Leaving Australia to live overseas.

[The Dice Man]

Awesome here, almost end of summer here. Was in Portugal for a month and now in Turkey. Really cheap here, considering how low the Turkish Lira is.

We were in Spain for a couple of weeks, or Catalonia to be more precise and the prices varied greatly. One cafe served an Americano and fresh OJ for 3,35, next day different place and was 10 euro, same small town. Petrol advertised at €2 ends up being 1,80 as the government subsidises. Why not just show the subsidised price?

Was super hot where we were, Imagine Portugal was the same.

 

[Total Power]

We were in Spain for a couple of weeks, or Catalonia to be more precise and the prices varied greatly. One cafe served an Americano and fresh OJ for 3,35, next day different place and was 10 euro, same small town. Petrol advertised at €2 ends up being 1,80 as the government subsidises. Why not just show the subsidised price?

Was super hot where we were, Imagine Portugal was the same.

3.35 to 10? that's a massive difference, what kind of a place was it?

 

[The Dice Man]

3.35 to 10? that's a massive difference, what kind of a place was it?

Yeah huge difference. I was very surprised by the cheap one then equally surprised by the expensive one. Neither were anything fancy, just run of the mill small bar/cafes in Vic.

 

[Total Power]

Yeah huge difference. I was very surprised by the cheap one then equally surprised by the expensive one. Neither were anything fancy, just run of the mill small bar/cafes in Vic.

10 euros is way too expensive for a non touristy (like hyped up, like temple bar in dublin) place that even in Spain, do they get customers or mostly western tourists walking into traps?

 

[The Dice Man]

10 euros is way too expensive for a non touristy (like hyped up, like temple bar in dublin) place that even in Spain, do they get customers or mostly western tourists walking into traps?

I’d expect that kind of price where I live but you’d have to be close to the beach. Maybe because we ordered in Spanish instead of Catalan.

 

[mouncey2franklin]

How's everyone doing overseas?

European summers are better than Aussie summers.

Interesting to see so much attention given to Bulgaria in this thread.

Very much an underrated country, especially underrated by their own people, who leave in droves (for Germany and other western nations).

Still not part of Schengen so an Aussie could do three months in Schengen, then three in Bulgaria / Romania, then back to Schengen again.

I've been away from Aus for almost four years now, if I ever went back, I think the culture shock would hit me pretty hard.

It would be nice to come back though, see family and friends and so forth, also hopefully play some cricket and some golf.

They don't seem to like golf in Bulgaria. There's a few pricey courses on the coast but apart from that, there's not much on offer.

Fair enough they don't like cricket, I expected that, but I've been surprised by how little they seem to care for golf.

Anyhow the people are pleasant although it takes a while to get used to their generally cold / disinterested veneer.

The cost of living is ridiculously low compared to Aus, or perhaps more accurately, Aus is ridiculously high and overpriced.

Outside of Sofia, a man could live on $1,000 aud per month if he wanted to, rent and bills included.

$2,000 per month to be comfortable, $3,000 per month to live like a player.

Sofia more expensive and tbh not the prettiest city. Still streets ahead of Aus cities for liveability though.

 

[Total Power]

European summers are better than Aussie summers.

Interesting to see so much attention given to Bulgaria in this thread.

Very much an underrated country, especially underrated by their own people, who leave in droves (for Germany and other western nations).

Still not part of Schengen so an Aussie could do three months in Schengen, then three in Bulgaria / Romania, then back to Schengen again.

I've been away from Aus for almost four years now, if I ever went back, I think the culture shock would hit me pretty hard.

It would be nice to come back though, see family and friends and so forth, also hopefully play some cricket and some golf.

They don't seem to like golf in Bulgaria. There's a few pricey courses on the coast but apart from that, there's not much on offer.

Fair enough they don't like cricket, I expected that, but I've been surprised by how little they seem to care for golf.

Anyhow the people are pleasant although it takes a while to get used to their generally cold / disinterested veneer.

The cost of living is ridiculously low compared to Aus, or perhaps more accurately, Aus is ridiculously high and overpriced.

Outside of Sofia, a man could live on $1,000 aud per month if he wanted to, rent and bills included.

$2,000 per month to be comfortable, $3,000 per month to live like a player.

Sofia more expensive and tbh not the prettiest city. Still streets ahead of Aus cities for liveability though.

Hey we do play cricket! we played in the European championships, about 3/4 bulgarians in the team. We also have 2 AFL clubs. You can join if you want.

 

[happy_eagle]

Anyone here in the US, particularly California ?

 

[EFL Boy]

Anyone here in the US, particularly California ?

Currently in the back-end of the process to move to the states to be with my partner, based in the mid-west though. Been an absolute drag.

 

[happy_eagle]

Currently in the back-end of the process to move to the states to be with my partner, based in the mid-west though. Been an absolute drag.

Interesting. What has been the main drag in the process (Visa application ?)

Am still in the very early stages of considering the move. Have a potential job offer lined up with a tech company in LA.

 

[EFL Boy]

Interesting. What has been the main drag in the process (Visa application ?)

Am still in the very early stages of considering the move. Have a potential job offer lined up with a tech company in LA.

Yep, the waiting time of the visa (CR1).

Specifically:

• Myself getting the wrong police check and Melbourne going into lockdown the day of, thus not being able to get fingerprints done for an extended period of time.
• The NVC needing more documents, and every time that happens we went to the back of the line and an approx 3 month wait just to be seen again.
• And now the Sydney consulate. Clearing all of the backlog but seemingly hardly addressing the CR1 visas. The Sydney Consulate Facebook page is filled with comments of families who are in limbo and have their lives on hold.

But it is what it is. Nothing we can do about it. Frustrating for sure but will be worth it eventually.

 

[happy_eagle]

Yep, the waiting time of the visa (CR1).

Specifically:

• Myself getting the wrong police check and Melbourne going into lockdown the day of, thus not being able to get fingerprints done for an extended period of time.
• The NVC needing more documents, and every time that happens we went to the back of the line and an approx 3 month wait just to be seen again.
• And now the Sydney consulate. Clearing all of the backlog but seemingly hardly addressing the CR1 visas. The Sydney Consulate Facebook page is filled with comments of families who are in limbo and have their lives on hold.

But it is what it is. Nothing we can do about it. Frustrating for sure but will be worth it eventually.

Interesting

I assume the CR1 is for your partner, and you are on/applied for the E-3 ?

 

[EFL Boy]

Interesting

I assume the CR1 is for your partner, and you are on/applied for the E-3 ?

CR1 is for myself, my partner is American.

 

[Run n Spread]

European summers are better than Aussie summers.

Interesting to see so much attention given to Bulgaria in this thread.

Very much an underrated country, especially underrated by their own people, who leave in droves (for Germany and other western nations).

Still not part of Schengen so an Aussie could do three months in Schengen, then three in Bulgaria / Romania, then back to Schengen again.

I've been away from Aus for almost four years now, if I ever went back, I think the culture shock would hit me pretty hard.

It would be nice to come back though, see family and friends and so forth, also hopefully play some cricket and some golf.

They don't seem to like golf in Bulgaria. There's a few pricey courses on the coast but apart from that, there's not much on offer.

Fair enough they don't like cricket, I expected that, but I've been surprised by how little they seem to care for golf.

Anyhow the people are pleasant although it takes a while to get used to their generally cold / disinterested veneer.

The cost of living is ridiculously low compared to Aus, or perhaps more accurately, Aus is ridiculously high and overpriced.

Outside of Sofia, a man could live on $1,000 aud per month if he wanted to, rent and bills included.

$2,000 per month to be comfortable, $3,000 per month to live like a player.

Sofia more expensive and tbh not the prettiest city. Still streets ahead of Aus cities for liveability though.

Interesting what does the life of a player look like?
3g a month in Australia may as well be minimum wage. No way you get accommodation. What jobs on offer? What industry do they need?

 

[mouncey2franklin]

Interesting what does the life of a player look like?
3g a month in Australia may as well be minimum wage. No way you get accommodation. What jobs on offer? What industry do they need?

I don't know about jobs on offer inside Bulgaria. I work online.

The smart play is to develop an online income somehow, and then move to a low CoL city in a country like Bulgaria or Romania.

"What does the life of a player look like?"

Well at current exchange rates, $3,000 aud is about 4,000 leva.

In Plovdiv, you can get a furnished 2br place like this for 700 euro (which is 1400 lev, there's a peg at 1 euro = 1.95 lev)

For Rent 2 bedroom apartment 75 sq.m. - Plovdiv, Center - Offer 5630882 - Imoti.net

www.imoti.net

That's in the centre of the city.

If you are willing to walk fifteen minutes to get to the centre, you can cut that price in half.

Less again if you are happy with a 1br, less again for a studio.

But let's say you want a 2br place smack in the middle, so you spend 1400 lev on rent.

Bills another 200 lev per month (which is very generous, mine are about 90 lev per month incl internet, and my place is 2br).

(Speaking of internet, I have unlimited fibre to the premise, costs me less than $20 aud per month).

(And the day they were scheduled to install it, they were meant to arrive around 10am, they rocked up at 9.55am).

Now you've got 2,400 lev to spend on everything else per month.

That's more than the average, young full-time worker earns (and he still has to pay rent, which you've already covered).

Take a lady out to dinner and drinks, a mid-tier restaurant will set you back maybe 100 lev, total, for the pair of you.

Go to a nicer restaurant and share a good bottle of wine, you'll still get change back from 200 lev, easily.

Wanna hit the chalga clubs? Bring a couple hundred lev and get yourself a table and a bottle, you and your friends are set for the night.

(EDIT: Take a look at the reviews of this place to get an idea of what Chalga is like.)



This dude had three bottles, sheesha, and some other drinks. 340 lev between him and his friends.

It would be more than that today, probably closer to 500 lev (say $350 aud), but that's for eight people to have a blast.

That's eight dudes drinking and smoking up in a good club (with semi-nude dancers on stage all night) for $40 each.

Imagine having a good time with your own table inside a good club with as much drink and sheesha as you want for $40 each in Aus, lol.

Maybe thirty years ago.

(By the way, you can smoke inside clubs in Bulgaria. This place doesn't suffer from nanny stateism)

(So your average Aussie under the age of about 30 would struggle to comprehend how this place operates)

If you're into the more, shall we say, risque nightlife, the quality is better and the prices are cheaper than aus. Significantly.

In the winter, head to any of the several ski towns in the country. Better slopes than anything in Aus at a fraction of the price.

In the summer, head to the beaches on the black sea. If you want silly party, go to Sunny Beach where the foreigners go to get wasted.

If you want something more relaxed, head to one of the other many beach towns available.

This country is a hidden gem, and it is going to stay that way, because outsiders think the place is a dump, and so do the locals.

You will struggle to find a people as down and cynical about their own country as Bulgarians.

That's one reason why the population is in serious decline.

Is the country perfect? No. Are there things about this place which an Aussie would find frustrating? Definitely.

But I'd take this place over Australia any day of the week and twice on Sunday, especially while earning online money.

Anybody who reads this, if you're serious about moving to Bulgaria, feel free to PM me.

I can give you the lowdown on the good and the bad about this country. It isn't for everybody.

But more and more, neither is Australia. If you're making good money in Aus, it is still a pretty cool place.

Anybody earning under six figures in a major city, though, why would you stay if you could get out?