andrewducker: (Default)
andrewducker ([personal profile] andrewducker) wrote2017-09-08 12:00 pm
channelpenguin: (Default)

[personal profile] channelpenguin 2017-09-08 12:35 pm (UTC)(link)
But they don't want foreigners. Not even highly skilled ones. It is a baffling attitude (to me)
danieldwilliam: (Default)

[personal profile] danieldwilliam 2017-09-08 12:44 pm (UTC)(link)
It is a bit peculiar.

When the population falls to 3.5 million pensioners we could sneakily pay them to adopt us and become Bulgarians.
danieldwilliam: (Default)

[personal profile] danieldwilliam 2017-09-08 01:08 pm (UTC)(link)
In all seriousness there are two things I'm mulling over her.

One is, what does happen to a country that is depopulating (relative to its neighbours). Particularly if that country is part of a free trade and free movement union like the EU.

Basic economics suggests that the price of land and property will fall quite a lot and the price of labour probably rise a little and that would encourage people to retire there.

The second thing I'm mulling over is that, if you are a poor Eastern European country and you join the EU and you don't want people to move to your country (and the criteria for Bulgarian citizenship include learning Bulgarian, so they seem serious about that) what were you hoping would happen? If there are good jobs with better pay in nice cities in other countries on offer to your young people and you are actively discouraging people moving in and you don't want your country to end up being a half-empty holiday rental retirement home why did you join the EU?

What ever the Bulgarian for puzzled is, I'm puzzled.
channelpenguin: (Default)

Re: Why join the EU?

[personal profile] channelpenguin 2017-09-08 01:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Though I hear it is getting quite popular with "Digital Nomads" due to easy company setup. But obviously they don't stay...

I wonder how hard Bulgarian is to learn? Fairly. Plus, no amount of cheapness makes a country with mostly old hardline nationalists all that appealing...
danieldwilliam: (Default)

Re: Why join the EU?

[personal profile] danieldwilliam 2017-09-08 02:50 pm (UTC)(link)
I genuinely wonder if it would be tolerable if you could encourage about half a million people to move to Sofia.

EU nationals get to vote in local elections...
danieldwilliam: (Default)

Re: Why join the EU?

[personal profile] danieldwilliam 2017-09-08 02:49 pm (UTC)(link)
That makes sense as a model. Bulgarians must like their parents even less then Gen-Xers do.
randomdreams: riding up mini slickrock (Default)

[personal profile] randomdreams 2017-09-09 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
yeah, I was all sympathy right up until that, and then I was all oh hey you've built a depopulation feedback system on purpose.