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

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Anderson said that foreigners were mainly interested in buying property at the seaside and in the mountains. Both are married to Bulgarian women called Maria. But there are other reasons to choose to live in Bansko. Communication being done by email and phone is not as efficient, and less useful, than speaking in person. During his first year in the country, he discovered the beauty of the Stara Planina Mountains and came across lovely old traditional farmhouses, at great prices. For him a walk in the beautiful old town in the morning is like a step back 100 years. For him the main reasons to buy property in Bulgaria will be the country's EU membership scheduled for 2007, which will mean large external investment, opening up of the property market," he said. For those who visit occasionally, this will take longer". He bought one in 1999, and formed a company called Stara Planina Properties, with his partner Lambert, who also had been on the London-Istanbul cycle ride, and who had then worked here for the Beautiful Bulgaria project. He said that his family thinks Bulgaria will develop in a similar style to Portugal, which was not all that different from Bulgaria 10 years ago and now is thriving. He said that it's a beautiful country, popular with UK citizens as a "cheap" sun or ski holiday, and has slightly lower prices than other places in Europe, and this means potential. He said that there have been countless cases of people paying extra "taxes" or "charges" in the purchase process, and the perpetrators of these charges range from sellers to lawyers to agents. His father and his sister have the business skills to organise the setting up of the financing of the hotel, while Hughes is a hotelier/chef by trade."We decided to pool our skills and take the plunge," he said. His reason to buy property in Bulgaria is purely as an investment in the short term, though it will be a nice place to holiday or live, though this is inconsequential. Hughes came to Bulgaria with no real expectations, as he had previously only been here for three days, and that was to Sofia, very different to Bansko. Hughes has renovated the place and is now happily living in Bansko and learning the Bansko dialect. Hughes's family is from Dorset, the south west of England, and his home town of Shaftesbury is similar to Bansko, with its old stone streets and 200-year-old houses set right in the middle on the countryside. The Hughes family chose Bulgaria over any other Eastern European countries because of the great climate in Bansko. The move was decided on by the whole family."Bulgaria is a rapidly developing country which thankfully, is still full of unspoilt wilderness and natural charms," he told The Echo. The old town and the mountains make a great backdrop to his life. The UK property market is looking increasing over priced," he said. They even have clients who have, in turn, got into the property business.One of the business-related business purchasers is James Hughes who bought a hotel in Bansko through Balkan Ski Chalets, an agency working exclusively with property purchasers from the UK. When he compares his life here with friends who work in London, he really pities them.