Surviving In Bulgaria With Little Money

Many people have asked me how I survive in Bulgaria with so little money. It is no secret that I came over here with hardly any savings, no job and very much with an adventure on a shoestring in mind. Most of my money that I came over with vanished completely as I crashed someone's car and had to fork out thousands of pounds to replace it. Without that incident, I would not have had to go back to the UK for a few months to work for more funds to stay here.

Back to the question and maybe an answer. Living here, I can easily live on my own for next to nothing. I was living on less that 20 Bulgarian leva a week when living on my own in my first year here and I ate well, no restaurants or uneccessary spending. Right now I could quite easily return to that economical life although the cost of living here has risen substantially since joining the EU so to survive here solo it might have risen to around 30 Bulgarian leva a week, plus the fact that expatriates have extra cost as the running of their business have to be paid, (Your land can only be owned by a registered Bulgarian company of which you are the manager.)

Right now though we are finding it difficult to live on 100 Bulgarian lev a week, mainly because we are having to provide food for our family, fuel costs for the car, electric, gas and water bills for two homes. When we leave Galia's family home, which will happen one day, we are not sure when or where we will end up, we should be able to survive on around 70 Bulgarian leva a week or even less if we gave up the weekly trips to the Skalitsa farmhouse.

Whatever happens, both Galia and I remain quite sure that I will not have to return to the UK to work, we will try an make out here indefinitely no matter how hard it is. If Galia was to lose her job again then we would really struggle and make even more cuts on our simple lifestyle. This is how it used to be not so long ago in the 1990s with Galia. Like many others here., she had no job, no social security to fall back on and had to resort to selling her possessions to pay for food. She doesn't like to talk about it, but I know they were close to starving many a time, which happened in many town and city areas throughout Bulgaria. Those in the villages where luckier as had their own food from their farms to rely on of course.

I don't think it will ever get to the 'starving' level whatever happens as families support each other in times of need. In the village that would certainly be the case with our close friends there who would also 'help us out' food wise. We could survive financially if we moved out into a village where generations had lived on almost nothing other than their working on the land, wits and total practical way of life.

If there is one thing I have found out since living here in Bulgaria, it is that town and city living is far more expensive that village life. That is entirely due to the barrage of advertising in the totally business based cities and town environments. The seeds of materialism have been sown and the only escape is out of town, but then the invasion of the television is still very much a threat, even out of town.

The answer ot the original question can now be answered - How do I survive on so little money? Simple I live the lifestyle of a Bulgarian.

Image via Wikipedia

Bulgarian Cities and Towns and Much Needed Villages

This is Bulgaria and in this place where I have chosen to live we find 249 towns and cities over 5,000 villages scattered around the country. Almost every Bulgarian has a village connection either because they once lived in a village or their ancestors lived or still live there. Bulgaria remain a rural country in so many ways. Many Bulgarians have moved to the towns and cities for work but often they return the villages as it is only there that they can resurrect their Bulgarian soul.

Life today in Bulgaria as many Bulgarians will tell you, takes a village to survive. If there were no villages, life for many would be unbearable for many that live and work here. This is more true for the older generation, but in time the younger generation will become that older generation and have the same feelings.

It has been difficult for many Bulgarians over the last two decades. Before this, the population had time to relax with friends, enjoy the beautiful nature and have a stress free existence. This is not the case in Bulgaria today for many people who working harder, work longer with relaxation becoming a thing of the past. It is even more difficult with this for them to stay in communication to people. Money earned has to be spent on food and other things rather than other luxuries rather than having a good time with friends and family.

Village life is totally different from town and city life. It is cheaper, friends are always there working. People grow almost everything they eat. There is bread, sugar and a few other things bought at the store but most are homemade. Rakia, of course, the national drink, is made from the grapes or other fruits grown in the gardens in the villages. It is not uncommon for a village household to make in excess of 100 litres a year of Rakia for their own use. Buying Rakia from a store or offering anything other than home made Rakia to visitors is unheard of.

It is as important to people to spend time in a village as it is in the cities, but in a different way. Town and City folk work eight hours a day and go home or go out to play. Village folk work from dawn to dusk and never go anywhere. When all the work has been done, you will see people sitting on the street in front of their houses or in the yard around a run down old table. Town and City folk have time to waste, but this is never ever the case in the village as there are always chores to be done. They are deep in though of the arrival of winter and they must be
prepared.

To many Bulgarians feel that village life is not an appealing life style on a permanent basis. It offers very few of the nice things in life that the western world have come to enjoy. However, it offers something for the town and city folk for a few days or weeks. A deserved break from the rat race of the city and their stressful working environment. It is in the village that they can reconnect to their roots and the real Bulgaria. This is something they can't find anywhere else.

Their culture and tradition, while not as popular as they once were in the past, can still be found in villages. Grandparents and friends still live in the old ways, doing things how they had always been done and life itself is simple and good. the village is a refuge and relief over a glass of homemade Rakia and Shopska salad. These are moments in time to forget modern Bulgaria where the hectic life will wait again for them.