Be careful what you wish for as it might come true. A tricky saying that could sum up my life pretty well. For the past few months living in a big city and having a regular full-time job have been on the top of my wish list. Now, having moved to Sofia and starting a new job is pretty much what I've been looking for. Well, I have to admit I have never thought I would live in Sofia and, what is more, Bulgaria has never been on my travel wishlist. Anyway, here I am.
Having arrived to Sofia last weekend one would think I have already done loads of sight-seeing, tried the local cuisine, checked how the public transport works, visited museums ... Not exactly. I have only gone to the centre today, just to see how it is and I have to admit, it's very different from all the places I have ever been. Well, maybe some parts of Sofia reminded me of Tallin or Tartu, but only because of the socialist/communist architecture. Otherwise, I can't compare with anything. The centre of Sofia is a bit special. One street can feel like an immigrants' part of the city, while in the parallel street you can find Versace or Escada stores. The majority of buildings is covered with graffiti and most of the side-walks are paved. Badly paved. I must have nearly sprung my ankles like a hundred times while walking around the city for three hours. I probably would have killed myself within 30 minutes if I had been wearing high heels. The other thing I had noticed when walking the streets of Sofia are dogs. Harmless, abandoned dogs. I have never ever seen so many streets dogs in my life. I would gladly take with me a dog or two, especially when they give me the please take me home, I have no one look, but as I'm staying at a hotel at the moment, that's not really an option.
However, there is something in Sofia that makes it intriguing. Maybe it's the kindness of the locals or many little shops with colourful windows where I more or less stopped at each and every one of them (I found the most beautiful vintage-clothes shop ever and also a few lovely shops with interior design and I have already imagined how marvellously I could set up my apartment, which I a still looking for, fyi), maybe it's the amount of trees, which I have been imagining all green and blooming in a few months or maybe it's just me, wishing so badly to feel at home in Sofia as soon as possible. I have to admit, it's definitely not easy, well it's basically impossible, just arriving somewhere and feeling at home, if you actually don't have a home yet. This is actually one of the things that is making me anxious. Finding an apartment is never easy, but if you don't know the town, if you don't speak the language and if you're working most of the day, it's impossible to find an apartment on your own. Apartment offers come and go very fast, owners change their minds ever faster and in order to find an apartment that suits you, you have to be the fastest. Well, in my case my real-estate agent has to be the fastest. I have one more week to find an apartment and I have just realized how big Sofia is and how bad the traffic is, so I am quite limited when deciding where to live.
I guess the real adventure in terms of living in Sofia will only begin once I find my own apartment and settle down, so from next weekend on, expect some secret-revealing posts!
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