Bulgarian Slivatree - An Expatriate's Eye in Bulgaria

One leva sounds it is is almost exactly one Austra...

2009-05-25T01:57:59.000+03:00

One leva sounds it is is almost exactly one Australian dollar. That makes living on 30 Leva a week pretty impressive. Your fight to reach your life's goal of the life that you have setup is far far more impressive however.

Bas, you are absolutely correct that alcohol does ...

2009-05-25T01:51:52.000+03:00

Bas, you are absolutely correct that alcohol does that, but that is a bizarre argument for introducing other things that do social damage too. I agree that Martin's post is excellent.

"As a drug, it does do damage (especially financia...

2009-05-24T21:58:28.000+03:00

"As a drug, it does do damage (especially financially to people which leads to anti-social criminal activity)"

Well, alcohol abuse, arguably, causes much more of this "anti-social criminal activity" as you put it.

Don't wanna go down that road though, so I'll leave it at that. Great post, Martin!

Come hang out with some young people in Sofia. I l...

2009-05-24T21:56:09.000+03:00

Come hang out with some young people in Sofia. I literally don't know any young person that has never smoked weed here, whereas in Holland I can name a bunch.

The younger generations in the cities of Bulgaria seem to have gone a bit out of control. Many getting drunk before the school day starts (secondary school!) for instance. There's definitely a problem with substance abuse in Bulgaria, primarily alcohol, but in the bigger cities also other stuff.

Just my personal observations though. I don't know the statistics and I doubt there are any accurate ones, really.

Well, that's for the countryside. 30 leva per week...

2009-05-24T21:30:30.000+03:00

Well, that's for the countryside. 30 leva per week in Sofia... too tough. I don't think it's doable.

Martin, this is really amazing. I am an ex-village...

2009-05-24T19:51:27.000+03:00

Martin, this is really amazing. I am an ex-village kid but that's no comparison to having to face what an adult would in a foreign land as well to be confronted with survival necessities daily and for the near future.

I remember reading at one of your earlier articles where you mentioned that your family members and relatives said that you would never make it on your own in Bulgaria.

But the revelation at this Post is indeed something more profound than your kindred's disbelief.

It takes brilliant resourcefulness for any person to overcome the odds that you encounter. You are a resilient to have somehow stayed with your decision.

I wish you the very best Martin and you do have remarkable strength.

Hi Dutchie, I feel the same way about heights! IK'...

2009-05-24T13:03:44.000+03:00

Hi Dutchie,
I feel the same way about heights! IK'd swap that fear for fear of snakes anyday!

We got one in the farmhouse last year, quite commo...

2009-05-24T12:59:55.000+03:00

We got one in the farmhouse last year, quite common in our village in trhe late spring. Galia has never been the same since.

Hi Talen, I know you are right when you say most p...

2009-05-24T12:55:48.000+03:00

Hi Talen,
I know you are right when you say most people would go stir crazy living in a village,m in fact many here that have bought in villages either spend all their time trying trying to amuse themselves in 'Little Britain' communities or want to sell up and move to the nearest Town or City.
It is a bit different for me, I work on the land when I'm in the village there has never been any point where I get bored or frustrated even when I was living on my own. There is always something to do, even in the winter. After all, most mostif not all property in villages iun Bulagria are desgned for self or semi-self sufficiency. Many expatrates take these farms and turn them into luxury homes with lawns. Now I could quite easily get bored with a lawn here, it is not practical and serves no purpose in Bulgaria it is a show thing in my eye.
Full time in a village wodl suit me, but not everyhone like you say. Even Galia goes a bit crazy after two days in the village and can't wait to get back tot town and her family, but then she's a town girl.

HI CK, It's worse or better depending on which way...

2009-05-24T12:44:44.000+03:00

HI CK,
It's worse or better depending on which way you look at it, but 20 Bulgarian leva is actually around £9, it was around $7 when I first came to Bulgaria. I am still better of here than in the UK.
No mortgage or rent to pay here of course.
CK, I am more than happy on a shoestring here and for me the quality of life is so much better. As long as there is enough to pay the bills and food and drink, that's all you have to worry about and like I said I can do that on next to nothing - but not nothing of course.
I really don't know how people can afford to live in London, I couldn't when I left home at 18 years of age and it far worse now and I'm a Londoner!

Hi Dutchie, So glad the problem was ironed out and...

2009-05-24T12:35:15.000+03:00

Hi Dutchie,
So glad the problem was ironed out and you're back here.
I came ot Bulagria very much to get back to basics not having every Tom, Dick and Harry who have no interests in anything but themselves telling me what I can and can't do (politics of course). In the UK and in NL by the sounds of it you just can't do that as you have to walk along a straight road that where you can't stop and there are no services stations until you come to the end of the orad, but by then most would have run out of gas!
One thing is for sure, I rather be poor and free rather than rich and imprisoned.
Financial assistance for the UK Dutchie, even though I have paid tens of thousands of pound in taxes etc? They would still want financial assistance from me unitl I reach 65 and then I'd have to beg!

Living in the village is always cheaper it seems b...

2009-05-24T10:45:29.000+03:00

Living in the village is always cheaper it seems but it takes a certain kind of person to be able to do it. When I do move to Thailand in the next year or so I can live in the village with the family but I think O would go nuts there in a matter of weeks. I can easily amuse myself but for how long.

Luckily the city thats 10 minutes from the family farm is very reasonable and will give me what I need. Although Thailand is inexpensive if you want it to be it would be tough I think to live on so little...then again I haven't really tried yet either.

Hi Martin, thanks for sharing that. I went up Goog...

2009-05-23T23:40:44.000+03:00

Hi Martin, thanks for sharing that. I went up Google and found that 20 lev is around 22 quid at the moment. Does that include your rent/accommodation as well? The irony is that since I've moved to London, we realised that we have been spending lesser as compared to back in Singapore. Though the rent is killing us, we ended up cooking much more at home. I guess that evens out.

Hang on there pal.
C K

Arrrghhhh .... faints

2009-05-23T17:24:19.000+03:00

Arrrghhhh .... *faints*

Hi Martin, Finally, I'm able to log in to ur blog...

2009-05-23T17:11:48.000+03:00

Hi Martin,

Finally, I'm able to log in to ur blog ! It's been no-go for a while.

U sure hv alot on ur mind n thanks for sharing them here. My dear mom had to struggle too when she was bringing up 7 kids with one small pay cheque. We didnt hv any social security system as well. All of us had a job after school to help mom pay the bills. United, we stand strong !

400 leva is abt 202 euro a month. I tried to keep to a budget of 100 euro's for food. In the summer, meats r more expensive due to the popularity of the BBQ season. We hv a freezer especially to stock up when they r on sale.

To be honest, living in uncertainties for the future is scary. Hubby n I hv goals set up n r striving towards it. We do get an earful from others that we had better enjoy the fruits of our labour now while we can. We know it's a gamble to save for our golden years but it has to be done. At that point in life, opportunities for paid work is almost nul when one needs to keep paying the inflating bills. I hv seen that with my relatives here - stuck in a room n surviving on overcooked meals-on-wheels ! State pensions dont go far - just enough to stay alive. We look in on them regularly n take them out when there's a need to replace some personal items. I give them haircuts to save the 15 euro they cant afford !

The general image of NL is one of a wealthy nation but there r thousands who fell thru the cracks. Bureaucracies often stifle one's courage to fill in tons of uncomprehensible forms to get some help. There's no guarantee that one would get it too. For those of us who r working now, we r heavily weighed down by heavy taxes. I always feel that this is one efficient way to keep its citizens under a big thumb ! Yes, I'm constantly thinking of a place where we could live free of rigourous rules, regulations n social obligations to the state !

It all seems kinda trifle compared to ur situation. Just a thought - is it possible to ask for financial assistance in the UK as I assumed u hv been paying into the system in the past ?

Hi Martin, Finally I'm able to log in for a comme...

2009-05-23T15:37:31.000+03:00

Hi Martin,

Finally I'm able to log in for a comment. It's been no-go for a few weeks

I woke up this morning feeling relaxed and now I'v...

2009-05-23T08:16:04.000+03:00

I woke up this morning feeling relaxed and now I've read this the old nreves are setting in again. Myself and Wilai have driven past one snake in the road already today, up country we usually see a couple on a hours drive. That's how I like to view them, locked in a metal box that's got a lot of acceleration. Good news about Galia's work, all the best from a very hot Ban Dung.

Oh lovely, I have mixed emotions about snakes. I d...

2009-05-22T17:25:58.000+03:00

Oh lovely, I have mixed emotions about snakes. I don't like them and prefer to stay at a distance even if I know the type is harmless. I also think some of them are very beautiful especially when they are not agitated. When I was a kid we had many snakes in the yard, mostly boas. I was out picking leaves for my rabbit, not noticing the coiled snake near my feet. When I did, I took off at the speed of light around the house and I swear I was getting faster with every step, thinking the snake was on my heels. Oddly, I ran right past the front door. Like the snake at Galia's office, this snake met a gruesome and undignified death.

Ugggh! Martin, Those snakes in the picture looks ...

2009-05-22T15:01:33.000+03:00

Ugggh! Martin,

Those snakes in the picture looks frightening enough. And its just a picture.

I am deadly terrified by snakes. Just the sight of a snake would be enought to petrify me even if it is non-poisonous.

Oh! I was told that snakes can't take to sulphur powder. It is a deterrent to stave off snakes from entering the house.

Hi CK, Good to see you here. I assume it arrived f...

2009-05-22T14:30:48.000+03:00

Hi CK, Good to see you here.
I assume it arrived from the basin and not from above! lol
If so, I think the snake would have been just as shocked as the sitter!

Hi Mike, Yep yo're right a venomous adder we have...

2009-05-22T14:28:57.000+03:00

Hi Mike,
Yep yo're right a venomous adder we have two types here the common adder and the bottled nose adder. The latter must have tried the rakia!

Hi Talen, Hope you're in fine fettle. Scorpions I'...

2009-05-22T14:27:12.000+03:00

Hi Talen,
Hope you're in fine fettle.
Scorpions I've never met one, not sure what the reaction would be on those.

Hey Martin, I remembered there was once a snake wa...

2009-05-22T14:12:08.000+03:00

Hey Martin, I remembered there was once a snake was found in the toilet bowl of a flat back in Singapore (was on news headlines). I have absolutely no idea how it got there.. must have wriggled its way up through the sewage. Imagine the poor soul trying to take a crap.

Martin not my favourite creature as you know. Fun...

2009-05-22T03:43:52.000+03:00

Martin not my favourite creature as you know. Funnily enough I remember holidays in Greece at this time of the year and being surprised how many snakes you saw. The one in the pic looks like a venomous adder.

I don't care for snakes that much myself and it's ...

2009-05-22T00:11:48.000+03:00

I don't care for snakes that much myself and it's the one thing I am very consistence of when walking the fields in rural Thailand. Of course the occasional scorpion doesn't please me much either!