On the map, Bulgaria looks small. But if we add all the places where you can hear "good day", smell banitsa and a calendar with the Rila Monastery hangs on the wall, the country suddenly turns out to be much bigger. The Bulgarian diasporas around the world are like dozens of "mini Bulgarias" – scattered across different time zones, but connected by language, memories and that quiet feeling that "there is home".
According to various estimates, about 3 million Bulgarians – citizens and people of Bulgarian origin – live outside the country. These are compatriots in dozens of countries, who often describe their communities in this way: "we have made a small Bulgaria here".
Where are the largest "mini Bulgarias"
The picture is diverse, but several countries clearly stand out in terms of the number of Bulgarian communities:
- Turkey – one of the largest communities, with hundreds of thousands of people of Bulgarian origin or citizenship, mainly descendants of emigrants and mixed families.
- Germany – today the most preferred destination in the EU, with several hundred thousand Bulgarians, concentrated in large cities and industrial regions.
- Spain – strong communities in Valencia, Madrid, Catalonia and Murcia, formed during the years of the construction boom and later.
- Greece – a classic direction for seasonal and permanent migration, especially in Northern Greece and on the islands.
- Great Britain – over hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians, mainly in London and large cities.
- USA and Canada – established communities in Chicago, New York, Boston, Toronto.
- Italy, Austria, Netherlands, etc. – tens of thousands of Bulgarians who fill in more points on the map.
There are Bulgarian communities in dozens of countries, and in some countries Bulgarians are also recognized as a national minority. For many, the second generation – born and raised abroad – already lives in the reality of two homes and two languages.
Why exactly these countries: work, language and the "chain of acquaintances"
The reasons why Bulgarians choose a given country are rarely only one. Several motives are most often intertwined:
- Economy and work – Germany offers a strong labor market and demand for engineers, IT specialists, doctors, but also workers in production and services. Spain attracted waves of Bulgarians because of construction, agriculture and lower costs in some regions. Greece and Italy were long "nearby" markets for seasonal and domestic work.
- Geographical and cultural proximity – Greece and Turkey are "a stone's throw away", with already existing communities, similar cuisine and climate, which facilitates adaptation.
- Language and education – English-speaking countries such as the UK and the US attract young people because of universities. German and Spanish are widely taught at school, which makes these directions more accessible.
- "Chain effect" – where a larger group of Bulgarians has once formed, emigration is self-sustaining: newcomers go to relatives, friends or "an acquaintance who will help for the first months".
For some people, the choice is not a "favorite country", but the "least bad option", in which they can provide better income and a future for their children. In this sense, geography often follows the economy, not dreams.
What a "mini Bulgaria" looks like abroad
If you pass through the neighborhood with the most Bulgarians in a large Western city on Sunday morning, you can easily feel at home. Characteristic signs:
- Bulgarian shops with the inscriptions "Bulgarian foods", "Rodina Store", shelves with lyutenitsa, white cheese and cookies from childhood;
- small establishments where a flag hangs, Balkan music plays and matches from the Bulgarian championship are watched;
- church communities, where people gather not only on Easter, but also just "to see each other";
- Sunday schools – children who study in German, English or Spanish during the week, and on Saturdays write in Cyrillic and recite "I am a Bulgarian";
- folk groups, who rehearse dances in a rented hall, and holidays such as March 3 and May 24, celebrated with even more pathos than sometimes at home.
Many say that it was only abroad that they started to actively celebrate Bulgarian holidays. The reason is simple: there, identity is not a background, but something that you have to consciously protect – with language, food, songs and rituals.
Do they miss their homeland – and what do they miss most
The question "Do you miss Bulgaria?" is often followed by a pause. Because over the years, "homeland" is sometimes divided into two realities – the place from childhood memories and the place from the news. The first is the home of grandma, the sea, the mountains, the street where everyone knows each other. The second is the political crisis, low salaries, the feeling of injustice.
Many people admit that they miss the most:
- family – elderly parents who cannot travel often, grandchildren who see their grandparents once a year;
- language and humor – the ability to joke "as it should be", without searching for words;
- nature – the proximity of sea and mountains, the feeling that you are in a completely different environment in an hour.
At the same time, many are afraid of returning, if this means giving up the stability they have built – work, school for the children, social systems. So they increasingly talk not about "one homeland", but about "two homes" – "where I was born" and "where I settled".
Bulgaria, which is expanding – and exposing empty places
The Bulgarian diasporas around the world are both a wealth and a painful mirror. Wealth – because they create a network of people who can be bridges for business, culture, education, who send money and ideas back. A painful mirror – because behind every "mini Bulgaria" outside there are also empty houses, closed schools, entire villages with lit windows only in August.
For the people in these communities, life between two worlds is often described simply: "You get used to missing a little bit of everything – both from there and from here." And perhaps it is in this split that a new version of Bulgarian identity is born – one that does not end at the border, but follows people where they have chosen to seek a better life, without completely letting go of their roots.