I was SO proud of him! It was quite a big adventure for him as the shop is right the other side of the village. He turns 7 next month and I just don't know where the time has gone!
As you know, just found you and uo to here now....im so happy to see you all back in Bulgaria after your set backs. Wonderful. so sweet, your first planting, im sure will go well.and will learn so much along the way. I must admit, I cried a little when he went to get himself a chocolate bar. He's such a nice chap. Im Continuing watching.....
Yes the local babas have been really helpful and so kind with their wisdom. Phil used to do landscaping back in England and his mum knows everything about gardening - but I am a true beginner 😁 K x
Don't worry about the water bill most probably won't be more than £100 for the whole period.Also, you probably already know that almost everyone in Bulgaria has a water borehole in the villages and with a water pump they water their crops with underground water in Bulgaria, which is abundant.
We are desperate for a borehole. We are actually one of the only properties without a well in our village, which is strange as our land used to be a very successful vineyard. Maybe there's one hiding somewhere!
@@OffGridWithTheUdens if you want I can try to help you as much as I can from far Leicestershire to find a company to drill for you and once you start using it it will make a big difference.
I love this one, I actually had a tear with Alex going off to the shop, especially amd despite the nerves as mum you managed to stay calm and comment on the sunset. Even though in your head you want to frantically run down and check he is ok. Love following you guys. ❤️ keep the videos coming 🥰😍
You are spot on - it's so hard letting go but I read something once about a child being like a 🦋 butterfly, that the harder you hold on the more you crush their wings. So proud of him ☺️
We feel like we have waited so long for this.. the enthusiasm just comes so naturally. We have hard days/moments but honestly, most of them are get up and go! 🤩
Will keep repeating it. Bulgaria is blessed to have people like you. You will inspire people. The small Alex bandit is getting very smart, he is learning very quickly 😉 Well done for your parenting. Lets see what happens with the water drama 🙄 hopefully not that much because water bills are usually low.
Great video again, loving the content as its good to change it up sometimes. As for the water bill, It seems (as per quite a few comments) we're all in the same boat, I have tried time and again to get mine paid and everywhere just says there is no bill. I eventually got it paid after 4yrs and it was 150 leva 🙂. Just a tip for the water bottle planters, run a lighter (flame) of some sort over the top edge once they're cut and it wont be sharp in case the little ones go near them. Well done Alex for your first adventure and for chocolate too which would have been my go to reward. Walkie talkies are awesome, I have a set and they're well handy. Less than 5wks and I'm home... buzzing about that. Have a fab week guys.
Hi lovely family, we like your bulgarian pronunciation ❤ We are trying the same here with the brummie accent 😊 Good luck with the organic vegetables 🎉😊
Love this video, life really does look great for you all. Kayleigh I love when you said about planting your seedlings is a typical part of your day rather than having to wait for the weekend, such a lovely feeling that you are control of your own time. You wait until those swallow babies look over the top of their nests, you will love it. I'm glad you mentioned the banana plant Phil, sorry about the damage but looks like it will be ok. Bless Alex, he is so grown up for 7 but how scary (and brave) for you guys, I thought you might follow him with the drone. He loved it though obviously. Stripe is super friendly and cute. Hilarious about the Epay English speaking lady. We filled a largish pool and the bill was just 40 leva, our monthly bill worked out around 10 leva! Thanks for such a lovely video and the music was really nice too.
Thank you very much for such a lovely comment. We're looking forward to seeing some swallow babies and also have some other tiny birds nesting on the decking roof - so lots of baby birds for Ember to watch grow. ❤️
Just found your channel. Really enjoyed the video very much thank you . We are looking to retire there in a few years and looking at houses next year. Thanks for keeping our dream alive.
Children in Bulgaria enjoy the freedom to roam, unlike in many parts of Europe, so there's no need to fret about young Alex. Besides, he strikes me as quite clever and level-headed. In a close-knit community like yours, he'll be spending his summer alongside other boys, embarking on a plethora of exciting adventures.
Thank you. Yes, you are right. I watched a fascinating documentary series, 'old enough' about young children in Japan being sent to the local shop on their first errand. It really opened my eyes how wonderful it could be to allow their independence to blossom, instead of cage and frighten it.
@OffGridWithTheUdens As a mother myself, I would tell you that most dangerous thing in Bulgaria are the stray dogs. Especially in winter when they are hungry.
letting him go alone reminds me my childhood - my parents sending me to the convenient store to bring some greceries... He has freedom that not many nowadays have
You would be wise to check out raised bed planting, vertical gardening, and no-dig gardening for their benefits, all of which you can find great tutorials for here on RU-vid.
You're on my wavelength! I've been reading loads of books - including Charles Dowding for the no dig approach. I'm just going to take things step at a time as our priorities lie elsewhere on the property, but eventually I would love a fully fledged veg garden that Alex and Ember can snack on in-between garden adventures ☺️
So pleased to see you walking so well!❤️ And hopefully not in pain anymore!!!? Those seeds should grow well in your conditions good luck !! And hope they all germinate!! 🤞xxxx
I planted lots of seeds over a month ago and put them in our 'summer' house; just 2 seedlings have poked through! But this is in Wales, UK, where we have no sun or warmth 🤣😂
9 min, cant wait to see you build your first green house ;) even iff this smal version is an ikea box haha it would work aslong you watch it doesnt get to moisty in there to much isnt good either. And love seeing alex being in his element he loves it so much you can see it. Growing into a great man for sure :) Dont doubt ember will have a beautifull mindset aswel. And my opinion on solar panels, get rid of em they will become the new asbestos personally i prefer hydro/wind but with no water stream hydro is already out of the question and i wouldnt know how much wind you have there .ohh what a beautifull episode all together, thanks alot for this
I'm so excited about the greenhouse too! 😁 You wait until you see what we have planned ❤️ appreciate your kind words about the children - we are immensely proud of them both. An interesting opinion on solar panels too - our video tonight is all about our solar system. We would absolutely love hydro or wind too - maybe we will look at the wind option in the future but for now we have power a plenty 😁👍
Great video. Planting trees is amazing. Think about some support for them. Maybe a stick next to the tree and tight it. Just until they get bigger. What is next? You are starting the house?
@@OffGridWithTheUdens it is recommended to add something to support the young padawans :D exactly for the winds. In my area we also add some pipe insulation for the winter months to keep them safe from the cold winds. Of course we remove them in spring. I hope they will give lots of fruits some day. Anyway babas are very reliable source of information how things should happen in this area :)
Yeah, the water bill situation is usually a pain. When I bought my village house last november, I went through sorting that out as well. I went to the regional office of the water company, showed them the proof of ownership and they found the previous owner's account number. Since there was no recent reading, they couldn't give me a bill. They did give me the phone number for the person that is keeping track of the readings in my area. So I took a photo of our reading and sent it to that person via viber. Then I was told it would take like a month for them to file the reading and another month until a bill was available. Couple months later I paid my ~100 leva bill. The account number remains the same apparently, just the name attached to it changes, now it is my name. It's good to add that number to your online banking so you don't have to physically go to easy pay. Paying once every 6 months for water is normal in the villages. You can just send your reading every 3 months and you should be fine, they'll keep track of it and send you the bill. Hope this helps.
Thanks very much. We actually have owned our property for over two years now, so it's a very overdue water bill for us to be sorting. I much prefer going to the EasyPay offices rather than using the online service, it's great practice for my Bulgarian 🙂
Great to see you all enjoying the hard, but, enjoyable work. Its all worth it in the end. Haha, you can call it a mini greenhouse. I bet it'll work though.🎉
@@OffGridWithTheUdens That is great news. It is a superb feeling when you see thing popping through. One if the main things to consider when planning your garden, I sure you may have read about.....is to make a note of the orientation of the sun at different times of the day and different times of the year. Also, which direction the wind comes from, I have seen greenhouses and polytunnels here ripped to shreds. Maybe, also check out Forrest Gardening. Enjoy the fruits of your labour. 😊👍🏻. Good luck with the dog situation, it looks well and in good condition.
@@RosemaryS2127 Thank you for the advice, appreciate your experience and knowledge ❤️ Stripe the dog won't settle with us I'm sure, he is a nomad dog that is enjoying the best of the families in the area I think! I'm hoping he will return from the shops with a donkey or two next time 🤣
Hi, we've just found your channel and we absolutely love it! You guys are so likeable and the kids are just adorable. Had to laugh at the gardening and labelling issue, I'm a bit of a novice gardener myself so completely related! We're looking forward to following your journey. Thanks for sharing, Julia and Gary ❤
Good evening, I thoroughly enjoyed your video last night. We also have migratory birds each year, namely house martins and storks, and they are busy sitting on their nests and searching for food. We hope you have success with your seeds, seedlings and fruit trees. With regards your water bill, the water companies do appear to be a bit lax in sending out bills, but you will eventually get one. Of course, the star went to the shop for chocolate, and came home with a dog as well as the chocolate, only he can do that. Looks like you have an addition to the family !! Looking forward to your next video.
I'm so pleased you enjoyed the video, it was a bit different but it's nice to be settling back into everyday life here. Alex is thriving with the space here. As for Stripe, he won't ever be ours. I don't think he wants a home, but he is welcome to pop by for food and playtime anytime he is passing by 🐕🐕
You all look so happy, that is warming up my hearth! Today I was struggling with a table from Ikea and look at you what you achieve already! About the water bill don’t be so stressed as you have been away so it shouldn’t be that huge.
Love an IKEA purchase 😁🤣 No, not stressed, just trying to be organised with budgets. We are all very happy, it's so nice to be finally doing what we've dreamt and worked so hard for.
Amazing video, we enjoyed it👍! Great job, drive, lesson for your kids. We are rooting for you and hope that everything goes smoothly to the finish line🇧🇬🌼!
Only just catching up. Love this video. Pleased to see the seeds and seed box are coming into use 😊. Perfect way to start your growing. Plants from market 🤷🏻♀️ yes why not. X Just a couple of things only water in evening so your water doesn’t immediately evaporate and it’s got a chance to soak in. Also 🤭 if you plant bare roots again soak roots for a couple of hours to give them a boost. Sending loads of love 💕
Had so much fun planting the seeds and have planted a few with the kids too. We did soak the bare roots beforehand - but didn't include that bit on the video 🙂 They've started showing lots of signs of life so I'm really hoping they are happy where we have planted them 🌳❤️
Hey beautiful family. Lovely to watch this one. 12:40 (from the video) what disability, he is one the most gorgeous boys I have seen. He is partly the reason to fell in love with your videos. I know you notice his talents too.
Ah, my mistake. I have a little one here making loud noises and I misheard disability rather than His ability to :) Anyway, I feel was a good moment to share that your son gives me a smile 😊
We have been watching with so much interest, where are you since we cannot quite figure it out, maybe around Pavlikeni/Byala/Popovo area (yeah big area I know). Love Alex's involvement, he's one lucky young man!
Thanks for watching ☺️ We are in the Haskovo region. He's always been involved since the day he could pick up a screwdriver - and by the looks of things I think Ember will be the same 🤣
Don't worry about the water bill. The price point can change a bit depending on the region but it's around 3 leva per cubic meter (m3). This is quite normal for Bulgaria as we tend to pay it whenever it comes up. Usually they generate the "normal" usage and it might not actually match up with your meter. It's like forecasting in some cases as most meters are analog. For example they assume you consumed few cubic meters (one cubic metre is equal to 1,000 litres) and add it to the bill. But if your measurement is far behind their measurement it means you've already paid it off in advance. For example in their system the meter number is paid till 12500 but your meter is on 12000 so you have 500 m3 to catch up. (just an example) It can go both ways tho, sometimes if a pipe bursts (inside the house) and your meter is above their mesurement and they will ask you to pay the difference. Hope it doesn't go that way. Good luck .
Just had a water bill for 378 leva and we were not here for most of the winter! Often the pipes are old and there is a leak, so get your connection checked out,
I bought six trees in March and did exactly the same, no idea which is which! I'm going on the sad assumption that they won't have survived when I get back there in July.
Unfortunately you have made the same mistake I made with my first planted trees. The rootstock should be dug underground (you can easily see the line between the graft and rootstock, it's the weakest point). I had a couple of trees snapped because of the strong wind, so adding a thick stick or pole is essential in this situation. I don't know where you bought the trees but usually people from nurseries who sell them in the markets explain how to plant them, I didn't listen, and had to buy more trees...
How interesting.. The graft unions can be weak, we do intend to stake them to support them in the freak winds, just didn't get round to it this week ☺️🌳
Ohh, you put your hands into the soil...now you are connected...with a great wisdom. About the story with kid and a store... And a dog... this is not so special here, It is usual daily routine😊 I am so Happy that People like You chasing your dreams in our land. Enjoy! About the water bill... Don't worry, a gentlemen Will come and the bill Will rise. But the ammount Will surprise you.. In a funny way
Seeds should be sprouted in wet paper napkins inside ziplock bags for a day or two. Then planted but this should have been done in February or March so by late April or May they can be planted outside. Planting seeds now may not produce any veggies at all because Bulgaria has a short planting and harvesting window. Maybe next year. Also, you need to plant at least 50 or 60 plants of each kind because done will die and some will not produce fruit. You are a family of four and what you’ve planted will not produce enough for one of you. Research is vital.
Thanks for the advice - as you would have been able to tell from the video, we are not expecting to be able to feed the family on what I've planted. I've done some research, I've spoken to the local babas and I'm learning step at a time. ☺️ The seeds have already sprouted through the soil so it will be interesting to see what happens. Thanks for your support and taking the time to comment 🌱
Mate firstly I thought u said a Rakia boxes! Being in Bulgaria in future u will need more a Rakia boxes (to collect your future homemade Rakia) not Ikea boxes! 😂😂😂
🫣🤣 oh no.. Phil's fascination with IKEA boxes has followed us from England. They're really useful but we can never visit IKEA without a handful jumping in the trolley 🛒 We must have brought at least 50 over with us when we originally moved here 🤣🤣🤣
make food forest garden,here have soil for this,check what is,if you dont know.Make tarator for kid is verry healty and everyone love it hihi.Healt and happynes
Thanks for watching along! I was lucky to be able to continue my work remotely when we moved over. I work in admin but many work online by teaching English. Having been a teacher for many years it wasn't something I was interested in doing, but I know it works for many.
Great Video as always. It's a breath of fresh air to see something other than constant house repairs and brilliant to see your children learning. I am looking forward to my move over there next year.
We've owned the property for over 2 years now 🤣🫣 desperate to get the bill paid so I can work out how much money we will have left at the end of each month. 🙄
They won't except you submitting your own meter reading. They will however accept a photo. That's what i do. I take a photo with my phone and then go to the office and show them the photo. Just make sure the meter serial number (as well as the meter reading) can be seen in the photo
Your water company is mandated in law to visit once a month. However, it is known that many homes never are read. Janet is absolutely correct a photo is essential. The meter should been fitted by a designated installer of the water company, often they live in the village. Another reason they don’t chase your bill is that your bill will be at today’s rate per cubic metre and water is far more expensive (rich English) than previous years. Also, the water company can calculate your bill on the day from that photo. Then have to argue with them 😂 (welcome Bg) and they’ll maybe eventual take your money and issue a receipt. This is what I do. Originally I never paid a bill 6-7 years. But I don’t live Bg full time. Great content, glad to see the young fella out and about this will really force his Bulgarian. That roof over the Caravan is top notch 👍👍Блъгодаря.
Hahaha, i can see you don't know how children are raised in the Balkans... xD Parents used to kick us from the house in the morning and we would be home for lunch and later for dinner/sleep. Well not anymore, now all the kids get glued on the screens.
Be carful with stray dogs local council although they refuse to enforce rules about abandoning dogs and cats they will very quickly fine you if they find out you’ve housed a stray dogs and coz locals absolutely hate stray dogs they often will grass you up to council. Happens a lot in my wife home village near Rila mountain. Also keep the renewable energy sources and wells to ya self and hidden …. Energy companies will charge u for that. Have EU to thank for that ;)
Bulgaria's full of people rehoming animals with no problems, so sorry your wife has encountered some. We won't be rehoming Stripe as he doesn't want to be homed - he's quite happy being free. Although we love dogs, we are not looking for any to home right now. ☺️🐕
Thank you, yes we can calculate how much roughly but we can't pay the bill when we want which is more the issue. But I think we've cracked it now with the water company 😁
I saw in one of your first videos that you had to register a company to buy a house in Bulgaria. How much does it cost you per year to maintain the company, if you don't mind me asking?
Hi Alex. We have to file a tax return every year, which isn't very expensive. We do this through our solicitor. I can't remember how much it is off the top of my head though - sorry!
@@OffGridWithTheUdens Thanks for answering. I'm interested in registering a company but I don't want to end up paying 1000s of Euros per year just for paperwork. Can you recommend a solicitor/accountant that isn't too expensive?
@@alexgee248 I would suggest using one in the area you are living, but that's only personal preference as it means you can meet them face to face with any questions. I'm sure many can recommend online but we don't have any personal recommendations at the moment 😕
Phil, I agree with you on the plan about the driveway and to level things up and not just in that direction but be sure to check where your land starts and ends it would be a shame if you miss spots bc of all those trees and bushes so even if its hard I would suggest straight up get rid of the bushes. But yeah Easypay is amazing taxes, ehem speeding tickets.🥲you get it all sorted out there. Now about your water, don't worry so much my water meter lady for example had my number and I would just send her a picture on the phone each month and if I couldn't she would write a larger sum and deduct the difference in my bill next month. At the end I had an automatic one so she did not need to come anymore...I think...😅Anyway these water things I aint nothing new its part of the experience. Also that is one friendly doggo just keep it the dog distribution system decided him and Alex are a fit.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write a comment. We've never had a water meter reading lady visit us and we've owned our home for over two years now. I think they will come regularly once we have sorted the first bill out. We are only trying to get it sorted as, like many, we are trying to work out our monthly budget so we can see how much we have left for building works/projects ☺️
