i am thrilled that you are back in Bulgaria. I am coming from June 1st for 2 weeks with a girl looked after her as child; I was her mother’s help! AND A HIRE CAR. I hope we can come and see you. We arrive in Sofia, and will spend the night somewhere on the way. I shall try to spread the word about your House
but people here are not very adventurous. Any way it will be great to see you again, and be able to do some travelling.
Dear Sue
Thanks for your great website, an inspiration to set my own up instead of writing heaps of emails, journals etc,etc! Also it’s a lovely comfort for me as I prepare to return to my cottage in Lesovo this August for a wee while. I am a Kiwi currently working in the Alice NT, will have been here 12 months in August. Can’t wait to see BG again and will keep reading your stories.
Aroha Nghaio
Hi Nghaio, thanks for your feedback. I was two years in Oz working so that I could return here…it was too long. I missed the place terribly and am full of joy being back here. Remember, August isn’t that far away…you’ll be back in Lesovo before you know it. 🙂
not to sure you got my last e-mail. so l will say that both brian and myself are pleased that you are once again back in sunny hot BG.I know we have spent only one afternoon with you, a while before your return to Australia. \but we really enjoyed meeting you. even though l drank most of your wine at the time…We both hope youwill once again be in love with this beautiful contry… Keep well. regards leighx
Hi Sue, I finally got of my bum and have set up a Facebook page and started to update my email list. Love your website and haven’t finished reading everything new yet, it’s like reading a great travelogue magazine. Hopefully Steve and I can get over there to stay with you sometime and I must say the work you have done is amazing.
Kirk turned 21 on Sunday (how time flies…). He is in Edinburgh at the moment and has been staying in Leith. Next week he heads off to Norway for a while and then on to Europe. Wish I was with him.
I am thinking of purchasing a house in a village out of Elhovo. My concern is with visas. My investigations todate suggest I would only be able to obtain a 90days out of 180. Which means I’d only have 3 months to work on the house then I’d be expected to leave Bulgaria for at least 3 months before re-entering on another 90/180 visa.
Do you have any suggestions. I’d love to have 6 months at least before having to leave.
I read between the lines of your blob and it states this is my journey, my house, my way, my decisions, my dream……wonderful! Just what I need.
Hello Sue,
I heard you the other day speaking to Deb Cameron on the ABC, and thought your story was very interesting. Unfortunately I didn’t get to hear the whole segment so Idon’t know how it ended.
However, I thought you were very inspirational, and shoud maybe explore doing motivational speaking, as I think you have a gift.
We are roughly the same age, I was born in 57 What were younger years like? Did you grow up in Sydney?
Write back if you get a chance
Linda O’Brien
ps. I think your house looks great!!
hi sue we havent met,i woz in ireland with sue and linnie,your house looks fab, sounds like you and the dogs are having fun, say hi to the girls for me if they are still with you and i will enjoy reading about your life xxxx
Hi Sue,
Accidentaly came across your blog and I must say what an excellent read. Didn’t think there were any Australians residing here plenty of Brits like myself. Good luck with all your renovation work and hope that business will be blooming.
Howdy sue, not sure whether you made to Oz but if you did good luck you didn’t go t Carnarvon pickin mangos. the whole bloody country has had one disaster another, bloody water every where. I tried to get in touch but notthing, never mind how did your Xmas go and did you make it over here? Friggin hot here at the moment, 48 comin home from Perth yesterday through Bagengarra and the A/C in the truck has shit its self. you can tell i write a real jurnno hey? never mind as as long as you understand me thats the main thing and don’t pick on my spelling. little Monty died just after his 15 birthday and we have a replacement, Chet, beer barrel on stumps. if you log onto Junes facebook you’ll no dought see a photo of him.
Well mate that’s about me, it’s 10-20 Friday morning so I had better get dressed before I horrify some and get cought in my jocks.
Hello Sue,
Please let me introduce myself. My name is Liz and quite by accident whilst searching for info on Bulgaria I came accross your website and lo and behold put two and two together and realised that we have actually bought a property in the same village as you.
Last year whilst holidaying in Turkey myself and hubby decided to travel to Bulgaria and view some properties we found on the internet and to cut a long story short we purchased a property in Miladinovtsi on the edge of the village and which at present is undergoing renovation.
Needless to say we both now follow your website with great interest.
For obvious reasons we have not advertised where our property is because it might be a year or so before we actually relocate and we are not too sure just how safe the property will be especially once we furnish same.
We didn’t have a lot of time at our disposal when we paid our visit to Bularia and just wondered if you would be kind enough to give us some more info on Miladinovtsi.
I’m sure the bar was pointed out to us, is there one? We do like to socialise.
We live in a small town now so we enjoy quiet and nature and we are hoping with some guidance to grow a lot of our own produce but if stuck how many local shops are there?
We just fell in love with the village and of course we did ask questions however when reading about the village we get different write-ups so now don’t know what to think.
We both drive so perfectly able to shop in the larger towns.
How safe is the village?
We are so looking forward to our life in Miladinvotsi and we do hope you don’t mind all the questions.
Keep up your interesting work and we do look forward to meeting you at some point.
Kindest regards,
Liz
So glad to see you made it back there and managed to get the whole place finished. It looks great and iI think the website is fab too!
I hope one day we get to meet again, maybe i might take another trip sometime but have just come back from spending Christmas in Africa and need to save some pennies again now.
Hey Sue! I am Valeriaya and I got into your blog very unexpectedly while I was searching the net for one shampoo with the name Aussi 😀
So I read some of your posts about Bulgaria and I’m very happy to know that you like it here!
Last summer I had met lots of Australians and I loved all of them. Since I founded my sincere love to your nation I started to dream to visit Australia. I have lots of good friends from there and I’m looking foreward to see them anywhere in the world or visit them.
I’ve Just decided to share my thoughts with you because I felt so excited when I read your stories :))
Hi Susie, We were delighted to receive your mail. We looked your up area on Google. Found Sofia, Yambol County and then Miladinovtsi but could not pick your house. Are you on the West side of the village? The streets are not named on the map which is a bit of a bummer but thats life! How many A$ to one lev? Do we need a visa. Left hand drive cars no doubt? It won’t take much selling to see us there. We are trying to plan one last assault on the UK before we lose the plot so may well drop in on the way.!! You have been WARNED!!!!
Cheer’d B&B x
Hi Sue,
I’ve just found your blog and feel like we’ve met before. We haven’t of course but I live in Dongara and woke up to your voice on the radio whilst you were working in Geraldton. I’m enjoying your stories immensly.
Cheers from another Sue
Hi, Sue. It was great to come across your blog. Offcourse I was searching for something else entirely, but the title grabbed me. I am a Bulgarian living in Brisbane, Australia and have been back to BG a number of times now. Coming from BG I love going back and seeing friends and family, and I am always interested in what other people think of Bulgaria that have moved there, especially people that come from a different culture to BG.
I have enjoyed reading your blog; and will try to look in from time to time.
Also your B&B looks very nice! Do you also do cooking, Bulgarian, Aussie, Asian etc? Hope to hear from you…
Cheers from another Stefka
Hi Sue
Had a few days down south of WA in Albany and Denmark over the weekend just gone and read a piece about you in the latest Scoop Mag. My eyes instantly alight on the word Bulgaria and I devour anything about the country as my oldest son has been living in Sofia and working in Bulgaria over the past 10 years. He now works in Serbia (in mining) and drives to the mine from Sofia.
Ten years ago when he rang us and said he was going to work in Bulgaria, we ran to get the atlas as we didn’t really know exactly where it was, though of course we knew it was in Eastern Europe!!
Today we have 3 half Bulgarian grandchildren and I now know more about Bulgaria than 10 years ago!! I have been to the country 5 times to visit and am going again in January to see our latest grandaughter born in Sofia 4 weeks ago!
Today for the first time I have visited your website and am amazed at how much you have achieved – it is so interesting to follow someone’s life in another country and especially a country that is so dear to my heart. I would love to learn to speak Bulgarian as of course my 2 grandsons are bi-lingual and it would be great to be able to understand them. I admire your spirit for giving the language a go!!
Best wishes
Joan
hello sue, we are from uk, moved to istanbul with a job offer my husband, life here is not as good as bulgaria. we have a property in just outside sliven, we have travelled up e80 to bulgaria, very easy trip. we are just sorting out to leave istanbul and head to our property bg, jan feb 2012. happy new year !! we will stop for a few months, and then drive back to the uk with 3 dogs and rest of our funiture, do you know anyone done this trip? we really love the people in bg .
best wishes penny steve
So many friends will miss you Sue. I will always remember the late night dinner parties we had in Albany. Good wine, great food and the best company.
Thanks for all of that.
Love Bill Pusey.
Since hearing Sue on ABC regional radio in Geraldton, Western Australia some years ago, I want to say how much I have admired her mammoth and adventurous task in a country not all that well known to most of us, appreciated her efforts and devoured every beautifully described paragraph not to mention photos which made me feel like I was there. Every couple of weeks I would look up the ‘Aussie’s’ website to see where the journey was going. Never did I suspect.
My deepest sympathy to you all, (her family) – to her friends and neighbours in Miladinovtsi and to Gina, Goosey and TooLucy.
Wendy
Dongara, Western Australia
Come with me, Sue Mercer, as I take you on an extraordinary journey through Bulgaria, a country that has bought me joy, adventure, tears, great friendships, enormous challenges and the biggest renovation project of my life.
Meet the people, taste the food, experience the culture and share the joy...and don't be shy to give me feedback or to contact me.
Dear Sue
i am thrilled that you are back in Bulgaria. I am coming from June 1st for 2 weeks with a girl looked after her as child; I was her mother’s help! AND A HIRE CAR. I hope we can come and see you. We arrive in Sofia, and will spend the night somewhere on the way. I shall try to spread the word about your House
but people here are not very adventurous. Any way it will be great to see you again, and be able to do some travelling.
:Love
Masha
welcome back to europe!!!
I hope to be one of your guests after the summer!
lovely Gina!
see you soon
And I’d love to see you here Leila..it’s been too long
Dear Sue
Thanks for your great website, an inspiration to set my own up instead of writing heaps of emails, journals etc,etc! Also it’s a lovely comfort for me as I prepare to return to my cottage in Lesovo this August for a wee while. I am a Kiwi currently working in the Alice NT, will have been here 12 months in August. Can’t wait to see BG again and will keep reading your stories.
Aroha Nghaio
Hi Nghaio, thanks for your feedback. I was two years in Oz working so that I could return here…it was too long. I missed the place terribly and am full of joy being back here. Remember, August isn’t that far away…you’ll be back in Lesovo before you know it. 🙂
Ooooohhh! Noice new look web page, Sue! Looks fabulous and bright. :o)
Hope all’s well over there in BG! ♥♥ Anne-Marie
not to sure you got my last e-mail. so l will say that both brian and myself are pleased that you are once again back in sunny hot BG.I know we have spent only one afternoon with you, a while before your return to Australia. \but we really enjoyed meeting you. even though l drank most of your wine at the time…We both hope youwill once again be in love with this beautiful contry… Keep well. regards leighx
Hi Sue, I finally got of my bum and have set up a Facebook page and started to update my email list. Love your website and haven’t finished reading everything new yet, it’s like reading a great travelogue magazine. Hopefully Steve and I can get over there to stay with you sometime and I must say the work you have done is amazing.
Kirk turned 21 on Sunday (how time flies…). He is in Edinburgh at the moment and has been staying in Leith. Next week he heads off to Norway for a while and then on to Europe. Wish I was with him.
Hello Sue,
Your blog makes very interesting reading.
I am thinking of purchasing a house in a village out of Elhovo. My concern is with visas. My investigations todate suggest I would only be able to obtain a 90days out of 180. Which means I’d only have 3 months to work on the house then I’d be expected to leave Bulgaria for at least 3 months before re-entering on another 90/180 visa.
Do you have any suggestions. I’d love to have 6 months at least before having to leave.
I read between the lines of your blob and it states this is my journey, my house, my way, my decisions, my dream……wonderful! Just what I need.
Hope to hear from you.
Kind regards….steve hockley
Hello Sue,
I heard you the other day speaking to Deb Cameron on the ABC, and thought your story was very interesting. Unfortunately I didn’t get to hear the whole segment so Idon’t know how it ended.
However, I thought you were very inspirational, and shoud maybe explore doing motivational speaking, as I think you have a gift.
We are roughly the same age, I was born in 57 What were younger years like? Did you grow up in Sydney?
Write back if you get a chance
Linda O’Brien
ps. I think your house looks great!!
hi sue we havent met,i woz in ireland with sue and linnie,your house looks fab, sounds like you and the dogs are having fun, say hi to the girls for me if they are still with you and i will enjoy reading about your life xxxx
Hi Sue,
Accidentaly came across your blog and I must say what an excellent read. Didn’t think there were any Australians residing here plenty of Brits like myself. Good luck with all your renovation work and hope that business will be blooming.
Richard Hughes
Howdy sue, not sure whether you made to Oz but if you did good luck you didn’t go t Carnarvon pickin mangos. the whole bloody country has had one disaster another, bloody water every where. I tried to get in touch but notthing, never mind how did your Xmas go and did you make it over here? Friggin hot here at the moment, 48 comin home from Perth yesterday through Bagengarra and the A/C in the truck has shit its self. you can tell i write a real jurnno hey? never mind as as long as you understand me thats the main thing and don’t pick on my spelling. little Monty died just after his 15 birthday and we have a replacement, Chet, beer barrel on stumps. if you log onto Junes facebook you’ll no dought see a photo of him.
Well mate that’s about me, it’s 10-20 Friday morning so I had better get dressed before I horrify some and get cought in my jocks.
Catch Ya
Luv
Woody xx
Hello Sue,
Please let me introduce myself. My name is Liz and quite by accident whilst searching for info on Bulgaria I came accross your website and lo and behold put two and two together and realised that we have actually bought a property in the same village as you.
Last year whilst holidaying in Turkey myself and hubby decided to travel to Bulgaria and view some properties we found on the internet and to cut a long story short we purchased a property in Miladinovtsi on the edge of the village and which at present is undergoing renovation.
Needless to say we both now follow your website with great interest.
For obvious reasons we have not advertised where our property is because it might be a year or so before we actually relocate and we are not too sure just how safe the property will be especially once we furnish same.
We didn’t have a lot of time at our disposal when we paid our visit to Bularia and just wondered if you would be kind enough to give us some more info on Miladinovtsi.
I’m sure the bar was pointed out to us, is there one? We do like to socialise.
We live in a small town now so we enjoy quiet and nature and we are hoping with some guidance to grow a lot of our own produce but if stuck how many local shops are there?
We just fell in love with the village and of course we did ask questions however when reading about the village we get different write-ups so now don’t know what to think.
We both drive so perfectly able to shop in the larger towns.
How safe is the village?
We are so looking forward to our life in Miladinvotsi and we do hope you don’t mind all the questions.
Keep up your interesting work and we do look forward to meeting you at some point.
Kindest regards,
Liz
Hi Sue
So glad to see you made it back there and managed to get the whole place finished. It looks great and iI think the website is fab too!
I hope one day we get to meet again, maybe i might take another trip sometime but have just come back from spending Christmas in Africa and need to save some pennies again now.
All the best !
Clare
I agree Clare the website does look fab and I so enjoy Sue’s journal.
Hope to be over there this year!
Liz
Hey Sue! I am Valeriaya and I got into your blog very unexpectedly while I was searching the net for one shampoo with the name Aussi 😀
So I read some of your posts about Bulgaria and I’m very happy to know that you like it here!
Last summer I had met lots of Australians and I loved all of them. Since I founded my sincere love to your nation I started to dream to visit Australia. I have lots of good friends from there and I’m looking foreward to see them anywhere in the world or visit them.
I’ve Just decided to share my thoughts with you because I felt so excited when I read your stories :))
Hi Susie, We were delighted to receive your mail. We looked your up area on Google. Found Sofia, Yambol County and then Miladinovtsi but could not pick your house. Are you on the West side of the village? The streets are not named on the map which is a bit of a bummer but thats life! How many A$ to one lev? Do we need a visa. Left hand drive cars no doubt? It won’t take much selling to see us there. We are trying to plan one last assault on the UK before we lose the plot so may well drop in on the way.!! You have been WARNED!!!!
Cheer’d B&B x
Hi Sue,
I’ve just found your blog and feel like we’ve met before. We haven’t of course but I live in Dongara and woke up to your voice on the radio whilst you were working in Geraldton. I’m enjoying your stories immensly.
Cheers from another Sue
hi sue my name is chris and im in bulgaria in the town of vratsa where are you and is there any australians near me
Hi, Sue. It was great to come across your blog. Offcourse I was searching for something else entirely, but the title grabbed me. I am a Bulgarian living in Brisbane, Australia and have been back to BG a number of times now. Coming from BG I love going back and seeing friends and family, and I am always interested in what other people think of Bulgaria that have moved there, especially people that come from a different culture to BG.
I have enjoyed reading your blog; and will try to look in from time to time.
Also your B&B looks very nice! Do you also do cooking, Bulgarian, Aussie, Asian etc? Hope to hear from you…
Cheers from another Stefka
Hi Sue
Had a few days down south of WA in Albany and Denmark over the weekend just gone and read a piece about you in the latest Scoop Mag. My eyes instantly alight on the word Bulgaria and I devour anything about the country as my oldest son has been living in Sofia and working in Bulgaria over the past 10 years. He now works in Serbia (in mining) and drives to the mine from Sofia.
Ten years ago when he rang us and said he was going to work in Bulgaria, we ran to get the atlas as we didn’t really know exactly where it was, though of course we knew it was in Eastern Europe!!
Today we have 3 half Bulgarian grandchildren and I now know more about Bulgaria than 10 years ago!! I have been to the country 5 times to visit and am going again in January to see our latest grandaughter born in Sofia 4 weeks ago!
Today for the first time I have visited your website and am amazed at how much you have achieved – it is so interesting to follow someone’s life in another country and especially a country that is so dear to my heart. I would love to learn to speak Bulgarian as of course my 2 grandsons are bi-lingual and it would be great to be able to understand them. I admire your spirit for giving the language a go!!
Best wishes
Joan
hello sue, we are from uk, moved to istanbul with a job offer my husband, life here is not as good as bulgaria. we have a property in just outside sliven, we have travelled up e80 to bulgaria, very easy trip. we are just sorting out to leave istanbul and head to our property bg, jan feb 2012. happy new year !! we will stop for a few months, and then drive back to the uk with 3 dogs and rest of our funiture, do you know anyone done this trip? we really love the people in bg .
best wishes penny steve
So many friends will miss you Sue. I will always remember the late night dinner parties we had in Albany. Good wine, great food and the best company.
Thanks for all of that.
Love Bill Pusey.
Since hearing Sue on ABC regional radio in Geraldton, Western Australia some years ago, I want to say how much I have admired her mammoth and adventurous task in a country not all that well known to most of us, appreciated her efforts and devoured every beautifully described paragraph not to mention photos which made me feel like I was there. Every couple of weeks I would look up the ‘Aussie’s’ website to see where the journey was going. Never did I suspect.
My deepest sympathy to you all, (her family) – to her friends and neighbours in Miladinovtsi and to Gina, Goosey and TooLucy.
Wendy
Dongara, Western Australia