Bulgaria, since emerging as a parliamentary democracy in 1990, is gradually shaking off its cold war legacy. Britons initially saw the country as a place to make money, snapping up bargain-priced properties on the Black Sea and in the ski resorts, to rent or to sell on. However, with Bulgaria having just joined the EU, more and more British people are coming to stay - a mix of young people wanting to get on the property ladder, retirees hoping to stretch their pension and parents who want a better quality of life for their children. Numbers moving to Bulgaria have doubled in each of the past two years, and official estimates of the British population now lag way behind the reality.British holiday-makers head for the beaches and ski slopes, but the new settlers gravitate towards the rural interior, which has spectacular mountains, forests, vineyards and lakes. Ten years ago, there was just one Brit, bar-owner Julian Hill, living in Veliko Turnovo, the scenic mountain city that was once the country's capital. Now there are 100, with another 900 or so in nearby villages. Some communities have been dubbed the "English village", and one gated development near the town of Bourgas has taken this as its official name.Bulgarian summers are long and hot, but in the biting winters temperatures often plummet to 15 degrees below zero.As for the political climate, young socialist prime minister Sergey Stanishev is often compared to Tony Blair. He has made huge efforts to crack down on organised crime - one of the conditions of EU membership. "Varna and Sofia are still mafia strongholds," says 36-year-old Hill, "but crime doesn't really affect most people's day-to-day lives." The economy is relatively stable and the currency is pegged to the euro. "All the British people here are self-employed - at least on paper - because you have to own a Bulgarian company to buy property with land here," Hill says. "A lot of older people have set up something in name and live like kings on their pensions. You can sit in any bar in town and hear these same people complaining about eastern Europeans going to the UK and taking jobs."Bulgaria, since emerging as a parliamentary democracy in 1990, is gradually shaking off its cold war legacy. Britons initially saw the country as a place to make money, snapping up bargain-priced properties on the Black Sea and in the ski resorts, to rent or to sell on. However, with Bulgaria having just joined the EU, more and more British people are coming to stay - a mix of young people wanting to get on the property ladder, retirees hoping to stretch their pension and parents who want a better quality of life for their children. Numbers moving to Bulgaria have doubled in each of the past two years, and official estimates of the British population now lag way behind the reality.