Відео

😊 we try our best! There are so many beautiful aspects to the Bulgarian style🥰

Thank you for your comment and for subscribing - and yes it is! I can highly recommend it😃🥰

@@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime lovely channel!! I'm just checking all your videos! Again, thank you so much for sharing😄🥰

Oh bless you! That is very kind of you 😊💜

😃 hello! Thank you for your lovely comment. The language is extremely difficult but I would say I am about 25% of the way there.😃 we had lessons but she was too formal in how she tried to teach we swapped Teachers and I got a bit further but it’s basically just wrote learning that helps me because the words are so alien to what I’m used to. In England we have been invaded over the years by the Normans, Vikings, Romans et cetera, so we have Tracy of German, French, Italian in our language but Bulgarian is completely new. but don’t let that put you off lots of people speak English it’s taught in school now.💜

Awe bless you, and thank you 💜

Thank you 😊💜

Yes, it is😃

Because we were here before Brexit, Britain agreed to pay for our healthcare and they pay for the healthcare of any Bulgarians who were resident there prior to Brexit. We’ve been here for more than 10 years now. We have permanent residence permits. I believe if this isn’t the case, then you need to sign up to their insurance scheme , which is what we were doing before we retired and got this S1 form. You only get the S form one when you are retired.💜

What a beautiful comment! Thank you very much! And yes - I would love to get some Bulgarian folk music bottom unfortunately it isn’t available on any of the sites I use - UA-cam are very specific about what music you can use and even if I use some that I copy then I get slashed with copyright - the robots on UA-cam pick up on it but I would love to use some authentic Bulgarian music but none of the sites you can sign up to seem to have Any💜

@@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime Thank you. I wish you both good health and good luck in the new year 2025. I wish you many wonderful sunsets, many delicious dinners and many interesting movies in your Bulgarian home.

Bless you! Thank you so much and you also💜

Oh bless you for your lovely comments and that’s really good advice - thank you so much!xxxx

Thank you! And hello again! Yes - Jeff has had a couple of operations here and it’s been great but we’ve never had a “part“ needed before!😃 and I’m desperately looking for homes for these puppies. There’s just so many stray dogs here no one seems to want them😊💜

@@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime Breaks your heart with so many dogs, I had hoped the situation had improved in the past nearly 7 years 🤔

We’ve been coming over for 10 years before we moved here 10 years ago so that’s 20 years now and it actually has improved since then - you never saw anyone out with the dog on a lead back then and we’ve even seen Bulgarians rescuing animals from the street I’ve been injured and paying for the veterinary care recently so I think things are improving but they’ve still a long way to go. But then again, we have the RSPCA - but they put down animals after a few weeks so I suppose we are no better.💜

@@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime That's good to know. We saw people in the towns/cities enjoying the company of small dogs, but no so much in the village.

@@NewBulgarians yes, you’re absolutely right!xx

Thank you for your lovely comment! That is so kind of you and yes - he was a real hero! You have a wonderful country here. When are you coming home?😊💜

Good luck! Hope you find some words it’s a wonderful country. We have never looked back.😊💜

Thank you as always for your support, Simon! You are so good to me!😃💜

Hello Jeff - I have the most likes from you❤️

I certainly hope not! I have no idea to be honest. I do have friends who are very expensive medicine for other conditions and they have managed to get around this. I don’t know how they did it. She’s on holiday at the moment so I can’t speak to her But will keep you posted! I think what it means is that you have to have the medicine recommended by the Bulgarian government not the English government we have to be treated the same as the Bulgarians are treated. So for example with regard to Jeff - the Bulgarians all of a plastic hip joint whereas he was recommended a titanium one which are very expensive, so they won’t pay for that because it’s not how the Bulgarians are treated so I imagine the same will be true of the cancer or whatever - so long as it’s the same drug the Bulgarians are prescribed you should be alright.❤️

@@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime Thank you very much for the answer. The topic is very interesting and very important one when decide a retirement destination. So I would love to get a follow up on any health topic in Bulgaria. And good luck with the hip replacement. 😊

@@Oggiwara1 thank you! And yes, we will definitely be doing an update!😃💜

If you have paid your health insurance, which is 30 BGN/month, you don't pay for any cancer treatment. But if you need hip replacement - prices vary from hospital to hospital. In Sofia, it is around BGN 5000. That is if you are health insured. If you are not, you'll have to pay for the doctors job.

​@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime Not exactly. Bulgarians are also given the choice, they even show you a list of options and prices. But....since Bulgarians are poor they choose the cheaper option of a hip joint. If they will give you a titanium for 6000 BGN, I think it is a deal. In Sofia will be more expensive. As far as I know, they recommend that these joints are replaced after 10 years. I don't know about titanium ones. So, they have not lied to you - parts like joints, lens for the eyes, are paid by the patient. And I have heard only good things about that hospital.❤❤❤ As regards cancer treatment: here in Bulgaria the oncologist decides what is best for the patient according to protocol. They never ask the patient. A committee of docs decides. This a very informative decision which the patient cannot make for himself - what it should be, how much, or when. The patient has the right to say no and refuse treatment.

my Bulgarian teacher says I am halfway there but I think she’s being very kind! I can make myself understood in simple situations it is extremely difficult because it’s so unrelatable . If you are English then you will understand - we have been invaded in the past by the Romans, Vikings, Normans Saxons - so we have traces of all of these languages (Italian German, French etc) so when we hear words in those languages we can relate Bulgarian is absolutely alien! I think that’s what makes it so difficult, but you will get there if you keep trying💜

Yes, thank you! We’ve discovered that😃💜

Yes I agree.

Oh bless you, that is very very kind of you!💜

😃 yes, I think they must just not trust us in England!😃💜

@@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime They keep your notes in the computer system but they just print a copy for you too. I didn't know in UK they don't give you the notes. How you keep track of your health?

Hello! They won’t even let you read your notes in the UK! They keep it all a big secret they treat us like small children where is in Bulgaria we are treated like adults😊 very often you are just told what to do and you encourage not to ask questions and you are never ever offered alternative medicines like they offer here. I’ve been very impressed with the fact that in Bulgaria the first course of action is usually some herbal remedy.💜

@@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime Yeah, in Bulgaria they don't give you antibiotics just for a minor cold as they do in UK. Antibiotics are strong and is not good for your body to be used often, that's why they try with something else first. As for the papers they give them to you if you want to go to another doctor in another hospital as well. And in Bulgaria you can ask questions. I was very surprised in Australia the appointment is 15 mins and they rush you to go after that time which is crazy to me cause sometimes you may need longer check in the doctor's office or more explanation.

@@m.sh.5180 absolutely! And I love the herbal remedies even for blood pressure they gave me herbal remedy I was so pleased😃

Yes! Exactly😊💜

Lovely to hear from you! And there are quite a number of Americans over here. 😊Animal welfare is dire this is the one bad thing about the country - they don’t care about animals. I would say that, to give them some grace, it has been a very poor country so I would put this under Maslow hierarchy of needs as an ethic😊 however, things are changing. Since moving here we have begun to see people out with dogs on Leeds which was unheard of when we first came over 20 years ago. We have also seen a large increase in the use of veterinary services by t Bulgarians. The veterinary services here are extremely cheap and very good. there are small vets in most towns and large events in the cities that are more like animal hospitals. We have been very impressed so far and as I say, the prices are much lower than England much lower. We find that we don’t even get charged for a consultation which is unheard of in England. They only charges for any medicines we need good luck and hope you could bring your cats. It would be a shame to leave them.💜

Wow, that’s amazing! Thank you for letting us know hope you can make it back soon it’s a beautiful place💜

There is a village named after him. It's called "Thompson" (село Томпсън). There is also a street in Sofia named after him. There is also a documentary in Bulgarian about him.

That’s incredible! What a wonderful heritage you have😃 not many people can say that💜

Ц

Well Simon, maybe that’s an idea for another video?! And yes I agree with you about the imported items thanks for the comment 😃xx

@@simonhill5405 we pay £452( going up in march by usually 5% but the local thieves want higher up to 10% this year) council tax 10 months a year... And I'm in the Wirral not London or the SE...

Hi there! We both get a pension which Is our main income. We have one property we rent out in summertime which just about covers its own cost but the actual property increases in equity every year. And my husband provides a survey service for anyone buying property over here - but it’s just a bit of pin Money it really our main income is our pension. I do have some savings as a backup but I don’t use it. It’s there for an emergency.

Oh thank you so much!😃💜

Sounds like you have an interesting life and skills that might be useful here particularly your English😊 nice to hear from you😊

That’s a good quote!😊

Yes! I think that grease has got quite expensive? We can literally drive to you in about three hours which is nice.😊

@@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime Bulgaria is not as cheap if your Bulgarian that's why prices are low and houses as there wages would be similar or lower to Greece's. The retirement pensions from place like the uk Australia are high but it's the opposite cost of living is through the roof and people on pensions are just as poor as locals in those countries. You will find that big country governments are waking up to the fact people on pensions are doing what you are doing and slowly will put a stop to it.

Hi there - not sure how they can put a stop to it? It’s been going on for decades.😊 and why should the Bulgarian government care when we are bringing money into their country? And why should the English government care when it’s cheaper for them if we live abroad? Not sure of your logic. since Brexit it is not as easy for people to move over here but we have been here for the last 10 years at that point Britain and Bulgaria were both part of the EU and signed legislation stating that people from each country could live in the other country and be treated like a local sorry you sound a little bit jealous

@@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime It's already happening here in Australia restrictions have started. It's not Bulgaria that's the problem it's your country as pensions are paid to help one live in there own country eg pension money will be spend home in turn staying in the economy. If every pensioner did what you do and don't get me wrong I'm not saying you are wrong to do it, there won't be anymore pensions economies would collapse. Here 22% are disability pensioners and 5% pensioners. Now you take all that money out of the economy and what would happen?

@@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime Me Jealous? Why because I'm giving you a few facts? How much are wages there do the locals live a rich life? You asked if Greece has gotten expensive and answered no worse than the locals of Bulgaria! I was born in Greece on a Greek island nothing to be jealous of Bulgaria.

Hi there! Yes, on the whole people expect cash😃

No - unless you buy a very cheap fixer-upper (which will cost more than you expect to pay by the time you've finished the job and even then only IF you can find a decent builder, which is very difficult and expensive these days). In Bulgaria it's against the law to pay cash for any property purchase of 10,000 leva/c€5,000 or more - all such purchases must be via bank transfer; breaches of this law incur fines of 25% of the total amount paid for individuals or 50% if you're buying via a company, which non-EU citizens have to do in order to purchase a house.

@@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime No - it's illegal to pay cash for any property over 10,000leva/c€5,000 (see my reply above)

No idea about that! We’ve bought five properties over here and paid cash for all of them and the most expensive one was 70,000 so maybe the rules have changed recently. I don’t know.

Yes! It is a big problem. Thank you for your comment.💜

My goodness! Thank you for sharing

What a lovely message thank you very much for sharing! You don’t say where you live? No we haven’t done a program on the healthcare, but I was thinking of doing that imminently as my husband needs a hip replacement.😃 and yes - the healthcare system is also very affordable over here💜

In Nesebar probably never below freezing

Hi there! Yes this is correct. It doesn’t get too cold down this end of the country - the lowest it has been this year is -5 at night💜

Sorry? Do you mean you couldn’t afford it? I have a number of friends who are single over here and they still live very very well.💜

I moved to France 2.5 years ago on my own. Its too expensive here now, so I'm planning to move to Bulgaria. Can't wait! There are quite a few mature, single women living in Bulgaria. It's an adventure!

@@elainemcguinness3962 good on you! And I know quite a few of them! If you come down my end (near to Burgas) we have a lovely ladies group. You’re welcome to join us. My email address is underneath in the description box.😊

😃 yes! I’ve heard that trains trends here are really cheap. I keep meaning to try one because there’s a very very scenic route I want to go on.😃💜

@@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime keep in b mind trains in Bulgaria can be a little bit dirty and painfully slow. But cheap nonetheless. Nothing like £450 return for two to London from the NW.

Hello, thank you for your comment😃 I’m not going to answer that! And the reason I’m not answering it is because we have 19 animals! 😃 so our costs are nothing like anyone else would be paying! We’ve got a very sick dog, eight new puppies, and other dogs and cats our animal food bill is about twice what we spend on ourselves! This is one of the downsides of living here there are lots of stray animals and you end up adopting them😃 what I will tell you is that we live on my husband‘s pension and I get a private pension which is equivalent to his (you know how much Pensions are in England). I don’t get my pension for another few years yet so basically we live on the same as a couple claiming a basic pension in England and we live very well even with all these animals!😃 we have friends who smoke and claim a basic pension and they also live very well cigarettes here I think must be cheaper than at home as well Jeff and I like wine and beer so we don’t skimp on food and we go out quite a bit as well hope that helps. It’s definitely cheaper than England and I actually forgot to mention in the video but you don’t pay any tax here even if you have a huge pension you still wouldn’t pay any tax.💜

@ thanks. So, as a couple, if you owned your own house, you could very comfortably live off say £1500 a month? (No pets).

Oh my God, yes! 💜

You would have over 3500 BulgarianLEV the average wage here is just over 2000 per month tradingeconomics.com/bulgaria/wages

Thank you so much!💜

Yes, we do! Thank you for your lovely comment😊💜

Thank you very much for your lovely comment! And we are very blessed😊💜

thank you for the kind comment. There’s always a risk, but we’ve been coming over here for 20 years now and it’s never fell too low😊💜

@@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime there was a time when the pound was worth 2.83 bgn... And then the Brits voted for Brexit ;)

Oh goodness, don’t we know it! We didn’t vote for Brexit personally it’s one of the worst things they’ve ever done!😢

@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime sadly a lot of people believed all the lies from Fromage and the other bunch of "patriots" . My favourite part was the said "patriots" foaming in the mouth about eastern europeans and chants of the sort of " we voted out, now go back home!" XD

Yes - people were very ignorant and uneducated ! They wanted to rid the country of “immigrants“ not understanding the value of those coming over from Europe who did all of the jobs that the lazy English didn’t want to do! My husband said that Polish carpenters were the best carpenters he ever had - very talented. People are so stupid sometimes. It made me cry at the time💜

Of course I count my blessings! And I am well aware that the Bulgarians are not also fortunate

Bless you! And thank you very much😊💜

They are in Nesbar a small resort town on the Black Sea coast. The nearest big city is Burgas, about 30 kilometres away

@ thank Do you know if there are cheap properties for sale there ? And important a supermarket ?

Hi there! We are actually a little bit further Inland than Nesebar 😃and yes there are some cheap properties; there are English speaking people in the city itself which isn’t too far away; lots of supermarkets; the villages have cheaper properties much cheaper inland the city itself the further in line you go the cheaper they get- if you have a look on accompany called Bulgarian properties that will give you an idea. There are some very cheap properties but you would need to do some DIY.😃💜

@@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime thank you I will take a look on there website x

😃 yes! That’s why we have called our channel escape to a simple place in time! Cause that’s exactly what it feels like in so many ways. Thank you for your lovely comment.😊💜

Thank you very much! And the same to you😊💜

Thank you! No we didn’t either! You don’t say how old you are but I grew up in the 80s when Bulgaria was classed as being part of Russia and it was all kept very dark and foreign to us. We never heard any news about the country and just kind of associated it with communism! But the Russians left many many years ago and now it’s a free country and it’s just opening up and people here are just beginning to realise the treasure that they have - there’s so much ancient archaeology as well as beautiful scenery.😊💜

@@Escapetoasimplerplaceandtime , I am 68 years old and traveling around looking at places.