u/North_Award_5989

Zdraveyte! Okay so my last post had a lot of great information so I wanted to come on again and ask some more question.

The Summary: My husband and I are thinking of moving to Bulgaria with our two young children for a year or two. He is Bulgarian, raised in the USA and has Bulgarian citizenship, fluent speaker. I am USA citizen. Our children have USA citizenship and we would like to get them Bulgarian citizenship before the move.

We are planning to move for a few reasons.

1. My husband will be receiving a salary from the states that does not require him to be there.
2. The children can learn about their culture and learn the language. We are hoping that childcare will also be free, public school ideally.
3. I would like to improve my Bulgarian and gain more fluency. Professional/Academic Background:
   1. Strong academic foundation in Early Childhood Education, Bachelor of Sciences Behavioral Health, working on getting a TEFL, extensive experience tutoring literacy (In spanish and English, I am fluent in both), hands on childcare experience for 5+ years, and I am working towards B2 level fluency in Bulgarian.
4. Experience culture, be closer to family, learn language better. We would also like to make connections with other expats as well as Bulgarians.

We would be planning to move back to the USA eventually but a couple years abroad.

So here are my questions:

1. Given my background: (I have looked into Fulbright ETA! Looking for other options as well)
   1. what kind of work might I be able to find? Of course probably teachers, children, etc. but what is out there?
   2. Part time would be great, but I just want to know what my options look like with that sort of background.
   3. Given that I am married to a citizen and speak the language, does this simplify the work situation? Make me a more attractive candidate?
2. Asking this question again for new answers - We are very disappointed with a few key factors of American parenting/childcare in the USA. They are food and eating habits (wildly unhealthy and unbalanced for children), time spent outside and off screens and general discipline/orderliness. How are all these things handled for children in school in Bulgaria?
3. We don't necessarily want to have a car - what is the public transportation like throughout the country?
4. Visa process for me as someone married to a citizen?
5. Anything else we should know?

And absolutely anything else we should know before moving?

We do not want to live in the village but we thought maybe Burgas or Varna might be nice as well? Please give me all the information you have!!
Thanks.

Hello!

My husband and I are thinking of moving to Bulgaria with our two young children for a year to 2 years in 2028 (at the time of move 2 and 3.5). He is Bulgarian, raised in the USA and has Bulgarian citizenship. I am USA citizen. Our children have USA citizenship and we would like to get them Bulgarian citizenship before the move.

My husband has family in Sofia, Plovdiv and in a village in the east of the country. We are planning to move for a few reasons.

1. My husband will be a full time online student at this time and we live in California right now - high costs. He will be receiving a salary while in school (approximately 2k USD per month)
2. The children can learn about their culture and learn the language. We are hoping that childcare will also be free.
3. I would like to improve my Bulgarian and gain fluency. I have US bachelors degree of sciences as well as a background in Early Childhood Education. Ideally I can find part time work 3 - 4 days a week to supplement our income. I would also like to take classes or find a tutor to continue to improve my Bulgarian while living there.
4. Experience my husband's culture, be closer to family and just get back in touch with roots. We would also like to make connections with other expats as well as Bulgarians.

We would be planning to move back to the USA eventually but a couple years abroad.

So here are my questions:

1. What is the process like for me to get a visa for a year or two years? Could I leave the country to visit family back home or would I have to stay in country?
2. What is the school situation like? I understand that my older child would be kindergarten age and my other would be nursery age. We would like for them to go to a Bulgarian school so that they can learn the customs, language and general culture.
3. We are very disappointed with a few key factors of American parenting/childcare in the USA. They are food and eating habits (wildly unhealthy and unbalanced for children), time spent outside and off screens and general discipline/orderliness. How are all these things handled for children in school in Bulgaria?
4. We would like to settle somewhere with a decent international community. Is Sofia the best place for this?
5. My husband would likely work very part time, maybe 1 - 2 days a week or light hours. What kind of work would be available for him? He is finishing up his military contract and that is the extent of his work experience.
6. Where is the best place for us to settle given all these criteria? I am thinking Sofia because of amenities and being a modern city and all. We would be renting. We like walking and public transportation as a way to save money and not have to have a car all the time, so this seems like a good bet for that.

Anything else we should know before moving?

We do not want to live in the village but we thought maybe Burgas or Varna might be nice as well? Please give me all the information you have!!
Thanks.