A family-of-five ditched the UK for Bulgaria after realising they could buy a home in the Balkan country for less than the price of an annual season train ticket in Britain.
In addition to cheaper properties, the family’s adopted nation offered significant savings on food shopping and petrol.
Known as @freshstartsticks on social media, the family have documented their journey on TikTok and Instagram, sharing their reasons for buying a home in Bulgaria – as well as their huge upcoming renovation project – with hundreds of thousands of viewers.
‘We bought a house in Bulgaria for less than a UK season train ticket, but the price is secondary to the reasons why we made the decision,’ the mother of the family said in a video that’s been viewed almost 660,000 times.
She didn’t say exactly how much they paid for the three-bedroom home in rural Bulgaria – and UK train tickets vary greatly in cost.
Commuter town Surbiton to London, for example, is priced at £3,264, while the longer route of Colchester to London costs £6,700.
The mother-of-three admitted that the family had taken a ‘massive risk’ in pursuing a new life in Bulgaria but said they were ‘running out of steam in the UK’.
She emphasised that they did a lot of research before ‘turning up in Bulgaria’ and that the country ‘ticked all the boxes.’
A family, who go by @freshstartsticks on social media, moved to Bulgaria to purchase a home for less than the price of a UK train ticket
‘It was warm in the summer,’ the content creator added. ‘The only thing that we were a little unsure of was the winter, which gets down to minus 20.’
Yet while the sunny summer weather and high temperatures proved to be a strong draw, the convoluted visa process was much less appealing.
The mother, who is keen to build a sustainable life for her family, explained: ‘The first thing is that you’ve got to go back to your home country to submit your visa application.’
The family were required to decide which visa was right for them, she added.
She also acknowledged that when they first arrived in Bulgaria, they fell into ‘so many pitfalls’.
She said: ‘The estate agents were showing us properties that were derelict and we were not interested in anything that was beyond what we could live in, and also the fees to get your visa were astronomical.’
But, rather than letting their dream fall by the wayside, they resolved to ‘do it ourselves.’
In another TikTok clip, the mother reflected on the upcoming renovation project while also providing a glimpse inside the family’s new home.
The mother of the family (pictured) is intent on creating a sustainable life for her partner and their three children
The land around the farmhouse was overrun, forcing the family to ‘hack’ their way to the door
The mother equally explained some of the pitfalls of starting again in Bulgaria, including the convoluted visa process
‘When we arrived at our Bulgarian home, we had to literally claw our way in,’ she said.
‘Trees were bursting through the ground, creeping through the wall and splitting the paving stones. The garden [was] completely hidden under a wild tangle of overgrowth.’
Having ‘hacked’ their way to the door, the family stepped inside to ‘discover whether this was a huge mistake or the start of something incredible.’
She gave viewers a tour of the farmhouse, explaining that they found two beds in every room, including the kitchen.
This feature, she said, convinced her that the property had once been a multi-generational home, with grandparents, parents and children all living together.
The family were relieved that the house was ‘structurally sound’ but recognised that it needed serious attention.
With the goal of transforming the ‘wild plot into a natural, organic homestead,’ the mother appeared optimistic about the project.