How Bansko and Sofia compare on cost, visas, working hours, weather, internet and safety. Every figure comes from our city guides and tools, checked and dated there.
Dollars and pounds at today's exchange rate. Download speeds are the typical figure from each guide, which says where it comes from: some are for the city, some for the whole country, so treat a small gap as no gap.
Rent, a coworking desk, a cheap lunch on each of 22 working days, and getting around: the same four costs our budget calculator uses. The rent figures aren't always the same kind of figure (some are furnished one-beds, some are averages across every size of flat), so read the note under each.
$515 to $1,020£387 to £766 a month
$874 to $1,120£657 to £839 a month
Both are in Bulgaria, so the rules are the same.
Digital nomad residence permit
The catch. You must first get a Type D visa from a Bulgarian consulate where you are a national or resident, even if you can otherwise enter visa-free, which takes one to two months. Your employer or clients must be outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, with none in Bulgaria, and the bar rises with every minimum-wage increase.
See where your own income stands in every country. Check your income
A 9am to 5pm day in the employer's city, shown in local time, for today's date, so it allows for the clocks changing.
Different hours or another employer city? Use the time-zone planner
The average high in °C each month, coloured by the rule on our best-time page: green is a high of 20 to 32°C with under 150mm of rain; red is a high of 38°C or more or under 12°C, 250mm of rain or more, or 33°C or more with 150mm of rain or more. Hover over a month for its rain.
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bansko | 3° | 6° | 10° | 16° | 21° | 24° | 27° | 27° | 23° | 17° | 11° | 5° |
| Sofia | 4° | 7° | 11° | 17° | 21° | 25° | 28° | 28° | 23° | 18° | 11° | 5° |
Level 1: normal precautions
Level 1: normal precautions
The US level is for the whole country, as the State Department sets it, and some countries have stricter advice for particular regions.
From each city guide, word for word.
Remote workers who want a ready-made coworking community, cheap skiing and mountains on the doorstep. A EUR 159 coworking month and a season pass that was EUR 869.20 if bought early make a winter of working and skiing affordable. For a permit, it suits people earning at least EUR 31,010 a year (the safer reading) from an employer or clients outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, ideally in IT work.
Anyone who needs a city: Bansko is a mountain resort town, and Sofia is about two hours away by bus. Anyone who doesn't ski, since winter is when stays cost more and the town revolves around the lifts. Anyone with an EU employer or Bulgarian clients, who the nomad permit shuts out. And anyone who wants hard numbers before moving: rents here are single listings, food prices come from a blog and a crowdsourced site, and there is no local internet speed.
Remote employees, freelancers and company owners earning more than EUR 31,010 a year (the safer of the two readings), from a company or clients outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, who want a legal year in an EU capital that uses the euro. It suits someone happy on public transport: a personalised card covering all daytime lines is EUR 25.50 a month. The US rates Bulgaria Level 1, exercise normal precautions.
Anyone with Bulgarian clients, or an employer in the EU: the nomad permit is closed to you. Anyone who earned under the bar last calendar year, and the bar rises with every minimum-wage increase. Anyone who wants a quick start: you apply for a D visa from home first, which takes one to two months, then wait two to four weeks in Bulgaria. Anyone counting on settling: nothing confirms the permit leads to permanent residence, and two law firms say it extends by one year only. And anyone for whom CBD or cannabis is routine: both are illegal and penalties are severe.
Most visas want health cover for the whole stay. Compare nomad health insurance · Build your trip checklist