Vasil is a very competent builder, out of work for 3 years, without any kind of public support, surviving from small odd jobs (especially for neighbour Svensson) what he produce on his 1,500 m2 lot, and by spending almost nothing (all his top teeth have fallen out, without him being able to visit a dentist). When I ask him what to do if falling ill, he shrugs his shoulders. The average life expectancy for men in Bulgaria is 70 years.
I bought the school
It was my firm intention to avoid tourists in Bulgaria, so the Black Sea coast was out. Instead I wanted to live in a rural area with beautiful landscapes and a good climate. Those requirements led me (after 20 short visits to the country) to a valley in the south west, near the borders of Greece and Macedonia. Next to the Spa town of Sandanski, I found the village of Struma, with 500 souls, all Bulgarians.
Before coming to Struma, I had got a lesson in another village. I went to see the mayor and asked it they had a proper water supply up in the hills (where I intended to buy a ruin of a house in a settlement) and if there were any difficulties in getting a permit for restoration. The mayor assured me water was no problem, and since the settlement was ‘building land’ the permit was granted automatically.
I bought the old school house and an adjoining plot of 1000 m2 from the municipality and a very old house from a private owner. Total investment 10,000 euros!
I presented the mayor a sketch of what I wanted to build, and he said ‘no problem’ and sent me to a building company which he labelled ‘the builders of the municipality.’ That turned out to be a private building company in Sandanski, which wanted to charge me 3 times the normal price. When I complained to the mayor, he angrily retorted that I was free to find another builder, but he would vet all plans to make sure that the house complied with all requirements….
I left the town hall, returning only in June each year to pay the cheap local rates.
I later discovered there is no drinking water during the summer, the inhabitants bringing it in cans and kettles from a municipal water-tanker.
Rural land in Struma
I subsequently bought a 2000 m2 plot of agricultural land from a friendly man in Struma, for 2,500 euros, with road, drinking water and electricity. An architect prepared plans for a house of 35 m2 (the maximum on agricultural land) with a garage below. After the house was built I could use the garage for living space and thus had 70 m2, built by local craftsmen, without using a building company.
At the same time I started the complex and time consuming process of changing the designation of my ‘finca rustica’ to building land; the only way I was permitted to add a bedroom to my two studios. After 40 visits to 20 different offices in the province Blagojevgrad and a dangerously increasing blood pressure causing damages to my brain, the provincial urban planning commission finally decided to change the classification of my land. The only bribe I had to pay was a box of chocolate and a bottle of good wine.
During this arduous process I was, on several occasions, on the point of giving up, but a strong and knowledgeable lady with perfect English told me to stay at home and take care of my flowers and fruit trees; she would go into the battle with the bureaucrats on my behalf. She did so, and won.
I have now enlarged my house to 120 m2 living space, in addition to a covered barbeque space, a front terrace covered with grapes, a covered parking space for my car and an open, upper panorama terrace of 15 m2. I have planted 40 trees, numerous bushes and 15 grape vines, in addition I have a vegetable garden of 40 m2, producing more than I can eat. All the plants are watered on a ring circuit with pump fed subterranean water from a well.
I have also installed a sewage cleaning system in my garden, taking good care of all my waste, without any smells.
The permit I got from Blagojevgrad gives me the possibility to construct 7 guest bungalows, without touching my private house and garden. I am not sure I will do that, but when the markets come back (and sooner in Bulgaria than Spain) they will be worth some Leva (1 Euro is worth almost 2 Leva).
I have over the two last years spent approximately 30,000 euros buying the land and building the house described and living here 9 months a year.
The view from the terrace
The view from my second floor roof terrace is breath-taking. In the afternoon when work is finished and the day becomes cooler, I often sit there with a glass of cold wine or beer, taking in the panorama:
In the south I see the mountains of Northern Greece (15 minutes away by car) to the west rise the Mayashevska mountains, forming the border with Macedonia (in 20 minutes I can be in that country) and to the north west I have the two Bulgarian mountain ranges of Pirin and Rila, with peaks close to 3,000 metres. They are snow covered 4 to 5 months a year.
Less than 100 meter below my property runs the Struma River, coming from an area north of Sofia, running out into the Aegean Sea (part of the Mediterranean) at the Bay of Struma, east of Thessalonica. The river is called Strimon in Greece.
To the north my property borders a great tract of public land, protection against the substantial annual flooding of the river. On that land several small forests have been planted, but there are also wide grasslands where the peasants take their animals for a good meal and a drink from the river.
The cattle coming down from their lean-to’s on the hill above my house, cross a busy road and flow into the grassland and down to the river, crossing over at a ford to also gobble up the grass on the other side. They are led by two shepherds and a couple of dogs.
After the cows, calves and oxen, come the flocks of sheep and goats, often accompanied by a sow and some yearlings. A few horses look at the activity, then continue to graze.
After eight, the animals are eager to get home and tramp along the northern fence line of my property, where Rok, my beautiful, strong and quiet 2-year old German Shepherd is busy marking his territory.
Living costs
Life in Bulgaria is very cheap. With a fruit and vegetable garden like mine one has all the vegetables two can eat in one year; lettuce, cucumbers, onions, cabbage, squash, broccoli, garlic, peas, scallions, eggplants, celery, peppers, carrots, radishes and much more.
We can grow apples, pears, plums, dates, cherries, peaches, apricots, melons, strawberries, grapes and many others fruits.
The strong, local wine is being concocted by everyone who has 1 m2 for one of the willing trees. If you want to drink milder brands, the supermarkets have them from 1 leva upwards, both good Bulgarian as well as Australian, South African, South American, Italian, French and Spanish.
In the small shop in the village a kilo of flour costs 1.10 leva, 1 liter of sunflower oil 3.20, 1 kilo of bread 1.20, a 3 litre bottles of the local cola 1.20, a 2 litre bottle of juice 2.60 and 1 litre of good Bulgarian beer 2.49 leva.
A pair of decent shoes will set you back from 25 leva, jeans you can get for 20, shorts from 5, a t-shirt from 7. I pay an average of 50 leva every second month for electricity and 30 for water.
Property charges are very low, and especially interesting is that a retired person taking up residency in Bulgaria pays no income tax on his pension.
If you want more information, you may go to the web site ‘South Struma Valley’. If you have further questions, I will try to answer them.
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