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Hi Julio, great choice! Plovdiv is a great place to live. There are only a few areas I wouldn't recommend, Izgrev, Stoliponovo and Sheker Mahala, the area around the main train station isn't great after dark either.

Some more southern areas like Ostromila are still a work in progress so have fewer transport options, amenities like kindergarten etc.

Otherwise I'd say anywhere else is fine really. I'd be wary of anything you see online, it's quite normal here for brokers to advertise properties that aren't available or not even in the country!

Imot.bg is a good site to check, it has a good neighborhood map and you can filter olx.bg results to see ads from owners, this will give you an idea of realistic prices.

@PlovdivEd

Hi Ed,

Thank you for your detailed response — I really appreciate your suggestions. I think the best option might be to rent something temporary, like an Airbnb, and then, with a list of potential places, look for one that fits our needs.

I’ll check out that website right away! If you happen to think of anything else or have more advice, please feel free to share.

Thanks again!

Greetings from Plovdiv!

The best advice is to come for a short time and take a walk in all areas.

Also all Íæż½ã½ãs in Plovdiv groups and similar will be helpful, also you can connect interesting people there. There is alot a group for rental properties where you can find listing from owners and agents. Not all agents are bad, just the market is tough, the demands are high and the offers are not so many.

Good luck!

Hi Vasilev, greetings from Heredia, Costa Rica!

We're on the same page. I believe the best option would be to rent an Airbnb, so we have time to walk around and visit different places before choosing one.

Bienvenido a Plovdiv Sr, @Julio Manu!

Like @PlovdivEd, we also live in Plovdiv, and he's right that it's a great place to live. Most of the city is very nice, so it's unlikely you'll pick a bad area (and there usually aren't many rental offers there). If you have the budget, or you're planning to work in the city, then in or near the centre would be good.

These days, many of the cheaper offers are in the outskirts of the city. Not bad areas, but further away, so you have to think about transport/commuting. But it's a pretty small city, objectively, so city limit to centre (5km maybe) is not a massive drama like London, for example. Indeed, many folks live just outside the city and find it a manageable distance (e.g. Markovo village is very popular at around 10km).

Personally, I like a bit of outdoors and being close to the parks. The river Maritsa runs through the city, so it's nice to be near this (Karshiaka and Marasha I think. north and south sides, respectively). There are also several hills (it's the City of the Seven Hills). They're not high, of course, but two in particular (Alyosha/Bunardzhik and Youth Hill) have very nice parks and winding cobbled paths to the top.

We chose Hristo Smirnenski, to the west, and I highly recommend this area. Lots of local facilities, but still very close to the centre (about 2km) with easy access by bus (1 lv), taxi, personal car... or use your bike/legs/escooter on the new walk/bike network (10 minutes on my escooter, very easy). Within a few minutes walk, I can get to the Regatta (international rowing) lake and Maritsa river (with the woods), Alyosha, and Youth Hill.

I suggest the websites Alo (dot bg), Imot (dot bg), and BulgarianProperties (dot com). The last is very expat-friendly, and you can easily do a rental deal remotely, if you want to have a long-term place arranged before you arrive. Otherwise, Airbnb/Booking have plenty of short-term options. As others have suggested, the most convenient option is to rent short term first, and use that to look around the city and view properties at your leisure. The downside is that it can be expensive (one month might = 3 or 4 months LT) ... and it's of no use if you're doing immigration processes before moving (when you typically need a proof of address such as a property deed or LT rental contract).

This site is good for general info about Plovdiv.