The second viewing trip

So, as I continue to catch this blog up to the present day I would like to thank you for taking the time to read it. I do appreciate it and please, comment at will (even anonymously) I would love to answer any questions you have about this whole adventure.

When I got back from the first house hunting trip I felt I had learned so much; I had been let down by one agent, and impressed by the second. I had found a house which I had fallen in love with, but all the ones which were potentially available had proven to be less than ideal. Finally I had been reinforced in my thinking that this was the place I wanted to go to and the depression which settled over me as the plane had taken off from Plovdiv took a good few days to dissipate.

Gorgeous autumn colours on the Acenograd Pass

As soon as I got home I started planning to return and view more houses, determined to find something soon as, now the decision to go had been reached I was becoming more impatient to find something.

I also had the fortune to have just had a Bulgarian chap start working with me and was getting Bulgarian lessons from him.

This may seem like obvious advice but I would suggest it is something which is probably not considered highly enough. It is ALWAYS a good idea to start learning the language before you emigrate, particularly if like me you are determined to move somewhere which is not touristy and does not have a large expat community. It shows willing, indicates you are going to put some effort into your integration attempt and also will make things much easier for you when you go into a bar and ask for a beer and they give you a warm one! Solution to that: "Studeno, molya" (cold, please) and hey presto, a beer with ice adhering to the side.

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself with that last anecdote as it actually happened during the November trip.

The period between my trip in August and November was filled with spreadsheets with lists of houses on them, rated and sortable by various factors (distance to nearest neighbour, amount of land etc) and with learning the language. We also sat and talked through various design ideas which would enable the house to be large enough, but be simplest to build. I am a big fan of thinking ahead, even when those thoughts may have to be discarded as I believe that discussing things, thinking things, means that you are practicing even knocking the edges off of difficult problems and this will make things easier in the long term.

A lot of time was spent discussing the house I had seen in the forest, coming up with potential layouts for when I tracked down the owner and made them an offer they could not refuse. These were sketched out on a pad and kept for future reference and if nothing else really helped to focus the mind on what was being planned.

The road down the mountain, with views

So, to the viewing trip. We hired a big 4 x 4 this time, as the plan was to explore extensively one day, and travel with George for the second day. This turned out to be a good idea as our sat nav took us right over the top of a mountain and back down the other side - which was great fun but possibly less fun in a less able vehicle.

The first viewing trip took us first of all to the house in the woods which I had fallen in love with. This really is perfection and on the way back from viewing it we stopped at a neighbouring house where I knew a Dutch family lived to ask if they had any idea who owned it. Unfortunately no one was home so I took a note of the house number in order to write them a letter when I got back. We met a lovely friendly wild dog who ran with us all the time we were on the grounds of the house.

Friendly dog who followed us around

After that we took our interesting drive over the mountain and then we went looking for a house our friend had found for us to view, in a little village but with very few directions to the actual location. This again highlighted something which had been more and more apparent; the villagers in this area are really welcoming. Having walked around the village for a few minutes, lost, a man came up to us who spoke no English and we managed to communicate to him that we were looking for the house (kushta) that was for sale (prodava li se) and he said "ahhhh eto tam" (over there). Can you imagine a villager in England helping a Bulgarian with very little English to find the house which was for sale?!

Anyway, this man took us to the house, went and got the neighbour and we were shown round it by the villagers, all smiles and good natured conversation where we again managed to make ourselves understood. The house was not perfect for us however and we went away without our interest being captured. It was incredible to have been able, however, to communicate and succeed at even the small task of viewing a property. Those language lessons were really paying off.

Villager letting us in to view a house

The second day we met up with George. He had been supposed to meet early in the morning but had delayed this until the afternoon so, in the freed up time we went back to the primary school George had showed us which was again revealed to be less than ideal but did tug a bit at the thought-process as "well maybe we COULD do something with it". The location was spot on, above a gorgeous lake and through some seriously stunning mountain passes. It was just the position of the building on the land, and with very little privacy from over looking properties, which put me off so much.

We made it back in time to meet George and headed off to the first house, right up high in the mountains above a town we both loved. The drive involved about 10 minutes of off roading on a track which tested the 4wd vehicle (and my skills) however my pride was dented when a little skoda went careening past me without seeming to notice the bumps and, on the way back down, what looked like a 12 year old kid driving a vauxhall also drove it without a problem.

There were two separate properties for sale at the top, one property with two houses and just below it another property with just one. The views were stupendous, the peace was all encompassing and I could really see myself living there. Finally, I thought, I've found the place. J was less sure and just wanted out of there.

View from the stone mountain top houses

After this we viewed one other place further north on the flat lands and, despite the land being perfect, neither of us liked it at all. It was on the drive back from that we learnt the word for home: Dom

The "view of the dam" - you can JUST see it in the distance

That left us with the early start the next morning to get the flight home, depressing as always to watch this amazing country fall away beneath the wings of the plane.

Sunrise on the drive back to the airport