A British family has moved to Bulgaria and saves 22,000 pounds annually: “Everything is simple and relaxed, as a return in time.”
A family with four children in the UK moved to Bulgaria, where he managed to save over 22,000 pounds a year at household expenses. Amy Smerdon and her husband, Jerry, have long dreamed of living independently, but they could not afford a mortgage in the United Kingdom.
Initially, the house bought was to be only holiday. Photo: Facebook/Tiktok Amy Jane Smerdon
The two, along with the four children-two eight and six-year-old boys and twins of five-learned about the low prices of houses in Bulgaria and bought a three-room home for only 7,000 pounds in 2024, with the intention of turning it into a holiday home, notes the Daily Mail.
After Amy she received an inheritance from her grandfather, they decided to settle permanently there and purchased a land with a warehouse near the city of Popovo. Jerry had two small businesses in the UK and turned the warehouse into a home earlier this year. Moreover, they also set up a small pool in the yard.
Amy moved to Bulgaria with the children in March 2025, leaving Wincanton, Somerset. Since then the family renovates the new home with a budget of 10,000 pounds and says it feels “Free”. I manage to save about 1,800 pounds monthly.
“We have regained control over life. Now we are a family, not only we survive”, says Amy.
“The lack of support in the UK was disappointing. I was not even receiving help for the payment of local taxes, and then the executors appeared at the door”, said Jerry, who has four other sons of previous relationships.
“We managed to develop two houses in six to eight months. In the UK, we could barely survive.”
Initially, Amy was thinking of living in a refurbished container, but the costs were still too high in the kingdom. She explained that, due to her age (35 years) and her credit score, she could not get a mortgage, and Jerry was not eligible because of the age (53 years).
“I didn't want to rent all my life. You can't paint a wall, put on a painting – you feel that you are never at home.”
The family had already visited Bulgaria on holidays and liked the country. Initially, the house bought was to be only holiday, but life in the UK determined to make the radical decision to emigrate.
“I felt that we were living on a day that is repeated endlessly. It was like in Groundhog Day,” said Amy. Now, their children can play free, without fear that the neighbors will knock on the door to ask them to make peace.
As for the expenses, Amy recounts that in the UK she was paying 1,300 lunar pounds and 670 pounds on utilities. In Bulgaria, the monthly costs are only 198.5 pounds.
Although he recognizes that he was not easy and still not feeling completely “Place” In the new country, Amy says she does not regret the move: “It was our salvation. Everything is simple and relaxed, as a return in time. There are no limits here-if you want something, you can do it. No one tells you.”
