Why I moved to Bulgaria
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- čas přidán 10. 05. 2020
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In this video, I'm talking about the reasons why I moved to Bulgaria. Why do I see Bulgaria as a country of opportunities and who might profit from coming here? What is good about Bulgaria? Is there something that is bad? What are the advantages of living in Bulgaria as an entrepreneur?
Author: Michael Rosmer
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I wish I was as smart as you are to have a business in Bulgaria. Bulgaria needs people like you. All the very best with your business there. The language is hard but if you learn it it would be of great advantage. I can give you free lessons :)
Thanks!
@@MichaelRosmer No worries. You are welcome!
@@vessyioannou259 Hi. Is Mokren a good place to live?
what is it about europeans obsessing with teaching their dead languages?! no one in the world asks tax paying foreigners to learn the local language except for you guys. Maybe cause you know you're getting less and less relevant for the world
Very helpful video. Thanks.
Culture and Weather? I would say that many people come to Bulgaria specifically because the weather is good (compared to the rest of Europe) and the culture is great... odd things to pick on. Also saying Bulgaria is not a tourist destination is also very incorrect... Sofia is not super touristy granted but we have a lot of tourism in other parts of the country, Sofia does not define Bulgaria.
Bulgarian are very patriotic and like to defend Bulgaria, that's cool but on an international basis Bulgaria really doesn't stand out as a tourist destination. Skiing is inexpensive, that's good and there are of course some things to see and do (caves, mountains, the coast, some historic buildings in various cities etc) but if you compare those to the Alps, the rockies, the historic buildings in Istanbul, Budapest, Italy, etc or the coast of Croatia, Montenegro and Greece it doesn't rank. Some people might disagree that's fine but if I was advising someone where to go as a tourist I'd suggest Croatia, Spain, Turkey, etc far before Bulgaria.
As for weather I've never heard someone suggest they come to Bulgaria for the weather so that's strange. Mostly the people I know leave part of the year due to the weather. It's not like Russia or Canada but definitely can't be compared to Spain or Greece or the Caribbean or South East Asia.
To each their own though.
@@MichaelRosmer West Bulgaria indeed is not very touristic but the east coast has a lot of tourism during the summer. Mainly because it is a cheap destination with good enough weather. Of course you cannot compare it to Italy or Greece, but Bulgaria has more tourists than some west european countries of similar size like Belgium and Sweden. Otherwise you are not far off.
If Italy Spain France Portugal and Greece are seen as A destinations, Bulgaria Croatia Turkey Montenegro Egypt and Morroco are the B tier.
@@petergeorgiev8434 from the tourist standpoint I'd look at a few things. First, yes there's quite a bit of tourism on the black sea coast of Bulgaria the thing is it's not very high level. Like you said, people go because it's cheap (though it's become much more expensive in recent years and now most Bulgarians I know actually go to Greece for what they consider a better experience at lower cost).
As far as the coast of Croatia and Montenegro go I'd say they are much nicer than the Bulgarian coast both in terms of the beautiful clear Adriatic waters and the landscape. And of course Croatia has Dubrovnik, which is legendary and stands out really across Europe. In my view the Croatian and Montenegrian coasts are actually some of the most underrated in Europe as in many cases they are better than Greece (speaking of mainland Greece, the islands are on a level of their own, there's nowhere in the world quite like Santorini and Mykonos, though you'll pay for it), Spain, Italy, Portugal, etc. It's hard to beat the view coming into the Bay or Kotor surrounded by the mountains, the sunsets in Dubrovnik are fantastic (Dubrovnik has gotten insanely expensive though). Of course, you should throw South of France, Cyprus, Malta, Corsica, etc. in the mix as well.
It all depends what you're looking for. If someone was looking for a seaside vacation and money wasn't an issue well I mostly wouldn't recommend Europe to them at all, what you get in the Caribbean or Maldives etc. are simply far better in part because the water temperature is so much better. But assuming they were talking about Europe I'd go for probably the Greek Islands first. One problem I have with European seasides is I like sandy beaches and nice clear warm water. Bulgaria has sandy beaches but the water is mediocre. Croatia has nice water (though a bit too cold) but the beaches tend to be rocky. That might be personal preference so take it for what you will.
I find the Bulgarian seaside is good if you want relatively cheap partying. The vibe in Sandy Beach for example has something in common with Cancun or Patong Beach in Thailand. Personally, it's not to my taste but for college students is probably great. Contrary to what some people have told me when I've been it was actually remarkably clean, I'm told later in the season that's not the case but we've found the beaches and water to both be quite clean.
It's also different if you've looking for luxury or mid level. Bulgaria offers low to mid level accommodation, which works for the price point but there's nothing really high end. Montenegro and Croatia don't have much in this regard though they are improving, you can get pretty good places in Dubrovnik though not many other places in Croatia, and in Montenegro they are building the first One and Only Resort in Europe so that should be good. Until then you're limited to places like Hotel Splendid in Budva, which is ok but nothing special, or Duckley Gardens, which is overpriced for what it is and misses on a bunch of details. South of France obviously does really well in this regard. In Cyprus the Four Seasons is quite a nice property. I don't see a ton in Spain and Portugal actually on the beach, the best properties in Barcelona for instance are in the city such as Mandarin Oriental. Italy has some boutique offers and of course, you can get some high-end experiences on the Greek Islands.
As for Turkey, Egypt, etc. I haven't been to Morocco yet so can't speak to that. Egypt is very dumpy for the most part but of course has the benefit of the pyramids so I'd say go there for history and maybe diving but the cities themselves are awful super dirty and polluted. Turkey is a different beast. I haven't been to the coast except Istanbul, which doesn't have much in terms of beaches but there's nothing really like it in Europe that I've seen. You can get some really exceptional service there and the name of the game is of course history, etc. As a city it is sprawling and somewhat grungy. But I frequently refer people to Turkey for other parts like Cappadocia, which is unique in all the world. That to me is the sort of thing Bulgaria is lacking from a tourist standpoint. You can have fun, you can see some nice things, but there's nothing that really stands out on a global level, which some of these other places do have even if there's other downsides to them.
I think from a global tourism standpoint there's a reason in spite of being awful that Egypt gets a lot more attention than Bulgaria, same with Turkey and Greece. I think what Bulgaria did well for a long time was have a really inexpensive seaside as well as inexpensive skiing (of course it won't ever be the Alps but can make up for it in other ways) unfortunately, that's been changing and hence how come so many Bulgarians are going to Greece now during the summers.
@@MichaelRosmer Indeed Bulgaria is a budget option. It has some potential, but knowing who is in charge of the country I dont expect the potential to be fulfilled.
@@petergeorgiev8434 you know I was hanging out with someone in politics last night and shared with him some of the areas I saw that could be improved and my vision for what could happen. We'll see but I think there's some reason to be optimistic about Bulgaria over the next 10-15 years.
Welcome! Amazing podcast btw
That's one of the greatest benefits of being an EU citizen. I can move to Bulgaria when ever I like
I'm moving back to Bulgaria and want to do charity work. My passion is helping ppl in need.
What type of charity are you planning on doing?
You must be ugly.
Love your short videos.
Thanks I'll try making more short ones, I'm told for CZcams 10-20 minutes is optimal
@@MichaelRosmer Good. I personally like shorter videos too. Even 1-minute videos in which one point is mentioned typically.
Informative video on Bulgaria 🇧🇬
Thank you, Sammie!
Anything else you'd like to see on our channel?
Ten percent and then add the additional deductions if you’re employee. Overall if you trade with wealthier Eu, countries then it’s a win win. However, if you trade only within Bg, to try and break out of that low cost economy when all around are on low wages is very competitive task. Great video.
Yeah absolutely, BG isn't a good market to make money locally. The name of the game there, in fact throughout the Balkans and most of eastern Europe is to sell to foreign markets for sure. Very tough otherwise.
Michael Rosmer Almost gone are the days of guaranteed income even in farming. What with the Eu, grant fad, get your grant and lose your market to sanctions. Next hot technology is waste to energy without incineration, plastic soon be classified 100% renewable energy source no matter its chemical make-up; even that once most difficult plastics become valuable.
For some people like you, Bulgaria is nothing, but a hunting area for personal enrichment. For me, Bulgaria is the home of a wonderful lady, who is my sweetheart. Through her I became Balgarolyubets, because in this gem of a country there are many warm-hearted people, not addicted to the globalistic rat-race. While deeply religious, the Bulgarian is not a fanatic, tolerance is a built-in trait of his basic character. There are lots of other reasons why I would like to spend my retirement in this chudesna Strana!
Very happy to hear you're connected with Bulgaria on a whole different level. Hopefully you will be able to retire here😄🤞
Canada health system is very similar to Bulgaria health system. An US citizen might find it more challenging I think. Young and healthy people are most likely to be happy 😃. Another concern is the very cold winter...
Nice I am also plannig to move to Bulgaria soon. Especially like Bansko.
Thanks for the video. I'm thinking of moving to Bulgaria by the end of the year to beat the Brexit. This video was interesting. Cheers.
Oh yeah definitely take advantage of it while you can
Hello we hope your well and keeping safe. we are going to Bulgaria in just over 2 weeks thanks for putting up this video is there any tips you can give us while we are there? Kind Regards Sarah and Glenn
Hey thanks for asking.
First thing, download the app TaxiMe to get taxis in Sofia. There are a bunch of taxi scams where the meter goes up much faster than it should in Bulgaria so avoid grabbing taxis on the street. The app will always be good.
If you're from outside the EU you can get a SIM card cheap and easily from either telenor or vivacom for your time here it will probably cost you like €5, which I always recommend.
There's lots of good food that's inexpensive. I find the best food isn't on the main street in the city center so generally you can buy better elsewhere.
Depending what you're coming for Sofia is not a great place for tourism. You can pretty much see everything in a day and then from a tourist standpoint you're better off going outside the city. Plovdiv has some nice old stuff, the seaside north of Varna or south in Sozopol tend to be nice along with Nessebar. To the north west of Sofia is Belogradchik though it's quite far and sort of in the middle of nowhere it's nice if you're into hiking, nice rock formations and old castles.
Depending on your budget the nicest place to stay in the country that I'm aware of is villa chinka north of Varna. As a cool place to go for dinner in Sofia just because of the cool decor you can visit hotel Marinela I'd say either seafood at captain cook or sushi at Umami or if you want Bulgarian the Bulgar is kind of a unique spot.
For places to stay the nice hotels tend to be Sense, InterContinental, Hotel Balkan. Otherwise, there's lots of inexpensive places.
Contact us for more questions and enjoy your trip.
@@MichaelRosmer Hello we are so pleased that you got back to us with some very helpful information . A lot of people have already told us about the Taxi scams . we did not book a transfer so we shall indeed be needing a taxi from the airport to our resort . we shall be staying at the Garden of eden resort. we hope the advice we have optained will indeed give us a much better vacation , thanks again my friend Sarah and Glenn
@@TravelTourTaste note the taxis at the airport are fine there's a specific area you go to get them and that company aren't scammers. The problem when you get into the city is other taxis that are scammers try to make their taxis look like the real ones so you've got to be careful.
That being said, Garden of Eden is in Sveti Vlas (perfectly decent area) but if you're going there you must be flying into Burgess?
If you feel scamed by someone in Bulgaria call 112 (thats number of police) , and things will be sorted out quickly.
@@rnik8156 often they don't speak English let alone another language and it's not worth the time to deal with police over something simple. That's without getting into police asking for bribes.
What town do you live in? The cities are a huge difference. I have a house out in a village which is getting a bit claustrophobic and I'm looking at Sofia, Vielko Turnovo,. Plovdiv is not one of my favourites and the coast is appalling other than for a vacation. I sympathize with your island problem. I've been in on a beautiful island in Greece and I'm ready to get to something a bit more cosmopolitan.
Bulgaria is great. Good choice for you.
In the upcoming video on Malaysia make sure to mention how regulation is different in a place called Labuan. Thank you.
Will do, Labuan is cool for companies much less so to live
@Green Leader what might be nice compared to Malaysia?
@Green Leader you don't know high end property in Bulgaria very well. If you go to gated communities you get big yards with nice houses (bathrooms are often weird) and nice big yards and yes mature trees.
Frankly though, brick isn't really so appealing anymore though. The new style typically has a mix of marble and concrete with lots of glass.
You're judging all the places based on inside the city and yeah in the city center buildings mostly aren't very good. It's very different when you're at the base of Vitosha mountain.
That being said we're not defending Bulgaria for its great buildings.
If on the other hand you're going to attack Malaysia for their buildings you're insane or haven't been there because it's filled with outstanding modern buildings far better than you find in most of Western Europe.
Europe in general has some problems due to old buildings and difficulty working with the old while building new, some places better than others of course but for instance try finding a big beautiful penthouse in Stockholm there's close to nothing available and buildings tend not to have the amenities that are normal in places like Washington DC, Vegas, Dubai, etc
@Green Leader some probably are but some are great, look at the house I've filmed most of my last videos in. Beautiful glass, marble, yard, pool, fountains, only point of complaint is bathrooms from the visual standpoint (I'd change some of the layout but that's true everywhere in the world, people suck at floor plans in most cases)
Do you just stay in Bulgaria or split your time like those who use a trifecta method do?
Hey I would like to study in Bulgaria and I'm finding the application process a bit difficult and I live in the Caribbean. Is there any suggestions on how I can apply and so on?
Good question that's not something I'm an expert on. What I'd suggest is join the Facebook group "Sofia Foreigners and Friends"
Hey, as a citizen with a business in Israel, how hard it will be to move to Bulgaria and get citizenship (im not location dependent)? and how far 135K usd/year will go there... thanks
135k will go very far in BG you can pretty much afford any lifestyle on that budget.
It's not that hard to relocate, you can send us a message to assist in navigating the process.
Hi there, great video.
Why did you chose Bulgaria and not Romania for instance? They both have similar benefits when it comes to taxes, however, Romania would appear to be better placed in terms of overall infrastructures and access to the European continent, additionally with a better/lower cost of living? Thanks for your time
Easier to get residency and some slightly better tax rules for our business
Do you have a video about moving to Bulgaria?
We're in Canada and LOVE Bulgaria...but found it very hard to get a visa. Potentially just looking in the wrong area but would love to know more about it.
Yes, we do.
Here is it, and good luck!
czcams.com/video/IKz_-dr-BW0/video.html
Which part of Canada you come from? My husband is from Prince Rupert, BC and we live in village Kosovo, Plovdiv Province from 4 years already...
@@VenetaBrooke is that located in kosovo or in bulgaria?
@@Ranteray kosovo village, bulgaria plovdiv province
@@VenetaBrooke thanks..
Thanks for the vid. Do you still think that Bulgaria is a good place to move?
Apparently not, he doesn't live there anymore.... right?
im intesreted to have soon a bulgarian citizenship once this covid pandemic is over. how much is the annual property tax for a condominium or house&lot in the capital city? and how much is personal income tax there? do they tax its citizen on its worldwide income?
10% flat tax or 5% on dividends.
Costs vary wildly based on the property and area.
I like Canada tho especially Vancouver. So If you're from there then can you tell me is it possible to get rid of high taxes there? Like incorporating my business elsewhere while living in Vancouver?
By the way originally I'm from India
Thank you 🙂
I've done a couple videos on international tax planning for Canadians. It's possible to some extent in certain situations you can check out those videos for details.
And yes Vancouver is beautiful!
Awesome content! But since your girlfriend is from Montenegro why didn't you move there? it's only a 9% tax right? May I ask what your reasons are not to go there?
Great question. Montenegro is a beautiful country but it's very poorly connected by air and there isn't much in the form of conveniences and things going on. It's a nice place in the summer but to live all year long it's not for us we like big cities.
Ah makes sense, thanks for your response!
@@Montoursz you're welcome, where are you from?
the Netherlands :) Looking forward to you making a video about tax planning for the Netherlands. They started cracking down really hard on tax avoidance (for dutch citizens) in recent years. It still remains one of the biggest tax havens in the world however.
@@Montoursz Dutch tax authorities are probably the smartest in Europe, very good at going after people unfortunately and kind of ass holes about it
Hi there, can you recommend someone in Sofia who can give some advices to set up a company in Bulgaria?
You can reach out to us and we'll be happy to assist you open a company in Bulgaria😄
Hey there, thanks for the video upload. Could you please clarify one thing? As a freelancer, being a self-employed and working for a UK company as a freelancer, but living in Bulgaria (as a Bulgarian citizen even), how much tax shall I pay at the end of the day?.. Is it just those 10% indeed, or... there's something else on top? Some people say that there's a social contribution tax, which is +20% of your income?🤦♂️ If that's true, then it makes it 30% in total, which is insanely expensive and I wouldn't call it a "tax heaven". What would you say about that?
You pay 7.5% tax as a freelancer and about 85 euro a year for mandatory health insurance
@@Gunzberg hmm... are u sure about 7.5% tax and nothing else on top besides those 85 euros?🤔 if you have any source on that, I'd appreciate if you could share the link, please 🙏'cause I've been surfing a lot that topic, and couldn't find anything adequate in English...
@@PaulKalak you are allowed to take off 25% flat off your tax for costs. So effectively you pay 7.5% on your income.
I'd recommend getting private health insurance in addition. Good policies are less than €100/month.
The social security stuff is negligible, I'll look for the exact figure and let you know
@@PaulKalak There's a cap. The cap is based on an income of max 3400 BGN. As a freelancer you only pay a reduced % of the total social security of that cap. The rest of your income is then at 7.5% effective tax
What advantage I have from becoming fluent in Bulgarian
Will that help me to join a business?
Any recommendations on cities in Bulgaria? Varna, Bansko, Plovdiv? ;)
We've actually made a video on the topic. You can check it out here czcams.com/video/sSqnIqkMOOw/video.html and let us know what you think 😄
Michael, do you see many western entrepreneurs like yourself moving to Bulgaria? In particular, how would you estimate the tendency? Is this a sustainable upward trend or do you think that after a while people would get bored from Bulgaria because more competitive places will arise in the region? Is there a steady influx of people from countries like the US, Canada, UK moving to Bulgaria to do business? How does Bulgaria compare to Romania? Romania is a bigger market and Romania together with Poland are the "geographic" backbone of the US led geo-strategic project "Trimarium" designed to counter Russia's expansionism to the West. Thanks.
Great questions. I won't stay here long term. Even when we came the idea was to use it as a base while we traveled a lot, which it is excellent for that since you don't have to spend a certain minimum amount of time in the country, it's well connected, costs are low so while you're away you don't feel bad.
I do think for this and in many regards, it is one of the most attractive places in Europe for those concerned about tax, all the others tend to be much higher tax minus Malta, sometimes Cyprus, and sometimes Portugal if you can structure right (more recently Greece and Italy have started trying to compete so we'll see how that plays out).
I'm not really sure if they are smart enough to preserve that competitive advantage because I think in terms of quality of life I'd rather be in Hungary, Romania, Czech, etc. In conversations I've had with politicians here they seem to be considering moving to a progressive tax, which I think would be quite stupid for them because they'd lose people like us and our clients. I've told them this and shared my ideas about how they could become better but I doubt if that will matter probably what they have going for themselves is rich corrupt officials who don't want to get taxed.
While this lasts though I'm seeing it as a very attractive people coming from Western Europe because it's very easy to do. Much less appealing for people from outside the EU where the immigration friction is greater, though I did have some friends move to Bulgaria from Canada just in the last month so it does happen.
In my view, if they are smart enough to remain competitive it will bode really well for Bulgaria. At the moment the biggest drawbacks aside from ugly communist architecture is a lack of conveniences. This makes sense because it's a relatively small market. But as you have more people who are more affluent coming they create demand and some of them will inevitably want to create what they want to see as well, which makes it a better place, which attracts more people in a virtuous cycle. For instance a good friend just opened a high end butcher shop with high quality imported meat a couple weeks ago. This is great because Bulgaria has had terrible beef except for a couple rare restaurants so that's one way life has gotten better. We could see more and more of that if it's allowed to continue.
Really, they just need to streamline a little and let the western European countries ruin themselves with high taxes and regulations and the influx of people will gradually make Bulgaria much better so let's hope they do so.
@@MichaelRosmer
Thank you for the comprehensive answer. It was very informative, indeed!
It is indeed very stupid that some politicians in Bulgaria want to move to a progressive taxation. To the best of my knowledge though, it is for now just the socialist party- the ex-communists- who support this policy. Can you speculate on how mainstream among Bulgarian politicians this "progressive taxation" idea is. Does it have a realistic chance to be implemented in the next say 10 years? Are there other parties other than lefties supporting this policy, too? I hope that it is still a fringe idea and that in the next at least 10 years we will not witness a progressive tax in Bulgaria.
How do you find the IT sector in the country? Some people I know, who aren't experts, praise the IT sector in Bulgaria as very promising. Do these people unintentionally exaggerate and perhaps overestimate Bulgaria's tech potential? Do you see Bulgaria in the next 10-15 years competing with countries like Singapore in the IT sector as heretical as that might sound currently? Feel free to speculate. Thanks.
@@gringoroko regarding the progressive taxation I think it's got a reasonable chance of happening in the next 10 years for sure. It's of course far from certain and for now it's fine but I could definitely see them introducing it. It would fit with the general European trend. I hope not though.
As for the IT sector, it's mixed. You can get some decent people for decent rates not only in IT but in related fields.
This being said, price doesn't seem to correlate to quality within Bulgaria so you also get some people who aren't that great who are asking for more.
The biggest problems I see with the IT sector in Bulgaria are:
1. The talent pool is simply too small, I've got some clients with software companies here who are constantly recruiting and really feel it as their teams grow because in a country of 5 million people or so where the best and brightest can easily go abroad to other parts of the EU there's only so many skilled people
2. Shortage of specific skillsets - it's one thing if you want a javascript or PHP developer or something that's fairly common. It's quite another if you're looking for someone specializing in natural language processing or computer vision. Once again, you run into this issue where the software ecosystem simply isn't that big and it means specialized talent is scarce.
To give you some ideas, I hired developers specializing in Flutter (a cross-platform mobile language/framework) and couldn't find someone in Bulgaria. I also hired a specialist in Couchbase and likewise couldn't find someone suitable in Bulgaria. Not to say they don't exist but they are sufficiently rare that they aren't easy to find and you need to go abroad.
I did find an automation engineer here with a decent amount of experience but that tends to be more common languages like javascript on Nodejs or Python so the talent is more plentiful.
Bottom line, in theory, I think it's got potential but the limited talent pool and corresponding ecosystem is really working against them, which makes Ukraine, Romania, Poland, or Russia more attractive. One of the best designers I've ever seen is from Poland. Ukraine I find has quite a rich talent pool, though language can sometimes be an issue if you speak Russian you have such a major cost advantage it's not funny. I've got some clients with large teams there who benefit a lot by being able to work with native speakers who don't speak English. Romania I haven't personally tried but I've been told there's sort of a joke that it's the second official language of Microsoft and have some friends who have told me they've been very impressed with the talent from there so that's good to hear.
I think Bulgaria would do well to double down on their IT industry because it could be a great source for them that would benefit the whole country.
@@MichaelRosmer Thanks. Very good answer. It seems that the fundamental underlying problem is the bad demographic trend. All of the countries you mention that have better chances - Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Russia - have population of 20+ million people. Unless an event like the coronavirus does not turn the demographic trends in Bulgaria, not just the information technologies but basically no industry of the future has a serious chance in Bulgaria or in countries similar in size to Bulgaria simply due to the small population and limited talent pool as a result of that. That is just terrible. Do you have a solution to a problem like that?
@@gringoroko I tell people the opportunity is to arbitrage. Sell globally, source locally and you can pick up a healthy differential. Over time I believe the market will tilt.
I think expensive western labor markets are going to suffer in the coming years as employers realize they can hire people from anywhere and ditch their commercial office space while those western countries continue to raise taxes and regulations.
Who wants to hire people if the government won't let you let them go like in Netherlands? It's too much of a liability.
Are you happy with the air and healthcare quality in Bulgaria?
Not really no.
Air in Bulgaria? The healthcare is a hit or miss. Many private hospitals in the big cities are good, but you can also get into a less pleasant place, so it's important to learn about the hospital you go to. The system is quite complicated but it is not a major hurdle
I just have some questions about Bulgaria
Is there tape water easy to drink ?
Are there clothing stores like there is in Canada?
Can you recommend some food to try in Bulgaria ?
Is the transit easy and affordable?
Is there lots of crime there?
Are things affordable there?
What’s it like buying a house in Bulgaria?
You can drink the tap water. There are similar clothing stores such as Zara, H&M, Armani, etc.
By the stats it's safer than Canada.
Transport is extremely inexpensive.
Food depends on what you like.
Buying a house isn't that different, use a lawyer and a real estate agent to help you with it.
Hey, cool you live in sofia? I’m in sofia as well! That’s so cool 😎 let’s hang out 🤟🏻
how can you find a job there when moving from uk
Hi how are you.
I have been looking at a property in Toshevo.north east.
We could afford to buy a property but we would also need to find work.i am a mercanical Engineer.the wife is a teacher.
Is there work to find out there.
Regards
Terry
I'm not that familiar with the work environment because I own my own businesses as do most of our clients.
There are some Facebook groups you can join like Sofia Foreigners & Friends where people will probably be better able to answer that
How much is cost of living in Sofia for single person?
Please, spend 15 usd on a mic! Your channel will sound better
You mentioned low taxes (5-14.5%) but what about CFC laws? Wouldn't all your businesses be dragged into their tax net? Next door Serbia has higher taxes but doesn't have CFC laws.
Yeah, Bulgaria has only recently introduced CFC rules but you can fairly easily avoid them and end up with 7.5% tax if you structure properly making it about the most competitive pace in the region minus maybe Montenegro.
Serbia also has management and control rules, which Bulgaria doesn't have.
What is CFC law?
Michael: What countries would be best to hire and build an in person team for a CZcams channel?
Serbia would be a good place for something like that. You could get awesome people for a fraction of the price you'd pay in the US or Canada.
In which city are you? You mentioned it is not estethical..
Sofia
What about schools? Like high school? Are there American schools ?
In my opinion the school system isn't great. You could get private schooling if you want English but if you compare to the international school options in say Singapore it doesn't compare.
@@MichaelRosmer During the Communism we had higher educational level. The Gymnasium was obligated (in UK is called GCSE, but they are changing it to Gymnasium too). I saw adult people in Britain who can't read and write ?!? It's the stupid democracy which brought the ignorance in our country .I am not a communist ,but the British democracy isn't fun. In my opinion the Scandinavians are doing best ,they have some balanced government with a proper social bias and for comparison I can give the ex Yugoslavia as an example, but unfortunately it doesn't exist anymore.
@@iliapopovich yeah really unfortunate the quality has dropped
Yes, there is an American school in Sofia and American Universiti in Blagoevgrad.
Hello, I’m 38 year old American. I’ve been stuck working in a grocery store for the last 8 years. I need a change and I’ve always wanted to live in Europe. Is there any possible way that I can work for you? I’ll do anything, even if it’s just a temporary job. Not looking for a high paying job, I’ll literally do anything you need. Thank you
damn! that's a sad life sorry to hear that and I hope you're doing well now
Why did you rule out Montenegro?
Montenegro is nice in the summer but absolutely dead the rest of the year. We are people who like conveniences and things to do so that doesn't fit well.
The other factor is fight connections. We travel a lot or at least pre-covid and Sofia us really well connected. Montenegro is a huge hassle to get to and from with very few direct flight options and very few deals.
@@MichaelRosmer Makes sense thanks for the reply. We are finishing a project financing. When we are completed we will reach out to set up a plan to include CBI and corporate structuring.
@@VERTICALWisdom sounds great look forward to hearing from you
Investiment in bulgaria🇧🇬🥰
Have you invested?
I adore Bulgaria!
hi, i wold to know a simple information, how much the bulgarians people speak english? A foreign person can live there, or it is very complicated?
You can definitely live in Bulgaria speaking English without much problem.
This being said level of English depends where you go. For instance in restaurants and malls I find it pretty good in banks I find it pretty bad.
So you can get by fine not because the level of English is so good but rather because you don't need to communicate in depth that much.
That being said you can make lots of friends who speak great English.
@@MichaelRosmer
Ok, but if I have to open my own company, talk to artisans, etc. It can be complicated, express and understand with both workers and bank employees! Am I wrong?
@@matteos9783 usually there's an employee in each bank who speaks English but when in doubt you can always hire someone to help. Reach out to us if you need assistance.
As for employees you can hire English speakers but honestly I don't think it's the best place to hire for most positions. Depends what business you're going into though
@@MichaelRosmer
What do you mean: not the best place to hire? As workers or laws?
@@matteos9783 workers, it's a very small labor market and a lot of the best people have left for places in the EU where you can make more money so if your business is local like a restaurant, etc. then ok but if you can have the choice of where to hire people in most cases I'd hire elsewhere.
while many bulgarians trying to get out from bulgaria
perhaps not if they were planning to have a business..
Bulgarians seem to be good with IT
It's a very small talent pool unfortunately
@Svetla Nikolova both valuable skills, world can't function today without either
@Svetla Nikolova that's why I said "today". In the past we were fine but today we are dependent as a society on IT
@Svetla Nikolova it's not a personalization it's a statement about society.
Just imagine tomorrow all the IT was removed, what would happen? People wouldn't be able to buy food. Most people would starve.
Like just look around you it's obvious. How many people could survive? Most people have no idea how to grow food or hunt let alone the space and resources to do so.
And that's just the beginning, then you've got the fact that weapons and tools are built in factors run on IT very few people have the skills with manual lathes, etc. to craft these things themselves by hand.
Then there's transportation, it used to be you could fix your car. Today so much in them is computerized that you can't tell what is wrong without plugging it into a diagnostic computer. You can't even do something simple like rolling up the windows without the electronics.
The list goes on and on, the world today is hyper dependent on IT. Maybe you're one of the few individuals who has the survival skills to exist in nature without it but that's a tiny fraction of the society you live in most would die.
@Svetla Nikolova people wouldn't make it that far.
Flyers? People print those from electronics, they design them on computers.
The world you're talking about doesn't exist anymore for a huge part of the world's population.
Could the survivors eventually adapt? Of course but in the meantime you'd have hundreds of millions die, you'd have the breakdown of social order.
Trace the supply chains.
Farmer's markets? First, the number of people relative to the amount of food they have wouldn't come close to covering it in most places.
Then how would they transport it? Vehicles? Most are reliant on electronics today.
Then there's where the gas comes from for those cars it isn't produced locally in most cases so you run out within days then what?
The pipelines, tankers, drilling rigs etc are all controlled electronically today.
Your everyday life relies on electronics to a degree you can't even fathom.
I wish i could move there. I am in the depressing caribbean where everything s covid covid covid. How is covid over there?
In Bulgaria things seem to be back to normal! Everything works, you just need to mask inside. It's pretty good at the moment, life resumed :)
@@OffshoreCitizen wow! Awesome. Since i am not european would it be easy for me to move there ? I am Tesol qualified..
You could get a residency visa through Trade Representative Office. In case you're interested, feel free to send us a message, we'd be happy to help www.offshorecapitalist.com/
@@OffshoreCitizengreat!! is it required to be covid vaxxd as an outsider coming in ??
No need for that, as of now. You can enter with a negative PCR
I agree with many expats who say that Bulgaria is not aesthetically pleasing as many other countries. Especially if you're talking about Sofia.
If you're coming from North America, Asia, or Australia and want to explore Europe, Bulgaria is probably not going to be on the list!
I'd say MUST in Europe are Spain, Italy, France, the UK and maybe Greece. If you want to dive in Eastern Europe maybe consider Russia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, and Montenegro. Croatia is one of the most beautiful countries in Europe, it's a hidden gem with good prices. Better to take advantage of it while it's still not overcrowded with tourists with insane prices! The same goes for Montenegro.
Bulgaria is still good for business purposes, but if they raise taxes it doesn't make any sense to operate in that country. They would shoot themselves in the foot by doing so. Imagine how many foreign businesses they would lose in that case. Cash flying out of the window.
On the other hand, I hope that many other Eastern European countries become more open to foreign businesses, so entrepreneurs get to have more options to choose from.
Bulgaria is a dump. Don’t know why would you even want to spend two weeks let alone live there.
I understand it’s not everyone’s taste. But dump? I wouldn’t say so. If you think Bulgaria is a dump you haven’t seen much of the world. 😅
Green Leader 100% agree! Once you see those types of countries you definitely change the point of view about what’s good looking and what’s not. Bulgarian cities might not be as beautiful as London, Paris, Barcelona etc, but compared to many in Southeast Asia or Africa they’re amazing! People don’t realize how undeveloped much of the world still is. In some countries you literally can see people starving, skinny as hell right next to luxurious hotels. It’s scary and sad. Luckily, Europe is far from that.
Your comment is quite generic. Plus your shallow knowledge of Spain and Greece is evident. Great countries to live for sure, but if you want to progress in your career definitely look elsewhere. Plus, your comments are biased mainly on a touristic point of view and not comparing so many other parameters.
Since when was Montenegro an expat magnet and not being part of the EU? So wannabe comment.
Bulgaria is definitely one of the attractive states in Europe. It has very long and rich history considering that it used to be an empire in medieval times. For example, most of the classical "Russian" stuff people know in the west origiated actually in Bulgaria.
Thats also not how you say Montenegro ..
My wife asks how do you say it?
@@MichaelRosmer czcams.com/video/lqyKMW1A8NU/video.html
@@keyz898 thanks, my wife doesn't say it that way so apparently there's some dispute
Bulgaria is in EU.
It's the best way to get EU papers.
Unfortunately, it's not Schengen :(
If you're looking for EU you can also look at Portugal, Malta, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech... There's a few options depending on your situation.
It is obvious that you do not know Bulgaria and you do not know where you are! This can be corrected, but for this purpose you need to know Bulgaria and its history, culture and traditions.
Oh yeah how so?
@@MichaelRosmer Check this out.
List of World Heritage Sites in Bulgaria
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_Bulgaria
Усещайте се какви неща говорите и на кого! Човекът ви говори за данъци и за това как се живее в България, вие му обяснявате какви култури имало в България. Тъжна гледка е до толкова да нямате самочувствие, че да трябва да обяснявате на някого защо се гордеете с това, че някой друг преди векове е живял на същото място като вас!
Communist city? not esthetically pleasing. With this attitude you will not get far. I really think you should have stayed in Montenegro and find how esthethically pleasing everything is. Btw, the Bulgarian government is planning to raise taxes, so maybe you should reconsider your plans.
If they do then I and our clients probably will. A bunch of things Bulgaria has done well are changing. Banking has become more challenging and with it forming companies. It's getting more expensive. For more though especially if you are from EU it's still quite attractive as an easy place to move and benefit from.
@@MichaelRosmer You are right. It will remain a decent option for EU citizens. For others probably not so much. It is much more hassle than it was 5 years ago. Many are looking into different options, especially since banking is not as it used to be.
Which other Eastern European countries would you say will become entrepreneur hubs in the following years? People are talking about Slovakia lately.
@@tw9419 generally I'm not bullish on Europe it's not very business friendly. Portugal seems to be one of the better ones for now but we'll see.
Michael Rosmer Thanks! Yes Portugal seems like an interesting option.
@Green Leader not true at all. If you're buying brand new with the new style of architecture yes Montenegro has fairly high house prices. But if you're buying older buildings they are very decently priced (around 1000 EUR/sq m). There's a good opportunity in Montenegro right now to buy older places for the purpose of renovating them into modern looking places as the differential is vast. You get places like Duckley Gardens, which are very overpriced, then the majority of places owned by most people, which are quite reasonable but you can buy the later and transform it into more like the former.
Would my U.S. Social Security pension be taxed in Bulgaria ?
How did you meet your wife? I'm curious to see what she looks like and how you settled on having a South Slav wife. I have to say the South Slav girls can be quite beautiful!
I didn't "settle on", I met someone who was a good fit with me and we fell in love
Slavic girls are beautiful indeed! My GF is Slavic too
Honestly if you're here to avoid your own country's taxes and do your cheap business just get out.
Fine. Live in Bulgaria. But if you do, you MUST learn Bulgarian and assimilate. Don't leech off the local economy due to the low taxes like a lot of Western immigrants do.
You mustn't do anything. If a person wants to learn Bulgarian great but as far as languages to learn it's not a very significant one globally so one has to weigh their options.
I do agree about not being a leech and being a net contributor, there's many ways to do that, taxes are just a small part of it.
people come here cuz its cheap! if you cant succeed in your own country and are failure then come to Bulgaria and all is great!
That can be but also people move when their tax bill gets high.
are you crazy?
Hahaha
huge mistake i bet you are already broke 😂
Lol you have bad experiences in Bulgaria?
Hope you aren’t a self-hating Bulgarian 🙄
@@MichaelRosmer
We would love a video about your income ,) I highly doubt you are making any profit from your company here ,) Where are your company headquarters ? I will come to visit your "successful" business ,) Also if you want to look proffesional at least move your wp-admin because nobody in their right mind will take seriously a "company" thats using a wordpress blog... I ain't gonna lie bro. You are cool guy but you are definitely not a successful business owner 😉 You shouldn't be giving advices ,)
@@lubakaotada I think that's pretty self-evident...if he were wildly successful then he likely wouldn't be operating a CZcams channel like this and spending time commenting and giving free advice. However, he has actually moved there (assuming through the govt bond program for permanent residency), so that counts for something. You also have zero idea of the portfolio he is running so this might be more of a project; maybe he sees the onslaught of people trying to escape Western tax systems and believes he can create a solid consultancy on this topic. Also, I highly doubt a successful entrepreneur (such as yourself!) would be throwing out "bro" left and right and spending valuable time unnecessarily commenting on CZcams videos! (if you try to turn that around on me, I am not a successful entrepreneur, so don't bother). Your English is also flawed, despite what you probably believe. I'm sure success is ultimately in your mind, and not likely to be a reality "bro" ;)
Terrible place imo
Where all did you visit? What didn't you like?
@Green Leader yeah pretty cities is not the strength of Bulgaria
Shut up
It was neither kind nor polite. Among other things, it is not true.
You are entitled to express your opinion but without adding justification, I'm afraid your opinion is pretty much worthless!!!