- This topic has 6 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 17 years, 10 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Some time ago I bought a car in Britain for a Bulgarian friend from Varna, as second-hand cars there are, unlike everything else, very expensive. A few weeks ago he and a couple of his friends came over and we drove the car on a 2000 mile trip back. We didn’t have time for sightseeing, especially as we had to replace all four tyres which disintegrated en route, and get a seized brake cylinder freed-off, but we did stop in Timisoara, Romania, to meet up with electronics engineer Baron, a regular contributor to UKW forums. He knows a lot about Merloni electronics, expertise which may come in very useful in the near future, in view of the developments happening in that field which some people have already been posting about!
There wasn’t time to explore Timisoara, a very interesting ancient city, on foot unfortunately, but Baron very kindly spared his valuable time to buy us all a coffee in a superb modern shopping complex and take us on a whistlestop tour of the main sights by car. Put it into Google to bring up its informative website. I’m looking forward to going back sometime to visit it properly.
A couple of photos:
Not I’m sure how many of us over here imagine Romania. Puts the Arndale centre to shame.
……………..Geoff ……………………………………………………………Baron
for those of you who don’t knowRe: The Romanian Connection
I’m going back to Bulgaria in September, to see the plot of land I’ve just purchased. It’s a 1500 square metre building plot on the edge of a village called Nikiup, near Veliko Tarnovo. I will see what Bulgaria is like in about 15 years time and decide if I want to retire there. If I do, I will sell up here and have a house built, if not I can just sell the land off again. Cost of my purchase? EUR4000.
Re: The Romanian Connection
Bulgaria is an amazing country. We bought a run-down house as an investment not very far from you in the village of Gorna Lipnica and have had it renovated, to stay in for the time being, but it’s on the market. There are about 30 British owners in the village and five or six British families living there now. A totally different way of life to here.
Re: The Romanian Connection
I was initially looking to buy an old cottage to convert as a holiday home but was put off by the scare stories. Some people have fitted new kitchens, bathrooms, double glazing etc only to return to a stripped out shell of a house on their next visit. 🙁
Re: The Romanian Connection
Well, I suppose it’s always possible, but I’ve made Bulgarian friends in the village, one of whom keeps an eye on it for us, so I’m hoping for the best.
Re: The Romanian Connection
I cannot blame anyone for wanting a better way of life or for wanting to escape this country where fleecing the hard working people seems to be the order of the day.
However us Brits seem to go bounding in buying holiday homes, plots of land which experience has shown can be a very risky business even in established EU countries. There is a lot of ancient history in the eastern block sector which many Brits fail to understand or even know about and as picturesque as Bulgaria and Romania are I would be worried that there exists the capacity for instablity. Recently friends of mine were on holiday in Bulgaria and the place was overun with what was described as local mafia who appeared to run everything!
I would exercise caution but wish anyone investing there the best of luck.
Re: The Romanian Connection
Yes, the mafia is in evidence over there but I’d say it’s a bit of an exaggeration to say they run everything; I’m sure that was said tongue in cheek though. There’s a lot of corruption amongst public bodies as well. The interesting thing though is that 40 years ago this country was free-and-easy while Bulgaria was ruled from Moscow by a puppet dictator. Now Bulgaria is very free-and-easy whereas over here if you put a missing cat notice up on a lamp-post in Tameside the council phone you up and tell you to take it down or you’ll be fined. And heaven help you if you don’t shut the lid on your wheelie bin, or you put it out on the road a day early.
You can avoid the mafia in Bulgaria if you behave sensibly, and you can stroll around the pleasant town and city centres at night without fear of attack. You can’t avoid the increasingly petty-minded local authority jobsworth bureaucrats here though. That’s why lots of people from here are living over there; that and the fact that the cost of living is one-third what ours is, of course!
You don’t need a waste licence to carry cardboard packing around in your van either………… 😯
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.