Portugal 🇵🇹 VS Bulgaria 🇧🇬 (Which Country is Better?)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ค. 2021
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Today we are doing our favorite topic again - country comparison. This time we're talking about Portugal vs Bulgaria.
Both countries are quite popular among digital nomads and online entrepreneurs. Portugal has a famous NHR program, that lets you live in the country and not pay taxes on your foreign income for 10 years. It also has a golden visa which can lead to citizenship after 5 years.
Portugal is getting more and more popular among the crypto community, as they don't tax crypto gains, at least not at the moment.
What about Bulgaria? Well, they offer citizenship by investment program, which will grant you an EU passport in about 2 years. They also offer flat 10% tax, plus 5% on dividend withholding. However, if you structure yourself properly in Bulgaria you can end up paying only 7,5% tax.
Bulgaria is getting more and more popular among digital nomads due to accessibility and affordability.
Both of these countries have pros and cons, they're both beautiful and worth considering.
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Yayyyyy. Thank you. I asked and you delivered. Whooohooo you are the best🎉🎉🎉
Always!
Thank you for the support!
What would you like to see next?🤔
@@OffshoreCitizen That's all for now. I have decided on Spain NLV. Although, Bulgaria is my no. 1 choice. It's almost impossible for Self employed Americans.
@@phplayschool , what made you pick Spain over Portugal, right next door ?
Fellow Canadian here. Great vid. The dual passport should be one of the biggest considerations IMO.
Giving up your original passport is like giving up your identity lol
Thanks for this wonderful video, Portugal vs Bulgaria.
Always a pleasure!☺
@@OffshoreCitizen 😀
Great video, important topic, thanks for sharing
A pleasure!
Which one would you pick?
I need to check crime , corruption, and democracy in those countries before answering 😊
BTW, finding an English speaking doctor in Bulgaria is not easy
Good & informative video on the pros/cons of Portugal 🇵🇹 & Bulgaria 🇧🇬.
Good content and comparisons - thank you
You're welcome, always our pleasure!
Which one would you choose?
@@OffshoreCitizen Montenegro - Porto Montenegro. We sail.
Some interesting comments, I was in vidin in the north of Bulgaria and the people where nice and helpful and friendly.
I went to porto and found people to be the same there.
When moving to any country it's about what you want.
I moved to france from the UK 16 years ago and it has been a rollercoaster (just like the UK), but it was one of the best decision I made.
I'm from Northern New York state just east of Lake Ontario near the Tug Hill about a 2 hour drive away from Ottawa & less than an hour from Kingston, Ontario, so your idea of a rough winter is no more severe than mine.
I was a NYMA cadet upstate NY... Loong time ago
Hey Michael, would you mind doing a video comparing Bulgaria and Montenegro? On the surface, they seem pretty similar to a foreigner but what are the differences? Thanks for the great videos you put out!
Another very good quick comparison video :)
Re crypto staking & farming returns - would they be free of tax in Portugal with the NHRV ?
Have you ever done a video on Gibraltar ? I had a search for Gib content in your channel but couldn’t find anything.
A crypto focused Gibraltar video would be ideal to have in your library given how the situation is there with blockchain and that it’s very well known off shore location.
Very good info!! From Sofia, there is almost the same distance to back sea than to Saloniki sea and I like more than the freezing Portuguese sea. An advantage of Portugal is that you can go easily to nice places like Extremadura and Andalusia in Spain to make tourism.
Thank you! And thanks for sharing the interesting info!
Which one do you prefer?😄
@@OffshoreCitizen I speak Portuguese and not Bulgarian, so in my case Portugal would be the best option.
Portugal doesn't have the sea.
another reason Brits might like Portugal is that Portugal & UK are in the same time zone, GMT, while Bulgaria uses Eastern Europe time zone.
Hi, Michael. Important detail you forgot to mention. How many years to citizenship?
With the NHR ending in Portugal, does that change your overall comparison? Any new insights would be appreciated.
Hi Thank you for such a useful video I`m going to Portugal soon but very interested in Bulgaria too as many of my eastern European colleagues recommend , do you know how much have to have in bank account for apply Digital nomad visa in Bulgaria ?Thank you
Great content as always! I’d love to see a video about the best places for remote workers. I know you put out extensive content for the best places to move a business, but what’re some good places for salaried workers to set up if they could work from anywhere? What’re some tax strategies that can be employed?
Have you seen these? th-cam.com/video/YJRGr1LqoSk/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/nL4Fe6wBMQg/w-d-xo.html
Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks!
You're welcome! Always happy to help ☺
Been to both ... 4 Me ... Portugal hands down , especially for me talking with solid fluent English , Italian and Spanish on my belt ,
Yeah, sounds like a perfect fit for you!😄
Are you planing to visit?
I don’t understand, you said there is 0 tax on crypto in Portugal yet for things like staking / yield farming / day trading in crypto it’s better in Bulgaria, can you explain why this is the case?
Can you do a video, on P vs B, on taxes; like VAT, what is taxed? Like food? Cafe meals? What is not taxed. Also, What about people that just want to stay for the summer in B, or Winter in P; for say 3 months, any problems?
Thanks - great info as always! It seems both Portugal and Bulgaria will be on our 3-month journey starting in October. What has been your COVID experience in Bulgaria? We both have vaccination proof. I presume we need a test before entry. Yes, I know things change quickly!
BG is mostly back to normal at the moment. You have to wear a mask in shops, but other than that, it's business as usual.
@@mfoley2378 Thanks for the information.
Directly came here after your comment 😁😅
I made some calculations, but take it with a grain of salt...
If you make less than 70K, more likely Bulgaria residency is more beneficial.
Between 70K and 80K roughly the same.
If you make more than 80K, more likely Portugal will be more beneficial.
Geography. Yes, Portugal has a more developed infrastructure and a milder climate but, on my humble opinion, Bulgaria's location is strategic given its proximity to Continental Europe, North Africa, Middle East - the average flight duration is 2-4 hours. You have a bigger diversity of 3 seas, ski, mountains, nature and a more year-round destination. The easy and close proximity to Bucharest, Belgrade, Thessaloniki and direct highway to Istanbul. Agreed about the better and more friendly services in Portugal.
Close proximity to places like North Africa and Arabia are downsides, not pluses. I will never understand rich people who live in their bubble with their expensive houses right in front of the slum either.
@@testtor2714 Well said... North Africa is very radicalized
@@testtor2714 Portugal is MUCH closer to Africa, learn your geography!
Yay!
How did you like the video?😄
@@OffshoreCitizen Helpful, but still hard to get my head around Bulgaria without having been there. I'm not really "feeling it", though I see it's possible to have an incredible quality of life for a very small amunt of money. More importantly, I would move to Porto in a heartbeat if I thought the tax/economic situation/bureaucracy would actually work. I'm pretty sceptical. I appreciate you mentioning that their taxes are "horrific": I agree, which is why it's frustrating to see so many people acting like everybody is going to flock to Portugal and pay 0% tax. Also, though I don't need it right now, I feel more comfortable being in places where I can rely on the local economy a bit more if necessary. My list is getting shorter... I'd still appreciate the NL/DK/SE comparison video (pros & cons + business environment, including interesting government initiatives or support + nuanced comparison of tax systems). Anyway, that's complicated and maybe it's not in the spirit of this channel. I still don't understand how you don't have more subscribers despite providing such useful info on a daily basis... I guess some of it has to do with video quality (lighting, backgrounds, wardrobe, etc.)
Another great video. I am in Portugal and have to agree.
Portugal is expensive, especially in relation to salaries. As a Nomad, you get even better apartment deals in Spain with nicer weather along the coast and more places to chose. Rents are very expensive for something decent, so are the cars and services. Extreme bureaucracy, low level of professionalism, combined with very high taxes where everything takes forever is really not that great.
The good thing worth considering is NHR, Golden Visa + citizenship, and 0% tax on crypto, although the last will most likely end in the next years. Moreover, Portuguese people are friendly and helpful, violent crime rate is also low.
Overall, it seems that Bulgaria has a higher legal security.
Thanks for sharing your experince with us, Marcin!
Are you planning to visit Bulgaria at some point?
@@OffshoreCitizen Hi, thank you for your response. Maybe for vacation. I think I will opt for a different, a little more dynamic country in the future, Portugal was only for the 0% crypto tax.
I agree with everything you've written, after a year in Portugal I was like 'what the hell am I doing here, when I can live in Spain instead'. I'm going to visit Bulgaria soon.
You criticize Portugal bureaucracy and taxes and talk about Spain being great? Have you heard about Spanish global wealth tax?
Is Portugal expensive, really? In comparison to what? Bulgaria, yes, Poland yes. Spain? It varies.
The interesting thing about Portugal & their socials when the NHR applies at least for an American with earned income is whether it is better to be self-employed & paying the Portuguese socials or employed by a US based S or C Corp and paying US socials for 5 years. Depending on the earned income levels it's really a toss up. I mean you are going to use the foreign tax credit regardless, and Portugal's pesky management & control rules may subject the corporation to double tax, where again the foreign tax credit may come into play. It's a really odd place if you were for example in the building phase of a business & were living there on say a D7 visa primarily to obtain an EU citizenship & a good drop in replacement for a US passport essentially. I mean giving up Equatorial Guinea & the Central African Republic while gaining access to Iran & Venezuela while losing access to a potentially favorable visa policy with Russia, but gaining E-visa access is about as much of a drop in as you could get aside from a Canadian passport where you just lose CAR and EG, but otherwise stay the same.
I think I am the only person I've ever even heard about who was interested in going to Equatorial Guinea. I even read a book (the only book) of Equatorial Guinean poetry when I was 18. If being able to travel to Equatorial Guinea is on your list of concerns for which passport to strive for, you've got a pretty crazy life.
where do you currently live? thanks
Sorry, you say taxes are bad in Portugal! So how much you will be taxed after 10 y in Portugal? Thx
Max bracket of 48% plus socials etc.
What the requirements to live in Bulgaria as a Digital Nomad?
As a single guy, Portugal is pretty poor, there is a dearth of attractive women, a lot leave and especially after the 2008 crisis.
Not that poor, dude! Not that poor. If between Bulgaria and Portugal you really want to be honest speaking about being poor, Bulgaria is far more poor. You told bulshit!
@@sergiobasilio5548 I think he mean't poor in the choice of beautiful women - not in money.
@@sergiobasilio5548 He spoke about the chance of finding a nice lady as a single guy in both countries.
@@marcind4644 You clearly never visited Bulgaria
how to structure taxes to get 7.5% in Bulgaria?
you may get more than 10% after you pay social security taxes up to 1k euro per month
For buying property though Bulgaria is a no brainer for cost...So cheap!!
One thing I don't understand with moving from country to country is how do you manage your kid's education. Do you guys do home schooling? But then you gotta dedicate atleast 4 hours to that on a daily basis. That's my main concern.
If taxes are your main concern then obviously Bulgaria, for the rest Portugal. Bulgaria is ok for 2,3,5 years MAX to save some money and land in better places afterwards. The country hasn't progressed one bit in the last 10 years, actually, I believe it regressed. I've visited in 2008 and 2010 on the seaside and the place was thriving, lots of western tourists, decent infrastructure and quality service. Then I visited in 2019 and the place seemed grim and abandoned, not very clean too. I wonder where did all the EU funds go.
What in the world are you talking about? The infrastructure of the entire country, economy and all has come such a long way in the past 10 years. Yes, tourism has died down a little, I have no clue which part of Bulgaria you visited back in 2008 and 2010 that according to you has been " abandoned ". Can you actually give some context to whatever you're talking about? As a person who's been living in this country ever since I was born, I can tell you, things have not become worse. If they had I'd be long gone, lmao.
First thing you do when you get to some second tier backwater. Look at the ambulances.
Let me spice up that video a little bit. I am currently in Bulgaria on vacation. I was born here and for the last 20 years I live in the States.
I maintain my monthly health care insurance in Bulgaria even though I am not here. I am not familiar how the system works.
I supposed to see an endocrinologist. I went into the office. I supposed to provide some paper from my personal GP. I didn't have the right paperwork. The endocrinologist doctor was so pissed off that I didn't have the necessary piece of paper and she started screaming like crazy. I didn't know how to fix the problem. The nurse tried to explain to me. Then the doctor started screaming even louder. In a sense that if the nurse keep helping me she was about to lose her job.
And then the doctor told me despite my insurance I either pay up cash to her or I can go straight up to the cemetery if I am that sick.
This is the attitude everywhere around here - all governmental institutions, with contractors, with the server at the coffee shop, with the seller at the supermarket or at the farmers markets.
I am just thinking once when I retire here I'd better be healthy.
In the same respect I watch some videos of some American family that emigrated to Portugal. They had some experience with health care insurance and hospital and doctors. They said they were very happy with the service.
Besides that Bulgaria maybe ok. If you don't rely on the health care system and don't mind the attitude everywhere around it should be fine.
I can say that Bulgaria is not much cheaper nowadays compared to Portugal either.
If you manage to have € 1 000 a month and a car you can be ok here and maybe speak some Bulgarian.
I think it's implied that you simply skip public healthcare and jump immediately into a private hospital here.
I haven't been in a public hospital for 10 years (with the exception of a good children's hospital for the standard vaccinations) and there's a good reason for it.
Hi is someone live in Porto from Bulgaria?
Yesss
"Portuguese taxes are normally horrific... probably some of the worst in Europe". That is not good to hear for someone who is a Portuguese citizen...
You can ask him to give you more details as to why Portugal isn't great when it comes to taxes
Portugal is better to live.
Could you elaborate?😄
I wouldn't settle in any of them tbh. Too hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Both live off of tourists and both countries are dead during the winter.
What country would fit your needs best?😄
dude just because u went to skiing in basko high in the mountains during the winter months dont mean its like that in the whole country im Bulgarian the norm during summer or non winter is like 30-40 degrees in the whole of Europe there are 2 naturally forming deserts 1 in Spain 1 Bulgaria ive been to bansko myself and yes its alot colder but the rest of the country is nothing like that when it rains we see it as a blessing 1 time it got above 40 i got ill and there were mad heatwaves most Bulgarians wear shorts idk how it is in Portugal but dont be painting a picture of Canada when describing Bulgaria just cuz u went to bansko.
Yup, that is actually pretty true, and on the seaside( local Varnaliya ), in the early summer it usually turns into a fucking rainforest, usually may-june-july are often accompanied by literal daily downpour of cosmic amount of water, temperatures stick to around the 30s until like the 2nd half of September usually. This guy sitting here saying Bulgaria is like Canada, lmao :D just goes to show his poor knowledge of how weather actually works.
Can not here what you were telling
Well thats BS in Bulgaria there are 4 seasons you can do everything in the summer it gets up to 38 sometimes 40 degrees celsius and summer is 3 to 4 month so i dont know what this guy is talking about at least talk eith facts
hi....sir....B.....worke..p...
You forgot to say that Portugal has C.Ronaldo. That's enough for Portugal to win in this comparison.😁
Bulgaria didn't recover yet from the effects of communism!
either way usa loses
My wife and I travelled to Bulgaria, Romania because of the favorable taxes. You could just smell the poverty getting out of the airport. It sounds harsh but it is true. Infrastructure lacks and there are these depressing communists buildings everywhere. You also still feel the scars that the older people have from the communist regime. I will just minimize my taxes using corporations, IP regimes etc instead of living in a dump, no offense. Portugal is different obviously and might be a good trade off.
Living in a dump... is offensive.
Romania has beautiful places like Brasov. I'm sure there are places like that in Bulgaria too (Varna?)
Romania has made an insane amount of progress in the last 10-15 years. Of course, you can't fix everything overnight. Plenty of places in France, Spain, Italy (and certainly the US!) could be referred to as "dumps" as well.
This comment feels very overexaggerated to me, these countries might not be the richest but they’re definitely not that poor to “smell the poverty”
This is unfortunately very true. In Sofia even today you can see lots of communist buildings that are falling apart and look quite horrific. Area around the airport is scary and crazy poor.
Coming from a first world country you will notice the difference straight from the beginning.
Lots of their population works for peanuts, and many areas of the country are completely abandoned.
If you want to save money and tax it might be an okay option. But then again you can move to UAE, pay zero tax and still live in the first world country.
How can anyone go to Bulgaria...lol. A lost world.
Have you ever been there? You should give it a chance😄
@@ChrisMCP2 venture in Mississauga as well lmao
@@OffshoreCitizen yes. I was born in the nearby area. Eastern europe is a lot of years behind western europe. Both in mentality and living conditions. When Bulgaria entered EU everyone fled to other european countries. Do you think this was without a reason?! Now basically there are areas of the country that are pretty much abandoned.
Sad truth
The "lost world" of Bulgaria is superior in EVERY WAY compared to the advanced living standards of any of the largest cities in the US. Income and material possessions are not the only measure of quality of life.
Who wants to live in a concrete jungle scattered w wild animals absent of conscience and more than willing to kill you for your purse, car or sneakers?
For anyone with any common decency, Bulgaria is a paradise when compared to these "modern worlds" with much better "living conditions"! Lol!
Bulgaria has very high crime rates. So if you are a "rich" foreigner, you have a target on your back.
Bulgaria has generally very bad healthcare, with sloppy (hygenic) practice standards and little investments. BG has among the lowest European life expectancy, for this reason.
Bulgaria has very high corruption.
So Portugal, hands down is way better. If you go in southern cheaper areas of Portugal, the cost of living is about the same as BG too.
How Bulgaria has a very high crime rate when the country is ranked 27th in the world in the Global Peace Index. That is definitely not a very high crime rate.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Peace_Index
What in the fuck are you talking about?? High crime rates? :D:D:D Dude, I'm a Bulgarian and I feel so safe here that I'm actually scared of countries like the US, I literally refuse to visit the US, cause of the crime rate, wdym... Literally the country is as safe as it gets in Europe, I'm fine with visiting literally any country in Mainland Europe, besides Russia and Ukraine, cause they're unstable atm. Yes, healthcare... is a bit of a pain in the ass here, I must agree. However if you choose private clinics, hospitals etc. it's a different story. Yes, corruption is a problem, but for who? If you're literally just visiting as a tourist, what does that bother you? Do you feel it in your pocket? While if yes, you're going to stay, you'll definitely notice when money from some project goes AWOL.
According to the 2021 Global Peace Index ranking: Bulgaria is 27th, and Portugal is the 4th most peaceful
Bulgaria has average crime rates for Europe. Bulgaria> Portugal overall
@@TheJPSouza USA is 129th.