Bulgaria is one of the favorite countries for moving. But before you seriously think about going to Bulgaria for permanent residence, in this short but capacious article I will tell you what pros and cons of living in Bulgaria will await you.
This year, Bulgaria rose to 88th place in the happiness rankings, overtaking the Maldives.
But let’s start with the advantages of living in Bulgaria:
- The climate is ideal for the average European person. Moreover, you can choose to live in plains, mountains or the sea coast, depending on your personal preferences. There are also thermal springs with mineral water.
- Overall good ecology.
- Convenient location of Bulgaria.
- Affordable transport links. For example, we found a Bologna-Sofia flight ticket for 4.9€, and Varna-Berlin for 20€. A large number of flight routes. For example, more than 70 airlines fly from Varna.
- Personal safety. Bulgaria is a relatively safe country, safer than France, Australia, Greece and Montenegro. We and our friends also confirm this statistic from personal experience.
- No language barrier and similarity of languages and mentalities. Most, especially people over 40, know Russian.
- Bulgaria is a member of the EU, and obtaining Bulgarian citizenship in the future gives the right to live and work in EU countries.
- Bulgarian cuisine.
- A diploma obtained in Bulgaria gives the right to work in EU countries.
- Bulgarians are generally friendly people and less aggressive.
Cons of living in Bulgaria:
1. Garbage on the streets.
2. Lack of central heating, everyone copes with the situation as best they can. Some buy an electric heater, an air conditioner, and many simply spend the winter in a cold apartment.
3. Bad roads. In the world ranking of the quality of road infrastructure, Bulgaria has slipped to 102 place and is below Zambia. Despite toll roads and toll blue zones (an annual vignette for a passenger car costs about 50 euros). Roads and road infrastructure are in poor condition. Road markings are often missing or poorly visible. As a result, accidents are increasing.
4. High energy prices. Electricity prices in Bulgaria are among the highest and prices are constantly rising. Although the government assures that there is no electricity shortage, the price is rising. 1 kW costs 0.11€ during the day. The price of petrol is 1.30€, diesel 1.50€ per litre.
5. Low salaries and pensions. In terms of salary levels, Bulgaria traditionally ranks last in the EU. The minimum wage is €331 per month or €2 per hour. And the average gross salary is €777, and this is before deductions of taxes, insurance and other payments. The minimum pension is €188, and the average pension will rise to €292 from January 1, 2022, and the average pension is expected to increase to €340 in 2024.
6. High prices. For some it will be a “surprise”, but food prices turned out to be higher than in Germany and Poland.
7. Comparatively high prices for mobile communications. For some, this may come as a surprise, but Bulgaria has high prices for mobile communications. So, the cheapest 2-year contract for 1 number will cost from 7€ per month, this is practically without the Internet, with the Internet from 8.66€ per month. Moreover, when concluding a contract for a year or two, it is almost impossible to break it without large financial losses.
8. A surprise for some immigrants was that a temporary or permanent residence permit in Bulgaria does not give the right to travel freely within the EU, since Bulgaria is not yet part of the Schengen zone and visas must be obtained.
9. Paid medicine. If you have permanent residence status or Bulgarian citizenship, then you will have to pay monthly premiums for health insurance. In case of late payment, a penalty and other sanctions are immediately and automatically charged.
10. Low standard of living of the population as a whole. It is not so easy to find a new car on the roads, people dig in garbage bins, often even decently dressed, there are many second-hand shops. Locals survive due to the presence of their own real estate, which is rented out.
11. Smoking. In Bulgaria, the percentage of smokers is higher. You can encounter tobacco smoke everywhere. Coming out of the ventilation in the apartment, on the landing, in the elevator and at the bus stop.
12. Theft and fraud. Bulgaria has a high level of personal security, which cannot be said about private property. They can steal a bicycle, break into a car. Although 8 years ago we could leave an open car with open windows and everything would remain in place. They can cheat you at the exchange office, but this has always happened.
13. High cost of car maintenance. Motor third party liability insurance from 118 euros. Annual car tax varies greatly depending on the locality, environmental standard of the car, power and year of manufacture, it can be from 25 to 130 €. Annual technical inspection from 15 to 30 €. But despite this, there are more and more cars on the roads. There is a huge shortage of parking.
14. Smoke in the atmosphere. In winter, there is a smell in populated areas due to heating with wood stoves.
15. Permanent political crisis. Thus, in 2021, the fourth elections (3 to parliament and 1 presidential) were held in Bulgaria.
16. Bulgaria has strict tax legislation. Bulgaria is ranked 97th in the Doing Business ranking for tax quality, below countries such as Uganda, Syria, Mozambique and Sierra Leone. The tax authority monitors all cash receipts in Bulgaria.
There have been cases of convictions and confiscation of 95-year-old people for failure to pay taxes ten and twenty years ago. Also, the tax authorities sometimes make mistakes. And unsuspecting people are hit with astronomical fines, which then have to be fought off through difficult courts. Although officially, “everything is fine.” The rates of the main taxes in Bulgaria are: corporate tax – 10%; VAT – 20%; dividend tax – 5%; interest tax – 10%; income tax – 10%; social security – 23.7-24.4%; health insurance – 8%.
17. Lack of preferences for small businesses . In practice, the pressure on small businesses from government agencies is even greater than on large companies. Because large companies have the opportunity to have powerful lawyers and attorneys, there is a lobby in power. Unfortunately, there is an inadequate system of punishments, when for the slightest technical violation, astronomical fines are imposed for small businesses. It happens that for a few extra cents in the cash register, the tax office closes the store. Huge fines put small businesses on the brink of ruin or destroy them. Laws are adopted in the field of tax legislation chaotically and without any consistency, they tend to tighten (the so-called tightening of the screws).
18. Low level of digitalization. Few terminals accepting payments and ATMs accepting cash. But recently the situation in this area has been slowly but surely changing for the better.
By following this link , you will learn about 19 cons of living in Bulgaria in 2024. And by following this link , you will learn about 29 pros of living in Bulgaria in 2024.
If you have your own cons or pros, write about them in the comments.
