The Great Brit Switch

As Britain braces itself for the expected influx ofReserve while Jerry manages their guest house,
Bulgarians following EUaccession this month aPelican Lake, and has even become a member of
significant number from the UK are headingthethe local folk troupe.
other way.Jo and David Waite from London, both 41, sold
And the numbers are growing with disillusionedtheir three bedroomed home in Eltham for about
Brits seeking a better lifebehind the old Iron£180,000 to fund a B&B. They moved
Curtain.with three of their four children to Kamenar on
People in the UK are worried about the possibilitythe southern Black Sea coast and spent
of huge numbers of Bulgarians going to the UKEUR23,000 on their home and another EUR30,000
now we're in the EU. But the number coming theto add a pool and a cafe bar called Grapevine.
other way is quite significant.Neither misses their old jobs with the local council
We're getting phone calls every day here atand social services. They feel that Bulgaria has
Quest Bulgaria about how to make a new life inoffered them a much nicer way of life, with good
Bulgaria. To make more cash they are looking atweather and greater safety for their children.
setting up a business. You can buy a house andAlthough they miss their families they don't feel
land for about £50,000 and run thethey miss anything else from the UK.
business from home. Less investment and moreAnother couple who took the plunge were Martin
profit is what people are looking for and even aand Sam Billington from
third of what you would make in the UK is moreLeeds who relocated with their youngest child
than enough to live like a king in Bulgaria.Nicholas, aged seven. They bought a large
Brits have set up in bed and breakfasts, antiques,farmhouse with five bedrooms for £25,000
holistic healingcentres, an architectural salvageand spent the same again on doing it up and
business and even sausage making. Bulgaria is notinstalling a pool.
a mature market like France and Spain but thereMartin set up in the barn as a garage for car
areendless opportunities as there were in Europerepairs. It was difficult atfirst but once word got
many years ago.round he found he had as much work as he
Investigating some of the British ex pats who areneeded. He reckons he makes about a third of
now living in Bulgaria there is a real mixed bag andwhat he was on in the UK and lives on 600
some innovative business ideas.pounds per month quite happily.
In September, 2005, after 20 years in Brighton,Bill and Jane Watson from Bristol used to run a
Mike and Jerry Blake moved lock, stock andcountry pub but the highrents drove them out
barrel to north east Bulgaria to open an ecologicaland they were forced to look elsewhere and
and birding field station with a guest house.Bulgariawas it. They met whils in the Royal Navy
Mr Blake, 43, originally from Wallasey on thebut got really fed up in Britain. So, moving to
Wirral found thebiodiversity in the regionBulgaria they have set up their own guest house.
extraordinary so the location was perfect. TheBut the most unusual thing is that they have
price of property, the warmth of the people andestablished their own business making home-made
range of opportunitieswere the deciding factorssausages (Bill was formerly a chef in the UK).
for their move. Local businesses helped them outThey have created the facility from an old
to get themselves set up and although theoutbuilding and have made a production are which
language barrier was something to overcome,exceeds even EU norms. Bill believes they have
they have managed to get everything done andmade a good move, citing better quality of life as
fit in with the locals.well as establishing a new business with the
Mike now runs the Srebarna Birding Field Stationready-made market of other Brits living in Bulgaria.
monitoring and reportingto the UNESCO Biosphere