St. James’ Park

An Alternative Campsite and Hostel in Bulgaria

Who we are and what we do

Voditsa - alternative living in Bulgaria
kardamYes we sell property in Bulgaria but this is no ordinary agency - we do all of the things that you would expect as services from an agency -

and we do it in a professional manner but we’re also a bit of an alternative agency perhaps becasue we also care. Thats not just meant to be a trite, marketing remark - we care about this village and are keen to encourage people to come and live here. So when you come and look at property, you can stay in a house in the village. We’ll sit down with you in my lovely garden, with a bottle of rakia and some delicious Bulgarian food and we’ll tell you what life is like here. We’ll show you our alternative life in this lovely place with shops, including the secret supermarket, the secret hardware shop (or maybe we’ll let you find that on your own), we’ll introduce you to the neighbours, we’ll show you nice places to walk and we’ll talk about the opportunities and potential in Voditsa.

BT balconyWe also care about not cheating you. The way many agencies work is that they agree a price that the owner will receive, for example, 10,000leva, and then the property is is advterised and sold for 10,000euros. The buyer is actually paying half of the price to the agency as well as paying agency fees. The person selling the house has no idea what is happening and doesn’t have many other options to sell their property. The buyer, of course doesn’t speak Bulgarian and thinks that 10,000euros is cheap anyway.

We will tell you exactly how much the seller is receiving- we take a commision of course, but we have no secrets with the sellers.

So why would you want to buy a property in Bulgaria?

How happy are you with life in the UK right now? Do you feel traped in the failing economy? Do you support the materialistic view of society that has been promoted for the last few decades? Do you have a dream that you’d like to live in the country, have a decent plot of land, grow organic food and bring your children up in a place that isn’t scary? (Scary as in ‘mind that wolf’ is different from stranger danger isn’t it?) My feeling is that there are two factors here that you cant really get easily in Britian right now - land and opportunity.

Houses in villages almost always come with a plot of land, usually around 2,000decre -half an acre. Villagers traditionally live in a subsistence economy - they have no choice but to grow everything that they need so they have enough land to it with. That size of plot will easily keep you in vegetables for the year and keep you pretty well occupied too. Could you afford to buy a half an acre in Britain? We get enquiries now, mostly from people who want land and want to live their lives differently.

beansWhat about opportunity? Bulgaria is at the first stage of developing and moving forward. Things are just starting to happen - there is more disposable income around, especially as money begins to flow at a grass roots level as property is sold. Business are springing up all over the place and the market is changing. for example, there hasn’t been ny real alternative scene here until foreigners with high ideals began to move in. The organic movement is growing as is the interest in alternative technology and building. There are oportunities around the marrying together of traditional skills and new technology. There are also incredible resources here - wood, land, empty buildngs, mineral springs etc. so what might be a business opportunity in Voditsa?

Yes, of course, there is the issue of the language, but its not that difficult. People are becoming more used to hearing their language spoken badly and are therefore more accomodating. I know that when i first came here, shop assistants would hide if they saw me coming. There is always someone who speaks English and they’re usually more than happy to practice it.

I once read that when Spike Milligan contacted the Irish Embassy to ask about becoming an Irish citizen, they replied ’sure, we’re awfully short of people - you’re very welcome’. We need more people in Voditsa, hopefully, like minded people who care and who want to be active in energising this village. Bulgaria is an Objective 1 country within the EU. This measn that it is in a position to receive lots of financial support in its grass roots development. Sadly, there is a lot of corruption throughout the system and things are not quite going as planned but with enough people creating village development groups and demanding action, there is real potential for sustainable development projects.

the springSo why are you living in the UK? Dont get me wrong - I’m proud of being English and I’m proud of my heritage but I dont want to subscribe to a capitalist and Americanised way of life. Its hard in the UK to not live like that - here its easy. Property prices are going up so anything you buy is an investment but its also about not missing the boat. There are still some very cheap properties here - under €10,000 for a liveable house and good plot of land and some very good bargains.

Call me if you want to talk about it - 0035960386286. My name is Kathy, I live in Voditsa, I love it and I want to share it with others. If we dont have the property that you’re looking for, tell us what you want and we’ll try to find it for you.

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