°µÍø½ûÇø

Rather than looking for someone to move everything, it might work better to group things.

The flatpacked furniture should be easy enough to replace, so unless they're special items or you really want to take them, they're the logical things to let go. There are online stores with delivery services for stuff like furniture, electrical goods, kitchenware, bedding, etc, so that can be replaced.

Clothes and books, a favorite bed quilt -- unless you have a huge collection, that's probably white van man territory  -- box it all up and there will be a cost per kg. The Facebook °µÍø½ûÇø groups for the area you're moving to may be helpful there.

The motorbike might be expensive to get trailered to Bg but there should be companies that do this. Or you could always go for an iron butt award and ride it there!

Good luck with your move!

Agree with Jane. As well as the Facebook groups (which I am not good with) you could go on Google maps and search Bulgaria shop/store near where you are in the UK.

If there is one not too far then give them a call and ask if they do a lorry delivery service to Bulgaria and the price per kilo. Then you just have to take your stuff to the shop and they will send it to any address in Bulgaria. We do this all the time...its super cheap.

There are "man with a van" services advertised  on the various FB groups, but they do tend to be booked well in advance.  By and large, if you can live without "it" then just Freecycle it in the UK and buy a replacement here. There are some very good remaindered/second hand clothes shops, and ditto second hand/transport dented white goods shops.  Your bike could either come or be sold and replaced here - be warned, as an ex-biker, I can tell you that it is an even less safe mode of transport here than in the UK!

When I moved over, I moved in with my partner, so I only brought suitcases with me, just clothes mainly, laptop, camera. I already had everything else I needed.

Then when we did find a house we liked, we bought it, decorated it, when it was finished, my parents went through the yellow pages and found a man with a van that did trips to Europe. As all my furniture was new, everything got ship over in a Luton van, apart from white goods as the kitchen in the UK was fitted.

It was a bit cheaper because it was a part load, as they were delivering to somewhere in France so we shared the cost.

If you do go down that route, make sure you check references, and make sure they have insurance, don't take their word for it, actually see the paperwork.

Good luck with the move.

Rather than looking for someone to move everything, it might work better to group things.
The flatpacked furniture should be easy enough to replace, so unless they're special items or you really want to take them, they're the logical things to let go. There are online stores with delivery services for stuff like furniture, electrical goods, kitchenware, bedding, etc, so that can be replaced.

Clothes and books, a favorite bed quilt -- unless you have a huge collection, that's probably white van man territory -- box it all up and there will be a cost per kg. The Facebook °µÍø½ûÇø groups for the area you're moving to may be helpful there.

The motorbike might be expensive to get trailered to Bg but there should be companies that do this. Or you could always go for an iron butt award and ride it there!

Good luck with your move! - @janemulberry

There are plenty of IKEAs that can deliver furniture right to my door so it won't be an issue to let it go (it's all just IKEAs cheapest, crappiest range of stuff lol). Even some small kitchen goods (kettle, microwave, fryer, etc) I only have the cheap options so I can replace those as long as the places deliver to the complex I want to move to (it's a resort complex but open year-round so many ppl are permanent residents there).

I was considering the 2,000 mile ride (fun road trip if nothing else, right?) but my big setback is, I hate going on motorways lol. They're just a bit scary for me because you're just so darn squishy as a biker and I don't like riding 70-80mph. So it may take me a solid 2 weeks to arrive, which may cause hiccups if my belongings arrive before I do.

I honestly considered just selling the bike and re-buying over there but I have heard HORROR stories about fake, broken, odometer-fiddled vehicles basically everywhere you go.

Thanks! My head is melting from all the thinking it's making me do haha

@Jax Hammer

If you do bring your bike over you have added hassle of importing it, changing the number plate's. Its not a biggy, just paperwork to do etc... Getting a translator to help you.

@SimCityAT

Well, I'm a freelancer so am legally required to develop a certain conversational level of proficiency in bulgarian, so the language barrier wont be a huge problem. But yes, all the hassle is annoying. That's what makes me think 'just go over there with whatever you can take on a plane, and start actually fresh from there'

@Jax Hammer

You could always come over with your clothes, buy a cheap camp bed, get sorted, find your bearings and see what you need and start from scratch.

@SimCityAT

I'll be honest it did cross my mind to just buy a folding bicycle whilst here, take it on the plane to have immediate transport and then see if I can order one brand new to my door to save hassle. Only thing I'd absolutely need with immediate effect is:

1. Transport
2. Cleaning materials for apartment
3. Air bed or similar to sleep on

Outside of that it can be acquired. I hate paperwork and fretting over things, so knwing me this is what I will wind up doing lol. Everything I am reading is leading me closer and closer to thinking this is the right way to go!

@Jax Hammer

Well cleaning materials shouldn't to much of an issue because there will always be a local shop near by that will sell some sort of stuff. But yes, most important thing is a kettle at least, a man can't operate without a cuppa in the morning, and at least some sort of bedding.

@jax there are loads of companies that do U.K. to BG removals on the various Facebook BG °µÍø½ûÇø groups. Prices vary. Also there are two companies that send everything from your home delivery Tesco shopping to bikes. Prices are on their websites which is handy and they deliver to BG weekly (send on a Saturday, arrive 9 days later in BG on a Monday). If you have boxes that fit on a palette 1m (l) x 0.8m (w) x 1.8 (h), then it’s about £350. Smaller boxes/parcels are by weight around £1.50/kg. Search for GGBG or Dostavkiuk online. I haven’t actually used them, I’m also researching and these came recommended in the FB groups. It helps to know what alternatives are available. Someone also mentioned finding a Bulgarian shop in the U.K. and see if whoever delivers for them here will take your stuff for you to BG. Most recently I’ve seen a lot more people buy a van to drive their stuff across and then selling the van straight after back in the U.K. Might be worth checking out what’s available in BG to help you make up your mind on what you want to take with you. I took nothing but clothes when I moved to Asia and intended to buy everything new. I could but everything was floral, the fridges, stoves, microwaves etc. The quality was also Fisher-Pricey. Luckily I had to come back to the U.K. every two months to teach so slowly bought stuff and took it back with me in my suitcase. I actually love floral but not on my white goods. If you are particular about what you like then it’s worth checking what BG has to offer or even Romania as I see some people are doing day trips from BG and Hungary to buy in Romania as it is cheaper. Good luck with your move.

@dencreiss

Thank you! I will try the FB thing. I'm a little apprehensive just because there's unlikely to be insurance or tracking with that and it could take weeks to even show, but it's worth investigating. That could just be me overthinking.

I am okay repurchasing, for me it's the psychology haha, know what I mean? The "I never, ever use this, look at it and don't really care about it, but I spent lots of money on it so I don't want to get rid of it" mentality.

The only thing I really, really, really will struggle with is my computer. I actively need that where I am going and idk how to get it sent off.

This new life is about a 100% fresh start, it will be nice tbh to just start with the clothes on my back and build.

It is looking as if I may have to just be a bit brutal and take only what I can stuff into a suitcase that doesn't breach airline requirements, and then a brompton or something.

Appreciate all your comments, guys!

I've found Gabieli to be the best package shipping company - well over 1,500 packages to date, from tiny to several hundred kilos; I also use GGBG but they're slower these days and work out more expensive. I tried Dostavki but wasn't particularly impressed by the service and kicked them into touch.

I've used the man and a van services and gave had stuff go astray/turn up damaged etc. Most people using them do so because they're cheaper than the insured shippers (some of whom don't actually have any insurance anyway but only claim to). This being Bulgaria, don't imagine that you've got any chance of redress or compensation if Grannie's irreplaceable Toby Jug collection, or whatever, vanishes en route; the legal system here is farcical and expensive, and even if you do get a judgement years down the line, enforcing it is a totally different matter.

When I finally got round to selling my house in the UK, about 18 months ago, I went through the whole heart-searching bit about what to take and how financially/emotionally attached to X, Y and Z I was. Fortunately I managed to bite the bullet and gave everything but a smallish van-worth to charity; on reflection I should have brought even less, especially since our house here has 77 steps to climb from the street level! 😅

Every year I promise myself that I'll finally go through my wardrobes and get rid of all the clothes that I don't wear or which have miraculously shrunk in the back of the closet; no doubt I could make some money on FB Marketplace or the BG second-hand sites, but I know that I'll just end up not getting round to it again.

There are plenty of clothes and shoes recycling containers here - and no shortage of ethnic dumpster divers making a nuisance of themselves rummaging around inside them and throwing stuff all over the pavements...

@Jax Hammer almost all the transport companies in the FB forums say they are insured, worth checking and for how much. Also, flights on Wizzair are really cheap if you book in advance and the airline allows you up to five pieces of luggage which is another option. The last few times I’ve flown from Luton to Sofia it was for around £22 return each time and a 32kg suitcase is about £40 currently, x5 bags is £200 for 160kg. These are current prices as I got a ticket to fly out next month, just for the day to drop off suitcases full of floral curtains I brought back with me from Asia.

It does seem crazy but it's possible that taking stuff as luggage on a flight isn't going to cost massively more than a transport service and most likely it will arrive the same time you will.

Here's Wizz's baggage sizes:   They do say they won't pay out on damaged computers, but I imagine you could easily fit even the biggest desktop computer into the permitted size and weight, with plenty of clothing packed around it for padding.

is another good option if you only have a few items to send. I know a few people that have used it from around the world and have been very happy with them. Of course there are similar companies that offer the same kind of thing.

It does seem crazy but it's possible that taking stuff as luggage on a flight isn't going to cost massively more than a transport service and most likely it will arrive the same time you will.
Here's Wizz's baggage sizes: They do say they won't pay out on damaged computers, but I imagine you could easily fit even the biggest desktop computer into the permitted size and weight, with plenty of clothing packed around it for padding. - @janemulberry

Yeah, exactly! If I could somehow wrangle two beefy suitcases, and then a carry on (and a folding bike) then I could do this without shipping at all since it'd be easy to hop in a cab and then hurl everything into the room.

It's a fair bit of luggage wrangling, but not impossible!

I have to be honest I haven't read every reply on the thread so not sure if you've reached a conclusion. But when are you planning on moving and where are you moving from and to?

I have a medium wheel base, medium roof Citroen Relay. I use it to cart my dirt bike around the UK to ride the green lanes. It has a decent amount of space in it and I'll likely be heading over at the end of June with my tools to start renovating my place in Radovets in Haskovo Province. If things line up I can potentially give you a hand moving the big things and your bike for a share of the diesel cost.

@Jax Hammer

Everything can be purchased in Bulgaria. And most things can be purchased online and delivered to your door (using such Bulgarian sites as IKEA, JYSK, Technopolis, Praktiker, Emag and many more). You need a BG mobile number for the courier to call and let you know he's bringing your shiny new stuff.

I did bring my UK moto, and I've enjoyed having it here. But it's probably a lot less hassle to find one here, instead. I didn't fancy the ride, so I got a white-van-man (Luton box in our case) to drive it over with a bunch of our stuff.

If you have a place (family/friend) to leave your bike with, I'd suggest you travel light (fly with a couple of suitcases) and sort out your new home first. Then fly back to the UK later (during warm weather) to grab your bike and ride over. I rode across America a long time ago, which is even further. There's nothing complicated about riding a bike long distances, and you can make a nice scenic trip of it. You can't avoid motorways (realistically), but you can keep it manageable if you just do 4-6 hours of daily riding (i.e. aim for 5-10 days for the trip, rather than the 2-3 you could do in a car).

Amazon Germany delivers quite a lot of their merchandise to Bulgaria - free delivery for qualifying items if the order is €49 or more..... 😎