海角乱伦

I know a guy who got a D visa and residence based on his disability pension, and not being pension age. Not from the US, but I don't think that matters.

Don't bet the farm on the "quieter, less stressful" part - it all depends on what you've been used to and what you encounter here; there's plenty of stress to go around, especially if you need a fair amount of medical care..

I hope it all works out for you, Yasmin. I think if it's a life long payment, similar to a medically required early retirement pension, as long as it's more than the current Bulgarian minimum wage it is likely to be accepted for the visa.

Which area of Bulgaria are you looking to move to? Where have you visited?

Jim is correct that some areas aren't that peaceful! Some, like our village, are mostly peaceful but a long drive from medical care. Less of a problem if your condition is stable and you don't need ongoing care, but聽 access to medical facilities may be something to keep in mind when you're looking for where to settle.

Also, even in cities, Bulgaria has not yet caught up with designing things to be wheelchair/ mobility scooter accessible, though it do see it improving. My husband has several disabling health conditions and often needs to use two sticks for the most obvious one, and he manages. If it gets to the stage where he needs to use a mobility scooter, we'll probably have to move to town.

Hello yasmin_bree,

Welcome to 海角乱伦 馃榾

Please note that I have changed the title of your thread for better visibility.

I hope you are receiving some helpful feedback here.

Cheers,

Cheryl

海角乱伦 team

@JimJ

absolutely, I mostly meant daily life being a slower pace.

@yasmin_bree

Again, don't let your imagination run away with you thinking about "a slower pace" for the rest of your days: we've recently-ish had to arrange hospital in-patient treatment for my in-laws. Forget "Call 911" - it took a full day to find an ambulance (of sorts) to transport my mother-in-law 60km from the hospital where they made her go to the toilet on her own, immediately after admitting her following a stroke (they only admitted her because both my wife and I can shout VERY loudly in Bulgarian and wouldn't take the original "No room for any more patients"聽 for an answer), resulting in her breaking her thigh and needing to be transferred to a hospital in Sofia because the provincial hospital "doesn't treat broken thighs", even if they caused them.

Most Bulgarians are pretty blas茅 (although "fatalistic" is probably a better word) about such things and just stop trying to get a better service for themselves and their loved ones; our neighbours in the village were amazed at the amount of fuss we made and even more by the fact that we actually got results.聽 Even those results would be very unacceptable in most Western countries but 孝褍泻 械 袘褗谢谐邪褉懈褟 (or "Bulgaristan" if they're feeling even more jaded).

Foreigners (and Bulgarians) also complain about returning goods to major shops, getting warranties honoured and a whole host of things that you'd take for granted in most other countries.

Life IS slower here, it's true - and it's also shorter than in most other European countries... 馃槑

@yasmin_bree

It might help if you say what kind of disabilities you have. You don't have to say or go into great depth, but it might be useful for members to say if Bulgaria is the right place for you or what places would be or not best suited to you. Just an idea.

I have an aunt who lived in the middle of nowhere in Wales. The nearest doctor was 30 minutes away, and the hospital was an hour away. 1/2 of the journey was a single lane. Unless you knew the road, it would be longer. Anyway, although she was fit and as she got older and the kids had grown up, she moved to civilisation. Because when it did snow, she was cut off from everyone, even though she had a 4 x 4. So with her being on her own, she made the right choice to be in a city close to her daughter & grandkids.

@SimCityAT

Sometimes it's best to be as far away from Bulgarian doctors as possible, especially in provincial "Polyclinics"...

Certainly don't recommend rural Bulgaria, if you need healthcare. Cities are better, they have hospitals, as well as private clinics and labs.

But do you know that non-EU immigrants are not covered by the Bulgarian public health care system, at least for the first 5 years. Healthcare here is not nearly as expensive here as in the US, but still costs a lot of money, while the VA will probably cover you in the US.

May be a smaller/quieter American city would be better for you?

@sogy

From what I read and hear from friends in the US, VA care has seen cutbacks along with many other government services. Possibly it's not so easy to access.

"100% disabled" sounds like a bad basis for moving to Bulgaria - and it would cut no ice here. A "Commission" is required before the BG health service will regard anyone as disabled, and to what degree; my guess would be that they'd want to be 100% sure that the person wouldn't be a drain on the health service, such as it is...

@yasmin_bree

I'm surprised by some of the unenthusiastic (even outright negative) responses you've received to your post,

I think Bulgarian immigration would welcome an American with a full disability pension. It seems unlikely that it's less than the typical Bulgarian pension, and most likely even exceeds the minimum wage ($650/m in 2025, due to be $730/m in 2026).

Bulgaria has its problems, of course, but "quieter and less stressful" (and cheaper) than America is mostly likely fairly easily achievable.

As a vet, I'd guess you're entitled to some kind of free/inexpensive health care, and you might not be happy to lose this. In Bulgaria, you'd need a private healthcare policy. It's a lot cheaper than USA, but probably worth getting some quotes. As a non-EU citizen, you can't qualify for public healthcare until 5 years of residence (as a pensioner). If you're doing some kind of online biz, you could qualify earlier by registering as self -employed.

5 years of Bulgarian private health insurance isn't going to be a huge cost, and it's balanced by your access to the public system after 5 years (voluntary contributions as a pensioner/non-worker are about $25/m, a fairly trivial sum. I pay this myself, but I've not yet been to a public hospital as most private hospitals get reimbursed by NHIF too (and I just pay a small private surcharge of a few bucks).

The disability commission mentioned in another post is TELK. I did this for my father, and it wasn't a big deal. If America thinks you're 100% disabled, the same medical evidence will almost certainly convince TELK. I'm not sure the decision is super helpful, but there is a small (teeny) Bulgarian disability pension so you might want that.

Like others, I'd recommend you go for an apartment in a larger city, rather than a village house. But it very much depends on your budget. We're in Plovdiv and it's a great little city (former European Capital of Culture and Bulgaria's 2nd largest city). I highly recommend it as it has all city amenities including many hospitals, several lovely parks, and plenty of downtown sights/activities. I lived in Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco which are great cities. Plovdiv's a dinky, tatty country cousin in comparison... but it's much more livable and much affordable. We have a beautiful apartment next to a mall, large supermarket, and 3 of the main parks... probably for the cost of a shoebox in those other cities. :-)

We have a beautiful apartment next to a mall, large supermarket, and 3 of the main parks... probably for the cost of a shoebox in those other cities. :-) - @gwynj

"A shoebox?" Eee, lad - thee were lucky! 馃槀