As they hike to the group of glacial Seven Rila Lakes in Bulgaria’s Rila Mountain, Maureen Thomson and Jeremy Myers take in the cool mountain air and exhale slowly.
The US couple, who relocated final 12 months to Bulgaria in the jap Balkans, say the country’s “breathtaking” panorama of mountains, forests, mineral springs, lakes and rivers typically stops them in their tracks.
When Thomson and Myers aren’t exploring lovely lakes, they’re doubtless heading to “one of the old monasteries tucked into the hills,” a waterfall, or taking “a spontaneous drive that turns into a day trip.”
“There’s something deeply grounding about living in a place where nature isn’t just a destination,” says Thomson. “It’s part of your daily life.”
So why did the couple, beforehand primarily based in Denver, Colorado, select to move to the southeast European country? Thomson and Myers clarify that this isn’t the primary time they’ve left the US to begin a brand new life in a unique country. They’ve carried out it twice before.
“I don’t know that I want to live and die in the country that I was born in,” explains Thomson, before stressing that they actually aren’t “anti US,” however have been eager to keep away from residing a “vanilla life.”
The couple — who’ve been married since 2007 and co-run a US-based wedding ceremony enterprise, Blue Sky Elopements — realized years in the past that they might work from just about wherever and have been decided to benefit from that freedom.
They made their first try at shifting overseas again in 2012, once they relocated to Mexico.
But Thomson and Myers returned to the US after two years due to challenges with “security” and “infrastructure.”
The couple say that they discovered it troublesome to run their enterprise from Mexico due to fixed web connection points.
“Plus, I don’t think we were ready,” admits Thomson. “So we came back to the United States.”
While they have been dissatisfied that issues didn’t work out in Mexico, the couple hadn’t given up on the thought of settling someplace new. And almost a decade later, they received itchy toes once more.
Thomson and Myers determined to check out Ecuador, a vacation spot they’d traveled to in 2008 and “really liked.”
After taking a six-week “exploratory” journey in late 2022 to decide whether or not it was the appropriate vacation spot for them, Thomson and Myers have been prepared to make the leap.
However, as soon as they have been again in the US, Thomson had some trepidation about leaving her household once more — she and Myers each have youngsters from earlier marriages. So they didn’t truly move till a number of years later.
“It was 2022 when, between the political contentiousness in the country and just a desire for some adventure,” recollects Thomson. “I was like, ‘Let’s go elsewhere,’” recollects Thomson.
Thomson and Myers relocated to Ecuador in 2023, together with their two cats, Damon and Pythias, and shortly threw themselves into life in the South American country, which is famend for its numerous landscapes and wildlife.
Determined to make a hit of this move, they received an condominium in Quito and invested money and time into making it snug.
But after 18 months of struggling to adapt, the couple have been pressured to settle for that Ecuador was “a bad fit” for them.
“We are introverts,” explains Thomson. “We’re not shy, however we like our quiet and our peace. And Latin American cultures are noisy.
“The pace of life is very different than what we are accustomed to. And it just didn’t feel like a good mesh for our values.”
Thomson factors out that they have been stricken by “frequent power outages” throughout their time there as nicely and it finally was an “entirely different place” to the vacation spot they’d been enamored by again in 2008.
After a nationwide state of emergency was referred to as in Ecuador final 12 months as an “internal armed conflict” broke out, Thomson determined sufficient was sufficient.
“I simply checked out (Jeremy) one day and stated, ‘This is never going to end. There’s all the time going to be a strike, there’s all the time going to be an influence outage…
“We need to go somewhere that’s not in constant crisis,’” she recollects, conceding that she didn’t really feel secure there. The US State Department at the moment advises US residents to “exercise increased caution in Ecuador due to risk of crime, terrorism, unrest, and kidnapping.”
Thomson admits it took some time to persuade Myers that they need to pack up and go away one more country.
“The cost of living in Ecuador was quite affordable, but getting there was not cheap,” explains Thomson, including that they ended up freely giving most of their stuff in Ecuador to charity before they left.
“You have to stay in a place for a certain number of years to recoup the expense of the exploratory trip.”
Once they have been each on the identical web page, Thomson and Myers remained in Ecuador whereas they tried to work out their subsequent move.
Determined to discover the appropriate vacation spot for them, the couple created an “oh so detailed” spreadsheet itemizing the entire locations they might probably move to, with France and Slovenia excessive on the checklist.
Thomson and Myers clarify that they needed to dwell someplace with good mountaineering alternatives, as they “like being outside,” in addition to a powerful worldwide group and manageable climate.
“We don’t like it too hot or too cold, I’ve a very narrow window,” says Thomson, explaining that the spreadsheet was helpful because it “quantified everything” and “took a lot of the emotion out.”
After whittling their checklist down to a number of prime contenders, they ultimately selected Bulgaria, primarily as a result of it met their necessities and rules would permit them to proceed operating their enterprise whereas on a retirement visa.
“It was pretty close between Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania…” says Thomson, including that each one three nations had “beautiful hiking,” pure landscapes, an inexpensive price of residing and related climate.
“We tend to gravitate toward mountain towns because we like things a little cooler.”
Once they’d made their resolution, the couple went again to the US to apply for a Bulgarian D visa, a long-stay visa for non-EU residents that’s required to apply for a Bulgarian residence allow, opting not to take an exploratory journey to Bulgaria beforehand.
In December 2024, the couple arrived in Bulgaria to start their new lives, desperately hoping that issues would work out for them this time.
They initially stayed in Sofia, before shifting to the traditional metropolis of Plodviv, often known as the “City of the Seven Hills,” in southern Bulgaria, 4 weeks later.
“We did not choose Sofia as a permanent home, because it’s a city and (Jeremy) rides a bike,” explains Maureen, including that it was maybe “too big a city” for them.
While they’re nonetheless discovering their toes, Thomson and Myers really feel that Bulgaria fits them immensely they usually love the “relaxed” lifestyle there.
Myers says he’s discovered that Bulgarians have a greater work/life stability and are extra targeted on household.
“Here they work, and then they stop,” he says. “In the United States, they never stop.”
As for cultural variations, the couple clarify that whereas Bulgarians can come throughout as “brusque,” locals have been massively welcoming.
Myers can be a fan of Bulgaria’s meals in addition to its “slower pace” and “unbelievable history.”
“Of course, they have their own political problems,” says Myers. “But we don’t know what the heck those things are about. So we’re just kind of disconnected from that.”
Although they admit to struggling to be taught the language, the couple are decided to grasp it, and have discovered that locals are “so appreciative” once they make an try at talking Bulgarian as “they know how hard” it’s to be taught.
Safety has been a significant component for Thomson, and he or she says she will stroll alone at night time in Bulgaria with none worries — one thing she didn’t really feel snug doing in Ecuador.
“I do not worry about mass shootings,” she says, admitting that she used to “scope out the exits” at any time when she walked into a brand new place in the US.
“If I hear a loud bang, I assume it’s a car backfiring, as opposed to hitting the ground like I would in the US… That’s the big thing for me, I just feel like I can breathe.”
While the couple admit to lacking the “efficiency” in the US, the place issues have a tendency to get carried out “when you want something,” it is a sacrifice they’re keen to make.
“I’ll adapt before I expect Bulgaria to adapt,” says Thomson.
They’ve made some buddies in Plodviv, however level out that the worldwide group isn’t as “active” as they’d anticipated.
Although they love their condominium and have settled into the group nicely, town is “hotter than hell” in {the summertime}, says Thomson.
So after round 10 months in Plovdiv, the couple are shifting as soon as once more. This time to Bansko, a mountain ski resort city that they visited this summer time and fell in love with.
Thomson says that she finds it to be related to Breckenridge, a snowboarding city in Colorado, whereas nonetheless “retaining the charm of a Bulgarian village.”
The couple lately took out an 18-month lease on a 3 bed room/three rest room condominium situated a brief stroll from the city sq..
“We are very excited,” Thomson provides, explaining that there’s “hiking all over the place” and town is turning into a little bit of a digital nomad hub.
“I fit in well with the digital nomads, because I still work, and I guess I technically am one,” says Thomson.
Perhaps most significantly, Bansko is “not hot in the summer,” says Thomson.
While discovering the right place has been far from easy, Thomson feels that Bulgaria is the appropriate match for them, and stresses that they’ve “no desire to move again.”
“It is not cheap to move from one country to another,” she provides.
Thomson and Myers have since launched a YouTube channel, Expat Journey, detailing their experiences shifting from one country to one other.
They plan to return to the US every so often to go to household and buddies, however stress that the visits might be few and much between, as they discover the journey, which includes flying to Istanbul, and taking a 13-hour flight to Denver, “exhausting” and “arduous.”
So would they ever return to the US completely? Never say by no means.
“We are very fortunate in that we have our health,” says Thomson. “But it would have to be some sort of an extenuating circumstance – a health crisis, or a political crisis.”
Reflecting on their earlier relocation makes an attempt, Thomson jokes that “sometimes the second or third time’s the charm.”
“We were saying, ‘When are we going to get this right?” she recollects. “But now that we’re in Bulgaria, it feels like we’re on the cusp of getting it right.”
Sign up for Unlocking the World, NCS Travel’s weekly newsletter. Get information about locations, plus the newest in aviation, food and drinks, and the place to keep.