Sofia Neighbourhoods

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Hello friend, Sofia local here.

Check out the attached map, and here's how to interpret it:

Dark orange: traditionally expensive
Light orange: becoming 'prestigious'
Dark blue: no longer 'prestigious'
Light blue: showing potential

Red star: your work location
Green circle: recommended area (also happens where I live)

It's extremely close to the 2 main arteries of traffic Tzarigradsko Shose and the Sofia Tube.
City center is within walking distance and it's not terribly expensive, 350 rent alone is possible, however you'd have to settle for some mediocre place.

Park is close by.
Nightlife.... eh, not really.

Let me know if you need further help.

Hey man, thanks for the reply, it's pretty detailed.

My main issue is that I'm unable to read it as I don't understand Cyrillic alphabet, so names don't speak to me, even tho I can figure out where it is located.

Regarding my budget, I could go to 400, I'm not looking for anything big anyway 30-40sqm is my goal).
Is there anything such as negotiating prices or anything when renting ?

>Cyrillic
Should take you no longer than 10 hours to learn and pronounce shit.

>400 for 40sqm
Completely plausible in a good region like Geo Milev.

>Is there anything such as negotiating prices or anything when renting?
Yes, you could.

The easy way to rent would be online and almost certainly-- through an agency.
You could go in person and review some locations and when you decide on a place you can start negotiating the price but I don't think they'd go lower than -50lv depending on circumstances (for example if there are some detriments to the place like being too close to traffic, etc).

Another way is to rent directly from landlord, this skip the agency's fee, however it's difficult to find for a non-local. Certainly not impossible but you have to dedicate some time and effort.

Alternatively I see some Facebook groups for rent/roommates search, again without agency.

Did a short search with your criteria:
http://www.imoti.info/pcgi/printinfodet.cgi?id=2b146366709127487
http://www.imoti.info/pcgi/printinfodet.cgi?id=2b148432272738496

I would go for these.

>>1203671
Thanks again man.

I had a look at what you linked, if I understood well I can get some flats that are 50sqm within my budget?
That's pretty cool.

Also i I don't know if I mentioned it but the company imma be working at provides support for my housing search (I guess english speaking real estate agents), so I guess I'll tell them about the neighborhhod your linked flats are in. How is it called?

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>>1203727
>I had a look at what you linked, if I understood well I can get some flats that are 50sqm within my budget?

Yup.

>How is it called?
Geo Milev.

>>1203727
To add, now looking at it, Darvenitsa is also not a bad place for you.
Closer to Studentski Grad (lit. College Town) which is the main youth/night life area.

Geo Milev is kinda retired people that need a comfortable life lmao.

>>1203389
Do everything u want just don't go to lulin or luvov most at night.

>>1203729
I'm going to look further into this. Don't know how often you come to this board, but I'll move there on the first of February so you may see this thread or a new one at that time.

Random question, are French guys popular there ? I mean I'm not a player, but I really loved my life in Japan and Thailand cuz you get attention from hotties a lot.

You won't get the white god/foreigner advantage thing you got previously in Asia, but girls will be interested for the stories you can tell. Normal rules apply after that.

>>1203766
Haha pretty fair answer, gotta try my best.
Btw, my gross income is 1900 leva, how often can I hope to travel on the weekends?
I typically don't spend a lot on food/ everyday housing stuff, and I'm not looking to save money, more like enjoy life for my 6 months there.

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>>1204109
Local transportation is cheap af from that perspective.
Sofia - Varna (beach resort, cross country) - Sofia is 40lv by train, 54 by bus. Bus is significantly faster, but train is more enjoyable.
Rail/Bus network is pretty good, and accommodation-wise you're looking at the 20-40lv per night.

Let's say I wanted to have a weekend in Veliko Tarnovo from Sofia,
27 leva for a return ticket, 2 nights 20 each for a total of 67 leva.

>>1204242
That sounds great.

I'm pretty stoked about it, about 10 more days until I take off. Looking forward to trying new food and discover places. Are ski stations far from Sofia?

Saving this thread from the void.
Is tinder used a lot in Sofia?

>>1203389
OK, OP here, little update on my situation. Turns out they have two offices in Sofia, both being right next to a mall. Of course, I thought about the wrong one. So I'm going to be working at Infinity Tower, next to Bulgaria Mall. I'll have a look on the map you gave me to find potential rentals close to it, ideally with public transportation. Do you know where I could find a website with each bus lines?

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>>1206288
Yes. Checked.

>>1207074
Routes are attached, senpai.
Complete info on Public transport in English:
https://www.sofiatraffic.bg/en/transport/121/marshrutna-mrezha

Unfortunately quite a non-area for living, Бъкcтoн/Buxton, named after this memer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Noel-Buxton,_1st_Baron_Noel-Buxton, is your best shot.

How's your Cyrillic coming along?

>>1207095
Thanks again for the answers mate. Not gonna lie, I found this map already and it's quite hard to read to know exactly how it goes, but I guess I'll find out once I get there.

The company offers Bulgarian classes, I'll start my job on the 3rd, so I hope to be able to read Cyrillic by mid February lel.

>>1203389
I stayed in cheap cheap hotel Iskar downtown, there's a cozy snack bar next door and a cheap whorehouse across it :^)

Plane is taking off in 9 hours, pretty stoked. Any last minute advices?

>>1209178
Neat!! Are you being picked up from the airport? Catch a bus and give a small bill, like 2 leva (ticket is 1.60).

It's cold, dress warm.

Nothing else in particular.

>>1209181
Yeah, someone from the company is picking me up when I arrive.
Haha I bought warm clothes already, getting ready for that weather

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AJDE BULGARIAA :D

Assuming everything was fine with flight, etc.

http://www.freesofiatour.com/

Give this a shot, hopefully they'll bring into context what you're seeing here.
Contemporary history isn't very glamorous and it's mostly utilitarian. Sofia is (and should be) very small scale in terms of size and everything else. Sadly (very) rapid industrialization during communism and capitalism ruined what was a decent city in the 40s. Not even memeing, Sofia should be twice as small.

One rule of thumb I've made up about memorials - if it's big - most likely soviets built it and it's not important.
Small plaques and busts matter much more. To Bulgarians.

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The post communist feeling is strong in this city lmao.
I got a simcard from telenor, apparently the promotion makes it 25 leva a month for unlimited calls and texts, with 20 (or 8) gb of data. This last point wasn't clear at all.
Anyway, I'll see whatever happens daily and if anything pops up, I'll ask here. Some girls on tinder are smoking hot man.

OP again, considering where I'll work I was thinking about staying along the tram 7 line. Any neighbourhood recommended?
Also, where the clubs at in this city?
For people in their 20s, to get laid?

>>1209827
The Cotton club

Look into "Banishora" for living.

Hey i applied for this job too. Might be coming next month as a french consultant too.

How is your experience so far ?

How might be life for a black man with dreads and tattoos ?

>>1210290
Holy shit how do you know it's the same job hahaha
Company name? ;)

>>1210328
I don't know the company name. I am in contact with cb talents for now, still have interviews to be done.
But every infos are the exact same. I was planning to create a topic asking for infos about Sofia but find yours !
And i am finishing my whv in Japan right now, hope i get chosen.

>>1210381
Had a look on their website, seems legit. You'd be one floor lower than I (not sure that's legit english but whatever). If you wanna have a look, the workplace is Infinity Tower on Bulgaria Boulevard.

Regarding my experience, only been here for 4 days, and one big downside is how depressing parts of the city are. What I mean is that you'd get at least average looking buildings in neighborhoods outside the historical center is most of the cities (I've lived in Paris, Toulouse, Tokyo and Bangkok, and saw many capitals while traveling), but here most of it (not all though) are post communist era blocks. It's grey, ugly and sad. Plus the weather just adds to this atmosphere; can't blame anyone for it though.

Plus sides so far are: I slept with a girl I met through Tinder, and our "date" was hanging out with friends of her. I was the only foreigner, yet they made efforts to speak english and integrate me in their interactions most of the time. Long story short, Bulgarians are cool.

The very center of the city is gorgeous, if you enjoy cultural tourism there's a bunch of things to visit. Food is really cheap, especially in malls.

You mentioned being black, I can't tell how it's going to be for you, as I am Caucasian. But ehy are way less minorities here than in France or western Europe in general. There were a lot of swatiskas tagged on the walls in the city, I guess you might have to deal with far-right scums once. This being said, you'll surely attract some women, based on your nationality and ethnicity.

Don't have much more to tell for the moment.

>>1210578
Nice you already scored !

Thanks for the infos. I don't mind that much about the city, working, playing and putting money aside is good enough for me. You working as a LoL support consultant right ?

And just like you i would be interested to visit the other countries on weekends. How much hours a week do you work ? Do you have holiday ?

Hope everythings turn well for you :)