Hi one and all. New to the forum and would like to pick your brains. The wife has had enough of the UK and has got her sights set on moving to Bulgaria 
. I realise everybody in BG can’t wait to get over here, but boy are they in for a shock 
. Is anybody aware of any firms, Bulgarian or otherwise, that might consider employing a Brit. I’m quite prepared to work for 2 peanuts an hour or whatever the going rate might be, as its all relevant to the cost of living over there.
Extremely grateful for any pointers.
Hi scott,welcome to trucknet…you could try sending a PM (private message) to a trucknet member called “truckyboy”… use the search facility above to find his name then click on it, it should bring up his profile, then click the button saying “send a PM” or something like that!! 
His wife apparently is Bulgarian and he goes there every year, he may be able to give you some advice.
Failing that why not email Willie Betz direct!!! 
Good luck anyway.
Bullitt.
I was going to post this little tale somewhere. Here seems as good a place as any.
I had a delivery to a Supermarket in France on Tuesday evening after the bank holiday. It was the first time I had done an RDC and arrived early. There was a Belgian truck parked outside so I wandered up to him. The Belgian driver was Bulgarian, he spoke very good English and as I found out later he was fluent in French. As drivers do, we chatted about the job, the problems and of course money. 
This driver had a lot of complaints about the Eastern Bloc, the gypsies, the Romanians and the cost of living. His biggest complaint was all the foreigners coming into his country taking the good jobs. He was now earning 1500 Euros a month in Belgium, but he had to drive a pile of crap, pointing at his brand new Actros
He said that now there are a lot of Vietnamese drivers working for the equivalent of 500 Euros a month, as BG have not yet joined the Eurozone. He complained that he used to drive a new Volvo FH from BG to Germany but now his job had gone, We chatted a long time about the old border crossing at Russe, and he said that he used to watch the British drivers queuing to enter Romania having to pay bribes and backhanders to corrupt officials.
He became a truck driver during the days of Somat and wished he could go back to those days. I hope I meet the bloke again, he was very interesting, intelligent and he shared his box of fruit with me and bought my coffee
I had a delivery to a Supermarket in France on Tuesday evening after the bank holiday. It was the first time I had done an RDC and arrived early. There was a Belgian truck parked outside so I wandered up to him. The Belgian driver was Bulgarian, he spoke very good English and as I found out later he was fluent in French. As drivers do, we chatted about the job, the problems and of course money.
This driver had a lot of complaints about the Eastern Bloc, the gypsies, the Romanians and the cost of living. His biggest complaint was all the foreigners coming into his country taking the good jobs. He was now earning 1500 Euros a month in Belgium, but he had to drive a pile of crap, pointing at his brand new Actros
He said that now there are a lot of Vietnamese drivers working for the equivalent of 500 Euros a month, as BG have not yet joined the Eurozone. He complained that he used to drive a new Volvo FH from BG to Germany but now his job had gone, We chatted a long time about the old border crossing at Russe, and he said that he used to watch the British drivers queuing to enter Romania having to pay bribes and backhanders to corrupt officials.
He became a truck driver during the days of Somat and wished he could go back to those days. I hope I meet the bloke again, he was very interesting, intelligent and he shared his box of fruit with me and bought my coffee
[/quote]
This is a very good post that should be moved to the main forum then some of the ignorant Brit Drivers might learn what the words respect and comradeship mean amongst fellow humans not just drivers!
Wheel Nut:
This driver had a lot of complaints about the Eastern Bloc, the gypsies, the Romanians and the cost of living. His biggest complaint was all the foreigners coming into his country taking the good jobs. He was now earning 1500 Euros a month in Belgium, but he had to drive a pile of crap, pointing at his brand new Actros
simply hilarious. a friend of mine has a bulgarian driver working for him, driving an estonian truck on eastern european work for more than that. and him talking about the foreigners taking the good jobs
What everyone seems to forget when slagging off east european drivers who work for 1500 euro per month is that the wage reflects the cost of living in the country of employment.
Now I have never been to Bulgaria - yet, but I would hazard a guess that the cost of a weekly shop is somewhat less than the equivalent in the UK.
I have spoken to quite a few eastern bloc drivers - and a good many tell me that in their own country they are earning top dollar and are seen to be well off in comparison to others.
Drasti scottbb,
I know where your coming from my wife is also moving over to BG next year as she has had enough of working for the nhs as a nurse, she is 40 and going to retire.
I often thought of working in BG but as you know you would be working for peanuts…so me im working in the uk for a few months then joining my wife in BG for a few months holiday...just until the market picks back up and then we can sell our house.... In our village in BG a local tradesman will work all day for what i can earn in an hour in this country......Anyway im going over there in october so i can ask in the main town whats the driving work like…ie:pay
If you want to talk then pm me and i will give you my yahoo id …
Noodles
Hombre:
What everyone seems to forget when slagging off east european drivers who work for 1500 euro per month is that the wage reflects the cost of living in the country of employment.
that is all great and all but as far as I can read from the posting is that he was based in belgium on that wage, and that is just above slavery imo.
milodon:
Hombre:
What everyone seems to forget when slagging off east european drivers who work for 1500 euro per month is that the wage reflects the cost of living in the country of employment.that is all great and all but as far as I can read from the posting is that he was based in belgium on that wage, and that is just above slavery imo.
I think you will be very surprised to learn that the Bulgarian was quite happy with his 1500 Euros in the bank. I know a lot of drivers working in Belgium for a similar rate.
The difference was this guy was happy in his work, he did 4 weeks and then went by plane to Sofia before returning to his home in Pyce for 2 weeks.
One thing he did say to me as we were chatting. He was very proud of this. “I am Slav, not Slave”
I nicked a quote from TruckyBob , (Hope you dont mind Bob)
truckyboy:
Hi All…esp JB…i have been buying property in Bulgaria for a while now, and i have a main apartment in varna…which is cheaper than on the coast…which is only a ten minute bus ride away…i also have a flat in Russe above a shop which we rent out…we have just bought 2 acres of land (dekkars) in sosopol which is on the southern coast …and ripe for development…as a newer seaside town…what did we pay …£5000…yeah …unreal innit to coin a phrase…i am gonna retire to Bg when the time is right…language is a problem for me so retiring early and working there is not a reality…unless i open a bar for tourists…(a possibility)…or a hotel …£40.000) for a 12 bedroom one…
The cost of living is very low…a beer 20p…200 ciggies £5…a 3 course meal in a nice restaurant with a live band £3 - £4…the average wage is £45 a month…transport is cheap…there are lots of markets selling fresh fruit and vegetables…and in a natural state (organic)…tomatoes as big as your hand…and full of taste and juices…the country reminds me of how england used to be years ago…the traditions are kept up…and the people are great …out in the country the villages are a bit primitive…and often have no inside toilets…or running water …sometimes collected from a stand pipe …
You can buy all the western goods there now…but its mainly the foreigners who can afford them…english is spoken in quite a few places…and you only have to ask the young people or students for help…but for any international drivers reading this …you dont need any language …only hand signs and gestures…so for me …bulgaria is the place to be …and there are a lot of english moving there… i dont have problems buying property there cos my wife is Bulgarian/English…but for foreigners buying …you will have to set up a ltd company …no problems because its arranged for you via an estate agent ( we deal direct with the vendor for obvious reasons…but if you want a rough guide to property …just look at this site as an example…for there are a lot more…
www.bulgarian properties .com
I could live there tomorrow, the Poles, Bulgarians and former Yugoslavians along with the Czechs and Hungarians are friendly, nice people if you dont poke them with sticks. I dont know any Lithuanians or Estonians, so cannot comment on that country
This is for scottbb, try this website but to be honest i looked but they did`nt even have any logistic jobs on thier books in bulgaria but well worth keeping in mind trying on a regular basis…even maybe send your details to them…Do you have 16 years experience??anyway good luck…
Wheel Nut:
I think you will be very surprised to learn that the Bulgarian was quite happy with his 1500 Euros in the bank. I know a lot of drivers working in Belgium for a similar rate.The difference was this guy was happy in his work, he did 4 weeks and then went by plane to Sofia before returning to his home in Pyce for 2 weeks.
One thing he did say to me as we were chatting. He was very proud of this. “I am Slav, not Slave”
while the €1500 certainly is an improvement over €500 or so, I still can’t see anything changing the fact that it is simply hilarious for the bulgarian to be complaining about the foreigners taking all the good jobs while working in belgium for next to nothing. happy or stupid? I’d vote for the latter. those plane tickets are probably eating up most of the earnings.
milodon:
Wheel Nut:
I think you will be very surprised to learn that the Bulgarian was quite happy with his 1500 Euros in the bank. I know a lot of drivers working in Belgium for a similar rate.The difference was this guy was happy in his work, he did 4 weeks and then went by plane to Sofia before returning to his home in Pyce for 2 weeks.
One thing he did say to me as we were chatting. He was very proud of this. “I am Slav, not Slave”
while the €1500 certainly is an improvement over €500 or so, I still can’t see anything changing the fact that it is simply hilarious for the bulgarian to be complaining about the foreigners taking all the good jobs while working in belgium for next to nothing. happy or stupid? I’d vote for the latter. those plane tickets are probably eating up most of the earnings.
He told me that the company arrange flights and bus transfers, much as the Dutch did for the German drivers who worked with me at my last company. The only problem is that you have another driver on the truck when you are at home.
I wish I could afford to buy 2 acres of building land with 4 months earnings