Dreaming Snowbirds Warned To Make A Reality Check 20/03/2008
Growing numbers of Britons are retiring abroad, swapping the cold and rain for mostly warmer climes. No wonder that they are now known as “snowbirds”. About 1m British pensioners are drawing their state pension abroad, according to the Department for Work and Pensions. This is up from 770,000 in 1997. Britain’s former imperial reach explains part of the pattern with Australia accounting for 241,000 and Canada for 151,000. But sunnier European destinations have a strong appeal with Spain accounting for 71,000, Italy for 32,000 and France for 31,000. “There has been a shift from a second home for retirement being regarded as a luxury to it being something attainable by most people with the drive to achieve it,” says Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank, the estate... more

Contraversial Ski Lift In Rila National Park To Start Running 24/04/2008
The ski lift foreseen to run between the Pionerska (on teh right) and Rilski Ezera lodges in NP Rila Mountain will start to function this summer. This was reported from the construction company ‘Rila Sport', quoted by Dnevnik a.m. The executive director of ‘Rila Sport' Slaveiko Staikov explained the lift has positive valuation over the environment influence. He also confirmed that the project for the nearest resort is made according to all world eco-standards and its constructions won't harm the national park. We remind you that local environmentalists protested not once against ‘Rila Sport' and the indented by them building sites. The ecology protectors organized actions against the future resort approaching the EC. more

Bulgaria 'offers Year-round Attractions' 27/08/2008
Overseas property investors could benefit from Bulgaria's year-round holiday industry, experts have stated.John Howe & Co, a West Yorkshire-based law firm, said the eastern European country is very popular with foreign leisure travellers.According to spokesperson Philip Howell, it attracts visitors both during the summer holiday season and in the winter.This means that rental accommodation is consistently in high demand, thereby creating opportunities for foreign buyers.Furthermore, this can have a knock-on effect on property values in tourism hotspots, such as popular ski resorts.Mr Howell commented: "Bulgaria is a good place to buy property."He added that investors could get healthy capital gains in the wake of the country's accession to the EU last year.This comes after Bulgaria was... more