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Bulgaria is the world’s fastest-shrinking country

bbc.com

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Re: Bulgaria is the world’s fastest-shrinking country

#171

Post by paublyrne »

helpPeople wrote: post #150
alipang wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a company in Bulgaria while working remotely for a high-salary EU country, and it's almost shocking to realise how much you spend on taxes in most European countries when you see the difference in your bank account. It's quite a good deal if you want to be a digital nomad since it's an EU country and you can get a really small apartment for almost nothing to use as your official address while travelling. (You'…

How bad is it? I pay more than 50 percent of my income in various taxes in the United States. Before anyone asks, federal income, Medicare, Medicaid, social security, state income, state sales tax, local property tax, and lesser- luxury and gas tax.

For comparison sake, sales tax, gas tax and so on would not be considered under tax by someone living in Europe in that sort of calculation. People would mean income and social tax.

Re: Bulgaria is the world’s fastest-shrinking country

#172

Post by steveads »

chewyland wrote: post #123

Moved from Vancouver, Canada to Bulgaria 6 years ago. Best decision I've ever made. Sooooo much fun here and living in a free country is really relaxing.

Could you expand a bit? I'm interested in what makes Bulgaria fun and free in a way that's different from Vancouver. Thanks in advance.

Re: Bulgaria is the world’s fastest-shrinking country

#174

Post by mrtksn »

slazaro wrote: post #164
chewyland wrote: post #123

Moved from Vancouver, Canada to Bulgaria 6 years ago. Best decision I've ever made. Sooooo much fun here and living in a free country is really relaxing.

What do you mean by "free country" as opposed to Canada?

I was going to ask the same but I have a guess: In Bulgaria, you don't feel the government, it doesn't feel like there are laws or anybody cares about laws. It's nice in its own way but also the root of all problems when there are bad actors around. I lived in Turkey, Germany, Bulgaria and the UK for prolonged periods and I can say that I feel most free in Bulgaria. The relationship with the government is transactional and you don't have to deal with the governmnet if you don't want something from the government(or upset somebody and get sued).

Re: Bulgaria is the world’s fastest-shrinking country

#175

Post by Crinus »

tomp wrote: post #111
StavrosK wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope the new Greek government manages to compete with this, so the next post will advertise Greece in this way. Most of your list applies here as well, except we have amazing food and beaches.

How do apartment prices / rents compare though?

You can find a decent 2 bedroom apartment in Thessaloniki for like 300 euros/month. There are cheaper (i've seen something like 120 euro studios for students in Athens near the university which aren't total dumps) and more expensive options too (for around 400 or so you can even find a house near the coast).

In general houses are very cheap in Greece. It is taxes and social security that raise the cost of living a lot. Last time i checked pretty much half of your income (actually a bit more) is lost.

Re: Bulgaria is the world’s fastest-shrinking country

#177

Post by Crinus »

StavrosK wrote: post #28
kfk wrote: post #22

Random facts from living 3 months there on why this could be a high potential country: * 10% income tax (second lowest in EU), 5% dividend tax * Very low costs of living (rent is 300-400 eur for a flat in Sofia) * Relatively easy to start companies * It's quite safe, at least safer than Naples from where I am from * Very good quality of food * Close to the seaside (about 3 hours from Greek coast also) * Nice summers…

I hope the new Greek government manages to compete with this, so the next post will advertise Greece in this way. Most of your list applies here as well, except we have amazing food and beaches.

If only the taxes, social security and other expenses didn't demand more than half of your income. And that is ignoring the recent idiocy of paying upfront 100% of your taxes for the next year (hopefully the new government will get rid of that).

Re: Bulgaria is the world’s fastest-shrinking country

#178

Post by chosenbreed37 »

theflyinghorse wrote: post #160
lm28469 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And assuming the EU's freedom of movement holds eventually people and business will realize this and move there. Most people don't move to a country like Bulgaria just for a job. It's fine when you're 2X years old, can work remotely and have time to get into the culture, language, &c. As soon as you have a serious gf/bf or a family you can forget it. One of my colleague is Bulgarian, he moved to Germany because of…

Not feeling at home doesn't really ever go away, you just understand the culture around you better and can fit in better.

> Not feeling at home doesn't really ever go away, you just understand the culture around you better and can fit in better.

True. Would you concede that dependent on one's background/circumstances some cultures might be easier to adjust to?

Re: Bulgaria is the world’s fastest-shrinking country

#179

Post by UserIsUnused »

spdionis wrote: post #56
kfk wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Up to net 4000-5000 from what I have heard. Rent is 300-400 eur in the city center. Dinner is 15 euros, lunch 5-8 euros. A decent apartment is 100-150k.

An important point here is that you probably can't get reasonable financing to buy said apartment. Mortgages in a similar country start from 6%.

Depends, if their banks have to follow the central euro bank rates or not, since they have their currency they might not have to, I don't know the specifics on how that works.

Anyway, Central bank has interest at negatives, people are buying houses in EU with very little interest.

Re: Bulgaria is the world’s fastest-shrinking country

#180

Post by agota »

h3333 wrote: post #157
cpursley wrote: post #25

A side effect of a stagnant economy and population shrinkage is that Bulgarian property is really cheap. You can purchase a modern flat starting around $15,000 (or rent for really cheap) in a ski community with a very strong remote worker presence (Bansko). If you do this right, you can also become a resident and benefit from a flat 10% income tax which is lowest in the EU. No affiliation; I just find this type of ar…

I once read a fictional story about a 20 year old selling his remaining lifespan except 3 months for 30 yen. Imagine how awful that life must be if it only sells for 30 yen. He didn't know it when he sold his lifespan, but his future self would have spent his remaining life in a hospital after an accident. The moral of the story is that it turned out to be a good deal. Those flats are the same. The $15,000 is probabl…

Where is the story from?
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