Hello! We’re Sian & Luke. We're a young couple (26 & 31) living in central Bulgaria in a small rural village. Previously skydiving instructors who had to stop working due to Covid, we’ve worked and lived in various countries across 3 continents but were looking for a big lifestyle change. We wanted somewhere affordable, rural and away from the typical 9-5.
The decision to move to Bulgaria was made 2 months into lockdown when we were stranded in Athens with our caravan and unable to work. We decided to never be in the position again where we were stuck in a tiny apartment in the city.
After 2 months of doing absolutely nothing but making banana bread and watching Netflix we were on the hunt for inspiration for what to do after Covid. A Zoom call with Sian’s uncle and a Grand Designs episode later, we decided we wanted to build our own home and set out to find an affordable plot of land somewhere in Europe.
Looking all over the continent from Lithuania to Portugal, Croatia and Bulgaria, Bulgaria was by far the cheapest option for us given our budget of £5,000 for a plot of land. The decision to stay in Europe was due to Brexit as both of us wanted a foothold in Europe. Before the end of 2020, no one was clear on what new rules and restrictions would be for UK citizens to get residency. We are so glad we made the decision and got our residency cards 5 months before the rules changed!
As soon as the Greece-Bulgaria border opened we packed up our 4m caravan, our skydiving gear and Luke’s hand cranked Singer sewing machine and crossed the border with 6 properties lined up to view over the course of 2 weeks.
We explored the Western half of the country after considering seasons, accessibility, location and talking to a variety of people we found on Facebook expat groups. We found properties online through private sellers on Facebook. Not wanting to deal with real estate agents and ensuring we were dealing with the sole owners of the properties. (We heard of others who had bad experiences buying houses as there were multiple owners of the properties for sale.)
The plot we ended up buying was £2,500 including the lawyer, notary and translator fees. We bought our plot of land from a British seller we found through Facebook. We’ve been living here full time for almost 4 years in an effort to live a more sustainable and freer life.
Our house is semi off-grid with 8 solar panels, indoor compost toilet, rainwater collection systems and a big vegetable garden. We took on this project with very minimal experience, but we’ve grown and learned so much in the last few years and that's all part of the fun! We’ve been hosts on the Workaway platform since last year and have hosted people from around the world. In return they’ve helped us with a variety of projects in the house and garden – it’s great to share some of the labour and pass over painting jobs to people who actually like painting!
Living in Bulgaria and being off-grid definitely has its perks:
We never experience power cuts. (In some villages this is a regular occurrence.) The knowledge you’re self-sufficient is hard to beat. It was a big investment for us and will take a few more years to pay back as electric bills are affordable in Bulgaria, but for us it was 100% worth it.
We have three 1,000L water tanks to collect rainwater from the roof but are still connected to mains water. Water bills are also cheap, but it can add up depending on your water consumption. We pay roughly 25 leva (£11) per month.
Our indoor compost toilet is the star of the show. Everyone comments saying how non scary, easy to use and pretty it looks! Living off-grid, having a compost loo was a no-brainer. After 2 years of a very simple system with 2 buckets, one for liquids, one for solids and a piece of wood with a hole in the middle, Luke designed this wooden toilet which we now make and sell to clients.
After finishing the house foundations and work started on the floor system for the raised house, it was Luke’s first real exposure to seriously working with wood and he rapidly discovered he had a passion for working with timber and working with his hands. Over the past 4 years, we have singlehandedly built the home we currently live in. Luke’s made every single piece of furniture in there. From doors to cabinets, shelves, beds, side tables, coffee tables and benches. Sian’s done all the garden landscaping, learned how to preserve food, built dry stone walls, dug one too many trenches and between us, we’ve lifted tonnes of lime, cement and sand to render the straw bale walls.
In short, you name it, we’ve done it.
We came up with the business idea of Luke Lonsdale Woodwork in 2022. Finding reliable carpenters/furniture makers in Bulgaria has proven to be a challenge for other foreigners moving here, so we decided to fill that gap. Luke also has a natural talent for working with wood, he’s a true craftsman so we decided to take the leap, start a business to see if we could sustain ourselves here for longer doing what we love.
Check out our build on Instagram @bgbales or our woodworking business on FB/Insta @lukelonsdalewoodwork
Living anywhere in the world has pros and cons and Eastern Europe is no different.
The language barrier is something we largely underestimated moving here, it is a very difficult language to learn, also many people don’t speak any Latin languages unless you’re in a city. Younger generations speak more English and the older generations tend to speak Russian as a second language.
The country has countless beauty spots but it’s not particularly tidy, there’s a huge trash issue and a lack of infrastructure.
Dealing with Bulgarian bureaucracy is doable, but we find it intimidating at times and almost impossible to navigate alone. I always take a paid translator or a friend to help out.
There are limited job opportunities for only English speakers which is what has motivated us to work online and start a business. Sian is an online English Tutor and together, we started our own business Luke Lonsdale Woodwork.
Compared to western countries, Bulgaria is:
Extremely affordable. Property prices can be as low as £3000 in some areas, but they need a lot of work and money invested back in to them to make them liveable
Low tax rate. Our annual house tax was 13 leva (£6). Varies depending on region
Locals are friendly and extremely welcoming especially of young people moving to the villages
There is a lot of freedom
Weather is great. There are 4 seasons – it’s very hot in the summer but gets quite cold in the winter.
If you like the quiet, no frills, sunny (but extreme) weather, great nature and a strong self-sufficiency culture, Bulgaria is definitely a place to check out as it has so much to offer.
Such a beautiful and inspiring story guys well done ✨🙏