Relocation to Bulgaria at Age 52? Here’s What Happened Next.

My bosscalled me into his office one day toward the end of 2008 and informed me thatmy job was being relocated from Tel Aviv to Bulgaria. If I didn’t agree to relocate, someone would be chosento replace me. I thought it was too late in my career to consider an offer ofrelocation, so this took me by surprise.

I told my wife that we neededto talk.

At the time, I was a divisionmanager in an Israel-based company providing marketing and support services inthe online gaming sector. I had been working at the company for four years. “Wehave one week to decide whether to relocate,” I told my wife.

Being forced to make alife-changing decision in such a short time was the deciding factor. If we hadmore time to think about relocation, we would have probably rejected the offer.After all, my wife and I had aging parents to care for and we couldn’t seebeing away from our children, even though they were already adults. And whatwould we do with our house? Our cats?

Bulgaria. We had never evenconsidered traveling to the country on a vacation, less moving there to work. Ina quick, somewhat impulsive decision, we accepted this once-in-a-lifetimeopportunity.

I relocated to Sofia inJanuary 2009 and my wife arrived three weeks later, in the midst of a ferocioussnowstorm. Our new lives were about to begin.

Workingin Bulgaria, Touring in Bulgaria

All my tasks andresponsibilities as a division manager moved to Bulgaria with me. But now, Iwas managing my team in Tel Aviv remotely from Bulgaria.

My coworkers in Sofia wereBulgarians, but everyone spoke English in the workplace. They were all muchyounger than me – the age of my children. They spent their nights at Sofia’sbars and clubs, and their weekends on the ski slopes in winter, and on theBlack Sea beaches in summer. My wife and I utilized our free time to explorethe country.

We visited the picturesquevillages. We learned about Bulgaria’s colorful culture and history. We touredPlovdiv and Varna, and the famous Rila Monastery. We dined on nutritiousBulgarian cuisine and made many new friends. And all this without learning anythingmore than basic Bulgarian.

And then before we knew it,our two-year contract ended, and it was time to return home.

In MyWriting, I Return to Bulgaria Every Day

After resuming my job inIsrael, I found that I couldn’t stop thinking about Bulgaria. But I soon foundthat I was able to return to Bulgaria every single day – in my writing. I grewup with the dream of becoming an author. Even today I write all the time. And it was my writing about Bulgaria, based on myexperiences there, that really got my creative juices flowing.

I published my novel Valleyof Thracians (January 2013). The bookis a suspenseful tale of a Peace Corps volunteer who goes missing in Bulgaria,and of his grandfather who launches a search for him against all odds. Mysecond novel The BurgasAffair (published in Bulgarian in2016 by Ciela, and in English in 2017) is a fictional account of the aftermathof the 2012 terrorist bombing in Burgas, in which five Israelis were killed inthe blast, along with their Bulgarian bus driver.

Rakiya – Stories of Bulgaria

I am proud to announce thepublication of my new book, Rakiya –Stories of Bulgaria (GenZ Publishing, June 17,2024). In the eleven stories of Rakiya, you'll meet a motherpickpocketing tourists in order to support her daughter. An elderly war veteranashamed of his actions during the Holocaust. Two brothers hunting a killerbear. A Syrian refugee working in a Sofia bakery. A femme fatale disappearingat an international writers’ conference. And two neighbors competing to see whomakes the best alcoholic drink.

In Rakiya you'll hearthe voices of native Bulgarians as well as see the country through the eyes ofthose visiting Bulgaria for the first time. You'll experience Bulgaria's uniquerich history and traditions and explore the country's picturesque villages andstunning nature. You'll get a virtual taste of Bulgarian cuisine topped offwith the country's traditional alcoholic drink – rakiya.

If I hadnot accepted the relocation offer and had not worked for two years in Sofia atage 52, I would never have become a published author!

Orderyour copy of Rakiya –Stories of Bulgaria today!