Maya, you're getting closer to 1000! Each time I check, your number of subscribers is growing. And when you hit that number that's when all your work will help with your budget!!!! I so enjoy learning about life in Bulgaria. Thanks so much for sharing your budget.
Relocating to Bulgaria soon. I cannot wait to taste the tomatoes, I hear so many amazing things about them. I love tomatoes and have been disappointed of their quality all over the world... Bulgaria
It's true! You really cannot buy good tomatoes anywhere anymore. First they turned the common tomatoes into garbage, then the pink tomatoes, and then the cherry tomatoes. The only way to have tomatoes that don't taste like plastic is to grow them yourself (or buy them from your neighbor).
You know that there is a BGN 0.25 discount per liter of regular gasoline or diesel, which is subsidized by the state. This discount is given at large petrol stations meeting presentation of the registration card of the car. Also, each gas station chain has customer cards or an app for additional discounts - usually around BGN 0.07 per liter.
some bulgarians earn 600 leva a month so your budget of 600 leva fits in well. my own monthly budget is about 20 leva electric, diesel 30 leva, internet 20 leva, food 100 leva or less as my garden produces alot. my trees make me almost selfsufficient with firewood. so my budget is about 200 leva, but i save up and buy useful machines or appliances etc
Oh wow that’s impressive how you manage. I actually spend more because I’m still setting up the garden and house a bit so there’s some material and tree expenses. I also want to install an irrigation system. So I think probably more 800 leva for now but it will reduce soon when my garden produces more food and the patio is built etc :) but no rush, just bit by bit
I encourage you to find a large dehydrator and learn to dehydrate fruits and vegetables then you have them shelf stable for soups and casseroles in winter! Awesome and wise!
Maya, for those of us who don't know what are the seasonal and non seasonal fruits and vegetables in BG, would you be able to make another video and tell us and show us wha they are. Would be nice to take us to the market and supermarket to see what you actually buy.
@@MayainBulgaria awesome!, looking for to the trip. Wish I was actually going to the market literally or harvesting and reaping fruits and vegetables from my own land... really NEED to get some. Just can't decide between Bulgaria and Portugal.
Love your info channel, how easy it is to get tradesman to work on your home? We hope to move within the next 6 months and will need some work doing. Thanks
There’s always people looking for work :) depends where you are and it’s probably best ask at the local stores for people who do house work or go to your local hardware store for company recommendations:)
I'm considering moving to Bulgaria when I'm older. I already have a residency card and as Irish I'm an EU citizen. I'm very interested in your money saving ideas to keep the cost of living down. Thanks for the videos. Subscribed.
Hi Mikey and welcome 🤗 I think essentially eating healthy whole foods to avoid costly and unpleasant illness is important and it also keeps the imminent food cost down. Otherwise just keeping everything as simple as possible to minimise clutter and the expense that comes with is beneficial. That being said I am considering solar panels :)
I just found your channel and have not had the chance to go back to the beginning. If I may ask, what do you do for a living? I am retired in Texas, USA.
I’m living off savings but also building an affiliate website to earn some commissions and once I reach 1000 subscribers on TH-cam I’ll get some money for the ads on my content :) both of those will help me with diesel & grocery money. Luckily I don’t need much to live comfortably here :)
Howzit maya i always watch your vids china! homesteading in bulgaria well done girl - you still got access to wide open space but have backup if needed. could you give me a ball park figure for how much you payed for your spot that would clue me in . anyhow thanks for sharing. from andy living in the uk.
it's realy important subject . thanks for the video but only one thing about the quality of the sound is not loud enough to hear your beautiful voice . thanks again .
@@MayainBulgaria yes because I love the very best of BG wines ! My isba has more than 10 000 levas of wines at the purchase prices ! Yesterday I drank an INCANTO Merlot of 2012 : a real marvel ! I bought it at 15 levas but tu buy it now for a a 2022 is more than 30 levas !
@@MayainBulgaria Yes bur Good wines are becoming quite expensive compared to the same quality abroad ..., It bought Very goos wines up to 2016 when they were reasonnably cheap and couls be kept in an Isba for many ears : Nowadays , I am hesitating to buy BG wine becuse prices are too much !
Hi Maya, Buying a house,,,did you go through real estate broker?.or direct through the owner?.is it through advertisement,please ,tell us about buying processes,and mistake we should avoid,things should consider,,any advise of buying house...thanks mije ,
@@MayainBulgaria Danke für deine Antwort. Ich gehe mal davon aus, dass die Renovierungskosten noch dazu kommen. Ich hab dein Video über den Supermarkt in Svilengrad gesehen, ich komme 30km südlich davon, allerdings ist das schon Griechenland. Viele Griechen aus der Region sind sehr häufig in Svilengrad zum Einkaufen und Tanken. Ich wünsche dir einen milden Winter in Thrakien und Liebe Grüße.
Yettel standard tariff is 20.99 a month for 700min and 700 MB. Did you renew your contact with them and they offered you a tailored plan? Or you negotiated your plan in one of their stores?
Oh interesting! I’m not sure how that happened. I went into the store so I suspect they had a special on that they offered me at that time. I did notice that if I go outside Bulgaria they charge me more immediately. I went to Greece for a day and was charged an extra 4 or 5 leva…
@@MayainBulgaria Hi Maya, I would like to add this example of Yettel contract to my blog. Could please give me the details of your 16.99 contract, 20 GB of data and how many minutes are included? Do you get a discount if you pay via their app or online? I suppose it is a 2-year contact? Thanks in advance. Yordan
As you can tell i am giving the move over a lot of thought Looking at taking a very early ret at 42 you are really giving me a lot of very good info all the very best Jim
To tell you the truth , my retirements income are close to 7 000 levas / month So even if I have to pay for my son's studies in Canada I can afford to have a nice life in Bulgaria
Is there some kind of council tax or house tax that you pay every month for running local services like bin collections etc as in the UK that would work out at about 275 lev on the lowest band per month, you are so lucky with the electric as just my standing charge without using any electric is about 37 lev now 😭😭
So you're already growing your own food? Cool! Good to see someone moving to rural Bulgaria and doing it right. I suggest spending a week or so to prepare pickled vegetables, lyutenitsa and kompot for the winter, if you're not doing it already. You can, of course, buy these... but they'll never be as good as homegrown stuff :)
So I’m super lazy I’ve realized when it comes to food preservation so not sure how much jar stuff I’ll do except for idiot proof things. Maybe 2 or 3 ingredients tops. This might change as well 😅💪
How can a British man stop in Bulgaria for up to 3 months at at time and renting a big garden with a waterproof shed on it and renting a house. Thank you Neil. Dobspato Newcastle Upon Tyne England.
But you seem not to take into account costs of your van and car with taxes, maintenance and diesel/gas ...... and maintenance of your home ( it is endless)
@@MayainBulgaria Don't be affraid of it. Everyone make there owne choise to eat what he/she likes. So when I invite you on a bbq party by me, I take care for vegetarian things for you hihihi
@@MayainBulgaria Yes but we are disabled so our taxes are half of the normal price ... but we are are living a very nice life with very nice and expensive price for foods !
@@sverre371 It's not worth it for the owner to rent. Since everybody has his own home, there is no developed market and no demand. People may rent to someone in need if they know them for a very small sum like 25-50 euro, but nobody will bother with stranger because they will have to talk to them, pay a bookkeeper for taxes, pay taxes on the income etc.
Maya, you're getting closer to 1000! Each time I check, your number of subscribers is growing. And when you hit that number that's when all your work will help with your budget!!!! I so enjoy learning about life in Bulgaria. Thanks so much for sharing your budget.
It’s so fun watching the numbers increase, lovely little game :) yes I’m hoping it’ll be enough to cover the diesel costs at some point 😅😌
Relocating to Bulgaria soon. I cannot wait to taste the tomatoes, I hear so many amazing things about them. I love tomatoes and have been disappointed of their quality all over the world... Bulgaria
The most disappointing tomatoes are in the UK, from what I've experienced. Tomatoes here in Bulgaria are like I remember them from growing up in SA 😃
It's true! You really cannot buy good tomatoes anywhere anymore. First they turned the common tomatoes into garbage, then the pink tomatoes, and then the cherry tomatoes. The only way to have tomatoes that don't taste like plastic is to grow them yourself (or buy them from your neighbor).
You know that there is a BGN 0.25 discount per liter of regular gasoline or diesel, which is subsidized by the state. This discount is given at large petrol stations meeting presentation of the registration card of the car. Also, each gas station chain has customer cards or an app for additional discounts - usually around BGN 0.07 per liter.
Oh yes! I get the discount with my little car card 👌 many thanks!
Great job making these videos. I’m planning to move to Bulgaria and you’re making it very clear what to expect. Thanks Maya ❤
Your comment brings me great joy! Thank you 🤗
some bulgarians earn 600 leva a month so your budget of 600 leva fits in well.
my own monthly budget is about 20 leva electric, diesel 30 leva, internet 20 leva, food 100 leva or less as my garden produces alot. my trees make me almost selfsufficient with firewood. so my budget is about 200 leva, but i save up and buy useful machines or appliances etc
Oh wow that’s impressive how you manage. I actually spend more because I’m still setting up the garden and house a bit so there’s some material and tree expenses. I also want to install an irrigation system. So I think probably more 800 leva for now but it will reduce soon when my garden produces more food and the patio is built etc :) but no rush, just bit by bit
Thanks a lot Maya for this Info.
I am moving over to Bulgaria for Work as a Digital Normad, Really find your Video very insightful
I encourage you to find a large dehydrator and learn to dehydrate fruits and vegetables then you have them shelf stable for soups and casseroles in winter! Awesome and wise!
Thank you 🤗 I have a beautiful dehydrator and I love it.
How much that will cost?
@@Radio280 100-1000 lev based on quality and size. 500 lev for a good one, maybe. My grandma just dries them in the sun, so that's also an option.
When I was renting in Sofia i was spending around thousand euro per month with my partner. Coming back to buy a house in October 5th.
How exciting!! Congrats 🎉
Maya ...yes a deck would be lovely...to be able to pay for home completely is a big saver and car paid for too
Yes it’s so nice to not have rent or mortgage going out every month! Game changer!
I'll be happy to meet you
Thanks! I’m sure you’re a great human to meet aswell 😃
Very informative video. Thank you :)
Thanks for watching 🤗
Maya, for those of us who don't know what are the seasonal and non seasonal fruits and vegetables in BG, would you be able to make another video and tell us and show us wha they are. Would be nice to take us to the market and supermarket to see what you actually buy.
It’s currently grape and butternut season with peaches aswell. I’ll do a shop this Sunday I think so I’ll take you along :)
@@MayainBulgaria awesome!, looking for to the trip. Wish I was actually going to the market literally or harvesting and reaping fruits and vegetables from my own land... really NEED to get some. Just can't decide between Bulgaria and Portugal.
We spend 2 000 levas ALL included ( all taxes and with 2 cars ans a big appartment in Plovdiv) .... Half of it for foods !
That’s a big food bill 🌮🌮🌮
@@MayainBulgaria yes but it includes all products for Home not only food !
Thanks maya,,,,
Thanks for sharing
🤗👌👍
Love your info channel, how easy it is to get tradesman to work on your home? We hope to move within the next 6 months and will need some work doing. Thanks
There’s always people looking for work :) depends where you are and it’s probably best ask at the local stores for people who do house work or go to your local hardware store for company recommendations:)
I'm considering moving to Bulgaria when I'm older. I already have a residency card and as Irish I'm an EU citizen. I'm very interested in your money saving ideas to keep the cost of living down. Thanks for the videos. Subscribed.
Hi Mikey and welcome 🤗 I think essentially eating healthy whole foods to avoid costly and unpleasant illness is important and it also keeps the imminent food cost down. Otherwise just keeping everything as simple as possible to minimise clutter and the expense that comes with is beneficial. That being said I am considering solar panels :)
Maya, insurance health, home car etc car/home annual tax.
Excellent points! I’ll update this info!
Sweet
It is 🙌
I just found your channel and have not had the chance to go back to the beginning. If I may ask, what do you do for a living? I am retired in Texas, USA.
I’m living off savings but also building an affiliate website to earn some commissions and once I reach 1000 subscribers on TH-cam I’ll get some money for the ads on my content :) both of those will help me with diesel & grocery money. Luckily I don’t need much to live comfortably here :)
I love you!
Howzit maya i always watch your vids china! homesteading in bulgaria well done girl - you still got access to wide open space but have backup if needed. could you give me a ball park figure for how much you payed for your spot that would clue me in . anyhow thanks for sharing.
from andy living in the uk.
Hi Andy, thanks for your comment! I paid 15k euro for the house and the renovation all together. It’s cheaper in rural areas than in the cities.
it's realy important subject . thanks for the video but only one thing about the quality of the sound is not loud enough to hear your beautiful voice . thanks again .
I’m so sorry I can’t see what to change about the sound but I’ll try looking again next time…
But it inclides Rakia .. and very good BG wines too !
Ahh that must be the difference then, I don’t buy alcohol ;) but I think alcohol in Bulgaria is very affordable.
@@MayainBulgaria yes because I love the very best of BG wines ! My isba has more than 10 000 levas of wines at the purchase prices ! Yesterday I drank an INCANTO Merlot of 2012 : a real marvel ! I bought it at 15 levas but tu buy it now for a a 2022 is more than 30 levas !
@@MayainBulgaria Yes bur Good wines are becoming quite expensive compared to the same quality abroad ..., It bought Very goos wines up to 2016 when they were reasonnably cheap and couls be kept in an Isba for many ears : Nowadays , I am hesitating to buy BG wine becuse prices are too much !
Hi Maya,
Buying a house,,,did you go through real estate broker?.or direct through the owner?.is it through advertisement,please ,tell us about buying processes,and mistake we should avoid,things should consider,,any advise of buying house...thanks mije ,
Hi Mike, there's a couple things to watch out for but also a bit too much to mention in a comment. I'll do a brief video in a little bit :)
Thank you for the monthly cost breakdown ,this costs match the whole country or only the part where you live, whitch region are u?
Just the countryside I’d say. The big cities are about double for the utilities I’d say.
How much was the property?
HI Maya,,Is it possible to find any organic food there in supermarkets or any markets ? :) Thanks for sharring your experience .. K
There’s lidl that offers organic and otherwise I recommend growing your own 💚
If I wanna come from ksa
Hallo Maya, interessante Videos über das schöne Bulgarien. Wieviel Startkapital hast du denn mitgenommen für alles zusammen + Haus?
Haus war 15k euro und ich brauch wenig pro monat. Wirklich nicht mal 500 euro.
@@MayainBulgaria Danke für deine Antwort. Ich gehe mal davon aus, dass die Renovierungskosten noch dazu kommen.
Ich hab dein Video über den Supermarkt in Svilengrad gesehen, ich komme 30km südlich davon, allerdings ist das schon Griechenland. Viele Griechen aus der Region sind sehr häufig in Svilengrad zum Einkaufen und Tanken.
Ich wünsche dir einen milden Winter in Thrakien und Liebe Grüße.
thannks for the info on living in Bulgaria . how much is the rent living in rural Bulgaria?
Maybe 500 lev? I’m not sure. And it depends how renovated the house is. I don’t know of any renovated places for rent but maybe check Airbnb?
@@MayainBulgaria thanks
Yettel standard tariff is 20.99 a month for 700min and 700 MB. Did you renew your contact with them and they offered you a tailored plan? Or you negotiated your plan in one of their stores?
Oh interesting! I’m not sure how that happened. I went into the store so I suspect they had a special on that they offered me at that time. I did notice that if I go outside Bulgaria they charge me more immediately. I went to Greece for a day and was charged an extra 4 or 5 leva…
@@MayainBulgaria Hi Maya, I would like to add this example of Yettel contract to my blog. Could please give me the details of your 16.99 contract, 20 GB of data and how many minutes are included? Do you get a discount if you pay via their app or online? I suppose it is a 2-year contact? Thanks in advance. Yordan
Hi Thanks for the grate info do you have to pay Council tax in Bulgaria like we do in the UK ? Thanks for your help Jim.
Yes! It's 72 leva per year 👍
@@MayainBulgaria Wow thats cheap!! Thanks for the info.☺☺☺☺☺
As you can tell i am giving the move over a lot of thought Looking at taking a very early ret at 42 you are really giving me a lot of very good info all the very best Jim
Hello Maya, I see that you like Bulgaria and will live here. I have a question, I see that you know some words, but can you communicate with people?
I can get my meaning across ok. Google translate helps also. Yes I can communicate with people enough to manage. It’s not perfect but it’s ok :)
To tell you the truth , my retirements income are close to 7 000 levas / month So even if I have to pay for my son's studies in Canada I can afford to have a nice life in Bulgaria
That’s fantastic! A very comfortable way to live and nice to support your son 🙌
@@MayainBulgaria Yes but I must sens more than 30 000 Euros per year to my son to cover all fees and his living
Hey Maya what about car insurance and tax please 🙂
Car insurance is about 300 leva for one year for my van 🚐 and tax is 95 for the vignette and 60 for the “mot” car inspection.
How the wood used for heat..it's a fire place inhouse with chimney?
This is correct 👍
I see.. Why a fire and not electric? Because of cost or the electric grid is weak for that?
You may know this by now but always best to have a back up heating source due to frequent power cuts in some areas of Bulgaria @@joelevi9823
Is there some kind of council tax or house tax that you pay every month for running local services like bin collections etc as in the UK that would work out at about 275 lev on the lowest band per month, you are so lucky with the electric as just my standing charge without using any electric is about 37 lev now 😭😭
Great question and I’ll need to update this video with more details :) in the meantime, yes the council tax I paid for the year is 71 leva.
@@MayainBulgaria OMG £31 v £1465 that`s unbelievable i`am liking Bulgaria more and more 👍👍
For the last 2 years I paid 94 levs a year as council tax for a village house and the adjacent plot which is our garden
@@igorsagdeev7881 Thanks for sharing Igor its such a good price....
If you work in Bulgaria Tax Rate is 10%.
the budget 500 EUR doesnt include rent, I guess?
It doesn't because I've bought my house. No mortgage either.
So you're already growing your own food? Cool! Good to see someone moving to rural Bulgaria and doing it right. I suggest spending a week or so to prepare pickled vegetables, lyutenitsa and kompot for the winter, if you're not doing it already. You can, of course, buy these... but they'll never be as good as homegrown stuff :)
So I’m super lazy I’ve realized when it comes to food preservation so not sure how much jar stuff I’ll do except for idiot proof things. Maybe 2 or 3 ingredients tops. This might change as well 😅💪
How can a British man stop in Bulgaria for up to 3 months at at time and renting a big garden with a waterproof shed on it and renting a house. Thank you Neil. Dobspato Newcastle Upon Tyne England.
Hi can you give me some advice please about living in Bulgaria. I am from England. Thank you. Dobspato Newcastle Upon Tyne England.
But you seem not to take into account costs of your van and car with taxes, maintenance and diesel/gas ...... and maintenance of your home ( it is endless)
You are right! I will redo this video with better information!
Where in BG you are?
South east!
and we are two adults !
Makes sense!
hi,
What about a bbq, meat ect?
Ahhh I’m afraid I don’t eat meat. Not since 5years approx now :)
@@MayainBulgaria Don't be affraid of it. Everyone make there owne choise to eat what he/she likes. So when I invite you on a bbq party by me, I take care for vegetarian things for you hihihi
What State or Town in Bulgaria do you consider very cheap to live in?
Can you rent a room for me ? for a few days ? Do you have Airbnb profile ?
Unfortunately no Sorry, there’s some Airbnb’s around Bulgaria though. I’m sure you’ll find something nice :)
@@MayainBulgaria i prefer stay with you
@@partisia Don't be a creep dude
I wonder how her special forces Bulgarian bf is getting on .🤔😂😂😂😂😅😅😅😅
@@dobryden8558 no she is single and pretty
Including the 2 lovely cats??lol
Cat food for the kitties is about 20 leva per month! Haha true I forgot to include this
My figure of 2000 levs/months for 2 persons is my experience since 5 years with inflation being taking into account !
I think it’s very true that the budget will need to be bigger if you are in Plovdiv. It’s a bit more expensive than rural Bulgaria!
@@MayainBulgaria Yes but we are disabled so our taxes are half of the normal price ... but we are are living a very nice life with very nice and expensive price for foods !
"Toma(r)toes" or "Toma(y)toes". However you say it, that's the right way!!
Tomatilloes 😂
How much is rent for a small house in the rural area?
Nobody rents in rural areas because it isn't worth it, but some owners put tenants for free so the property isn't pillaged by looters.
@@axl1002 to me it is a place to live, so it is worth it, and if I have to pay, so be it. sidekick for the owner.
@@sverre371 It's not worth it for the owner to rent. Since everybody has his own home, there is no developed market and no demand. People may rent to someone in need if they know them for a very small sum like 25-50 euro, but nobody will bother with stranger because they will have to talk to them, pay a bookkeeper for taxes, pay taxes on the income etc.
What do you do for work?
I’m planning on doing a video about that soon :)
It includes ALL expenses ( fuel, Wifi, Bulsatcom ) ... ALL INCLUDED !