Cost of Living in Sofia

Bulgarians continue to slam their fingers in the door and they side with the Bulgarian governments approach.There's alot of countries doing that though.I'm not PRO any country including the country I'm from.Many people use the term it's POLITICAL,but reality being it's the opposite.It's each countries responsibility to create their own economies whether it's good or bad.People like to test the waters, so to speak and live in other countries to experience different cultures but it rarely works out,and although visitors or people who live in other countries for a prolonged period of time would never admit it openly deep down they regret their decision to live abroad.Many people want to see how life is in other parts of the world and to some that may be curiosity or a country being pumped up as a great place.But at the end of the day or life the countries they came from are where they fit into.If I had my way nobody would visit anyone in any country because history has shown that other cultures don't mix well no matter how hard they try.Polution, costs of living,no country is balanced, there's always cons to be considered but many ignore the cons.All they know is they're in a new place that's foreign to them.Maybe it's exciting to live or visit a new place they're unfamiliar with.Many people call it adventurous but it's stupidity on their part no matter what part of the world they come from. I'm not from the U S nor have I ever visited either but I'll say one thing for certain.The U S is rapidly closing the door on the world and in the not too distant future nobody will even be allowed to visit or live there for that matter.I believe that's a step in the right direction, and other countries should pay attention, to repeat the same, PEACE ON EARTH

Well folks, as you can see there are people in this world with ... well let's be politically correct , with issues.

Dear foreigners especially the digital nomad-enterpreneur, trendy type, "troll" here. Please, arrogant degrading behaviour to locals with 3.6leva pint beer in the best joints downtown doesn't add up, don't you think? Or spending two Bulgarian salaries for a hip apartment and being cocky about it? Go back to Thailand and leave this country alone maybe? No hate.
Dear business Sofians, "troll" here. Although I love your country "we don't want cheap tourists" on one hand but "milking them" (they can't sleep on the street or stay hungry, or spend nothing don't you think?) on the other hand doesn't add up, yeah?
Dear everyday Bulgarians, you are the unlucky ones i'm afraid (provincian lads/gals and Sofians without houses). Rents rising, grocery prices have already reached European levels, salary still 260 euros per month, pension 120, pollution rising every year, overconcentration of people putting pressure on infrastructure, transport, hospitals, etc, this city is not very welcoming anymore is it?

If the influx of foreigners benefited the average Bulgarian it would be very desirable but this is not the case I'm afraid.
Sasipaxa ve4e tazi durzava, pravilno e
Wild capitalism can eat YOU in the end.
Peace everybody
JB

You mentioned behave like a MIRROR.Bulgarians in general should look in the MIRROR and reevaluate themselves.Although I've never hated anyone fact is the majority of Bulgarians excuse themselves from their hateful interior and exterior behaviors openly without reservation.Its easy to label other's as TROLLS as you call them.However there have been many posts about how rude Bulgarians behave towards others, many over the years to be exact.There are reasons why many have posted remarks about Bulgarian behavior in general.Bulgaria seems to be proud of their coarse behaviors around the world because I've met people from around the world who have said the same.Here's a good solution for Bulgaria, take note.Convince your president to ban anyone from around the world from even visiting Bulgaria, period.Also convince your president to force all foreigners to leave Bulgaria.Why not take up a public petition throughout Bulgaria to ban all foreigners from visiting or living in Bulgaria as I mentioned priorly? I promise you that Bulgaria won't be missed by any foreigner.600-700 Lev for a furnished studio heat 100 Lev per month for heating.Thats bullshit because I lived in Sofia for two years.Try 1,200 minimum for a studio and 300 Lev for heat in winter.Its obvious you're just another local excusing your behavior like the rest.Ban all foreigners Bulgaria won't be missed nor their attitudes either, promise.

hm belongs to the bad (the speculating) percentage obviously who betray every day their fellow country men. How do you like some more conspiracy theories HM? 1000 leva studio in Nadezhda everybody? Come on, it's a nice area with metro!!! 900 leva apartment (promocia) 200 m from the tec chimney (includes free cancer)? Anyone? ha ha what a joke is hm trying to lure more "fresh meat" hugh?

Well, just for a few days a few folks came up all of the sudden generalizing that the bulgarians are rude and acting bad towards them for no valid reason, just like that. A couple being treated bad in three big cities just like that for no valid reason, a russian girl who decided to study in Sofia, because it'd be cool. A small apartment for 1200 lv would be luxery and honestly not many russians can afford that. In fact if a russian can afford an apartment that costs more than their average salary then that russian would not pick Sofia as a place for study, nor it'll quit studying just, because someone messed up the heating in the apartment. You see how ridiculous this story sounds? And a third guy just generalizing with percentages just like that a city of 2 million of people, like he knows most of them.

I won't be surprised if these comments are posted by one single person, who for some reason has had a bad experience in Bulgaria and is trying to discredit the country even more, because he doesn't have nothing better to do :)

For months and for years people in this site are discussing opportunities, salaries, job offers, prices and all of the sudden just for a few days 3 guys with similar style of writing come up with their complaint about rudeness. Coincidence?

Hi I'm Irina from Russia.I had the opportunity to attend college in Sofia and I thought this would be a great chance for me to experience something different in life.My college term was going to be for two years but I left three months after I enrolled for this reason.I met the rudest people I've ever met in my life in Sofia.I stayed in a very small apartment which cost me 1,200 Lev each month with all utilities included.It was winter my heat turned off.I asked other tenants in the building how they are coping with no heat? They said there's good heat to their apartments as I found out while inside of one.I confronted the landlord about it.He said he turned off the heating vent to my apartment intentionally.I boarded a plane within four hours and never looked back at Sofia.

People from three different big cities were rude to you for no valid reason, just like that? Sounds strange, you are probably doing something wrong, but of course, as most people you don't see any fault in yourself. I know foreigners living in Bulgaria who were doing okay and had no problems.

My wife and I decided to live in Bulgaria for three years at different locations in Bulgaria.We are both Australians.Our first year we lived in Sofia.We understand that different countries have different customs and we're not judgemental not negative and we're always respectful.We knew that Sofia was a busy city before we moved there.Both of us can speak and understand a fair amount of Bulgarian.Unfortunately the majority of people went out of their way to be rude to us for no reasons throughout our one year living in Sofia.The second year we moved to Varna and lived there for one year.Sadly we received the same treatment as Sofia.We then moved to Plovdiv and stayed there one year.Once again sadly the same treatment we received without reasons.Its sad to know that the majority of Bulgarians are basically mean spirited to all foreigners who visit.We don't hate anyone but hatred directed at us was over the top during our stay in Bulgaria.

In my opinion salaries for these type of positions should be between 1500 and 2500 leva net, depending on the experience and the firm.

Yeah, for sure. I already did it,@edin.

But it´s hard to find any information about salaries. And yeah, there are some job offers on these fields for Germans.

Hi Edin,

but I am foccused on jobs like "Content writer", "Copywriter", "Digital Marketing Manager" and so on.

Do you know salaries for German speakers in these field for Bulgaria? It´s very difficult to find any information in the internet..

Hi guys,

currently I am doing an internship and studying Russian (First language) and English (Second language) both included Business communication. The quality of internship is really good here.
My education background is Accounting and Finance. I´ve already worked for 2,5 years in these field as an Back Office Manger Specialist.

I come from Germany, but want to live in Bulgaria after internship (prefarable in Sofia). I mean only as native speaker I could find easily an Call Center job with 2000 net. But I do not want in these field.

Ok, the other option would be Back Office again. Maybe. Why not? As I saw the salary depends on company and duties. But it´s realistic to say, that I would earn between 1500 - 2000 Leva net. The last one would be ok, but I prefer to earn at least 1800 leva net..

As I noticed in Sofia there are lof of IT companies and Social Media is getting more attractive. So, I decided to work on these field maybe. Currently I have been learning needful IT-Tools such as HTML5, CSS, Photoshop, GoogleAdWords, GoogleAutomation, SEO, maybe some Java basics (but I am not an Informatic!).

Do somebody know about the salaries for jobs like "SEO specialist", "Technical writer", "Social Media Analyst", "Social Media manager"? I did a research on my onw, used some different sources but was not able find some clearly information. Please not, that I have not any (professional) working experience yet

But

Hi everyone, could anyone please tell me ASAP (as I will have to make a decision based on what I am asking really soon) their experience as customer service for PaySafe in Sofia in terms of salary gross and net/ month? And in terms of whether it is advisable to plan to live in Sofia for at least a few years relying on that salary?

Thank you very much to anyone who's taking a little time to answer this!

Sorry but the prices in android version are incorrect for SOFIA BULGARIA
This is your computer windows version
Buy Apartment Price [ Edit ]
Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment in City Centre 1,369.47 €
Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre 931.07 €

This is your android version for my phone
This is incorect
Price per Square FEET to Buy Apartment in City Centre 127,23 €
Price per Square FEET to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre 86.50 €

Hi, have someone experience with technical help desk jobs (native speaker) ? Is it worth the money (1800-2500 bgn) ?
I can imagine that customer service jobs are hard in terms of mental health, but maybe it´s not that bad in some good companies.
Thanks for advice.

To JR:
Hopefully you mean Net salary and not gross. Anyway, 3000 BGN net is a very good salary for the Bulgarian standards. If you mean 2500 gross, then you will end-up with 1900 net, which is still 50% above average.
The cost:
- You can rent a 70-80 sqm flat (not house!!!) for 700 BGN. For Utilities plan 150-200 BGN more. Food for 2 can be around 1000-1200 BGN if you cook and don't go out that often. If you buy an old car, it will be still within the budget I hope.

As you see, even with a salary of 2,5 times the average, people cannot really afford that much. Prices in Sofia are exploding and groceries are more expensive than in Western Europe. Today I was comparing the prices at LIDL in Sofia and in Stuttgart. More than 50% of the goods are 20% and more expensive in Sofia, the others have the same price. Only some local vegetables are cheaper. Restaurants are still around 25-50% cheaper in Sofia, but the gap is closing quite fast.

Hi Ali Amini

Yes that could be enough for a starting business, but if you are not aware of the market, the economy, the society then most probably you'll fail.

There are tons of restaurants and cofee shops in the city already so that would be a hard field to be competitive in, unless you bring a great idea with you. I've noticed that businesses related to construction, transportation, cars and children (kindergarten,etc) are doing well.

I advise you to research the market first.

@Dr D, don't be so pessimistic, dude. You're exaggerating way too much, and most of the things you said are actually not true. There's a lot of BS in the media that you shouldn't pay attention to. Instead, you should do your own research and make up your own opinions instead of believing what the media and some people tell you. It's not that bad around here. ;)

@Shannon:
Very difficult to answer such question.
- What is for you a typical home? What price range? Can vary between 50k-300k Euro.
- How much equity do you have?
- Which duration? 5 years? 10 years? 30 years?
Interest range is currently 4%-5%. Just take Excel and calculate depending on your criteria.

@Jancany: What is the exact job position? What are your skills/experience level?
Maybe we can take a closer look and tell you if the offer is fair or not.

I can hardly imagine somebody willing to move to Sofia and being motivated by such an offer. Where do you come from?

Hello. I have an offer 1660BGN gross. Isnt it possible to live in Sofia? I am single and i can share the apartment with a homemate.

As i searched for the expenses, the most expensive points are rent fees. Many says that a person would need 400euro for living and 300euro for rent. I like the job it is good for self development and experience but what about the life?

#Luc Vanden Broek
I'm native Sofian, but I don't live there for the last 9 years. Still I keep contact with family and friends and have a decent knowledge on the current situation. If it's not too late I am happy to answer.
About 700 levs for a 2-room/3-room 80ish sqm apartment you can get in almost any part of the city, except the downtown districts. I don't know tho how are the expenses on electricity/ water supply etc, but overall if you can cover up to 900 levs it should be enough.
Now I suggest you NOT to rent in zone Ovcha Kupel, as some others that I'll list. They are just underdeveloped districts of the city that even I wouldn't recommend. Natives are fine there, but as a foreigner renting, I could imagine you can have problems with the locals. So do avoid all the nord districts, but "Oborishte", "Reduta" and "Geo Milev", which are fine. The southeast districts are good, they are also connected to the downtown with the underground train. "Vitosha" district is acceptable, but I wouldn't recommend and the furthest decent south district to the west, which is also fine is "Krasno Selo".
So I pretty much covored the zones, where up to 900 levs should be enough.
As long as the other expenses you listed, I'm not sure about the university taxes, you should check that out twice, because as far as I know, foreign students pay way higher university tuitions.
Overall with 2700, you both should be having enough money for the month, not to think twice if you can afford something.(like going to restaurants, etc)
Have a nice time in Sofia and I hope I helped a bit.

Hi All,

We need some feedback about Trakia University for Vet Science at Stara Zagora.
We are planning to get our son enrolled to the University as an International student.
What would be the cost of living for a student out there and most important of all, is it safe??

Hello, i'm reading some messages here.. I can tell you, i live in Sofia, and with my 2000 leva salary, is a realy good life in here. Yes the health care is sucks, en corruption and fraud on a high level. But don't try it as foreigner, they will arrest you.
If someone have som questions, let me know. With 2000 leva is realy good life.

Hello Vlad :-)
Thanks for your help !

I suppose, the universities have their own Mensa restaurants where students can take their meals on cheap prices ?
About myself : what is cheaper : cooking by myself, streetfood, cafes ? about the supermarkets : are there real Bulgarian supermarkets there (not Billa, Lidl etc...) ? Or just bulgarian markets with fresh vegetables, fruit and so ? Your advices ?

To other guests on this site : your experiences ?
Thanks for any information !

Piotr: Most of the Bulgarians must live with 1000 BGN or less and you will have 2000 BGN. This will make you part of the top 20% I'd say. But look at my comment below. If you are OK with all these negative points, then you'll have a great life in Sofia. Otherwise, don't even consider coming here, you will regret it.

Welcome to Bulgaria
- Lowerst prices in EU and lowest quality of goods at the same time
- Highest corruption in EU, political mafia is leading the country
- Almost non-existent healthcare
- Corrupt and ineffective justice system
- Sofia=Dirtiest city in Europa with most polluted air
- Outside of Sofia, everything is dead. Whole villages are dissapearing.The growing gipsy minority is destroying the remainings
- Almost all young and educated bulgarians have left the country. A demographic catastrophe is very near.

Luc Vanden Broek - Yes you are realistic. The average for 70m2 appartment is around 600-700 lv. Obcha Kupel is not the best district in Sofia so it might be even cheaper. 200 leva are enough for utilities even during the winter. During the summer you will need less than a 100.

Hello to all :-)

I am single and have 1 son
we want to live in Sofia starting November 2018
My son will study at university there

A. I have a Belgian pension of 1350 € netto monthly (about 2700 Lv)and social security can be transferred to National Insurance Bulgaria

minus cost of a credit in Germany monthly 223 €
only till about april 2019
minus insurance costs 25,- €
minus University costs/Month : 100,- €

Makes monthly about 1000 € = 1960 Lv TILL April 2019

B. From april 2019 : 1323 €

- University costs/Month : 100,- €
- Insurance costs : 25,-
Makes monthly about 1200,- € = 2400,- Lv

Question : can I afford
an appartment (Living room/sleeping room/another small room/balcony/about 70 m2) in zone Ovcha Kupel?
I plan a rent of about 700,-Lv + utilities 200,- Lv

AM I REALISTIC ?
Really thankful for all Advises from your side !!!

Luc

@IKS: 37.000 BGN Gross p.A. will be net 1.259 Euro p.M. (2.462 BGN).
This is comparable to 2.200 Euro net in Western Europe (see my calculations below).
If your husband earns another 1000-1500 Euro, you can live very good. Only with your salary, it will be sufficient but you cannot afford any luxury.

Hello, I have been offered a role for 37,000 Leva brut per annum. I would like to kniw if I would be able toblive well in Sofia with this wage.... Knowing that I will be with my husband (looking for a job).

7.000 Euro in Germany is looot more than 5.000 BGN in Bulgaria. Except you spend your whole money for eating at high-end restaurants - in this case your purchase power would be maybe the same.

The monthly cost of living in Sofia (withouth rent) is 400 Euro in Sofia and 800 Euro in Frankfurt. These are Numbeo numbers and are reasonable. For the rent, you pay 5 Euro/sqm in Sofia and 15 Euro in Germany (average for the bigger cities). For 60 sqm this means 300 Euro in Sofia and 900 Euro in Germany.
The result is:
Total cost of living: 1700 in Germany, 700 in Sofia.
The rest in both cases will be spent on luxury (or saved), and luxury is equally expensive everywhere in the world. From 7.000 Salary in Germany, when I deduct the cost I have 5.300 Euro remaining. In Sofia, I would have 1800 Euro. From the 5.300 I can finance a Porsche, from the 1800 a Citroen maybe. Here I ignore the fact that in Sofia you are basically withouth any healthcare and pension and should provide for them from your net salary, while in Germany you get one of the best healthcares worldwide and this for free.

As a result, I would say:
1000 BGN (Sofia)<1500 Euro in Western Europe
2000 BGN (Sofia)<2000 Euro in Western Europe
3000 BGN (Sofia)<2500 Euro in Western Europe
5000 BGN (Sofia)<3500 Euro in Western Europe
.....
Numbeo makes a huge mistake by defining the "Standart of living" just by comparing prices for basic goods. You don't spend your whole money on food and rent. You just save a big part of it, or buy a Mercedes, or a Omega watch, or go to a Ski-Vacation in Austria etc. For all these thinks you pay the same price regardless in which country you live.

It's true that milk is cheaper in Germany than in Bulgaria (due to crazy EU-subsidies), but this is the exception, not the rule. Bread, fruit, vegetables, meat: it's all 30-50% cheaper in Bulgaria.

I have been offered the position of a Senior Java Developer in Sofia.
The offer is: 3.000 Euro gross (around 5870 BGN Gross). Net this would mean around 5000 BGN.
I am hearing very different stories about the salaries in the IT-Industry. Some say that 3000 BGN Net is a good salary, others tell me that 8000 BGN net are possible. So what should I believe? My employers are swearing that 5000 BGN net is a top salary and I could have a great standard of living. Is this true?
Thanks

Ovidiu, Chocho's been a bit dramatic here.

If you're a single guy why would you need a 2-bedroom apartment ? For a single person a 1-bedroom apartement would cost about 200-250euro. My utilities are less than 40 euro during the summer and spring. During the winter it could reach 70-100 yes. The transportation cost provided by Chocho is relatively correct - 25 euro per month. This leaves you with about 400 euro which is a good amount of money. Food is usually 2 times cheaper than the Western countries, prices are pretty much the same as in Romania, so I think that you'll do the math. If you cook at home mostly and eventually you go out you'll spend about 200 euro on food, if you eat mostly in restaurants or fast food places you'll spend another 100e. Which leaves you with 100-200 euro for fun and cloths. You'll be just fine if you are not very pretentious.

Hi,

I recived a offer with 1956 BGN gross

My question is if i can leave in Sofia with this money ?

DJ Ivan, no, you cannot live a luxurious life with 1.800 BGN per month, but that is beyond the point.

200.000BGN to buy an apartment in Sofia? Yes, but that would be a brand new apartment in the high end districts.

100BGN in a nightclub? You are being robbed blind.

50.000 - 60.000BGN for a car? You don't even need a car in Sofia, let alone spend 50.000BGN on one.

If by well educated you mean financially illiterate, then yes, I agree with most of your assumptions.

DJ Ivan, where do you live man? :D
I live in Sofia with exactly 1800 BGN net, which after 400 BGN rent in a shared flat, leaves me enough to live comfortably, and travel almost every month abroad..

Salaries:
- A senior lead developer (Java, Android) can get 5.000 to 6.000 BGN net. This is a very good level for a decent lifestyle in Sofia.
- Between 3.000 BGN and 5.000 BGN net are the salaries for developers with around 5-10 years of experience but the requirements are high (several languages). Most of the people I know are around 3000-3500. 4000+ are exceptions. With such a salary you will have a standard comparable with 2.000 Euro net in western Europe. Not bad at all, but still not great.
- For all other senior no-manager positions, the offers are between 2.000 and 3.000 BGN net. This is already a low salary and you shouldn't consider moving to Sofia for such salary.
- Juniors: between 1000-2500 BGN net. This includes most of the call centre slaves, IT helpdesc and other non-IT positions. For most of the Bulgarians, getting over 2.000 BGN net remains just a dream.
- Below 1000 BGN net: Never consider such offers. This is modern slavery.

Hi there,

I got offered a job in Sofia in the IT sector (Helpdesk) multilingual position, they offered me 2374 leva gross, I calculated it will be around 1008€ net per month. I'm 32 years old and I want to have a fresh new start in my career and life. Do you think this is enough to have a good quality life ? (I'm used to Spanish standards) Thank you.

Oh, sorry, i somehow missed that part you already passed the theoretical hours and test, well, if you have no way to finish it in Germany, you will have to ask about that when you come, but i guess you will have to start all over

hi all, I have a question, I'm moving to sofia for university, and I'll have (around 400€ for me to spend) I'm a single 18 year old hahah, 400 for me to spend and the rent is already paid, will that be enough?
and also one more question about the driving license. I finished my theoretical hours and practical hours and did the theory test here in Berlin, Germany ( I'm a German citizen) would I be able to do the driving test in Sofia? because examination centers in Berlin are all booked this summer.. please answer asap to the driving license part

I am offered a job of 8000 euros, is it gud for living in Ruse with my wife and 6 year old son

I am Bulgaria who was able to "cheat" the system a little bit. I went abroad for awhile but instead of staying there I found a client who had nothing against paying me the local (for the country that I was in) rate but for me to live in Sofia. Well .. just slightly lower than what is the norm in there but still pretty good. So I am very proud that I work hard and bring some foreign money (paying all taxes!) and I have good amount of disposable money. Good enough that after few years I was able to buy a 4 year old car, a 3 bedroom apartment right next to the Underground with personal parking space. Also with my girlfriend we go 1-2 per month to a high level restaurant and we are able to go abroad 2-3 times a year. Now I am not bragging here. I am trying to say that I am able to do so mostly because the cost of living in Sofia is pretty decent. You have everything that a modern society needs and you can buy a beer for 1 EUR. Come ooon! Sofia is great!

Sofia standard of living is growing a lot! Salaries are growing very fast and net disposable salary is more than what numbeo says, I would say at least 1300-1400 bgn net! Also mortgage interest is not more than 4% and not 5.60%..!
No unemployment in Sofia and 6.7% for all BG!
In brief with 1000 bgn net in Sofia you will leave better than with 1000€ in Western Europe..!!!

Hi Alex,

The salary of 750euro is not great, but not that bad either. If you're single and not that pretentious and still young and a bit inexperienced you'll be just fine, but keep in mind that you'll not have luxary life. You'll have enough money to rent a decent 1-2bedroom apartment, have a public transportation card, take taxi from time to time if necessary (taxi is quite cheap, 4-5 euro usually per a medium-ranged destination) , buy food, pay your bills, go to restaurants and bars once or twice per week, buy some clothes and every once in a while you may afford yourself a trip accross the country or a trip to Greece or Turkey.

Telus is not a top company, but not a bad one either, more like average. If you don't have better offers then just take it and try your luck. Sofia is relatively safe, you'll not have troubles if you avoid gipsy ghetos and avoid roaming around alone after midnight. This applies for most big cities IMO.

I hope I was helpful enough.

Have a good day.

As a foreigner who has already lived 4 months in Sofia(married with no kids), I will try to describe the situation here as best as possible, from my point of view:

(all numbers are in euro)
apartments : 150-350 depends on many things... usually you get what you pay for..
supermarkets/groceries: same as in Germany(not cheap).. I can say by experience
restaurants:average 20-25 for two persons -2 main dishes, salad, 2 beers, 2 espresso's and sweet, (usually very cheap)
water+electricity+internet/tv+mobile: avg 60/month (70sqrm apartment)
coffee,beers,cigarettes: cheaper than anywhere else in EU!!!

Conclusion:
with 1000euro: rent a furnished,new, at nice area apartment(400)plus utilities, able to buy good and quality products from local groceries/supermarkets(400), eating to medium-good restaurants 4-5/month (100), car(15/month, home-work-home..) total around 900euro and another 100 left for other random.. (clothes,taxi,puplic transport etc) expenses. Therefore with around 1000 net a couple can have a very good quality life in Sofia but without saving much. Of course a couple can live with much less or survive with even half.. but well the point is not to just survive.. then better stay at your own country and be with family and friends...
Regarding the people, so far we didn't have any problem, everyone treated us kindly and respectfully. Also not many people speak English... in any case have the google translator at your smartphone installed.. it will come in handy many many times.. good thing is that there is free wifi almost everywhere!!

Melon (cleaned and cut into pieces), BGN 2,99 per KILO.
Peach, BGN 1,39
Yoghurt, DANONE, 0,280 kg, neutral: BGN 1,10
Yoghurt, DANONE, 0,280 kg, with fruit, BGN 1,29
Koffie, MELITTA, 0,500 kg, BGN 6,49

I know these prices sound often unbelievable, but Sofia just happens to be the cheapest EU Capital to live in.
Prices outside the big cities
(Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas, Varna, etc..) are even much lover.

In the countryside you can buy a small house for EUR 10K.

1000euro I think it's really just very regular income for foreigners with skills and experience here in sofia, not just an exotic mother language. as I am Asian living here for few years already, I make almost 3000 euro. though the living cost here is really cheap even compare to Asia, without rent , 500 leva is definately enough to feed yourself , plus other spending , won't cost u more than 1000lv. don't live in the center, if u don't require a luxury flat, 500 lv per month u can get a fairly good place to stay.