I have traveled half the world, lived abroad for long periods, and realized that I am ready to come a couple of times a year to a place pleasing to my heart, without feeling guilty that during this time I could have stuck another flag into the map. That is, 'the moment has come'...
My finances allowed me to seriously consider Finland, Bulgaria, or Montenegro. I had to give up Finland because we already have a dacha on the Karelian Isthmus (the same forest and the same lakes), and the 2-4 hour queues at the border discourage using the proximity of this country to our native Saint Petersburg. That left Bulgaria and Montenegro.
I like to sunbathe on the beach, but in winter I also definitely rest for a week or two. Unfortunately, the sea season in these countries does not last like in Egypt, but from May to September. The rest of the time, the seaside resorts there are deserted villages swept by icy winds.
In the end, I understood what I wanted. Ski resorts in recent years have realized they are losing money during dead seasons and have started to shift to year-round operation. In winter – skiing, in summer – hiking, mountain biking, fishing, kayaking, and other outdoor pursuits.
It all ended with buying an apartment, or as it is now fashionable to call it, a 'chalet' in the Bulgarian town of Bansko. Friends who came to visit gradually bought property nearby. In the end, we bought seven chalets and go there twice a year – in winter and summer during the jazz festival.
Along the way, we found out that it is a 3-hour drive from us to the Aegean Sea. So in summer we have a 'sandwich' vacation – a week in the mountains, a week at the sea in Greece. We learned this from the British, who started the 'colonization' of Bansko before us. In between, relatives come to relax.
After exposé TV shows about our celebrities who bought apartments on Bulgaria's Black Sea resorts, there were concerns about the cost of maintaining property. But for 5 years now, I have been paying 400 euros per year for security, lawn mowing, and pool cleaning. Tax – about 25 euros per year.
We haven't tried renting it out, and we don't have much desire to. The thing is, the main clients are young wild Brits who come to drink cheap beer and go on a spree after snowboarding. You could earn 5000-6000 euros per season from them, but I'm afraid you would then have to spend the same on repairs and buying new furniture.
Gazeta.Ru