by Martin Ivanov, PhD, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (project leader);
Svetozara Petkova, USAID;
Christina Georgieva, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences;
Venelin Stoychev, University of Sofia.
Preface
According to unofficial data, between 50 and 250 thousand Britons have bought properties in Bulgaria in the last few years. Many of them live in the country permanently. Nevertheless, there is still no official information on the exact number of those people, nor any sociological surveys focused on the reasons for their moving to Bulgaria and their way of life here.
The current report presents the results of a survey, carried out by an interdisciplinary research team in the period June-September 2007. In the course of the survey, the project team did a total of 62 in-depth interviews. 51 of them were with British citizens and 11 control ones with Bulgarians. Most of the team members are also members of the Association of Bulgarian Chevening Scholars. The project was kindly supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Embassy in Sofia.
Key Findings
First, this survey suggests that there are no xenophobic attitudes or aggression towards foreigners on the part of the local population. The initial expectation of the project team was that some Bulgarians would be opposed to Britons coming to their country and buying out their land. Although the survey registers opinions of Bulgarians who are not pleased with the behaviour of individual Britons, the attitude to the newcomers is generally rather positive.
Second, the survey disproved the popular myth that it is only poor British pensioners who come to Bulgaria. Despite the fact that the majority of Britons we contacted are indeed retired, quite a few people in an active age also chose to come to Bulgaria along with their children who attend Bulgarian schools and kindergartens.
Third, the situation of Britons we contacted suggests that they are not capsulated in a closed community (as in Spain and in France, for example). Many of the British citizens included in the survey demonstrate a vivid interest in the local culture. Some of them understand Bulgarian well enough to watch Bulgarian TV and to read newspapers. As a rule, they are friends with their Bulgarian neighbours.
Why Leave: England Now Is Loosing a Lot of its Culture
Survey participants mentioned an array of factors that induced them to move to Bulgaria, ranging from policies that made them unhappy with the life in the U.K., to policies in or characteristics of Bulgaria that drew them here. While the research traditionally identifies these characteristics as ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors, respondents often made it clear that a push factor in the U.K. (such as the high cost of living) may have also been a pull factor (low cost of living) in Bulgaria. Additionally, responses varied in their emphasis on particular push or pull factors as the dominant motives for the move.
Where to Go? Spain is Already a ‘Fish and Chips Country’
Spain seemed to be the chief ‘competitor’ of Bulgaria as a place to move to. To those who preferred Bulgaria, the Iberian seemed to be very expensive, overbuilt, over-inhabited by other Brits, or way too hot: “Spain is out of the reach of the working man in the U.K.”; “I wanted a country greener than Spain”; “We went to Spain for 6 months. Didn’t like it. It was too commercial. I can see the real estate prices crashing over soon”; “Years ago that might have been a good idea [to go to Spain] but now it’s very, very expensive. There are many English people there. Properties are very expensive and now I think the bubble may burst.”
Why Bulgaria? It’s Good Value for Money.
A number of factors play a role in choosing Bulgaria. The prime consideration seems to be the political and economic stability of the country. A businessman living in Yambol area told us: “I also invested in some other places but Bulgaria seems more stable. If you look Yugoslavia, very unstable. I didn’t want to go there, to get in trouble”. A man from a village near Veliko Turnovo had made a rather in-depth research before making up his mind:
I’ve done some research on Bulgaria. I checked out the ethnic relationship in the country… I know the GDP was growing in Bulgaria. Also in the list of going into Europe. And the weather. I know you have harsh winters but you cannot see snow anymore in England while here you can do skiing. Plus: price.
The Best Quality of All is the Bulgarians
Nearly unanimously Bulgarians are considered to be extremely friendly, nice, and warm people. The warm welcome Britons get in the country has its significant impact on their general attitude towards Bulgaria. Coming from a completely different environment most of them are amazed by the friendly relations among neighbours. One of the interviewed shared:
…in the U.K. you do not know your neighbours, because people are moving so often – buying a house here, staying for two years and selling it, because it is now worth more money. So you sell it and upgrade to a bigger house. Your community is fragmented and broken. It is not like it used to be. There IS a community here.
Furthermore, Bulgarians are seen as markedly welcoming to foreigners: “That is something that television and Internet cannot tell you – what the people are like.”
Here You Can See the Stars
Overcrowded and dynamic Britain contrasts pleasantly with the peaceful and quiet lifestyle in Bulgarian countryside. “In the U.K. you just go constantly by 100 miles an hour. You go home thinking about work. Life’s quite stressful in England.” The lifestyle in the villages of Bulgaria reminds many elderly British of their childhood:
My mum is 84 and she was here... She loved it because it may have reminded her England when she was young. She was fascinated by the home-grown vegetables, the countryside, the ladies in the field.
They Drive as Lunatics Here
Bulgarian driving habits are certainly among the things the respondents criticize the most. “Absolutely dreadful”, “completely crazy”, “disgraceful”, “terrible” are some of the commonly used expressions for the way locals behave on the roads:
Keep out the way. Keep out the way. They do not seem to have rules here… We came from Brighton… That’s a very busy city, you know. I would drive there happily. Here I am frightened to go down the village...
In Danger, Here, in Bulgaria? You Are Joking!
Surprisingly, all interviewed Britons felt particularly safe in Bulgaria. The project team found this to be quite interesting, especially when compared to the popular public opinion of the high level of crime in the country. Safety issues are still considered to be among the top-3 problems according to the most recent opinion polls. Oddly, most of the Britons reckoned Bulgaria is much safer than the U.K.: “In England I had a special police dog for protection. Not here.”
Corruption is Not As Big As People Say
If we can trust the information from the interviews, corruption does not appear to be a big problem for the U.K. nationals. Many perceive it as something natural: “to oil the wheel of commerce” or “if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”. In a country with “terrible bureaucracy” there seem to be two ways to get your job done quickly: “people with contacts and money can bypass some of the procedures”. Given that the first channel is not easily available to foreigners (it, however, is not completely closed and some of the Brits are already using it (cf. more in section four), U.K. nationals have at times resorted to bribing.
Don’t Come to Bulgaria if you are Not Prepared to Wait
Nearly everybody complained of the heavy bureaucracy. It was depicted as slow, cumbersome, unprofessional and unhelpful: “bureaucracy drives me crazy”; “administration is horrendous, if it’s done correctly”; “You are like in Spain 30 years ago. Everything is maňana”. Even getting rid of the old broken down car turned out to be a serious problem. Registering a vehicle takes ages when in England it is done by post.
It’s Not Just the Speed; the Quality is Very, Very Good
The social system which got surprisingly good feedback from our respondents was health care. It was seen as “not even near as negative as people say”. Most of the Brits we met had used at least some kind of medical care. Thus, they have personal observations of Bulgarian health system. All but two or three exceptions are markedly happy with the service: “We are very happy especially with the speed of getting appointments, the blood tests, the results.” Having doubts about the diagnosis received from a local doctor, a British went to double-check it in England: “In the U.K. they confirmed all had been done perfectly”.
Here I Think Schooling is Better
To our great surprise the Bulgarian educational system was viewed positively by the interviewed British families. The few negative reactions the project team got came from people without personal experience of the system. Both pupils themselves and their parents seemed to be satisfied with the level of education here: “the fact the all the children here want to go to school is telling in itself. In England nobody wants to go to school. There’s a lot more enthusiasm here”.
The Future Prospects
At the end of our interview we always asked our respondents what their future plans were. A great majority of them envision staying in Bulgaria. “We’re here to stay,” a lady shared. Others are expecting their family to join them soon: “My partner’s brother bought another house in a village 2 km. away. My parents are moving to this village.” Some shared that they would like to be buried here.
