Sofia is the most expensive Bulgarian city to live in, closely followed by Varna in terms of the cost-of-living index, according to a regular report by Industry Watch, a private independent consulting group, cited by BTA.

Sofia and the Black Sea cities of Varna and Bourgas offer the highest pay for midrange positions with no tangible differences in the average pay in the three cities. By comparison, wages in Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city, and Stara Zagora (Southern Bulgaria) are over 10 per cent lower.

Of the major towns, Sliven and Yambol trail the remuneration table. However, they also have the lowest cost of living, with the purchasing power of 1 lev being 26 per cent greater than in Sofia.

Midrange positions have the following characteristics: employees can easily change companies or even industries if they wish to acquire knowledge that is new to them and useful for the employer; they are ages 25-45, have a basic knowledge of English, can easily adapt to a new environment and assume new functions.