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A good way to look at it! It's so important to have both those lists in mind.

Summer in Bansko should be wonderful!

Horses for courses, I suppose.聽 I can't really imagine property-hunting without knowing what you do - and don't - want; for me, it's common sense that what isn't on my "Wanted" list is by definition on the "Not Wanted" one.聽 The former contains my version of desirable criteria, in descending order; if a property doesn't tick enough/the right boxes then I'm not even going to look at it.聽 Property mistakes are emotionally exhausting as well as financially damaging, so I'm not going to give myself a chance to get blinded by enthusiasm (again )....

When I was looking for a Bulgarian home I had in mind a list that I made when I left my first husband after 24 years. It was a cottage with a productive garden close to the sea which in the UK was well beyond my price range. When I came to look around Bulgaria I also had visions of " the good life". Well we ended up buying in a village around thirty minutes from the sea with a productive garden聽 but it's in the centre of the village but there's shops ,a chemist , bus services if limited and although it's not by any means " the wood life" at my age , being a non driving old biddie this location makes sense. So I suppose it's a case of be careful.of what you ask for you just might get it. I'm the only Brit in the village I know people who live surrounded by Brits in villages close to VT many don't get on with each other and there's no public transport and the water availability is very hit or miss. So look at what you want but be careful

I have to admit that "Lots of foreign incomers" is pretty close to the top of my "Not Wanted" list.聽 In this context, "lots" means "more than zero".聽 I have a number of foreign friends here in BG but we all live in different parts of the country; one in particular lives in a smallish village and has bought several properties there, simply to ensure that no other foreigner does.

You'd be amazed at the shenanigans that many foreigners - and particularly Brits - get up to when they decide to become "expats"; I bought my village house from some Brits who were trying to set up a "Swingers' Retreat": the neighbours had been rather mystified by the comings and goings but were totally horrified when I explained just what the previous owners had been up to...

Oh my, Jim! Giggling imagining how my neighbours would respond to that and soooooo glad my village is too small and too far from the city to attract such activities.

I'm pleased there aren't many Brits in the village our house is in. My neighbour says there are a few foreign owned homes, but the owners don't participate in village life when they visit or spend as much as a lev in the local shop.

Too many Brits seem to settle in enclaves where they hardly ever associate with anyone outside their little circle, and even after living in Bulgaria ten years can't say speak more than five words of the language.聽 Oddly, those are usually the same Brits who complain about immigrants in the UK settling in enclaves and not learning the language!

I did hear English being spoken twice in the nearby small town. One was a group who sounded and appeared inebriated at noon, complaining loudly about being thrown out of the little casino. The others weren't drunk, but were also complaining, if I recall correctly, about the extremely well-stocked pet shop not having the British brand of dog food they wanted.

Needless to say, I stayed well clear of both groups! Yes, I do my share of complaining, privately and quietly, and no, I don't yet speak much Bulgarian. But we're moving because we want to live in Bulgaria, not to live in some Little Britain with more sunshine and cheaper prices.

Kath, I'm glad you found your place. Despite the challenges, it will be a good life for you, especially when your hubby is free to move as well.

@janemulberry聽 Ah, I empathise with this, we live in France and often pretend we are french just to avoid the Brits with 3 trolleys full of alcohol in the super market (easier for my hubby than me as he has a gallic charm and air about him) We live in a house that was previously (3 owners ago) occupied by some 'swingers', we've been trying to remove and or kill the bloody pampas grass for nearly 10 years 馃ぃ馃ぃ馃ぃ.

We to, do not wish to live in a 'little Britain' but a few English speakers around might be a good thing as we currently only know about 3 words of Bulgarian (though hubby does speak Turkish, French, and English of course), though he would say he's quite fluent in profanity when the occasion requires 馃槈

Profanity seems to be understood no matter what the language!

Turkish could come in useful, as in some areas it's spoken by many as the mother tongue for many ethnic Turks born in Bulgaria. There's a lot spoken in the north-east. I was surprised how strong the Turkish influence is in the region, as it's right near the Romanian border. Old memories die hard and I gather that in some areas there's still antagonism between Bulgarians and Turks, but not so much where our house is.

My hubby has a gift for languages and easily passes as Bulgarian. I can read far more Bulgarian than he can, but my accent is atrocious so being understood is more of a challenge for me.

I'm not even going to ask about the pampas grass, as my mind is boggled enough!

@janemulberry

Amen to that!聽 I've probably commented before on our visits to some of the "Turkish" areas in BG - for example, in several restaurants we were hard-pressed to find anyone who spoke even passable Bulgarian.聽 Funnily enough, many of these folks are Bulgarian passport-holders who moved to Turkey thanks to "Bai Tosho's" attempts at Bulgarisation but who come "home" to Bulgaria when voting time comes around again.聽 Their trips are usually paid for by the DSP, in return for their crosses on the ballot paper; this doesn't go down too well with native Bulgarians but by and large there isn't too much ill feeling between the two communities - that's reserved for certain other minorities...

@janemulberry聽 Pampas grass popular in the UK in the 60's and 70's, planted in the front garden to indicate that the occupants were into 'swinging'聽 馃う鈥嶁檧锔忦煠ｐ煠ｐ煒�

LOL! I never knew that. I grew up in Sydney, and almost everyone had pampas grass in the front garden!