Britons living in Bulgaria. Guide to Bulgaria, Sofia and Varna

BBC NEWS | UK | The new Spanish Costas for Britons?
Jain Goodall, who runs property magazine Quest Bulgaria with her husband Chris, estimated more than 3000 Britons lived in Bulgaria, and at least five times ...

As the countries take on the rights and obligations of EU membership, it is expected to boost the number of Britons. BBC NEWS | UK | The new Spanish Costas for Britons? Bulgaria and Romania have "gone through a remarkable transformation", said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announcing their EU accession. Graham Robinson, a media consultant for Romanian Business Connection, said there had been "a lot of progress" in Romania as it had tackled its problems. However, he felt that Romania's EU accession was a still great opportunity and will cause an "explosion" in property sales. I was gobsmacked when I first went there," he added. It means that some of the laws here will be the same as home and there's a lot of comfort in that." She said her magazine received an average 70 new requests per month but on the day of Bulgaria's EU approval it was around that in one day. It warned indications that properties were available for as little as £5,000 were misleading and advised people to seek professional advice.Mr Robinson backed this call and said it was a difficult market to negotiate. It was a risk before, but not now." However, she said living in Bulgaria had not been without problems. Mrs Goodall said many of the magazine's readers lived in Ireland. Paul Owen, chief executive of the Association of International Property Professionals (AIPP), said of Bulgaria: "A lot of people have already brought there. She believes the numerous reasons why Britons will seek a second home in Bulgaria include high UK property prices and worries over affording retirement. They moved to Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, with their dog Peluche in 2004. Thousands of Britons have already bought homes in these countries - but will many more now join them?