It all happened quite spontaneously. Three years ago, Rhyes Douglas visited Bulgaria’s second largest city Plovdiv on his friend’s recommendation. Rhyes Douglas is a British digital nomad who lives wherever he wants and works remotely. Rhyes said he had travelled across Europe, but when he arrived in Bulgaria for the first time, his life took a 180 degree turn. “I came for a month, fell in love with Bulgaria and I have stayed here since then. And here I am, in Plovdiv, where I have been living with my girlfriend for three years now. And guess what – I am no longer a nomad, because I’ve settled permanently”, says Rhyes Douglas.
However, tens of thousands of people know Rhyes as Jamal. The number of followers of his You Tube channel – Jamal in BG has grown by leaps and bounds. Now he has nearly 28,000 subscribers from around the world. Meanwhile, Rhyes does not tire of sharing his life experience in Bulgaria online.
“I fell in love with the local climate, culture, cuisine and nature immediately”, Jamal contends. His first impressions are from Kapana Fest in Plovdiv. "I liked all these colorful flags, the crowd, the music and the incredible variety of tastes. There I tried the traditional flat sausage and rakia brandy for the first time. It was amazing!”, says Jamal and adds that he stopped feeling like a foreigner in Bulgaria long ago. He speaks some Bulgarian, but complains about the difficult grammar and the masculine and feminine forms, which are not present in the English language.
In his view, Bulgaria is the perfect destination for young people who want to achieve something in life.
Photos: courtesy of Rhyes Douglas
From the noisy kitchens of London restaurants with Michelin stars to a village hidden in the forests of the Rhodope Mountains, Petko Sharankov's path is full of twists and turns. After living for many years in the British capital where he mastered the..
As the BNR’s initiative “Awakener (enlightener) of the year 2024” enters its last stage, we present one of the most active volunteers from the Bulgarian community in Chicago, the US. Her name is Zhechka Geshovska, she was born in Dimitrovgrad in..
Twenty-seven years ago, a Bulgarian mountaineer left his country in the grip of social and economic instability to fulfil a long-held dream. With about $3,000 in his pocket and a backpack, Constantine Zlatev set off for the US to climb one of the..
+359 2 9336 661