a curated guide to Bulgarian village life
Не квадратни метри.
A way of living.
A small editorial collection of Bulgarian villages worth knowing — what life there actually looks like in February, what's hard about each one, and what it takes to buy a house in one. Curated, honest, and updated by hand.
The collection
Villages we love
6 villages so far. Each page is written and edited by hand, with practical detail on winter access, internet, the nearest hospital, and what's actually hard about living there.
Велико Търново / Veliko Tarnovo area
Арбанаси
Arbanasi
A historic village on a plateau above Велико Търново, with 17th-century fortified houses, painted churches, and Sofia thirty minutes closer than you'd think.
Стара планина / Stara Planina (Gabrovo)
Боженци
Bozhentsi
A protected architectural reserve of stone houses and cobbled lanes, where time slowed down sometime around 1880 and hasn't quite caught up.
Стара планина / Eastern Stara Planina (Sliven)
Жеравна
Zheravna
A village of 17th-century wooden houses on a Sliven hillside, famous for its costume festival and even more for the bread oven on the upper square.
Западни Родопи / Western Rhodopes
Ковачевица
Kovachevitsa
A stone village clinging to a steep slope above the Mesta valley, twenty minutes from Лещен but feeling like a different mountain altogether.
Родопи / Rhodopes
Косово
Kosovo
A stone village hanging off a southern slope, where the bakery still smells like wood smoke and February is a different country.
Родопи / Western Rhodopes
Лещен
Leshten
A restored stone hamlet on a south-facing terrace, more lived-in than touristic, where renovations actually finish.
Recent writing
From the editor
Long-form pieces — village portraits, comparisons, practical guides. One every two to three weeks. See all writing →
Voices
The people who live there
Interviews with people who actually moved, returned, or never left. Their words, lightly edited. All voices →
17 May 2026 · An interview
Марина Петрова
Sofia → Косово, 2022
We thought we were leaving for the quiet. We didn't know we were arriving for the people.
Марина moved from Sofia to Косово three years ago with her husband and an eight-year-old. We talked to her about the first winter, the neighbours, and what she wishes she'd known.
Read the full interview →