c)聽 Is it really worth the try to adopt to the rural/semi-urban BG envoronment there ?

(d) Any one tried some business venture , successfully , as expat ?

( Hope its not too many straight forward Qs)

Namaste and regards 馃檹

Param

Hi all,While I am seeing many pros in favour of us take a plunge into BG from a Third world country ,can some body here share their personal views/real time experience(s) on the following issues a) Cost. of living ( we know its very cheap (dirt cheap !) from the westerners perspective but may not be the same from the easterners perspective ? Thats a sticky. point.!(b) Any discrimaition faced there based on univerally experienced factors ?(c) Is it really worth the try to adopt to the rural/semi-urban BG envoronment there ? (d) Any one tried some business venture , successfully , as expat ?( Hope its not too many straight forward Qs) Namaste and regards 馃檹Param - @PSSA

A - No, it ISN'T "dirt cheap" - those days are long gone.聽 Factoring in taxation etc, it's certainly cheaper than in most other European countries but from what I read about the cost of living in other continents, then no, it isn't cheaper than there.

B - the more you look like a "local ethnic" the more discrimination you're likely to encounter.聽 However, it won't be particularly overt outside the cities, and even there there's not really a problem if you avoid the crowds before and after football matches.聽 You might also need to watch out for some of the European immigrants, who have, with no apparent sense of irony, "come here to avoid immigrants" and feel that calling themselves "expats" places them at some mythical higher position in the social pecking-order.

C- "Worth" is a very individual decision: do I think it's worth me adopting my in-laws' lifestyle, which involves a LOT of backbreaking work in the garden, and previously looking after animals? No way! Produce is cheap enough in Lidl etc not to need to "waste" my time on such things.聽 Does everyone feel the same? No, of course not. Now my in-laws are teetering on the edge of The Final Precipice, I'm not convinced that they'd do it all again if they had the choice - but they didn't during the Commie Paradise days.

D - "Business ventures" come in many forms, and some visas will limit what you can and can't do.聽 Bulgaria is a country which is still very much not run with a regard to what is and isn't lawful, but nonetheless there is no shortage of petty bureaucracy and silly regulations.聽 If you belong to the "shady business" class then you can basically do whatever you please without worrying about officialdom cramping your style (but don't tread on the wrong toes or you'll get a LOT more than a lawyer's letter); if you're just an ordinary person, you'll have to jump through all sorts of hoops to keep the pen-pushers happy.

@jimJ

Thanks for a detailed and insightful analysis. It is helpful for many of us waiting in the queue.

We can鈥檛 rather shouldn鈥檛 be swayed away by the YouTubers 馃槆

@Cheryl
I've not yet fully moved to BG (in the planning stages, lots to do lol) but I've visited more times than I can count and I've never had a bad experience. Lovely people.
The only challenges you will face are of a more personal nature. For example if you're not Orthodox Christian you likely won't have a place to go worship unless you're willing to drive many many many miles (hundreds in some cases).

Learn the language. Get as much proficiency before you go as you can. The resort areas and tourist spots are often also in English but outside of that you're buggered if you can't speak or read a lick of it. BulgarianPod101 is great for this.

One thing I love about Bulgaria is that if you show them respect (which of course, doesn't even need suggesting) they will show it back x 10. Very helpful people who, if you need their help, will give it to you with their whole chest. One minute you're asking where the grocery store is, next you're being fed meat, cheese and rakia in some random old lady's house haha. 10/10 experiences all round. - @GuestPoster339876

Most incomers on this forum, I'd venture to suggest, are neither Orthodox nor likely to drive anywhere to worship. They're also unlikely to gain anything approaching proficiency in Bulgarian (or the language of whatever country it is that they're in) - and quite likely not in English either. That's not particularly a criticism, just an observation from many years of being an "expat" in a number of countries.

It's also worth remembering that the baba who's offering you hospitality is pretty certainly surviving on a totally derisory pension and breaking her back in the garden/with her animals every day of her life, so it behoves you to return her generosity many times over.

In case it's not clear, when I say "you" in my post above, I mean "one" rather than referring to any of us in particular 馃槉

I'm told that using "one" is old-fashioned nowadays...which I indeed am.

@JimJ, nothing wrong with being old-fashioned! As you know, the person your reply is addressed to unfortunately left the forum after their disappointment over the condition of properties for sale in their price range in their chosen area, so they are unlikely to see it. But it should apply to us all -- not to take the Bulgarian villagers' generosity for granted and to give back in whatever ways are most appropriate.

@PSSA, unfortunately, as you indicate, there's a lot of misinformation about Bulgaria on social media. Everyone's experience will be different, but people who are selling something, whether selling the dream to get more views on their website or YT channel or actually selling property or other services, do have an interest in focusing on the positives. (Not dissing all property sellers or YTers, there are also some realistic videos and posts out there too!) I would advise anyone considering moving to Bulgaria visit and stay a good length of time before committing to anything. That won't completely prepare someone for the reality, but it gives some idea. It seems Bulgaria is like the British say about Marmite. People either love it or hate it. I obviously love it and hope I'll continue to do so once I'm living there full-time. But even after six or seven previous trips to the country, my first night in the house I bought online was full of tears and "What have I done?!" self-recrimination. Next trip will be my 15th stay in the house, and the tears are when it's time to leave!