2.58/5
120 reviews
Photo by Anton Atanasov via Unsplash

Plovdiv

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paphos

cities

cheap

part

reason

life

country

restaurants

expectations

drink

tap

water

nomadlist

safe

hills

good

Plovdiv is one of the most affordable and safest cities in Bulgaria. It offers beautiful scenery with green spaces, hills, and a walkable layout. The local people are friendly, and food is both delicious and cheap. The city is rich in history and culture but lacks a strong expat community and organized activities. While the living costs are low, pollution from cars is a notable downside, as well as the prevalence of smoking, even indoors. Some visitors have noted racial tension with graffiti in the city, though it has not led to direct violence. Still, for those looking for a budget-friendly and safe destination with good food and a relaxed atmosphere, Plovdiv can be a solid choice, but it may not compare well to other European cities in terms of overall quality of life and expat engagement.

AI-generated summary of reviews

Plovdiv is as far as we can tell the nicest part of Bulgaria, but we can't see any reason why a person should choose to be in Plovdiv or Bulgaria when there are better options available for all aspects of life that we care about. Bulgaria is the poorest country in Europe, with very high rates of smoking - people can smoke inside restaurants with impunity here. Quality of life seems generally low. However, the food is delicious! :)

The expat community, even for a relatively large city such as Plovdiv, is a fraction the size of a relatively small city like e.g. Paphos, Cyprus. In Paphos there's all kinds of activities organised for any day of the week. In Plovdiv, even in peak season, it seems quiet, with little to do.

We didn't have high expectations for Bulgaria, but we were curious and wanted to explore. Bulgaria was below our expectations, and sadly we plan never to return. We can't think of any reason to recommend Bulgaria above one of the many better choices out there such as Prague, Krakow, Budapest, Paphos, most other European cities.

2 years ago

The pollution from cars is the worst thing about Plovdiv. Well, also the showers that take up the entire bathroom. The fascinating, long history is the best thing here. People are polite, decent, and helpful.

3 years ago

I've been here for the last 5 months. People are extremely friendly, the weather has been amazing (on the too hot side, during the summer). You can drink tap water, Nomadlist, check that. It is very cheap, walkable, plenty of cafes, bars and restaurants. It is very safe. The gym scene is not great but you can survive. Not many hipsters, but overloaded with instagrammers (like everywhere else, I guess). All in all, it's a beautiful city, safe, affordable, welcoming (if you are white). Racist graffiti is all over, but I haven't heard of any violence. That part is sad.
Sometimes I think I'll stay here forever, sometimes other cities want me to know them.

6 years ago

According to all the sources I've read, the tap water in Plovdiv is completely fine to drink. Not sure why Nomadlist is saying it's contaminated.

Nice and green city, lot of parks and hills. Very cheap!

6 years ago

By far, one of the best cities in Bulgaria, located in the center of the country, with good views upon the Balkans + Rila Rodopi mountains. Has good scenery from 2-3 hills + cheap food/drinks and so on! Fully recommend for those who wanna see it!

6 years ago

✅ Very safe

✅ Very affordable

✅ Friendly people

✅ Nice scenery

✅ Walkable

✅ Good food

✅ Affordable to live

✅ Fast internet

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Roads are very safe

✅ Freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ People can speak basic English

✅ Safe for women

✅ Family friendly

❌ Pollution from cars

❌ Few expat activities

❌ High smoking rates

❌ Racist graffiti

❌ Not much to do

❌ Gets cold in the winter

❌ Very damp now

❌ Nomads.com members didn't like going here

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Hospitals are bad

❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+

❌ Many people smoke tobacco

❌ High alcohol consumption

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels

43 6°
cold

48 9°
cold

45 7°
cold

57 14°
cool

70 21°
mild

75 24°
warm

86 30°
warm

82 28°
warm

73 23°
mild

57 14°
cool

54 12°
cool

46 8°
cold

Real

44 7°
cold

48 9°
cold

45 7°
cold

57 14°
cool

70 21°
mild

75 24°
warm

88 31°
hot

86 30°
very warm

73 23°
mild

57 14°
cool

53 12°
cool

46 8°
cold

Humidity

nice
35%

nice
33%

nice
31%

nice
34%

nice
33%

nice
36%

too dry
27%

too dry
24%

too dry
28%

nice
35%

nice
37%

nice
36%

Most common

☀️ Clear

Rain

dry
43mm

dry
27mm

rainy
62mm

dry
50mm

rainy
59mm

dry
49mm

dry
14mm

dry
26mm

dry
13mm

dry
44mm

dry
24mm

rainy
52mm

Cloud

pockets
38%

pockets
29%

pockets
40%

pockets
37%

pockets
40%

pockets
39%

pockets
20%

pockets
21%

pockets
31%

pockets
43%

pockets
44%

Air quality

clean
44 US AQI

clean
40 US AQI

clean
37 US AQI

clean
35 US AQI

clean
29 US AQI

clean
30 US AQI

clean
25 US AQI

clean
30 US AQI

clean
28 US AQI

clean
44 US AQI

okay
50 US AQI

okay
56 US AQI

Sun

safe
1 UVI

safe
2 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

safe
2 UVI

safe
1 UVI

Remote workers

250 people

400 people

457 people

286 people

800 people

543 people

486 people

500 people

420 people

333 people

350 people

356 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Not all nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Plovdiv's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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Help pick the best photos for Plovdiv and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

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$1,998 / mo

17 Mbps

Sofia

Bulgaria

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 11° 52° 11° 51° AQI 39

✈️11min

$2,327 / mo

🌇 Also went here88 people

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Not all nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.58/5 (Rank #339) 120 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍3 liked it 👎2 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $1,960 / mo
📡 Internet	🙂 Good: 23Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥶 A bit cold: 16°C60°F (feels 17°C63°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	💦 Damp: 81%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Great: 23 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Great: 29 US AQI
👌 Safety	Good
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🤝 Lack of racism*	Bad
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	Very low: $622 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Okay
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city	Great
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Great
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Good
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
👩 Female friendly	Okay
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Bad
🎅 Startup Score	Okay

🌍 Continent	Europe
🚩 Country	Bulgaria
🗓️ Average trip length	11 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	23 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌦 16°C 60°F + 💦 Damp (81%) = feels 17°C 63°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 23 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👍 29 US AQI
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	TaxiMe
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 10 BGN in USD	USD 5.54
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	BGN 1,000 = USD 554
💸 Tipping	Yes, 10%
💻 Best coworking space	Biz Labs Plovdiv
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	6% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	340,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$7,465 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 45% 👱‍♀️ 55%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 54% 👱‍♀️ 46%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 85% 👱‍♀️ 15%
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Emag
🏠 Apartment listings	Airbnb
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Ryan Air
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Air France

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$1,960 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$1,090 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$1,418 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$405 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,135 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,886 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$232 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$53 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$62 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$162 / month
🍛 Dinner	$8
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$2
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$1
👩‍🏫 International school	$3,696 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$17 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$2 / trip