Attestations

Jo from the United Kingdom

I have been living here for over a year now and I love it. I chose Bulgaria after visiting for a couple of times and looking for a country to relocate to.

Bulgaria immediately made me smile and I knew pretty much straight away I would be happy here. It is such a relaxed country, people here take care of themselves, each other and show a wonderful graciousness for hospitality.

My task then was to find my place in Bulgaria itself. Just as different countries give you different vibes, so do the various areas within that country.

I settled on living in a small village about 12 km from Karlovo, situated in the centre of the Rose valley. It is this valley in particular that captured my heart. Two magnificently impressive Mountain Ranges, the Stara Planina and Sredna Gora cleave the valley in two. Not only then, do I have easy access to both of these ranges I also get a precious feeling of open space here.

To be in the mountains is truly glorious, and especially here as these are magic mountains, and as budding photographer my snapshot options seem endless.

I could go on and on about all the differnt activities available here, including paragliding, mountain biking, mountain boarding and bungee jumping... but I won't go on... Come and find out for yourself!

Brett Stevens from Cornwall (UK)

I had been living in a camper van for 8 years, working my way around Europe visiting the majority of countries from east to west. I have always wanted to keep traveling the world and never once thought of sattling down anywhere! Bulgaria, especially the Karlovo region has changed my life in that now I am settled down with my own house!

Since coming here for a month in the summer of 2005 and again for 2 months in 2006 I have fallen for Bulgaria in a big way. I am an extreme sportsman and love to parasude, mountainbike, skateboard, cannoe/kyack, snowboard etc. Unbelivably this area has it all in a big way. For the first time in my life I don't want to go anywhere and I am fully content living in one place!!!

I have been here now permenently for 14 months and I'm loving it. It has a very good climate, 4 great seasons, it is very cheap, the nature is amazing and I am far away from the constant anoyance of the media. People here mesure themselves and each other on knowlage, wisdom and age rather than how much money they have. And the most precious thing to give anyone here is your time.

Bulgaria is very simple, a real place with real people, something which is increasingly rare espesially within Europe. ☺ Please visit

Satomi (Maria) Takada and Leo (Ivan) Takada - Japan
(interviewed by Carl Wilberg)

Why did you decide to move here Leo?
Because I wanted to live in the famous Rose Valley since I was 14 years old.

So young! Why is that?
When I was 14 I heard a song from Bulgaria which finally brought me and my wife here. For me, music has a magic power.

How do you feel about the climate in this region?
There are 4 seasons, and everyone is beautiful, with fantastic nature and good view to the mountain and the valley

Do you feel comfortable with Bulgarian people and your neighbours in particular?
The neighbours welcome us very very much. They are good and helpful people. We feel like in paradise.

Having in mind the cost of life in Japan, what's your oppinion about the economic situation here?
Well, here it's about five times cheaper than in Japan. Besides, we very much like to grow our fruits and vegetables in our own big garden, so we buy very few things from the shops.

How long have you lived in Bulgaria?
7-8 years. First we lived in the mountain town of Shipka (close to Karlovo), then we decided to move in village of Karavelovo (12km from Karlovo) and bought a house with 1/2 da (500m²) garden for merely 6500 Euro.

Are you planing to live here the rest of your lives?
DEFINITELY YES!!!

Björn Ingigjartarsson - Iceland

I visited a friend in Karlovo (December '07) and intend to stay for a while.

Even though it's winter now, there are still many sunny days. Some snow has fallen yesterday night but the temperature today is 10 degrees Celsius - amaizing!

I think Karlovo and the surrownding area are Beautiful.

I receive pension and find the prices more than comfortable. I noticed as well, because I like to travel abroad, that Karlovo and Bulgaria have an ideal geografic position and are great for sightseeing.

I'll probably move here and buy a house with a garden.