The lovely surroundings, friendly people, and the extremely low prices are some of the things that Englishman Chris enjoys about living in Bulgaria. With his wife and their dog, he's relishing his expat experience in the city of Sofia by doing things like learning the language and remembering to nod or shake his head the local way!	Chris Goodall

-Where were you born?
Yorkshire, UK

-In which country and city are you living now?
Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria

-Are you living alone or with your family?
I live with my lovely wife Jain and our German Shepherd dog, Peluche!

-How long have you been living in Bulgaria?
4 years

-What is your age?
46

-When did you come up with the idea of living in Bulgaria?
Well, we've been ex-pats for around 15 years now. We were living in south-west France for many years before finally moving to Bulgaria 4 years ago. France had become far too expensive for us - not just in the respect of real-estate, but the actual cost of living. With that in mind, we looked 'eastwards' to find a better quality of life.

I've been visiting Bulgaria since 1984 (still then under Communist rule) and Jain's Father was Hungarian, so moving east was not as daunting to us as it may seem to others!

-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?
The amount of bureaucracy and paperwork four years ago was somewhat daunting; however, now that Bulgaria forms part of the EU, things have become greatly simplified. One can now come to Bulgaria as an EU citizen and stay for up to 90 days without a Visa. If a longer stay is required, then a simple application for a 'resident permit' can be made, and this is usually issued the same day.

-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?
Not at all. When we moved we were still covered by our French medical insurance, and now, we pay into the Bulgarian healthcare sytem.

-How do you make your living in Bulgaria? Do you have any type of income generated?
When we first moved to Bulgaria, we intended to work in the real estate industry - Jain worked in a Notrial office in France for many years running their 'immobilier' section. However, we were so shocked at the lack of decent advice and information available here for people wishing to purchase property or invest that we decided to launch an English language magazine to better advise and assist those wishing to invest, buy property or move here. The magazine has been a huge success and we are now in our third year of publication with subscribers growing on a daily basis!

-Do you speak Bulgarian and do you think it's important to speak the local language?
We speak enough to get along and make ourselves understood, although we're not quite as fluent as we were in France. The main problem in learning Bulgarian, compared to say French or Spanish, is the fact that it really is 'back to basics' to learn the Cyrillic alphabet! Once the alphabet has been mastered, the rest is much easier! Another bonus is I can now read many Russian words which comes in very handy when watching Spy Movies on the television!

Living in the capital city is quite different to living in the rural areas as most people in Sofia speak English, and also want to practice their English. Even if I open a conversation in my best Bulgarian, they generally pick up on my accent and reply in English anyway.

One strange custom in Bulgaria is the fact that a 'nod' of the head usually means 'no' and a shake of the head means 'yes,' which can lead to some extremely confusing (but generally amusing) situations!

-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
My Mother and Brother still live in Yorkshire, and Jain's Brother lives in Shropshire. Whilst we do miss them from time to time, with the current 'technological revolution' it's extremely easy to keep in touch. We all have web-cams and have weekly 'video conference' conversations, free of charge, thanks to the internet.

-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home?
For the past four years we have lived in a modern apartment in downtown Sofia. Whilst this has certain advantages (restaurants and bars open 24/7, shopping malls, cinemas, theatres, etc.) it also has its share of drawbacks (no garden, lots of traffic, lots of people, etc.). We currently pay around 1,000 leva (500 euros) per month for our rent.

During the last few weeks we have bought a house. It is a 'revival' style monument of culture in a museum town called Kotel. The property is situated in the protected part of the old town, around 500 meters from the actual town centre. It has a lovely walled garden and is very traditional. We paid 35,000 euros for it, although it needs some renovation work.

 
-What is the cost of living in Bulgaria?
The cost of living here is incredibly cheap. In fact, Bulgaria has the lowest cost of living in the whole of the EU. To give you an example, a large glass of beer in a restaurant would cost in the region of 1 lev (around 50 centimes of a euro).

-What do you think about the Bulgarians?
This is quite difficult to answer as we live in the capital city - and, like all capital cities, it can be very busy and noisy. However, on the occasions that we've visited the countryside, we've found all the Bulgarians to be extremely warm and welcoming.

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Bulgaria?
Positives: Fantastic climate, incredible mountains, lovely coastline, friendly people and ... an amazing cost of living!

Negatives: As an ex-communist state the bureaucracy can be annoying, and things are sometimes slow to change.

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Bulgaria?
Firstly, the main thing to remember is that Bulgaria was still under communist rule a decade ago... so please don't come here and expect everything to be like the South of France but a great deal cheaper!

Also, try and learn the language, even just the basics, it will make your life here far more enjoyable and allow you to learn such a great deal more about your neighbours and friends.

-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about Bulgaria?
Of course, I would have to say our own web site! www.questbg.com, where we have lots of advice, useful links, recipes and more for people thinking about investing in or moving to Bulgaria!

Also, www.ourbulgarianworld.com is a very friendly forum site full of useful information from people that already live here.