So as mentioned here, I will be moving to Varna in Bulgaria. The financial reasons why you might want to do so have been laid out sufficiently, I hope, so what could stop you?
What are the hurdles?
- Will my employer allow it?
- What to take with you?
- How to get rid of the rest?
- How do I move my pets?
- How do I transfer my boxes?
- How do I get a new apartment in Bulgaria?
- I do not speak the language
Will my employer allow it?
I don't see a reason why they wouldn't if you are 100% working from home already. In my case, my employer looked up a payroll service provider for Bulgaria, asked for a quote, and got the info that they will need to register the company as an employer in Bulgaria (one-time fee of 300€). Afterwards, it is a monthly fee of ~25€ for handling payroll. Any employee-associated costs will most likely be significantly less for your employer, so in the end, even with the 25€/monthly and 300€/one-time fee, he will pay less in the long term for the privilege of employing you. He will also get a happy employee who has more net income without needing to ask for a significant raise. If your boss still denies your request, even though there are only advantages, then I would strongly consider moving on to a company that is less arbitrary in their decisions that touch on their employees' quality of life.
What to take with you?
So, you have lived alone or together for the majority of your adult life. You have accumulated a lot of "stuff". Some of it you use regularly, some of it you keep for sentimental value, other things you keep because they were expensive and the last category you keep because you never got around to throwing it away.
First of all - in Bulgaria, apartments and houses you rent usually come at the very least partly furnished and often even with a basic set of dishes/cutlery. Unless you are a passionate hobby cook who loves their special kitchen knives and arcane utensils that get used once a year for that special dish - do not take any kitchen utensils or appliances with you. No need to bring your bed, couch, table or anything of the like. You will have:
- a full kitchen
- every bedroom with a bed and closet
- a couch and coffee table
- a dining table and chairs
- a washing machine or, if you get lucky, a washer dryer.
What is left?
Books
I used this occasion to go through my books and sort out which of them were "valuable" to me in terms of being well written or offering helpful information I did not find anywhere else.
Technology
I minimized the amount of technology I kept by getting rid of my home server setup, my stationary PC, and my dual monitor setup. Why? Because I have a laptop for work and one for private stuff, and I have a pretty neat mobile Screen I can plug into both of them if I want to use a second monitor. This easily fits into my laptop bag together with both of my laptops.
Kitchen
I kept:
- Damascus knives and cutting board
- pressure cooker
- Kenwood kitchen machine, which I regularly use to make dough for bread or homemade pasta.
- vacuum sealer because buying meat on discount and preserving it for three weeks instead of 1-2 days is quite advantageous.
Documents
Aside from items I could digitalize by scanning, there are some official documents I need to keep a physical copy/original of -
- passports,
- birth certificates,
- etc.
Tools
I kept:
- Bosch Blue power tool,
- a set of screwdrivers,
- tape measure,
- set of bits,
- hammer.
Bathroom
I kept:
- hair clippers,
- hairbrush,
- trimmer,
- my water-saving high-pressure metal showerhead (sadly, no longer available),
- electric toothbrush,
- perfume,
- one set of towels,
- nail clippers.
Sentimental Items
These include
- pictures,
- Magic the Gathering collections,
- Poker set,
- Monopoly game (sorry, little bro :D)
Clothes
I am pretty minimalistic already in this regard, so I have
- ten days' worth of clothing (underwear, shirts, socks),
- three pairs of trousers (lazy pants, fancy pants, jeans),
- jackets (snow, wind, and "too cold not to wear a jacket but not cold enough for the other two")
- shoes (fancy work, hiking, sporty comfy everyday shoes).
Other items
These include
- charging cables,
- power cables,
- CAT5/7,
- HDMI cables,
- heavy-duty power bricks (12x, 5x) for outdoor use (waterproof and other fancy stuff built-in)
How to get rid of the rest?
Some items I put up for sale via Facebook Marketplace, others I gave to family members, the rest got thrown out at the local recycling/trash dump. Marketplace was easy enough, although a couple of people tried to scam me with the good 'ol "I will send FedEx to you with money" trick :) I crossposted the near-identical messages to them and asked them whether this approach usually is successful? :D
How do I move my pets?
Since I have two cats, which I've had since they were kittens and will never leave behind for any reason, I was confronted with the question of how to move my cats over a distance of 1919km as pet-friendly as possible. There are some options:
- DIY, if you have a car and the nerve to drive for at least 20 hours without stopping to sleep
- Fly, most low-budget airlines will not allow them, some of the bigger ones will for a price allow them as freight
- Pet-shipping, I found this website which basically lets you post your request and licensed animal moving companies can then give you their quotes
How do I transfer my boxes?
Compare shipping rates here for example. Use M-sized moving boxes and do not load them up above 32kg and you are golden with ~40€/shipment + another 1.50€ for pick-up. I had 10 boxes, which amounted to ~ 420€. Compare this to hiring a professional moving company that takes anywhere from 2k-4k€ for the same amount of boxes.
How do I get a new apartment in Bulgaria?
As it turns out - easily enough :) 84.9% of people in Bulgaria are homeowners. This also means there is a lot of supply and you can find and sign your lease within 1-2 business days on pages like this.
I do not speak the language
It doesn't matter. In your daily life, you will get by mostly with English and, if you get lucky, you may even get by with German. For any documents you're supposed to sign, ensure to use Google Lens/Translate to read the contract before signing. Other than that, chat with GPT4 - it will do an excellent job at translating anything you need to read and answer questions about it as well as warn you about potential pitfalls if you ask :D
There are expat groups on Facebook and certain forums. Connect with them and ask one of them to help you with looking for an apartment/braving bureaucracy. It will make things easier on your end. Do not forget to at least pay for their dinner or even cook for them ;)
Once you've settled, you can still use ChatGPT4 to learn the language slowly, as well as a service like this to take some personal 1-on-1 lessons to practice speaking. Once you cross 2000-3000 words, you'll be fluent in everyday life (non-technical vocabulary).
I hope this gives you a comprehensive understanding of the hurdles and how to overcome them when moving abroad. It might seem overwhelming at first, but with careful planning and the right resources, you can make the process as smooth as possible. Happy moving!