(Editor’s note: This post on luxury apartments near Varna, Bulgaria, is not an endorsement. Dispatches receives no remuneriation.)
With price of real estate rising every day across Europe, the hot question is where to buy and, respectively, where to live? And for those fortunate people who can afford a summer home, I’m going to submit that there’s no better place than Bulgaria, where the housing crisis is something we read about in other countries across Europe.
With the housing crisis growing worse, the great thing is, a summer home can be your year-round home.
If you’re thinking “Bulgaria?” don’t – these complexes are marketed all over the world because the quality is high and the prices are low in global terms. The Varna area on the Black Sea in particular is seeing a building boom, with luxury apartments aimed at an international audience.
I’m thrilled to share info for all the fancy luxurious apartments just near my home city of Varna. Apartments are priced at about 800 euros per square meter. Compare that to about 8,000 euros per square meter in Amsterdam, where you’d be lucky to find that.
Prices in the area range from about 50,000 euros for a studio to as much as you care to spend, with stand-alone mansions topping 1 million euros.
At this point, the majority of expats in Bulgaria are Brits, looking for the Spanish climate, but at a significant savings. Obviously, if you don’t live in Bulgaria now, you’ll need a long-term visa to get started. Here’s the link to the Type D visa that allows you enter the Republic of Bulgaria multiple times. It is issued for the period of either six months or 12 months and is an essential requirement for all eligible applicants to be considered for a Bulgarian residence permit.
Aqua View Apartments
I begin with my favorite beach Kabakum, nestled in the greenery of nature park Golden Sands.
Aqua View Apartments offer the opportunity to live just steps from the sea near Kabakum Beach. Here, you wake up to the sound of the waves, have breakfast with a sea view, and within minutes, you’re enjoying a swim in the Black Sea.
Kabakum Beach is renowned for its nightlife and water activities, where everyone can find something to enjoy. Another advantage is the well-developed infrastructure nearby. The adjacent Aqua View SP Boutique Hotel offers for a fee laundry services, a massage therapist, a salon and a spa.
The complex has a swimming pool with saunas and lounge-cafe, playground, underground parking and guest parking with charging stations for EVs. All apartments have terraces, where you can drink coffee in the morning, work remotely or relax with friends while enjoying the views.
Just a few steps from your home, there’s an restaurant in the complex, and everything you need is nearby: mini-markets, restaurants and cafes, a sports complex, and even a university.
Varna’s city center is 12 kilometers away.
This project is a continuation of the Aqua View SPA Boutique Hotel.
KYB Kabakum
KYB Kabakum is a new gated community under construction a few steps away from Kabakum outside Varna. The seven-story boutique building offers only 37 apartments and is very private. These units are more upscale than the Aqua View, with lavish interiors and panorama views of the Black Sea from your terrace.
The project is aimed at investors as well as owners who want to rent out their property during the summer. Residents of the clubhouse, as well as their guests, will have access to Aqua View SPA Boutique Hotel and its facilities – the restaurant with a terrace, outdoor pool and fitness center.
Just one minute away, and you’re on the wide sandy beach of Kabakum, with crystal-clear seawater and a wide choice of restaurants, as well as beach and water sports – volleyball, water-skiing and more.
The gated community ensures absolute privacy for residents with round-the-clock security. The management company offers a wide list of services: concierge service, technical support, cleaning, dry cleaning, secure parking, and city shuttle service.
Floor plans range from 35 m² to 231 m² and you can see here where construction is as of August, 2024.
Botanic Garden
Botanic Garden is a new gated complex seven kilometers from the center of Varna city, near the St. Constantine and Helena resort complex. The overall concept is aimed at comfort: planned living space, lush vegetation and adjacent infrastructure, car-free courtyard, picturesque views of the sea and the forest. In a quiet area with its own infrastructure, luxuriously equipped buildings have apartments with gardens and panoramic terraces, amenities for the whole family in one place.
The complex includes high-quality building materials, a project of energy efficiency class “A”, the highest rating in Bulgaria.
In the complex there is an indoor fitness center, saltwater pool and yoga studio.
More than 50 percent of the site is landscaping designs, including rock gardens, small avenues, recreation and play areas. The location of the Botanic Garden complex provides easy and quick access to nearby amenities – restaurants, cafes, sandy beaches, spa centers, numerous tourist attractions and sights of the city of Varna.
This place is about what there’s not: traffic, congestion, no crowds and no noise.
The area is green, with lots of vegetation and fresh air. Apartments range from two to four bedrooms with a private courtyard, as well as panoramic terraces and views of the sea and the eco-park. The complex has an underground car park with individual garages and parking spaces and charging stations are planned.
Infrastructure is a key advantage of the project – an outdoor pool and wellness center, fitness room, playground, restaurant, dental clinic, pharmacy, shops and sports fields. There’s access control and 24-hour video surveillance,
Situated in Botanical Garden, it’s 20 minutes to the international airport in Varna.
You can buy turnkey two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments and the starting price is about 40,000 euros.
Varna View
The Varna View complex is under construction on 18,000 m2 of land, or about five acres if you’re an American. This complex, planned since 2022, is designed as an exclusive multi-use complex – residential, park, business and commercial areas with a sea view. Varna View consists of Agrix View, a commercial and business center and 10 residential buildings with 4 to 7 residential floors. Varna View includse studios, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments with areas from 36m2 to 135 m2, divided into three buildings with two residential entrances.
Prices currently range from 56,000 euros to 152,200 euros.
Varna View is an energy-efficient residential park complex. Each of the buildings is provided with its own solar park, and the whole complex is gasified. Integrated into the park environment the transport infrastructure includes roundabouts providing a fast and safe connection with Varna transport infrastructure.
Each has outdoor ground parking or underground parking spaces. The buildings are in a park environment, designed to maximize space, accessibility while accentuating the synergy of the architectural concept.
The park has more than 7,000 plants and trees. The residential complex park has more than 60 species of seasonal and perennial plants trees, shrubs, grass, flowering, evergreen and climbing plants accentuating the park details and the aesthetics of the lighting, according to the website.
With Northern and Western Europe increasingly pricey and in the midst of a housing crisis, suddenly Bulgaria is a tempting location in the European Union.
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Read more about Bulgaria here in Dispatches’ archives.
Kalina Varbanova freelance journalist based in Varna, Bulgaria. Kalina’s interests include culture, tourism, archeology and politics. She's been a Dispatches contributor since 2017, and has written some of our best-read posts.
