A woman has revealed how she ditched the UK to buy her dream mansion in Bulgaria.
Donna Hardy, 43, and her family moved from Scunthorpe in the UK to a huge home near Veliko Tarnavo in the north of Bulgaria this year.
The mother-of-three claims she paid only €26,000 (£21,000) euros for the property, which includes a smaller house round the back, a ‘massive’ barn, several outbuildings and around an acre of land.
She described her new home as ‘very rundown’ but said she and her family are ‘so happy with it’.
In a video that has racked up more than 1.5 million views, Donna took to TikTok to show off her sprawling new estate.
Donna Hardy paid £21,500 for her new ‘massive’ home in Bulgaria after ditching the UK
She said: ‘We paid 26,000 euros for this house, but not only did we get this house, around the house there is another little mini house, there’s a massive barn, we have outbuildings and we also have the garage along with an acre of land.
‘At the moment as you can see, we are still trying to unpack a lot of stuff.’
Donna’s daughter Elise has even bought the property next door for £21,000 – and a smaller one for £7,000.
As of January 2024, the average house price in the UK is £282,200, rising to £518,000 in London.
Comparatively, the central north of Bulgaria has an average asking price of €26,574, according to Move 2 Bulgaria, making it one of the cheapest areas to live in Europe.
Houses are even available to purchase on eBay – where Donna’s daughter Elise found her home. Donna bought her own home through an agency.
Viewers back in the UK were astonished that Donna had managed to purchase such a huge home for her money.
The mother-of-three claims she paid only €26,000 (£21,000) euros for the property, which includes a smaller house round the back, a ‘massive’ barn, several outbuildings and around an acre of land
Donna has shared videos of the sprawling estate to her TikTok account
Describing the property as ‘rundown’, Donna and her family have already begun renovations, bringing in help from local builders
They wrote: ‘Wow! That’s cheap! In Bristol England, £26 grand gets you the front gate!!’;
‘Absolute bargain, well done for leaving England, I applaud you’;
‘Funny Im Bulgarian n I bought a house in London for crazy money…should have stayed hone. I regret all my life choices’;
‘Living the dream’;
‘I got my house in Bulgaria in 2018 , and as an English man I can honestly tell you it’s the right move the place and people are lovely.’
However, another said: ‘Bulgaria is cheap to buy yes but there’s not much there and if feckin freezing in the winter!’
Describing the property as ‘rundown’, Donna and her family have already begun renovations, bringing in help from local builders.
Viewers back in the UK were astonished that Donna had managed to purchase such a huge home for her money
She said: ‘The house we have got is a big house, we do have the mini house as well.
‘We do have a nice-sized barn and a good amount of land with it. So we’re quite happy with the price that we paid.’
They have begun tiling in one room, while the living room is almost finished with a cosy fire, sofa and storage space.
Donna says she hopes the ‘mini house’ around the back will make for a cosy for her 12-year-old daughter when works are complete.
She said she and her family are currently living there on a Type D visa, granted to those who wish to enter the country to settle there for a long period.
It comes as many Brits decide to ditch the UK for Australia, going Down Under in pursuit of better pay, friendlier people and a more relaxed lifestyle.
A new study found that life expectancy in Australia is two years longer than in the UK, published in BMJ Open.
Evidence revealing the benefits of living in Australia might be new, but Britons have long been claiming that making the move has improved their mental well-being.
