The Bastardisation of Bulgaria

[MIK_bg]

Hello folks. Still around kicking ? Left the country already? ...Planning the escape???

I dont want to sound naive, neither dramatic. Okay, I will sound probably both dramatic and naive, but while Bulgaria never has been a lighthouse for individuals rights, day after day I'm reading more and more mindf****** stories of expats or even bulgarians dealing with companies(??), law(????), fellow citizens (?????).

The atmosphere seems to be degrading into a south american Banana Republic where every aspects of society is run as organized crime and it's scary enough to know you wont get any help neither by submit to the companies and government burocracy, nor by appealing to the law.

I'm not saying it wasn't like this before and that I'm finally coming to terms with it, but things are getting worst.

Of course this can be connected to the world economy crumbling and be a global phenomenon but I think Bulgaria isn't making any resistance either to avoid to sink into a spiral of dog eats dog kind of society.

Basically, owning a property, being connected to utilities, running a business, just breathing next to another desperate being exposes you to a cornucopia of twilight zone experiences.

Apart for the financial bitterness and real nightmares out of investing in BG by many expats, who are daily expressing their "love" for the country and people using colourful expressions leaving no space to misunderstanding, I'm wondering what is the opinion now of the more adaptable ones? I always considered myself one of them, more adaptable, more understanding in bad or good, closing one or both eyes if necessary, thinking that once you close the door of your house and don't mess with these problems, you are somehow safe, but lately I start thinking I'm gonna need to face reality.


Are we becoming target of desperation and criminality of any kind, corporate, mafious and state run?

[banjo]

Hi and what a good post My personal look is that Bulgaria is run by bandits and as a owner of property I have not seen many changes in the last ten years.As far as dog eat dog this started in the UK in the 80s and yes it seems to be spreading now to south east Europe, the EU hast stated that Bulgaria needs to fight corruption before it can be a full member but I have not seen any evidence that this will be forthcoming . The widespread public have seen the EU funds for improvements to the infrastructure being stolen by corrupt so called officials and even when they are known to the government they get away with it.The mindset of the people in control of Bulgaria still have communist ideals and it will take a few generations to rid themselves of this so all in all nothing much has changed.

[MIK_bg]

Fight corruption is code word for..spead a thicker layer of hypocrisy. The EU model is modern 2.0 mafia of City of London, Swiss banking and German industrial complex, more business savy, with more public relations, image damage control, more control on perception of the current situation trough manipulation of data and minds, propaganda or simply censorship.

The problem I see is that while organized society is getting bastardised, all fall back to personal values.
But what can you expect in a society that already learned to reproduce same behaviour they see from the top dogs down the whole pyramid of the social structure? The common people has not the economics or social pressure to restrain theirself from doing to others what the top dogs are doing to them.

All these "better life conditions" are absolutely fictional. Prices and taxes are rising always above the inflation adjustment of wages. All these "better life conditions" are propelled by either crime either debt or the money coming from abroad, as foreign investors (that are leaving) expats (that are leaving) and Bulgarians working abroad who are coming back as the economies of western world is drying up.

I always wanted to live off grid under a rock but now it seems you have to put more kilometres and mine fields between you and any other and live a monastic life to not encourage your neighbours to rob you probably with the full support of police, courts and legislation.

[Mat]

Well if you repeatedly elect a known mafia lord and drug kingpin as your prime minister, what on earth do you expect? The fish rots from the head.

I would love to buy myself a village bolthole and start planting trees to enjoy in my retirement but the moment my back is turned the locals would nick everything. My father in law just died and the first thing we did - before we made the announcement in the village - was to get SOT in. Because they would be breaking bread with us and commiserating on the Friday and looting the place on the Saturday.

[MIK_bg]

I've survived by refusing to even acknowledge the existance of Bulgarian politics. I'm already disgusted by global scale politics to even bother to inform myself about these mignons. They are irrelevant even as criminals.

But I've been introduced to the wonderful world of bribery and the infinite possibilities you get by dealing with such garbage.

Dont you find amazing how the press pictures as bastions of law the police officers who arrested a *ucker offering 20 levs as bribe, but you never hear of same outcomes with someone offering 200/300 lev and above? like they are educating the public to the minimum ammount they accept.

in fact they proceed just against those who offered too little.

I'm up for a fully sufficient offgrid village with earthed self supporting steelframe modular houses...so not needing any building permit. But you defenitely need to cement your trees or they will steal them.

at least, if you find the right location as far as possible from any village you may be safe.
they are lazy thieves. they wont walk up a mountain to rob you.

[shotlandets]

It is a long time since I posted, but coming across this made me sad. Unfortunately it is all true and the youngsters are leaving in their droves. Bulgaria has the fastest falling population in the world. It is run by thieves and gangsters, but the underlying problem has always been the absolute ignorance of the population to their own stupidity. They were cut off from the world for 50 years and actually believe a return to the old days would benefit them. Conveniently forgetting what it was like. The gangsters were always in power. The culture is the same as the middle east and once you can accept that, it becomes easier to deal with. Unfortunately since communism collapsed the gangsters are allowed free movement to create mayhem in other countries.
keep life basic if you live there, dont rely on anyone, try not to use tradesmen and just enjoy the summer weather.

[Mat]

and actually believe a return to the old days would benefit them. Conveniently forgetting what it was like.

Just like Brexit. Nostalgia for an idealised past that actually never existed.

Enjoying Bulgaria just needs expectation management. As long as you come to peace with the knowledge that your neighbours will rob you at the first opportunity and nothing will work when you need it to, you can have a delightful time with great weather, lovely food and attractive, freely available women (and presumably, men). Don't invest too much money, don't spend the winter, don't expect to come back to anything valuable when you return in the spring and all will be well.

[Liliputian]

Yes quite sad to read. My experience of spending most of this year there has to some extent backed up that pessimistic picture. My take is that the old elites (privileged, well connected layers) under the degenerated communist system, or at least some of them, have merely adapted to the new capitalist 'freedoms', and of course the market is made for such people with no social conscience. These people were never wedded to the ideology of 'their' communist system, but were just in it for what they could take, and now they can take more because the international capitalist 'community' facilitates/encourages it. Under communism there was at least some pretence of equality, a kind of safety net, but now they have the worst of both worlds - the corrupt social layers of what passed as communism, together with systemic inequality in which corporations and global finance work hand-in-hand with gangsters to fleece everyone. When the EU or the bourgeoisie whine about corruption, they are only interested in the low level gangsters, not the larger corrupt institutions and networks they still want to continue relying on for a comfy living. Unfortunately many decades of political disorientation mean that, not all that unlike in more 'developed' nations, many ordinary people flail about reaching for something, anything, different, with little concern for repeating mistakes of even quite recent history.

[banjo]

This topic sounds like London the capital of mafia investment and drug gangs who will also fleece anyone. I have a lot of Bulgarian friends who lived through the poverty of a system where you could not own your own house and had to line up for a loaf of bread they tell me that they do not want that system back. The transformation from the old system has been very painful for Bulgaria and also very slow The people who I do feel for are the pensioners who live in abject poverty that cannot afford electricity or gas. The story is about those that have and those that do not its a human trait and its human nature to get what you can out of whatever system you are living under rich or poor.There will always be corruption the people with the most will corrupt the most to make sure they have a good life.So its up to governments and the rule of law to better the populations standards this seems to be lacking in Bulgaria but as Bulgaria is now in the cradle of the EU perhaps things might get better but it will take time to alter some peoples mindset of the so called good old days. When government officials steal EU funds they build a big house and a nice lifestyle and when they are found out and asked to explain where they have got the money from this is when the corruption starts you scratch my back and so on so yes Bulgaria is corrupt but no different from other parts of the world. So enjoy your Rakia have a nice time in Bulgaria and nail down anything you own like I do.

[MIK_bg]

Well they are apparently able to get not only what you nailed down but also buildings on foundations... with a little help of the government.