To say we are excited is an understatement it 's a major milestone in our move to BG.
we stayed in the house on our first trip to Bulgaria in 2016 as guest's . The house has a two bedroom self contained apartment above it which we stayed in as well as living accommodation downstairs. It has a renovated Barn and an outside kitchen with a wood burning oven and has 2000 sq metres of land.
Shortly after we stayed in it the house went up for sale but we weren't in a position to buy it then, but as I now only have a few months left at work and it was still for sale we have plunged in and bought it.I
It feels strange as we have been planning our move to Bulgaria for about the last three years and it's getting closer. We sit here saying " I wonder what we will be doing this time next year ".
When we decided to move we knew we could afford it but as we don't have a house to sell in the UK (we rent) we couldn't afford to get it wrong.
The house was for sale with an estate agent, but it was an estate
agent that had been recommended to us even before the house was for sale. We looked at houses with Monica the agent in 2017 so we knew her too.
So when we decided to buy this house we were happy to deal with Monica.
Her office is in Rousse and all the dealings were done whilst we were in the UK. This meant giving Monica power of attorney but she has done everything she said she would do and more she is a godsend.
I suppose the most unnerving thing (read twitchy bum time) was sending the money from the UK to my Bulgarian bank which Monica had control off, but all went smoothly, Monica even set up internet banking for us so we could see each and every transaction.
All that remains now is to figure out how to transport ourselves , our dog and two cats to Bulgaria bearing in mind we own one of the smallest cars in the world.
keep tunes in folks for updates
Hello! My name is Simon Hill and you may have come across my blog, www.bulgariawithnoodles.blogspot.com. My wife and I bought a villa in the village of Kalotina, about 60km north of Sofia. That was fifteen years ago and we also have an apartment in Veliko Tarnovo, so we are going to be quite close to you.
ReplyDeleteIrena and I will be in Bulgaria from the end of June, as we will be retiring this year. At the moment we are still in China, but we will be living in Bulgaria permanently once we have retired. (Well, actually Irena will be away for a month over the summer, as she will be visiting her family in Russia.)
Please let me know if we can help at all. Moving to another country can be a bit traumatic, especially when things go wrong! It might be helpful to meet and “compare notes” at some point. In fact, you will be quite close to us if you are planning to drive to Bulgaria from the UK. (The village of Kalotina is about 3km from the border crossing.)
The main crossing point into Bulgaria from western Europe is Kalotina, on the border with Serbia. DON’T try to cross this way into Bulgaria at the weekend, as it can be just a tad busy and chockablock with Turkish lorries. It is usually best to try to time your arrival at the BG border for either fairly early in the morning or after 6pm in the evening. Arriving midday on a Saturday or a Sunday could be asking for trouble. The Vidin crossing, in NW Bulgaria, is meant to be much quieter and easier, but on the other hand it is not so easy if you are coming through Serbia.
Hi Simon I will have a read of your blog.I haven't confirmed our exact route yet to Bulgaria but I think we will be aiming to cross into Bulgaria at the bridge in Rousse. We are avoiding Serbia as I have heard you may have trouble with pets and our dog will be travelling with us.Also I've been told although it's an area we haven't been to that the roads are a lot worse (potholed) in the Northwest.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip though about avoiding crossings on a weekend, and thanks for reading my blog.
Mark
Mark, I have just written a reply to your new post.
ReplyDeleteSerbia might be a bit awkward because it is not part of the EU, so there may well be pet issues and perhaps some problems with car insurance and / or your vignette (a sort of car tax). (Remember to buy a vignette for your car at the first garage you come to in BG!) The roads in Romania can be pretty awful as well. Maybe double-check with the AA or the RAC or just go online. I have taken a doggie from Romania into BG with no problems. On the other hand, I can tell you that the road from Belgrade to Sofia is pretty good, as is the ring road around Sofia. If you are coming through Germany, then through the Kalotina crossing might be quicker, if you are lucky and do not try to cross at 11 o'clock on a Saturday morning.
Most country roads in Bulgaria are horribly potholed. The main roads are not too bad, that is probably thanks to some EU funding, but minor roads can be awful.