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hi
Chelnik Yambol?

Hello ch85st, We need any info on all aspects of living in Chelnik area,  costs of utility bills, decent secondhand car and fuel costs, healthcare, prescription charges, and is it possible to live a decent life on 1,000 Euros  a month we know houses are extremely cheap compared to UK. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thank You, Peterb52

Well if you mean Chelnik thats near Yambol  i might be able to give you some information.
we live on the other side of the small mountain Бакаджик (Bakadchik) and have been here 2 years and have had the house before that as a vacation home for 4 years.
If you mean 1000 euro per person Yes then you would live very comfortable,
if you mean 1000 euro for 2 persons well yes but you would have to think about what you buy.
Utility well that depends on how much electricity you use per month but say 50-100 lev a month.
Water is around 2 lev or 1 euro a cube.

If you have a pension then i think you need some paperwork from England and then they will pay the monthly fees otherwise its about 17 lev/month to be connected to Bulgarian healthcare system. its 2,90 lev to visit the doctor some of the medicine is discounted if you are connected and have the "Prescription Kniga".

Houses are cheep compared to UK BUT if you think of buying something that's say 2 bedroom 75-100M2 in size or so that are renovated and livable straight away you would have to pay say 30-50000 Euro or more.
renovation property's can be bought as low as 2-15000 Euro.
But most is about 20-25000 and will need some or a lot of work.

A car well again all depending on what you want.
Hope that helps you a little.

Thank you for a speedy reply will reply with any more questions.

1000 euro for 2 people a month ?????? That means arround 2000 leiva
that's not even the salary of a minister ! We are 2 adults with 2 childeren and have more than enouf with 600 euro a month .
The salary from a teacher over here is about 650 Leiva a month and 70 % of the older people have a pension from arround 200 leiva every month !
                         Axinia

all depends on the lifestyle of course

Not to forget that we foreigners nearly always is quoted double prices or more on everything we need done here, so it costs more for us to get by at least the first few years until we have learned the real cost of things.

ok thanks for the warning every bit helps.
Peter

Hi Peter,

I have three friends in Chelnik, it's a very nice village, 10mn from Yambol and one hour from Bourgas, it's by the foot of the mountain Bakadjika, the landscape is beautiful.

we live in Voynika about 5km from there, if you want you can come to our B&B and experience the Bulgarian village life.

here is my email address if you want help or want to get in touch

sihemt.54@gmail.com

One of our freinds has a very nice house for sale here is a link I found

Regards
Sihemt

Sorry, don't agree, we live here for almost 9 years never had a single problem with prices. We never got ripped off except by the real estates when we came and didn't speak the language.

We live with 500 euros and we can offer to travel. my Bulgarian friends live with 300 to 500 lev a month so yes nobody need 2000 lev may in Sofia

We have been renting near Sandanski from a British person; a three bedroom house, fully furnished with all mod cons. Sadly, we probably eat and drink a little more than we should and would eat out at least twice a week. We have also spent some time living in decent hotels and driving a fair bit and I would find it difficult to spend €2000 per month but if you are in one of the cities where entertainment costs twice what it does in more rural areas and all of your shopping is from expensive supermarkets like Lidl you will spend more.

As to the area, I know nothing of the locality you are interested in but I would echo the warning about real estate agents. The criteria you use to choose a location are possibly very different to ours and perhaps also to those of other who will give advice here but my view and it is wholly my own is that the best weather in Bulgaria is to be found around Sandanski in the west or Ivaylovgrad in the east.

Sandanski has the advantage of easy access to a western lifestyle, plenty of shops and supermarkets and easy access to services but being just over an hour from Sofia it is popular with the Bulgarian middle class and this, allied to demand from ex-pats has pushed prices up. A three bedroom house in a village, of decent quality and with some land will cost €90k - €120k and a renovation project will cost anything from €25k - €60k. At the other end of the country life is simpler, Sofia is too far away to influence prices and the Black Sea coast just far enough away to avoid the Russian invasion. Services are slightly more difficult to access and life is very rural but a three bedroom house is unlikely to cost more than €75k and decent renovation projects can still be bought for €5k.

If you are coming to Bulgaria to enjoy a simpler lifestyle and accept a challenge the Bulgarian villagers will delight you with their warmth, hospitality and an open-hearted generosity lost to the UK half a century ago. If you want Iceland and Lidl with the prospect of Tesco just around the corner, a cosy community of ex-pats who rarely interact with the local population then I hear Spain is having a fire-sale.