Bulgaria Is the 34th Country in the Best Places For Living List

France is leader in the world classification; Bulgaria attracts with low prices and favourable climate

Bulgaria is the 34th country in the world among those determined as the best places for living – reveals the latest classification of the American magazine “International Living”, which was published this week under the title “Index for Life Quality”. Bulgaria shares that high position in the list of 193 countries with Panama and Slovakia. Great Britain takes the 37th place – it is the next country after Bulgaria, and Greece and Cyprus come after it with even results. Lithuania, Poland and Romania are the next countries in the classification. Romania takes the 45th place together with South Africa, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Chile and South Korea.

Bulgaria takes one of the first places because of the low prices and favourable climate, according to “Scotsman” newspaper.

France is absolute leader in the classification, in spite of the high taxes, bureaucracy and the high cost of living. Still, it remains the best place for living in the world because of the high-speed trains, the good hospitals, its culture, its ski resorts, its beaches and mild climate. In addition, Paris is the most beautiful and romantic city in the world – says Laura Shedrian, Management Director of “International Living”. It is said that the cost of living outside Paris is much lower, and a house could be bought for less than 100 000 dollars.

The next countries that take places among the first five in the world are Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand and USA. Argentina takes place in “top 10” for the first time. “Australia is a very attractive destination, especially if you are young” – writes the magazine, thus explaining its second place in the classification.

USA used to take the first place for 21 years, but last year they took the 7th place because of the fall-back in the sphere of civil liberties.

The countries of Latin America have achieved the greatest progress in terms of life quality. The Dominican Republic has gone up with 50 places in the classification. Iran has gone down with 43 positions. Russia and China take the rather unsatisfactory 116th place.

Italy takes the good 8th place because of its culture and climate, its comparatively moderate prices and good transport.

The classification has been made on the basis of 9 criteria – the cost of life, culture and entertainments, economics, environment, freedom, health care, infrastructure, safety and risk, and climate. Its authors explain that experts go around the world for 11 months in the year, so that they could make the necessary survey to determine which countries have the lowest cost of living, the lowest taxes, the greatest possibilities for realization on the market, the best possibilities for starting a new life, etc. The results of the survey are published in the beginning of each year – in January. This is the 26th consecutive survey of that kind.

Great Britain is left behind by many other European countries, because of its unfavourable climate, just like the Netherlands, Denmark, Luxemburg, Liechtenstein and Germany. Great Britain is left behind also because of the bad health care, the transport and high prices.

Iraq, and especially its capital – Baghdad is the most dangerous place in the word, because of the devastating war there. Somalia, Yemen, Sudan and Afghanistan have also been determined as high risk places.

The cost of living is lowest on the Pacific island Nauru, and highest in Norway, USA have the best infrastructure, and Zimbabwe is known for its best climate.

Haiti is known as the most corrupt country, the people of Andorra have the longest lives – 82,5 years, and Australia is the best place for registering a new company.

Still, some people do not approve the method offered. According to them, other surveys of that kind show rather different classification.

“International Living” magazine is established in 1979 and it has 400 thousand subscribers. It has been established with the goal of helping people be more mobile.


“Guardian”: Bulgaria offers quite favourable life conditions to British pensioners, but they are still not satisfied.

“After the rise of Bulgarian democracy, many Britons started buying cheap estates in the Black sea and ski resorts, so that they could rent them or sell them.” – that is what “Guardian” newspaper wrote yesterday. However, after the European accession of the country, more and more Britons come to stay in Bulgaria. These are young people wishing to take part in the real estates market; pensioners, hoping to lead cheaper lives; parents, searching for better lives for their children. Jullian Hill – one of the first immigrants – who lives in Veliko Tarnovo, said: “Many Britons live here quite well with their pensions. However, in the local bars, they could be heard complaining against the East Europeans, saying that they go to Great Britain to take their jobs.

  read more articles