Considering relocation to Budapeste

mduarte wrote:

Hi all,

I received a job offer for Budapest. However due the lack of knowledge about the city I'm finding some trouble on making a decision.

The salary is 450,000 HUF (NET amount) per month - Is it enough for a single person? Quite relative but I don't live an extravagant life.

We don't know anything about you, age, skill, education, job type etc. But 450K HUF is about EUR 1500. It seems pretty low to me what with rent, food, travel etc. But it depends if you want to survive or really live.

fluffy2560 wrote:

We don't know anything about you, age, skill, education, job type etc. But 450K HUF is about EUR 1500. It seems pretty low to me what with rent, food, travel etc. But it depends if you want to survive or really live.

Sorry, I pretty much disagree.
(First, it is closer to 1600 EUR which is little for a mid-aged executive in London, but quite a lot of money for most Hungarians -probably the upper 1-2% make more. But of course it all depends on what lifestyle you are used to. In any case, I thought I am having a very nice life from the same amount in Berlin, but hey, I am a "poor" eastern-european... btw, the median German net salary is around 1600 EUR)
As you can see from his/her profile, mduarte is in his mid-thirties and lives in Lisbon. Also, he will throw a big birthday party for us in ca. 2 months, probably in Budapest;-)

My purchasing power estimates:
Lisbon is somewhat more expensive than Budapest, but (from my memories in '98) it is a relatively inexpensive capital. Lets assume it is ca. 30% more expensive than Budapest, then 1500 EUR in budapest would have roughly the purchasing power of ca. 2000 EUR in Lisbon.
Alternatively:
As Berlin (another cheap capital) is roughly 66% percent more expensive than Bp., 1500EUR in Bp. would be similar to the purchasing power of 2500 in Berlin.(Correct?). This is within the usual (net) salary range for a young engineer in Germany.
So, result is: Staying in town, you could afford roughly the standard of life of a young engineer in a not-too-expensive part of Germany - which is considered quite good in many countries. The difference: this lifestyle is only for a few in Hungary. Of course this PPP calculation goes awry if you travel.
I guess, similar living standard would easily cost around 3500ish (EUR or GBP) in London.

As for actual numbers:
I'd estimate, you can rent nice 50sqm flat in a good, central area for 4-500ish eur all included. (My brother paid ca. 350 and it was already not bad! Many people pay 250ish further outside)
Look at this thread for a rent discussion and links:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=191353

For the location, for example you can look at the red metro line, e.g. around the stations Blaha Lujza Tér, Astoria, Deák tér - enough nice corners around there.(just my taste -I like inner-city locations). Metro cars go every 3 minutes in peak times, and 3 stations should take 5-10 minutes. (Blaha is good since tram line 4/6 also have this frequency but also offers all-night service!)

You can eat in a nice-but not posh - restaurant for 1500-2500 HUF. A taxi ride of ca 20 minutes should cost around the same. 5000 HUF for a meal is already pretty posh.
Bottom line: I personally think, if you have difficulties living from 1550 EUR as a young, single European, you DO live an extravagant life.
(If you come from another culture with totally different consumer basket, you cannot easily tell - e.g. having maids costs little in India but a lot in Europe)
Another important factor may be the price of the tickets for visiting your family.

This page also has some prices (partly due to me):
       http://wikitravel.org/en/Budapest
And there is this site - understand it as estimates, not precise numbers:
     http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/ci … y=Budapest

I do suspect though that the same job may buy you a somewhat higher living standard (and, of course, absolute salary) in Germany and similar countries.
Of course, living in Budapest should be considered a plus:-) but that is up to taste, too.

(Maybe I am just jelous, I am interviewing for a job in academic resarch for a third of that money - prefer that to going abroad right now.)

mduarte wrote:

Hi all,

I received a job offer for Budapest. However due the lack of knowledge about the city I'm finding some trouble on making a decision.

The salary is 450,000 HUF (NET amount) per month - Is it enough for a single person? Quite relative but I don't live an extravagant life.

1) What is a nice area to rent an apartment?
The job is near the Budapest sport arena.
I would a location near to public transportation and not far away from the job. I don't want to spend 1h to go to work and another go come back.

2) Based on your suggestion above, what would be the average apartment rent cost?
You can set a price range in HUF.


Many thanks in advance for your help

Hi mduartel,

With 450 000 HUF net, you will be fine living here. Some Hungarian families could live with that amount of income.

You should rent a flat nearby your workplace coz that area has many public transport lines (tram, bus, metro), not to mention there are shopping mall, stadium, cinema right there. 60 000 HUF will be enough for a nice, new flat around 50-60 m2 in that area.

Good luck!

fireroller wrote:

....First, it is closer to 1600 EUR which is little for a mid-aged executive in London, but quite a lot of money for most Hungarians -probably the upper 1-2% make more....

I didn't read the OP's profile. Graduates in the UK in subjects like IT or Engineering and a little experience can earn more than EUR ~1600 a month without too much trouble. If the poster is in their 30s, it still seems like not enough assuming at least 10 years since graduation and standard career progression.

You will live very comfortably from that amount, the only downside is if you are planning to save. The low absolute value of your income (and thus the portion of it you'll save) will add up to a measly sum each year.