禁漫天堂

I know a guy who got a D visa and residence based on his disability pension, and not being pension age. Not from the US, but I don't think that matters.

Don't bet the farm on the "quieter, less stressful" part - it all depends on what you've been used to and what you encounter here; there's plenty of stress to go around, especially if you need a fair amount of medical care..

I hope it all works out for you, Yasmin. I think if it's a life long payment, similar to a medically required early retirement pension, as long as it's more than the current Bulgarian minimum wage it is likely to be accepted for the visa.

Which area of Bulgaria are you looking to move to? Where have you visited?

Jim is correct that some areas aren't that peaceful! Some, like our village, are mostly peaceful but a long drive from medical care. Less of a problem if your condition is stable and you don't need ongoing care, but聽 access to medical facilities may be something to keep in mind when you're looking for where to settle.

Also, even in cities, Bulgaria has not yet caught up with designing things to be wheelchair/ mobility scooter accessible, though it do see it improving. My husband has several disabling health conditions and often needs to use two sticks for the most obvious one, and he manages. If it gets to the stage where he needs to use a mobility scooter, we'll probably have to move to town.

Hello yasmin_bree,

Welcome to 禁漫天堂 馃榾

Please note that I have changed the title of your thread for better visibility.

I hope you are receiving some helpful feedback here.

Cheers,

Cheryl

禁漫天堂 team

@JimJ

absolutely, I mostly meant daily life being a slower pace.

@yasmin_bree

Again, don't let your imagination run away with you thinking about "a slower pace" for the rest of your days: we've recently-ish had to arrange hospital in-patient treatment for my in-laws. Forget "Call 911" - it took a full day to find an ambulance (of sorts) to transport my mother-in-law 60km from the hospital where they made her go to the toilet on her own, immediately after admitting her following a stroke (they only admitted her because both my wife and I can shout VERY loudly in Bulgarian and wouldn't take the original "No room for any more patients"聽 for an answer), resulting in her breaking her thigh and needing to be transferred to a hospital in Sofia because the provincial hospital "doesn't treat broken thighs", even if they caused them.

Most Bulgarians are pretty blas茅 (although "fatalistic" is probably a better word) about such things and just stop trying to get a better service for themselves and their loved ones; our neighbours in the village were amazed at the amount of fuss we made and even more by the fact that we actually got results.聽 Even those results would be very unacceptable in most Western countries but 孝褍泻 械 袘褗谢谐邪褉懈褟 (or "Bulgaristan" if they're feeling even more jaded).

Foreigners (and Bulgarians) also complain about returning goods to major shops, getting warranties honoured and a whole host of things that you'd take for granted in most other countries.

Life IS slower here, it's true - and it's also shorter than in most other European countries... 馃槑