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

Comment is free: A new place in the sun


A guy spoke to me other day I said what? A mortgage on somewhere where you genuinely want to live. All because of kickbacks from industry to the mayors and other permission-givers. All it will take is an increase in the cost of borrowing in the UK or Eurozone or the slow down of the property market in the UK to create a domino effect. And don't get me wrong, I won't blame it on the people from the Island who decided to venture some capital in Bulgaria. And God was pleased to see him for the first time in ages."Hi Pepe. And this has nothing to do with the Brits, though they like to think they are important enough to effect the economy. Anything you want?" He said."Yes" said Pepe. Are people making hay while the sun shines, or starting to get worried? Are you talking about one million foreigners who decided they'd like a second 'holiday' home with the chance to make a bit of profit on the side? As for it's current status, well, a language is a dialect with an army and Macedonia has an army. Because there's actually lots of housing in the UK, too, it's just not where the work is. Being a property hotspot attractive to Britons is a bit like being a field of bright wheat spied from afar by a gigantic swarm of locusts.[Offensive? Bulgaria, let me introduce you to Pukka Pies. Bulgarian and Macedonian are exactly 100% mutually intelligible, unlike Bostonian and Aussie.So I don't know, you judge for yourself.Nothing surprises me these days, when some twisted mind invented a Bosnian language from Serb(o-)Croat... But I think the similarities with Bulgaria stop there. But if they worry about the value of their investment then they should also care about what surrounds their estate. Couldn't you take some of them away again?""Sorry, Pepe," said the Almighty. Fear, intolerance, hypocrisy and self-righteousness all look like good candidates to me.[Offensive? Finding that haven goen the money went straight into real estate. For real consistency on my part, I'd have to compare two equal situations. For the permanent residents, it's like turning the clock back fifty years, there just isn't enough money in the local economy. Given the speed of construction work that is not just a fear, it is a looming danger. I can think of a number of languages which have used synchronistcally or diachronistically different alphabets. I don't know the reason for the money influx in 2001-2002 but I am sure there is a reason.I am sure that the megalithic tourist constructions will go under. I don't think the majority of Bulgarians will be happy being priced out of their homes, or turning into Costa-del-Donau, but I'm not sure how this can be avoided, as unfortunately, the Market is as the Market is...[Offensive? I doubt people who bought a flat on the seaside from the web will care about that.On the positive side I always recall the situation in Prague. I find your views so objectionable that I dont want to be party to your airing them any more and Im not prepared to put in the energy required to engage with you.I hope you find some sort of peace in a world you are plainly so unhappy with.[Offensive? I notice he didn't answer my question...[Offensive? I notice you're posting from Bahamas (do hope you've got a very good reason for being there). I notice you're posting from Bahamas (do hope you've got a very good reason for being there). I pity for the poor and the middle incomes in Bulgaria, who are about to find themselves becoming a lot poorer.[Offensive? I suspect many of those who are buying tourist property in Bulgaria are doing so because they can leverage the increase in equity in their own house in the UK, and the property boom there is likely to have flattened out. I'd hate to see the establishment of a Bulgarian chapter of Meibion Glyndwr (Semi-obscure cultural reference point, see wiki;).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meibion_GlyndwrOther than that, very interesting blog - is this a general topic of concern in Bulgaria?[Offensive? I'd suggest a worry for Bulgaria and to a lesser extent Prague is that if a city or area becomes too reliant on the well-being of an economy and housing market in another country (in this case, the UK), they are living dangerously. If Bulgaria has any common sense they should restrict property ownership to 2 properties maximum.[Offensive? If you want to use this new feature to recommend comments, you need to be registered and logged in to GU.bobdoneyComment No. In general house prices in Spain zoom up when the economy starts picking up and when there is a load of money that is looking for a home. In the mid-90s while the guys on the opposite sides of the hyphen were fighting each other, Harvard was still teaching it under the compound name. Investing in Bulgarian property still looks lucrative. Ironic, as this was an area where people have traditionally moved from because of poverty, and now they're doing it because of property-price induced relative poverty.Shops and essential services are increasingly unsustainable, and either close or become a luxury - again. It is as if these people think that 'we' have the right to do anything we want, and benignly go around the world improving it whereas 'they' are intrusive parasites looking for the main chance.How to explain it? It isn't (usually) immigrants pushing house prices up by buying to let, or running the banks that encourage this system. It isn't first or second generation (British)immigrants who are buying second homes in France, Spain, or Bulgaria. It isn't immigrants - or for that matter the children of immigrants - who are buying second homes. Its like ceauscesu - lots of motorways andn wide roads and fucking street furniture and beach houses that remain unsold. Just browse the web or Google "Bulgaria and real estate" and you will find why it is actually good to have a country with gorgeous, still relatively well-preserved nature in the EU. Most of the overbuilding in Spain occurred in the tourist boom of the 60s when foreigners buying property was not a significant factor. Nikolai - are you a greengrocer?[Offensive? On the other hand the home housing market shows no sign of taking a dive, unfortunately for most working and middle-class Spaniards.[Offensive? One may come to the sad realisation that in couple of years the sad picture of ugly buildings nested one over the other can overshadow the bright scenery you get from your window in Bulgaria. One million foreign born persons were granted British citizenship during that time period. One of my biggest worries is that we may end up with over developed and ugly country and seaside. Only Spain and France are ahead as the top two markets for British investments in real estate.So it has become easier to get either an apartment on the seaside or a flat in a winter resort like Bansko for example. Only when a real fluid market exists will people be able to assess the market. People disgard their luxuries (second home) in difficult times. Plenty of houses in the "wrong places", piss poor distibution of workplaces. Probably a safer move to define a new nation (hastily) rather than admit a Bulgarian minority, having seen what is happening with Kosovo...[Offensive? Que?"I was born here unfortunately.Is that a good enough reason for you?I haven't been to the UK since the 1980s.If the NHS and service staff that you mentioned were not staffed by immigrants then they will be staffed by the British. Que?Tell you what, next time you're back, get run over by a bus. Report this comment.] Our policy is to close threads after a maximum of three days. 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So one day Pepe decided to go out fishing again, not because he needed to, but because it was the only way he can get some peace and quiet. So they begin investing in Bulgaria, where they are still not hated.[Offensive? That will require around 300,000 houses or apartments and will also have a negative affect on housing prices and what's left of the natural scenery.Are you also opposed to that?[Offensive? That is just the lazy way of doing it.It can be done by improving productivity of the existing workforce through automation in manufacturing. That is one of the reasons for high housing costs. That is the _simplest_ reason why we need immigration.3) I agree that the manufacturing industry is "not very big right now". That is the problem.Apologies again for going off topic, especially as Nikolai did us the favour of writing an interesting and thought-provoking article which deserves discussion rather than being hijacked in the name of other issues.[Offensive? The alphabet is only a carrier and language is very much a political concept. The Association of International Property Professionals (AIPP) described the position of Bulgaria as "phenomenal". The best reason was given by a Scottish friend with a Thai wife. The closest (in terms of time and space) example that comes to mind, of course, is Serbo-Croat. The coasta Del Sol is a good examle of this now full of immigrant crime gangs muscling in on the porperty market. The comparison with Spain is not far fetched. The house prices are ludicrous, forcing the locals to move further and further from their jobs, or migrate. The main effect of ageing on economic growth is the reduction in the working population and an increase in the number of old people whom those in work have to support. The market is still vibrant and even if that brings pressure for the Bulgarians because of the higher real estate prices there are no complaints so far.There are even a growing number of British citizens who have started living in Bulgaria. The profile of these types of people are extensive. The real estate market in Prague is local. The relatively low prices are still the dominant pusher in the eastern direction. The situation is excaserbated because people were returned real estate after communism without the burden of debt or they bought apartments from the council for peanuts and so have no need to sell - they sit and wait until someone makes the offer they want. Thelemaboy is an excellent example of the vintage bile that true Brits like to uncork on festive occasions.[Offensive? Then dispose of all of your income and savings, and try getting a mortgage on your new wage. There are whole villages here with NO permanent residents (the two closest to my grandmother, for instance - 120 houses) for most of the year. There did seem to be some investment buying of village homes also. There is a Mexican joke about the fisherman who was fishing just off the coast when God popped down to have a look."All OK Pepe?" He asked. There is doubt this applies to those who are in it only for the expected profit of a future sale. There is no doubt that the requirements of the buyers for what surrounds their property can provide enough fire. There the growing number foreign owners did force the prices up but it also boosted the quality of construction. There was a surge of small-time investors from abroad in the late 1990's buying flats in the nicer parts of the city but this is now a trickle. There won't be a lot of new building in tourist resorts unless there are a lot of new tourists, and there is little to suggest a massive influx of them.Which is probably a good thing. There's plenty of it about in most parts of the country, it just doesn't pay that well. These comments have been recommended by other users. These effects are going to be the same if people are just speculating in property, but with strong pounds sterling coming from the british property market, I hate to think what's going to happen to your house prices. They are childless industrial psychopaths who buy property and inflate local prices pushing out the locals chance of stability.And they dont fit in or conform to local culture. They have a point in that it was (deliberately) codified a bit differently and uses a couple of different Cyrillic letters; however American English speling also differs from Australian and King's English, and they are all called English. They're usually far too busy doing the jobs which the third, fourth and fifth generation immigrants left behind. This can all be trace back to the British destroying the local Spanish culture for the benefit of making squalid money. This is slowly changing as more people take out mortgages or loans and market forces take effect. This type of pressure will come from people who get on the plane and look at what they purchase. We have seen the effect of British buying property on Spains southern coast turning it into Costa Del Scum. Well, the same applies for German - there are Allemanisch, Saechsisch etc. What can put pressure on the local business and authorities are actually the new owners. What will be main reason is the mixture of desire to make quick money and the lack of strong control. When she heard he was buying a house in Bulgaria she said, "But if you bought another house in Isaan, my sister can look after it for her." "Why do you tnink I'm buying in Bulgaria?" was the reply.With regard to your fear of massive overbuilding I am a little sceptical. Where that population comes from is a political question. You can actually a buy a house with a really cool view in a place a where you have fairly cheap daily air travel, too.When all is good there is no reason for concern or is there? You can think of Spain in the late 80s and try to recall what happened there.