The main problem with Bulgaria is mobsters and corruption. Bulgarians tend to be hard working and there are a lot of successful Bulgarians abroad but inside of

The main problem with Bulgaria is mobsters and corruption. Bulgarians tend to be hard working and there are a lot of successful Bulgarians abroad but inside of the country one always has to live in fear that too obvious success will attract the wrong attention and the mobsters which more or less control the courts will just take everything they want from him. So a lot of the smarter and more ambitious people leave to try to make a living in the west, while the rest try to live and work while being careful not to piss off the wrong person. On top of that you have the West screwing over the country the usual way the west screws over developing countries. By buying out infrastructure and then raising prices, etc. This they do glove in hand with the mobsters and the corrupt government. So the result is that most major businesses are oligopolies of some type or another. Either because they have been taken over by the mob or a couple of western conglomerates have bought out all the options. Or combination of the both. Prices are high in comparison to salaries and most Bulgarians live in what one would consider poor conditions. Thus family formation is low. The EU membership has been very beneficial in putting in infrastructure and the sort. However, EU membership has also brought in a lot of real estate appreciation without a commensurate raise in ability to pay rents. I think things are improving. Mostly because of software and technology. In my experience Bulgarians seem to value education and hard work so there are a lot of programmers. Also, the mobsters who at this point own all the important real estate, have decided to more or less leave technology companies alone. They have figured out that this will maximize the value of their existing holdings. Thus there seems to be an unwritten license to run a tech company in Bulgaria. The industry seems to be thriving with native Bulgarian startups and R&D offices being open by major western companies. Lately I have even noticed a trend of expats from western countries going to Bulgaria to do a start up where life is cheaper. Most Bulgarians in the big cities speak some English. The tech industry also tends to give out decent salaries, so people in that industry do not quite live in poverty. In trendy bars and restaurants in Sofia and Varna you can usually see the mobster crowd and the tech crowd living side by side uneasily giving each other furtive glances. Thus far the government seems to value and encourage tech business. For example, in contrast to the crumbling roads, Bulgaria seems to have some of the best internet in the world. But the government and their friendly mobsters run the show and they can do anything they want in the future. So my optimism is very measured.