You should go where you feel comfortable.
From lifestyle and people you can not compare Cyprus to
Bulgaria. The former is an island which mainly serves tourists. The latter is a "normal" Eastern European country. The difference couldn't be any bigger. The result is that your budget will stretch at least three times further in Bulgaria than it does in Cyprus.
Since you initially wanted to settle in Georgia, than in Andorra (all because of mountains and nature), Cyprus does not exactly fit in.
Completely true in terms of the nature. But as a freelancer and small-business owner, I don't have a ton of free time. Nor do I spend a lot of time and money on leisure. In terms of budget, what are the differences if you get groceries and go out for dinner twice or thrice a week? And in terms of real estate, Cyprus seems to be in a nice spot too. Looking at the prices of going out and the supermarket, Cyprus is somewhat comparable to Spain, which is about 25% as cheap as where I live now. I seriously doubt my budget would stretch 3x as far in Bulgaria. If it really was that much cheaper I would probably just start ordering my food every day which is how I ended up spending like $25 per day on food in the Philippines.
Although Andorra would be completely perfect in the sense that I could enter the mountains whenever I would want, Cyprus has some major other perks, which I will list below. And keep in mind that the extra costs Andorra imposes on you monthly are bigger than Cyprus. I actually think Andorra is the more expensive place once you consider those things. 12% of average monthly earnings is a lot when you are young and healthy like me. And if I calculate the indirect costs from the 50k bond, it is easily like 200 EUR per month. That money is sitting in Altria right now, earning me an 7% dividend, taking it out would be a double whammy.
Cyprus still has way more nature than where I live, you have to imagine that I have been a city-dweller for a long time and basically have only seen concrete for years (apart from my stints in foreign countries).
This is of course completely subjective, but the ability to get British food occasionally (half the time) is a big perk for me. This might sound dumb, but when I am in Marbella or Alicante I always alternate between Spanish and British food. If I can not get my “fix” I usually start buying overly expensive luxury food which, in terms of budget, negates any factor by which a country can be cheaper in terms of groceries. The British have invented some kind of brilliant system that exports their entire culture across the world, and does it without making you feel like it's a total fake. Again, highly subjective, but after weeks in a foreign country McDonald's / American food won't soothe my longing for something Western, an English Breakfast or just pure grub is what I want and need. I am 100% sure that after two weeks in Bulgaria or Romania, I would already start to long for Western-European food. So huge perk.
I am currently looking at Paphos, and it seems to have somewhat of a
rich British pensioner vibe, which is again kind of perfect in the beginning. Working hard all week to then watch football in some dark sports pub is exactly what I want. Plus, all the time and energy that will go into relocating everything will have me way too busy the first 6 months to do nightlife in the sense of clubs.
The more I talk about Cyprus and read about it, the more I think it is the perfect place for me. I spend all my life in the big city and don't really want to live in a large city for the coming years.
My goal is also not to work less and spend more time on “fun”. I am looking for a place where I can branch out my two businesses, working like 50/60 hours per week, not having to spend too much time on how the regulator will respond. Then after the day is done, just sit outside and calm down instead of having to listen to traffic. Bulgaria would probably have me ending up in Sofia. For business, I will do some
crypto stuff too, which I want to use
offshore companies for. Cyprus seems just perfect for that because you can just take out the profits as dividend, and they have BTC ATM's as well.
Another perk is that it looks like there are towns that are peaceful with some nature without living in a town filled with “not from round here are ya city boy” type of people. I think trying to live in a town or small city in Bulgaria or Romania would be impossible for someone like me. In my current home, basic stuff like running is already problematic due to traffic and crowds.
The concern about tourists is very valid, but during the high summer I will likely not be in Cyprus anyway, so no problem at all. And even if they are in Cyprus all the time, it is not like they will be hanging around my apartment / house to bother me.
