FULL Rural BULGARIAN Village Tour! | Renovation Bulgaria 🇧🇬

Welcome back to the channel everyone!
This week, we will show you around our beautiful village!
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[@vanbo2005]

hey, I am a Bulgarian living in Germany. I recently found your channel and loved your videos! Thank you for brining life to an old house and making us all part of your journey. It is very brave of you! You speak amazing Bulgarian already! To anyone wondering, the region where this village is, is one of the poorest in Bulgaria. Sadly many people leave in search for jobs and better life elsewhere. So to see someone foreign moving there and making it happen is pretty amazing. Hopefully more people follow your example!

[@the_phoenixproject]

Благодаря приятел! ☺️💕 We are doing our best to become part of the community here and hopefully we can make a difference 💓 Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@rado_grami]

He said he wants to use his granddaughter to translate for him cause she lives in England now. Kinda wholesome

[@the_phoenixproject]

Благодаря ти много ❤️ 🙏 He is the best neighbour and we love him! 😊

[@livingworkingoutsidebox]

Thanks for sharing. Great conversation. Hopefully digital nomads will find Bulgaria like they did Portugal but without drivibg the prices through the roof. They and content creators are the few that can save these small abandoned villages.🛠📺👍💪

[@the_phoenixproject]

Definitely! I just hope that the people who move here learn the language and traditions as we have done. It upsets me when places are westernised and people expect the locals to speak English 🙈

[@livingworkingoutsidebox]

@@the_phoenixproject Roger that. When I lived in Germany I learned German, When I lived in Mexico I learned Spanish. It was so helpful to build long lasting friendships and memories. So big shout out to you and your family for learning the language too.👍💪

[@Aleks-ik1oo]

May God Bless you guys and your beautiful kids! Really cool video to watch, from a bulgarian

[@the_phoenixproject]

Thank you so much!! ☺️🙏💕

[@enbo1728]

Hope our home will become your home. Welcome to Bulgaria :)

[@the_phoenixproject]

Благодаря ти много ❤️💕☺️

[@Ajw748]

I like your Chanel, it’s all usually Spain, Portugal.

[@the_phoenixproject]

Thank you! Yes, we are glad to show you what Bulgaria has to offer and it's a bit different (especially in terms of climate!). Thanks for watching and commenting 😀

[@laurasheffield9337]

That's amazing, you are doing so well with the language

[@the_phoenixproject]

It's difficult but we are getting there ☺️💕

[@lauraalcaraz8732]

Hello beautiful people! I saw that you live next to Veliko Turnovo. We are too. We live next to Elena, little town and here have a lot of British friends. If you need company for coffee and chat, please welcome. My name is Lora, I am bulgarian, my husband is an American. Greetings, stay safe and warm!

[@the_phoenixproject]

Oh how lovely! From one Laura to a Lora! 😊❤️ Drop us a message and im sure we can meet up for a coffee (as long as you can tolerate wild children 😅) 💕

[@georgibraykov3715]

Grandpa Nedyu said that his children live in VT and visit him every Sunday. He didn’t say it, but he meant to go visit him when they are there.

[@the_phoenixproject]

Thank you! I got the jist that he wanted us to "meet" with him, but couldn't figure out the tense or context! Thank you so much!

[@r.a.3984]

No no , he said he wanna make “meeting” when his granddaughter come from UK so he can use her to translate xd

[@the_phoenixproject]

@@r.a.3984 yes, I thought so! Благодаря ❤️

[@petyobenov]

Good on you, your Bulgarian is not bad at all. Talking to old people will help you improve it even better. Wow, there is really beautiful church over there

[@the_phoenixproject]

Благодаря! Yes, lots of practice 😄 It's a shame about the church because it is always closed. We visited on a Sunday and it was still closed!

[@r.a.3984]

@@the_phoenixprojectprobably they open it only on official celebration… Easter, xmass…. 🤷🏼

[@the_phoenixproject]

@@r.a.3984 that makes sense!

[@RuinsRebuilt]

Thank you so much for sharing your conversation with that nice man, and adding subtitles so we can hear and see what's being said. Me and my husband were both realy enjoying this video again. Can not wait for the next one❤

[@the_phoenixproject]

Our translation is loose, but our Bulgarian followers are making the needed corrections in the comments! We are so glad you enjoy our videos. Thank you for commenting and watching! 😊💓🙏

[@RuinsRebuilt]

@@the_phoenixproject ❤️

[@user-lv8mv9pc2z]

We moved to Bg around 7 years ago. Back in the UK now. Very best of luck to you all.

[@the_phoenixproject]

Thank you! We really do love it here 💓

[@Kosakorash]

Hope you have fun guys and you like Bulgaria and the Bulgarian nature ! Feel always happy when I see young people like you moving from country’s like England and Germany to Bulgaria. One day Bulgarian village will rise again ❤

[@the_phoenixproject]

Благодаря ти много ❤️ I hope you enjoy our videos! Thank you for watching and commenting ☺️

[@lovelyytim]

Old people in Bulgaria sometimes use some old words that people in the city rarely use or never. And it can be confusing, there is also a influence of Turkish words that they may use sometimes. But slowly slowly you will get use to it. If you need help on understanding some strange words you can always ask us for help 😊

[@the_phoenixproject]

Thank you! Yes, it did confuse me 😆 And it made me think maybe I had a longer way to go with learning the language! Thank you for your kind comment 😊 We are working really hard to learn and understand the language of our new home country 💓🇧🇬🏠

[@futurekron]

Such a lovely tour of your village. Thank you for showing so many aspects of your daily life. Bulgaria really has so much potential. Are you finding a lot of stray dogs and kitties? I've heard that the abandonment of animals is a problem there (not as bad as Romania, I understand), but it looks as if you don't have a major problem?? I'm in the USA, and get at least one stray a year to attend to clear out here in the countryside.

[@the_phoenixproject]

You're welcome, and thank you for commenting and watching! Our village doesn't have many strays at all. I have been feeding a white dog recently that looks as though she has had puppies. No sign of the babies though, sadly 😔 I'm trying to find some kittens because we have had more mice in the house, but I can't find a single one! 😆 It's much worse in the towns and cities. We try to feed them wherever we can.

[@futurekron]

@@the_phoenixproject Thank goodness for kind people like you and your family.

[@Mariastaneva93]

You are doing an amazing job! I am so happy to see young people moving to Bulgaria! 🐝🥳🎒We are also planning to move permanently to Bulgaria next year, I am originally from Plovdiv, and my fiance is from Southampton and we can't wait!🎉

[@the_phoenixproject]

Thank you! Good luck with your new life 😊💕 късмет 🍀

[@MagicMiro]

wow, how did you learn Bulgarian so fast? Amazing

[@the_phoenixproject]

I (Laura) have been learning for one year through Mondly. I also started teaching myself the alphabet so that I could read signs etc. I'm learning faster now that I live in a village where nobody speaks English! Anthony and the girls are picking it up quickly also. Thank you for your kind comment ☺️💕

[@MagicMiro]

@@the_phoenixproject Lovely, I am using the same app to learn German, and Duolingo is also good.

[@manchestertart5614]

Thank you for sharing your village with us. There’s some beautiful houses ,from what l’ve seen along the main road that just need TLC ,by that I mean the ones that have nobody living in them and they have been abandoned. I don’t understand how the system works regarding property that appears abandoned,l suppose whatever state a building is in a family might prefer to keep it,incase they return to it in the future. It’s a shame that there’s no village shop/bar/post office,but I suppose everyone in the community helps each other with shopping etc. Ves needs to investigate whether there’s anymore properties that are suitable for sale (l’m partly joking). How do you feel about more families moving into the village, or do you prefer it as it is ?

[@the_phoenixproject]

You're welcome! We enjoy having Bulgarian neighbours because we are, after all, in Bulgaria! We came here to escape the British way of life and mentality. It is ok if you are willing to learn the language and adopt Bulgarian living though. I doubt there will be any change in infrastructure here, but it is nice for it to be so quiet 😊 Most of the properties here are owned by residents of our village or Bulgarians who holiday here. To be honest, we like it the way it is ☺️💕

[@manchestertart5614]

@@the_phoenixproject l loved it when I visited Bulgaria.

[@ChefEarthenware]

It's very sad to see those closed businesses. Is it because of the Bulgarian village depopulation that I keep reading about?

[@proletvladimirova828]

Yes sadly

[@the_phoenixproject]

Yes and also because the government has made it expensive for small business owners to run shops etc 😔

[@davedree]

​I'M 39 and looking to leave the UK for a simpler life, Bulgaria looks quite a tempting place, but my worry is in 15-20 years time it could turn into just another overegulated European Prison. How long ago was the great decline in your village? And what were the primary causes? Is it the same as many broken towns In the UK, where communal populated towns (mining/fishing towns) couldn't survive against the rates of inflation, due to the commericalism and wealth of London? Do you think if they had joined the Euro it would still have resulted in the same unequal distribution of wealth? Lastly do you think if Bulgaria join Euro it could have an even worse negative effect leading forward?

[@the_phoenixproject]

@@davedree the previous owner of our home was the shop-keeper in the village, which is why the shop has closed down. I think it has only happened in recent years. The Bulgarian government has raised the taxes and made it impossible for small businesses to survive. They are trying to drive everyone from the villages into the towns and cities. The people in our village are still happy, though. I don't think the Euro will make much difference and most Bulgarians aren't worried about it.

[@mellamobradley462]

Where in Bulgaria? I lived near Pleven in a village called Slavyanovo for a few years

[@the_phoenixproject]

We are near Veliko Tarnovo 😊

[@ceceknightley7686]

The old man was trying to explain his granddaughter lives in England and when she comes to visit him next time he would like to introduce her to you. The shops and cafes/bars being abandoned, it's not really to do with taxes but there is just noone left to serve in those villages. Only elderly people and gypsies. Reasons are quite obvious, no jobs and no basic amenities or infrastructure. Also Agriculture, like most other industries, has been destroyed in Bulgaria. All villages are like this, many are now completely abandoned as the older population passes on. You are very very brave moving out there. Yes the countryside is nice but the only way to survive there is if you work remotely online or you have enough money to last you for the rest of your life 😂 Living of the land is a bit of a pipedream, the work is extremely hard to sustain. The weather can be harsh and things like hail, can also destroy crops in a second. Be aware that that even if you can afford to live there, if anything should happen and you need an ambulance or hospital, police etc., you are pretty much on your own. No scools or social activities for children either... I don't want to be negative, if you can make it work that's wonderful ❤ Just be aware of the drawbacks. I think many people have no idea what they are letting themselves into ( not saying that's you) but I do respect anyone for trying to live their dream 🙏👍

[@mellamobradley462]

I lived in a pretty small village in Bulgaria for a few years and much of what you say holds up except I feel like people are far more connected than where I live now in America. I was very rarely lonely, in fact I probably wished for more alone time.

[@ceceknightley7686]

@@mellamobradley462 Oh cool. Yeah, generally speaking Bulgarians are very warm, social and generous and helpful people. When l say "you're on your own", I mean the government support /public services. Our gov is 💀🤣 But people will help eachother out as much as they can.

[@the_phoenixproject]

We do work online, so life is pretty easy for us. That's why we chose it. I would never recommend this life to someone else because it is quite unique! 😆

[@destroyerbg6209]

Как се казва това село,което показахте?Любопитен съм.

[@the_phoenixproject]

Не искам да казвам 😅

[@sharlenemorris3821]

Hi how did you find the trip to bulgarian embassy London. Did you do 2 trips there , and if so what was the waiting period from 1st visit to collection of visas , thank you 😊

[@the_phoenixproject]

The Bulgarian Embassy was very efficient and pleasant to be honest! We had an appointment time the first time for our initial application. It took about 3 weeks for the visa to process and then they emailed me to say we could collect them! There was no appointment given and we just turned up before 1pm (which is when they shut). They were lovely and enjoyed playing with the children and engaging with my limited Bulgarian 😁

[@sharlenemorris3821]

Thank you 😊

[@Snitch55]

What is the name of the village?

[@the_phoenixproject]

We won't say for security reasons, but we are near Veliko Tarnovo 😊

[@gjsgames7910]

Im amazed at how bad your sound levels are :D, can never hear the guy and then the girl is ridiculously loud (as she is usually holding the camera) What camera is that?

[@the_phoenixproject]

The least you could have done is learn our names if you were going to leave such a shady comment 😂 WOW! We are only a small channel and film using our phones. Usually the sound levels are fine. I apologise if you are used to high-level, professional sound equipment. Our vlogs are usually about our lives and we don't have time to adjust sound levels (and we can't afford fancy sound equipment). If you don't like it, don't watch it 🤷 I've seen much worse sound quality from bigger channels!

[@Scorched_Earth]

The sound levels are perfect. Some people just love to grumble, whether or not there is legitimacy to their complaint 🙄

[@the_phoenixproject]

@@Scorched_Earth 100% 😆 🙈 Thank you!

[@pavlinpetkov8984]

Bulgaria is falling apart. I live in the center of Plovdiv and the things ar kind of normal. The situation in the small villages is far from ideal.

[@the_phoenixproject]

Yes, I hope it will change with the arrival of new immigrants and returning Bulgarians ❤️

[@keriannlemmonds1567]

"Promo sm" 😏

[@the_phoenixproject]

I'm not sure what this means 😆