As of the 29th of October,
1 USD = 0.86 GBP
1 USD = 1.96 Bulgarian Lev (BGN)
Thus, using USD as a baseline of 100%, we can say that the British enjoy a currency that is 110% more valuable than that of the Bulgarians.
We’re better off, right?
Wrong.
Much like with GDP, the numbers game means little on its own. What is really important is the standard of living attainable by the ordinary man and his family.
When you consider a holistic economic picture including the price level of essential goods (with a particular focus on housing), it becomes clear that ordinary Bulgarians enjoy far higher purchasing power than ordinary Brits.
Initially I attempted to search for the cheapest 1 bed flat available for rent on the top listed website for both Sofia and London. However, since property is so expensive in London people have been reduced to renting a room with an en suite, under the guise of ‘flat sharing’ with multiple random strangers. Since this arrangement doesn’t exist in Bulgaria, and most ‘1 bed flats’ available in London were actually a room in a flat share, the only fair comparison was between 2 bed flats.
Searching for the lowest priced 2 bed flat for rent on the first website displayed gives us an interesting result:
Sofia, Bulgaria = £285
London, England = £775
Using this heuristic, we can say as a rough estimate that rent is 272% higher in London than in Sofia.
And frankly, this is generous to London. The true discrepancy would be significantly higher, for a number of reasons:
The Sofia property was from an English language website. This will command a premium, and far better deals will be available for native Bulgarians. Unfortunately, I don’t speak Bulgarian, so I couldn’t make a perfectly accurate comparison.
The Bulgarian property is of a far higher quality. It has been recently refurbished, has a balcony and access to a storage basement, and is a newer build. It is a normal let, whereas the London property description says: “Why is the price so good: Because this living space is part of a Property Guardian scheme. You will occupy the property on a monthly rolling Licence Agreement. It’s flexible: So, we only have to give each other 28 days notice. As a live-in Property Guardian: You not only get affordable accommodation on flexible terms, you're also doing your bit for the community by protecting this property (simply by living in it). In order to be a Guardian: You have to be 18 and over, employed and not have any children or pets living with you (goldfish are fine..). You also can't smoke inside the property (outside, in designated areas is fine). The legal bit: As a Property Guardian you will occupy the property on a Licence Agreement, not a tenancy. Also, we cannot be sure for how long this property will be available to occupy.”
The London property involves living with black people in a high crime area. The Bulgarian property involves living with white people in a low crime area (be honest, this is important).
Rent is the most important statistic, it is essential to have a nice, affordable place to live. Easy Amazon delivery is a frivolous bonus, unless you are physically disabled. Just go to the shops or wait a bit longer.
The twin statistic of rent is income. GDP per capita is not a great statistic, as it is the national income divided up evenly, as opposed to a statistic which includes income inequality in some way. However, Bulgaria’s seriously poor Gypsy minority (at least 10%) skews any kind of median statistic, and renders it basically unusable.
GDP per capita, PPP (current international $) - Bulgaria, United Kingdom:
Bulgaria = 26,700
UK = 49,700
The UK is 46% higher
Income inequality is similar (Bulgaria 0.40, UK 0.35, > is worse), but again, that includes the Gypsies. In terms of average Bulgarian vs average Englishman, I feel confident in saying that the former is better off. I honestly don’t know what kind of multipliers would make some of these statistics I have used fairer.
Average income for the UK is far better, but Bulgarians are reported as only spending 14% of their income on housing, water, electricity and fuels for household use. That’s only 602 USD PA!
In the UK the ‘30% rule’ is the popular metric for what you should spend on rent relative to your income. But in today’s society many people have to break that rule and spend a lot more.
Numbeo says rent prices are 220% higher in the UK than Bulgaria, with local purchasing power being 96% higher in the former.
So I would say that because rent affordability is by far the most important metric for standard of living, the average Bulgarian has a better quality of life than the average Englishman. Property is simply a nightmare for working class people in the UK.
But the best of both worlds is for Britons young and old, but particularly young, to create a nest egg of savings in GBP and deploy it in the Bulgarian property market.
This doesn’t seem to have caught on, even though many Bulgarians take advantage of this situation by working in the UK for a few years to create such a pool of savings.
Since we’re both White, Christian, European countries, I don’t view easy movement between the two countries as much of a problem, as long as there is respect for the culture and identity of the host country and the numbers aren’t too high. And frankly, since the UK is taking in all of these other random immigrants, it’s not like most people could plausibly object to the social pathologies of the Gypsies being more widely dispersed, as opposed to concentrated on the long suffering Bulgarian population. And if the UK government didn’t give the Gypsies welfare, they either wouldn’t come in the first place, or would also work, and then go home.