General Information for Bulgaria:
In order someone to make a decision to study in Bulgaria they should know some general information about the Life in Bulgaria:
Bulgaria is situated in the southeastern part of Europe and eastern part of the Balkans. It borders the northern part with Romania, to the western part with Serbia and Northern Macedonia, To the south with Greece and Turkey and the eastern part there is the coast of Black Sea.
The population of Bulgaria is around 7 million people. Most of the population are native Bulgarians however, there are many foreigners living in major cities like in the capital Sofia, Plovdiv, Varva and Burgas. Many of them work in international companies or study in the English departments of Bulgarian universities. International students usually come from countries like Greece, Cyprus, the United Kingdom, Italy, Turkey, Germany and other countries.
Life and Living Expenses:
Life in Bulgaria is affordable and quite cheaper compared to other countries of Europe. This usually is an opportunity for foreign students to both save money and enjoy their student life in an abroad country. Under no doubt, the life expenses vary depending on the lifestyle each individual prefers to have. However, Bulgaria remains one of the most low maintenance countries around Europe, and at the same time provides comfort and good quality of life.
What most students are interested in are rent prices, quality of the apartments, bills prices and general expenses, entails shopping, internet, restaurants etc.
There are varying renting prices depending on the location of the building, the year of manufacture, and the number of the bedrooms. On average, student apartments with one bedroom close to the university area are priced close to 500 euros per month. Since Bulgaria is a country that’s developing fast for the last decade, every year there are new buildings with hundreds of new apartments ready to host students for their new journey. Thus, most buildings are brand new especially in the area close to the university and the hospitals.
The prices for electricity and water are varying depending on the consumption, the prices given by official sources are 0.1€/kWh ( https://euenergy.live/country.php?a2=BG ) regarding electricity and 1€/m3 regarding water( https://www.dker.bg/en/news.html ).
** Just to keep in mind that Bulgaria up to this moment is in Lev- 1 LEV is 0,51€.**
Nature of the country
Bulgaria is a country known for its natural beauty. Every season is beautiful since it provides both mountains and coast. During the winter season locals, foreigners and tourists spend their free time in the mountains due to the organized facilities of ski resorts. Some of the most well known spots for winter escape are Bansko, Pamporovo and Borovech mountains. The activities one can experience are countless, the quality of accommodation is one of the best and regarding the food there are different options beginning from local dishes to international cuisine. Bulgarians even celebrate the students day during the December and give a 3 day long weekend to the students to enjoy the natural beauty of the country. On the other hand, during summer time the eastern part of Bulgaria becomes popular since the black sea is on that side. Cities like Burgas and Varna are flooded with people enjoying the sea and the sun. The facilities provided for a summer trip are equivalent to those during the winter vacations, as well as during the nights the cities become more noisy and busy, people are going out for long walks and delighting the breeze. However, for those who prefer the mountains even in the summertime, there are many rivers all around Bulgaria where many find different activities to join like kayaking. Nevertheless, theer activities one can do during their everyday routine without organizing a whole trip. Each major city provides facilities for different activities like football, basketball, volleyball, dancing, tracking, swimming and many contemporary gymnastic equipment. University also gives the opportunity to those students who want to participate in some activities. There are basketball, volleyball and football teams each student can join. Yet, the activities one can do while being a student in Bulgaria don’t restrict only to places inside the borders. As discussed earlier Bulgaria borders with different countries, so many students prefer going abroad to Romania, Turkey and Greece to spend their weekends and experience new cultures as well.
Events in Bulgaria
Bulgaria is a country full of life. All the year different festivals and events take place in different cities and locals as well as students have the opportunity to explore different cities while enjoying the event. All major cities in Bulgaria host all kinds of events, from Christmas festival to scientific seminars gives many options for students to join different activities during their whole academic year and it could be either for entertaining reasons or for educational impact. At winter time in the city center there are different Christmas markets with local shops providing their products and at the side there is always a big ice-skating floor with nice music accompanying the Christmas mood. Every year the universities organize different trips to the mountains so everyone who wants can have the opportunity to go skiing and generally enjoy the winter activities as locals do. On the other hand, during the summer period, the big parks are transformed into festival places and different bands present their songs. Luna parks exist to entertain the people and the local food of course is not missing.
