Destination Bulgaria: Entrepreneurs & Digital Nomads Head To Bankso, With Uwe Allgäuer

Today we travel to the Eastern edge of the Remote Work Europe territory, to the heart of Bulgaria's digital nomad revolution. I chat with Uwe Allgäuer , the mastermind behind the Bansko Digital Nomad Festival, and business formation service My Start Bulgaria. We discuss the transformation of a quaint ski town into a bustling hub for entrepreneurs and adventurers. Uwe's personal voyage from the high seas to pioneering a co-working community in Bansko, and an annual festival which gets bigger and better year on year.

We also touch on Bulgaria's enticing fiscal regime, discussing the nitty-gritty of setting up shop in this welcoming country. Whether you're an EU citizen or from further afield this episode is a treasure trove of insights on how to seamlessly integrate into the digital nomad lifestyle.

The core of our conversation steers toward the practicalities and perks of making Bansko your business base, or home away from home. Uwe generously shares his wisdom on overcoming bureaucratic hurdles to access Bulgaria's favourable tax rates. We emphasize the significance of planting roots with a paper trail and tax residency somewhere, for those unforeseen twists in life, while also celebrating Bansko's emergence as a year-round sanctuary for the digitally inclined. The town's unique melding of serene nature and a vibrant community creates an environment where both personal and professional connections flourish.

To wrap up we anticipate the 2024 Bansko Nomad Festival – an event where the entrepreneurial  borderless spirit is showcased against the town's stunning natural canvas. Hear about the serendipitous collaborations and spontaneous businesses that spring forth from this gathering of minds.

If the promise of rich face-to-face networking and a diverse array of experiences (including a keynote from Maya on remote collaboration) appeals to you, then get over to https://www.banskonomadfest.com/ and use the discount code MayaRWE_bnf24 at the checkout for a 10% discount!

And do connect with Uwe at https://www.linkedin.com/in/uweallg/ to keep up with all his exciting projects and announcements.

Transcript

Maya Middlemiss: 0:05

You're listening to the Remote Work Europe podcast, the show formerly branded as the Future is Freelance. The name has changed, but our values have not. We're still the podcast for solopreneurs, digital nomads and slowmads, consultants, remote workers, e-residents and everyone living a life without traditional boundaries. We're here for people who defy categorization, those who make a living and a life their own way in Europe and beyond. Fortnightly, on Fridays, we're serving up expert tips, inspired insights and stories from the frontiers of freelancing and the remote work revolution to help you achieve success with your borderless business and liberated lifestyle, whatever success means to you, as you live life on your own terms.

Maya Middlemiss: 0:51

Today's episode takes us from my home in Western Europe, in Spain, right over to the other side of Europe, because . I sit down with , whose name I really hope I pronounced correctly, who is the organiser of the Bansko Digital Nomad Festival. Now, the Bansko Festival is in Bulgaria, in a beautiful little village. It takes place every year, but I will let Uwe tell us a lot more about that and why this little town in Bulgaria has become such an exciting hub and a magnet for digital nomads from all over the world. I think you'll find it very interesting as well to understand a little bit more about the remote work culture in Bulgaria, and particularly the fiscal regime might be very interesting to anybody looking at cross-border business and migration. So sit back and enjoy this interview with Uwe and maybe I will see you in Bansko in June. Welcome, uwe. Thank you for joining us on the Remote Work Europe show. It's great to have you with us.

Uwe Allgäuer : 1:48

Thank you for having me, Maya.

Maya Middlemiss: 1:50

Well, I'm looking forward to learning all about the remote work scene in Bulgaria and Bansko, but first of all, can we learn a little bit more about Uwe? Tell me about your journey to what you do and where you do it right now.

Uwe Allgäuer : 2:01

Absolutely so. Originally. Originally, I'm from Austria. I grew up in the most Western part of Austria, so in the mountains, I'm used to mountains. But, however, I started sailing and I really fell in love with sailing. It became a passion of mine.

Uwe Allgäuer : 2:18

And on a sailing trip, there was a project by the name of Cobo, so they delivered the boat from the maledives to thailand in order to refurbish the boat and get nomads, uh, to sailing and to work on the boat, and so on and so forth.

Uwe Allgäuer : 2:34

Um, and this was the first time this was in 2014, the first time that I met digital nomads, actually and I was so fascinated by, by the people and I immediately realized this is my tribe, I need to be amongst these people. And that brought me to a very different journey, and Matthias was one of the sailors you know like when we sailed this boat from the Maledives to Phuket, and he and I then decided to start a co-working or co-living space. We didn't know at that time, and that's the idea was born on the boat, so to say. And then we realized that, um, yeah, somehow we were drew into bulgaria, to barnsko, as this is also a ski town, and this is when we started a co-working space because I do like travel, but traveling and living out of a suitcase is not my style. The idea was to invite people to me rather than I follow them and try to travel with them, and so the co-working space, co-working Bansko. Actually, that is how everything came into place in 2016,.

Maya Middlemiss: 3:46

Actually, Wow, so that's a long time in the evolution of remote working and co-working. You've been there from the very beginning. What was it about Bulgaria and Banska that attracted you then, if neither of you are native to the area?

Uwe Allgäuer : 4:01

Yeah, that's a very good question. We were looking actually in Austria because Matthias was living also in Austria at that time and, um, but we couldn't find anything, or we couldn't get a deal, or it just didn't work out in Austria, until a friend of ours came and said hey guys, have you looked into Bulgaria? And we were both shrugging our shoulders and we had literally no idea. And then we gave it a good think and we saw you know, like, what places would we be interested in? And this is when we realized there is a ski area, a ski town by the name of Barnsco. And then we got, yeah, we put a delegation of six people together and came to Barnsco in summer 2016. And we immediately it has this very special vibe here. It's a rural little town, it has a very special vibe and the summer is actually amazing. And we immediately fell in love. And one thing came to the other and, yeah, by the end of the year, we basically opened our co-working space.

Maya Middlemiss: 5:04

Amazing. So was it easy, as a foreigner, to start a business in Bulgaria? Then Did they make it easy for you?

Uwe Allgäuer : 5:10

Yeah, you know, like, within the European zone, within the Schengen zone or even Bulgaria wasn't Schengen at that time it's very easy to travel for the Europeans in the European zones, very easy to travel for the europeans in in the europe, in the european zones. And so we, we came here and for us it was just very easy to establish everything here. Um, and later on we realized, you know, like how this place actually, how, how attractive this country actually is, especially for entrepreneurs, because it has very low taxes, one of the lowest taxations in Europe, and you know like it's in Europe it's generally very bureaucratic to open a company and Bulgaria seemed very easy in that sense. So it was very fast, very easy, very affordable to open a business. And, yeah, living here, realizing that, you know like it was just easy to move here, actually I never thought about it.

Maya Middlemiss: 6:09

Right, that's interesting. Yeah, so it wasn't challenging with the language and the alphabet and everything being different.

Uwe Allgäuer : 6:16

Yeah, well, the language. There is a gap, unfortunately. Yeah, how is your Bulgarian? Not so well, not so good, unfortunately. Yeah, I try to learn here and there. Then you know, like we always have international groups, so we have people from all over the place, um, they come from new zealand, they come from australia, they come from, um, I don't know south america, every place you can imagine, and so you know like we talk definitely english to to our audience. But then you know, like, um, as this is this key area, people are used to uh, help people with, with, especially, there is a lot of people from england coming for holidays and so on. So the english here is is widely accepted. People speak english.

Maya Middlemiss: 7:01

Yes, for the basic needs, it's very easy sadly, that is the case throughout the remote work community, isn't it? It's because the Americans got to the internet first. Everybody has to learn English to work online. Pretty much we can't change that, but we just have to work with it.

Uwe Allgäuer : 7:18

I guess that's right, I mean you know, from that perspective and I really appreciate you saying this, I would love to be able to communicate in Bulgarian. Then it's very hard language to learn and, as you said, you know, like, the alphabet is Cyrillic, so I learned the alphabet so I can read, you know. Whether the words make sense is a different question. So, yeah, I think you know, like I also travel a lot and makes it even harder for me, especially I'm not a language how can I say superhero? So for me, language is always tricky, you know.

Maya Middlemiss: 7:51

Yeah, same here. And it is a problem with working remotely that you don't go outside that bubble professionally. You just stick with English. So, right now you mentioned it's very easy for people to move to Bulgaria. Is Bulgaria in Schengen? Now? I've lost track of where that line is.

Uwe Allgäuer : 8:08

Yeah, at the moment they were just introducing Schengen in March, and so there's still some adaptation going on and it's a bit tricky at the moment as they are just in between. But yeah, so the newest news? I I don't know exactly, but uh, it is schengen zone is is definitely coming. It was only by air for a certain period of time and, um, I think now also by land. I'm not too sure about that, but, um, maybe we can give your audience also some links to to look this up later yes, it's obviously a moving target at the moment.

Maya Middlemiss: 8:47

I know a lot of British nomads used to use Bulgaria as their reset. Their visa run to hop over the border before the 90 days or 180 days or whatever it is ran out.

Uwe Allgäuer : 9:01

That's right. Via air, this is not so easy anymore, so they have to go a little bit further To the east.

Maya Middlemiss: 9:08

what would it be? I don't know, Montenegro, or somewhere.

Uwe Allgäuer : 9:12

Turkish border? Yeah, maybe Albania. Well, it's quite easy to travel, Right.

Maya Middlemiss: 9:19

Okay, yeah, well, it's all accessible, isn't it? It's good motorways and you can travel, hop over the border for a bit and then come back.

Uwe Allgäuer : 9:28

Absolutely, absolutely. There is buses, there are airplanes, you can also relatively affordable rent a car and and so on and so forth. As I said, serbia, for instance, belgrade, you know, like um these are targets for nomads, they are very well known, I believe and um, frequented by by nomads. So there is lots to do and and uh, yeah, also from Bansko, you know like Bansko is basically on this axis of the Eastern European side. It's very close to the Greek border, so it's like from Bansko two hours and you are on the shore in Greece. And it's also on the axis towards Istanbul. So Bosporus, if you like to go there, it's not that far and there's public transport, it's very accessible actually.

Maya Middlemiss: 10:19

Fantastic, and you mentioned that it's also accessible from a business point of view, which is something I'm really curious about. My business is in Estonia, because I didn't want to have a business in Spain, but I think the Bulgarian is very favorable in terms of the tax regime for business. Can you explain a little bit more about that and how easy it is? Do you have to be resident in Bulgaria to have a business there? How does it work?

Uwe Allgäuer : 10:40

Yeah, that are very good questions, maya. So actually and this is one of my businesses I started a business since many people came to me in the co-working space and asked me hey, uwe, how does this work? And so on and so forth. I started a business by the name of MyStartBulgariacom and I help people with residency service and company information. So for a business to answer your question you don't need necessarily to have a residency. However, bottleneck are the banks.

Uwe Allgäuer : 11:09

Due to this very restrictive money laundering restrictions or laws or regulations, whatever you call them it is very tricky to open a bank account, which you need. Actually, in order to establish a business, you need to have a capital bank. There are ways around this, so you can buy a shelf company, for instance. That will allow you to get the business without residency. However, if you want to start a freelance business, so to say, if you want to start as a freelancer, you need to have residency. For non-EU citizens, it's a bit more complex. There are possibilities to do that. However, they're usually a bit more costly than for EU citizens. For EU citizens, it's very easy to get residency, as well as to start a company or buying properties also very, very easy to do, even for non-EU citizens, and the prices here are amazing at the moment. I mean they have been rising the past two years but still it is very affordable to buy property here in in vansko uh, bulgaria interesting.

Maya Middlemiss: 12:17

So just do you find that a lot of people who maybe come as a digital nomad they end up settling and becoming a long-term remote worker. Is there a remote work visa or digital nomad visa for bulgaria?

Uwe Allgäuer : 12:27

no, unfortunately, there was something in the pipe. They wanted to do a digital nomad visa and but that somehow never came to fruition and uh, yeah, that said, you know, like you have to be aware of the visa regulations and everything and um with schengen, it's very likely that this changes. However, if you decide to get your foot into the European zone, basically it is still very affordable, although maybe for non-EU citizens a bit more complex. In the end it's 10% profit taxes, 5% dividend tax, so it's very affordable in the end and if you reckon, in the long run this might spare a lot of expenses.

Maya Middlemiss: 13:16

Yeah, I can see why that's attractive, as I'm a Spanish tax resident. So that's amazing rates, that's very favorable. But it seems that, despite everything that the diversity of Bulgaria has to offer, people are converging on this one little town of Bansko in a big way. You started, you set up your business there and you're co-working. But what tell me about what's so special about this place? I do know a little bit, because I was there a couple of years ago and not everybody will have heard of it. So why should people come to Bansko?

Uwe Allgäuer : 13:46

absolutely. I mean, you know like, in the beginning, when we started out here in 2016, there was no digital digital nomad, there was no location independent person here. I mean maybe the occasional one or two, you know like on a ski holiday perhaps but other than that, when we arrived here, we really had to. I mean, matthias had a big network, I had a big network and we invited basically our friends, you know, to come and visit us, and this is how we started this place and now, I think you know it, it is on the map. So we have a huge remote work, digital nomad, location independent business entrepreneurs community here in barnsco, which is really, like, you know, as a nomad when you travel, it's, it's amazing, this, um, this freedom, this lifestyle, to to explore and to experience this and, and many people are really excited about this and so on, and I totally understand. However, on the other hand, you know like, you miss a little bit the connections with people or or the grounding, and I think barnsco offers, uh, this possibility to the people, to A, you know like, buy property very affordably, which helps also in the wealth creation, respectively, wealth protection topics. So, you know like, owning real estate is, I think, a good thing and I am, you know like.

Uwe Allgäuer : 15:10

Maybe you have heard about Christoph Heuermann no taxation, no paying, no taxes and so on and so forth, perpetual traveling and so on and so forth.

Uwe Allgäuer : 15:19

I am an advocate for having tax residency somewhere, as this, later on, it may play out if you don't pay any taxes and you do this perpetual traveling, you may come into a situation where it gets very, very tricky. And in order to avoid that and in order to avoid problems later on, or back taxes and so on and so forth, in my opinion it's much better to choose a country that offers a good trade-off between low taxes and services that may be interesting to you like maybe, for instance, health care, health insurance and so on and so forth and where you're established and later on, whatever happens, if you decide to go back to your home country or for whatever you know, life happens and we never know. So in that sense, it makes much more sense to have a place where you know okay, I do the due diligence, I pay my staff, and later on you will not have any issues Because you have evidence that you paid your taxes and that you're established somewhere, although you can enjoy the free lifestyle and travel and do what you like. You know.

Maya Middlemiss: 16:29

Yes, I agree. I'm a big advocate for having a home base and also for having a fiscal residency and a track record. One day, you're going to want to even retire. You might want to buy a property, you might want to finance something. You need to have that paper trail, and I do. Sometimes I meet digital nomads who have spent several years, often living a very complicated life because they're constantly counting days and visas and you know, I've got to leave this country before I trigger this and it's, it seems, like a full-time job in itself and at the end of the day, you think, well, this is what's going to happen long term for you.

Uwe Allgäuer : 17:05

yeah, absolutely, I totally agree. And also you know like, if I would have the feeling, and you know like this this becomes always more so the regulations always get more and it becomes more tricky, you know, to avoid those systems that are set in place by governments. It's not that I like particularly these regulations. However, if you try to avoid them, it's a job in itself and also you might not have the peace of mind because legislation constantly changes. So how can you see, be up to date? How can you be sure that you navigate in the legal realms? So it's much easier. I always say you know like, and sometimes I visit, I visit my coffee maker, this is how I put it. It so, therefore, having a base for me is a no-brainer and I think it's much easier to establish such a life situation where you have less this urgency or maybe something can go wrong or something like this. It's a peace of mind, basically.

Maya Middlemiss: 18:10

Yes, 100%. And also things like schools and hospitals and roads do have to be paid for. Nobody likes paying tax, but if you want to use these things, then somebody has to be contributing somewhere. So I think we have to pick a pin in the map yes, unfortunately, in one way or the other.

Uwe Allgäuer : 18:28

Uh, they want to have access, so, but you can freely choose where to pay taxes, and I think that's a big advantage as a, as a location independent person. Um, so you can freely choose. Okay, I, I rather pay 10 than 40 or 50 percent. Um, you know, like there's switzerland, there's cyprus, there's bulgaria, there is um, I don't know how the portuguese. They have also changed the regulations. It was very good for location independent, but I think that system has changed now as well. Yeah, there is plenty of other countries where things are very good.

Maya Middlemiss: 19:01

Yeah and people can. You can travel around, you can pick the one that you think you want to live in long term, and then you make your choice based on all the different factors. I feel like we pay a heavy sunshine tax in Spain sometimes, but it's better or worse. This is where we fetch up, but I'm looking forward to coming back to Bansko in a couple of months' time?

Maya Middlemiss: 19:23

Absolutely yeah, I'm looking forward to see you again, Well tell us a little bit about why I'm coming and the way that this little town changes for a couple of weeks every summer. Now this, the Bansko Nomad Festival, is getting bigger and better every year, but how did it start and what are you looking forward to this year?

Uwe Allgäuer : 19:43

it was only logical. You know like, having this amazing people here, having the community here, you know to start something that is more flashy. You know like, in a way, and um organizing an event, of course it becomes with it comes with a lot of challenges, but on the other hand, you know like it's amazing to really hang out with a bigger group of people and have this serendipitous, um, uh, encounters. You know like it's so amazing. I I love to tell this story as I think it reflects very well the vibe and atmosphere of the nomad fest. So, for instance, in in the last event, virginia and philip, they met for morning coffee and over the coffee they developed a business idea. And in the evening they were a group of seven people, they had a website online, they had a company already running and they sold tickets for nomad trail. So they developed the idea in the morning over coffee and in the in the evening it was basically up and running. You know like, in a way you cannot imagine, and these are the serendipitous moments and encounters you have at the nomad fest, where everything seems possible. There is people coming from, they're starting out as digital nomads, they don't know exactly how and where and when and what, and there are people that are very well established, and this all happens in an atmosphere, you know like, where we have professional speakers, we have unconference sessions, so where people can host their own sessions, and we have this I call it a playground for entrepreneurs, you know like where people meet and exchange in a very easy way.

Uwe Allgäuer : 21:25

It happens every year, uh, end of june. So end of june is the where the change, so winter season is done and it's just before the summer season. This year it happens on the 23rd until the 30th of June. It's a one-week event where we have different tracks. For instance, we have talks in the morning and then there is a park, like a green park in Barns, co. Where we meet in the afternoon, have the unconference sessions, and we have um, like parties in the evening. Um, and lots of you know like you can, whatever you're interested in, you will find it in the park at some point. You know like there is from meditation, yoga, wellness, health, uh, business, so all these topics and all the people who are interested in these different topics. There is something for everyone.

Uwe Allgäuer : 22:18

Basically, it started small, of course, and it started in 2020. So that was a bit tricky due to restrictions of traveling and so on and so forth. However, we had a small group gathering here I think it was a little bit short of um 70 or 80 people and um, it developed over time. Last year we had, uh, 750 people coming and this year we reckoning with thousand people. Um, yeah, we joined the nomad fest and I think it's an extraordinary event where, yeah, where people meet and there's so much positive energy in the air. I totally like it. I can highly recommend it, just to feel into this and get this vibe and understand. You know like, hey, what are these people doing? How are they doing this? You know, like, if you've never seen that before and if you're regular, you know you know why you're coming. It's a way to hang out, you know.

Maya Middlemiss: 23:17

I mean, I love working online, working remotely, and I think for a one-to-one conversation like this, to do this via technology is perfect, but for a one-to-many you can't beat that sensation of actually being there, being around People. When an event is happening, you learn so much. You pick up all those connections you mentioned, like people coming together to form a business, and even outside of the business, the social connections, the conversations, the things that happen in passing. If anybody is listening so far and you're already intrigued by this and you would like to know more, I urge you to check out the show notes of this episode in whatever device or app you're listening to this podcast, because you will find a tempting discount in there.

Maya Middlemiss: 23:59

It's a very low-cost festival anyway because it's very grassroots. Everybody organizes their expensive hotels or anything like that you're opting into, so for a week-long festival, it's excellent value to start with, but you can take even more of a discount if you use the link in our show notes. Now I'm really looking forward to coming back to Vansco to talk about how the way that we communicate online has changed over my ridiculously long time of working remotely. Can you give us a flavor of any of the other themes and speakers anything. I know it's early and the program is not released, but are there any teasers you can share with us about what people might expect?

Uwe Allgäuer : 24:35

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you know, like you mentioned, for instance, social connections, and I think you know like especially since we have had this 2020, 2021, very few social connections and whatnot. I don't want to go too deep into this, but now you know like having this ability to travel again and to meet other people. I think it's so valuable to meet people in person. And also you know like having this ability to travel again and to meet other people. I think it's so valuable to meet people in person. And also you know like, from our community, the digital nomad community, this location, independent community it's like people share freely and willingly. You know, like their expertise and their you know experiences and I think this is really the biggest value of all. You know experiences and I think this is really the biggest value of all you know.

Uwe Allgäuer : 25:20

One thing that I I can tell is that we have different tracks.

Uwe Allgäuer : 25:25

So some are focusing on health and wellness and in, you know, fitness and and all this, and there are other tracks like that focus more on business, so like wealth creation and wealth protection. So, for instance, coin is a big topic nowadays. And, yeah, also there is tracks for AI and technologies and stuff like this. So it's like we want to curate it better so that you understand, okay, I'm more drawn to this topic, you will find it there, and if you are more drawn to the professional side, you will find it there as well. And for each of these tracks we have speakers who are experts in this field and who can tell you more, and there will be lots of groups and lots of possibilities to exchange um, you know contacts, to stay in touch with the people. So we have, like you know, like it's a mixed bag of everything, in a way, um, where you can pick and choose whatever suits you, whatever interests you the most, and I think this is one of the things yeah, the Nomad Fest is really known for, you know.

Maya Middlemiss: 26:42

Yeah, I remember that from when I was there two years ago, this sensation that it's kind of happening throughout the whole town all at the same time, that everywhere you wander around, there might be an event going on here, or there's a couple of people with wristbands over there, and that you're all part of something that's there's a couple of people with wristbands over there, and that you're all part of something that's happening as a kind of general background vibe, even when you're not in a specific session, which was really powerful. I'm wondering, though, what do the locals of Bansko think about this happening once a year, all these people descending on their little town, which is quite small and peaceful? What do they think of all these nomads rocking up?

Uwe Allgäuer : 27:17

yeah, this is a good question. I think, you know, like the people here, as this is a ski town, people are used to have tourists, you know like, so it's not something you know like that many people come at a certain point or a certain period in time. It's just very well known. The people are used to that, you know. But what always fascinates me as bulgaria generally, because it's far further south, you know like the the climate here is is much better than when I compare, for instance, with austria. So you know, and um, you have these elderly grannies, you know, sitting outside of their house enjoying fun. You know, like, the neighbors meet at the bench and so on, and then you can see the traditional so, uh, one of the dishes here cooked locally is luteniza. Luteniza is like um, grilled paprika with tomatoes and they have this different recipes to make this. And um, you can see, you know, like in summer, you can see that the gran is cooking this traditionally outside, on, on, on a fire, on a bonfire.

Uwe Allgäuer : 28:22

You know, and uh, yeah, it's, it's a, it's a very interesting, um, like traditional small town, you know, basically on the foothill of the pier, in national park. So basically you have a forest in front of your, you know, doorstep, so within two minutes, for instance, I'm I'm in the forest and you can do forest. You can hike up to the peaks if you like like vichren is is one of the peaks here, close by that you can, yeah, hike up to. And also there's lots of small hikes and small routes you can do. If you're not into not too much into hiking, there's also smaller routes you can do which are really, it's really fabulous.

Uwe Allgäuer : 29:02

You're within this nature and um, in this rural space, and you know like it's it's so quiet here and it's I cherish the things that are not there. You know, um, for instance, there is no queuing, there is not, uh, you always find a parking space. There is no, there's no rush, there is no noise, there is no, um air pollution, and these are the things I cherish. You know like, um, it's a rural, quiet space and um, yeah, I, I totally like that air quality.

Maya Middlemiss: 29:34

I remember that just being able to see the crisp mountain peaks in the distance shows you how clear and clean the air is in such a beautiful place, especially now.

Uwe Allgäuer : 29:43

You know like during spring, you know you have all these flowers opening, you have this nice spring smell, you know like and that's why I think you know like people really fall in love with it. People really fall in love with it. So once they are here and we had this so often people booked for a couple of days or maybe a week or something like this, and then they said I decided to stay longer. They end up staying here for three months or even longer, as they really fall in love with this place. It's a magical place. It has some special atmosphere.

Maya Middlemiss: 30:15

I think you've painted a very magical picture of it for people both Bansko, the town year round, especially if you're into skiing, if you're into the whole winter sports scene and it's lovely that it's being sort of revitalized as a year round location for digital nomads and that they're bringing that to the town. And you mentioned about some crowds and pollution. Of course, that's the one thing that digital nomads don't tend to bring with them. They don't tend to have their cars and their cruise ships and everything else. It's just people with their backpack and come and bring their brains and their inspiration to the festival to interact with each other and learn from each other and then move on and take the story of Bansko out to the rest of the world. So I think people are probably going to be listening to this. They're going to be very tempted to book up for the festival. So booking is open now and the tickets you have a kind of a rolling schedule, so the earlier people book, the better it is for them. Is that right?

Uwe Allgäuer : 31:10

Yeah, that's right. So, like, the pricing is staggered. So the earlier you book, the cheaper the ticket is. Pricing is staggered, so the earlier you book, the cheaper the ticket is, and closer towards the event when it's happening, that becomes a little bit more. Yeah, the price is a little bit higher, but still, you know like, compared to other events, I think it's still very affordable and it's a one-week long event.

Uwe Allgäuer : 31:32

I think it's really, you know like, I think it's amazing for you know, I think it's really you know like, I think it's amazing for you know like, our vision and our biggest concern is to share experiences and also promote learning. You know like, so if you come, you have the chance to really have to get some value and to take away something with you, you, and to take away something with you, and I think this is one of the things that are, you know like, there's. The community is so big now that we have all these small chapters, basically, and they pop up by themselves. So somebody wants to have a meditation circle, so there is groups. Now you can find different meditation circles. Somebody wants to do yoga, so there's a yoga circle.

Uwe Allgäuer : 32:16

You know like, you find people. You know like, in in all over in different places, uh, all over the town, you know, and there are people, um, they're interested in Bitcoin, so there's a Bitcoin walking group, uh, where we meet every Saturday to walk and, um, just to enjoy both. You know, like, on one side, nature and, on the other hand, you know the connections with the community and the people. It's about like-minded people and you find your topic, that you are drawn to, and you find the people who are interested in that or have experiences and knowledge in that field, and it's so easy to get in touch with them, as this is such a small town where you can easily find or establish a group, either yourself or maybe existing groups that already suit you.

Uwe Allgäuer : 33:04

And I think you know, like in the beginning, I mean, we are victims of, of this atmosphere as well. So we got stuck here because we like this, this atmosphere, and we like this place so much and and I think you know, like, people recognize that and and that's why they're drawn, either drawn back to, or they stay just for an extended period of time because it's just so cozy here yeah, so do lots of people stay beyond the festival and just hang out for the summer or most of the people extend for three months and just hang out for the summer, or most of the people extend for three months.

Uwe Allgäuer : 33:42

This is a question now, how much this will be influenced by the schengen or by these rules. But other than that, you know like people, so summer is really the best time here. I mean, winter is great, you can ski, and but summer, you know like it's just amazing. The vibes here are amazing. There's lots of things to do. You know, like people meet in the evening for either, um, wine tasting or just hanging out. Other people meet for jam sessions. So, um, we have like bonfires in the forest, so there is like picnic areas in the forest where you can start a bonfire and we have jam sessions there. So people come with their guitar and they play a song and you can sing together and so on and so forth. So, um, we also have this silent discourse happening. So there's there's lots of things that you can or either can't imagine happening here.

Maya Middlemiss: 34:30

You know well, it sounds like I think a lot of people will be already traveling in their minds after listening to your words today. So where should they go? Obviously, they need to check the show notes for the discount code, but it's bandsconnomadfestcom. Is that the best place for people to discover more?

Uwe Allgäuer : 34:47

Exactly, absolutely so. Bandsconnomadfestcom is the website, so you can find all the information, also contact details, if you want to get in touch, if you want to become a sponsor. So there's possibilities there. Other than that, we still are looking for some volunteers. So if you want to sign up for a volunteer, you will also find this on the website. If you're interested, or for people who are interested to get in touch with residency or company information, you can use mystartbulgariacom. You can reach me there directly. I can help you. If that is something you're interested in Other than that, vansconomatfestcom, you can book your ticket and you can come and join and we can talk in person.

Maya Middlemiss: 35:32

Fantastic. Well, thanks so much for sharing all of that with our listeners today. I hope we're going to see lots of Remote Work Europe people pitching up at Bansko for that magical week later in the year. Uwe, thanks ever so much for joining us Absolutely. Thank you very much, maya, for having me Podcast brought to you by remoteworkeuropeeu. We bring you community information, training, coaching and more to help you achieve your location-independent lifestyle in Europe and beyond as an employee, entrepreneur, freelancer or whatever you want to be. If you enjoyed the show, please like, rate and comment and subscribe to our feed wherever you get your podcasts. If you really liked it, we'd appreciate a review as well. Here's to your remote work success in Europe and around the world.