Cost of living in Hungary....?

Hi,

have you seen this topic? cost of living in Hungary

Wow, 100,000 Huf is not going to go far at all. By the time they take out taxes, you are going to be left with finding a second job. Most of that is going to go for rent. Most rentals also require the renter to pay for the 'common' fees of the building, which is determined by the sq. meters of the apartment. Then you will have to add in utilities. Hungary has the highest electric rates in Europe.

Gas and electric run us about 20,000 a month. We pay 23,700 in common fees. We own our apartment, so we don't pay rent. Our common fee is higher because we do not have a water meter. If we did, we would be paying a water bill too. Common fees cover lights in the hallways, an elevator if there is one, cleaning the hallways, maintaining the building overall.

When we first moved here, my partner and I could shop for three days for 5,000 Huf. Now it is more like one day. Prices have skyrocketed by 11% annually.

My Internet cable costs me 17,000 a month for a premium service, but I don't have the highest premium. That does include the phone too.

A monthly pass for transport costs 8,250 Huf for one person. It is good on all transport throughout Budapest.

Ryan

Hi
Thank you so much for this info.

The amount 100,000 HUF is after tax ie my NET salary.
so is this a good amount?

I would appreciate if you can  help me by giving a quick rounded figure for the following:

Monthly rent for a flat(1 or 2bedroom)-
Monthly Food Expense

Thanks in advance !

Hi,
We have a friend, a single man, coming here to attend the university. In trying to assist him in finding a place, without much knowledge of Hungarian, I have only been able to find flats ranging from 400 Euros to 600 Euros a month for rent alone. These are only studio or one bedroom flats. This does not include all of the other fees that need to be paid: utilities and common building fees. Know that foreigners will always pay more than Hungarians. They think that foreigners are their pot of gold and will try to get everything they can out of you. They don't care if you are working for a Hungarian salary or not.

When we were using our charge card for grocery shopping, it ran about $525. (American) a month. Okay, we run a bed and breakfast, so part of that is breakfast for guests. However, I would estimate our own food to run about $425 a month. I earn 132,000 Huf teaching full time at a university. If we did not have the B and B to supplement our income, we would be surviving okay, but we don't pay rent either.

The cost of living here has doubled since we moved here in 2001.

Hello, we are 2 students from Croatia who are going to attend the university in Budapest in 3 months and live there for a year. We have found an apartment in the 8th district, Jozsefvaros, in the Fuveszkert utca, it's a one-room apartment, the flat is a new built. We are paying 550 euros per month- is that a usual price for an apartment in that district (the agency IBUSZ provided us with that apartment- is that agency reliable?). We have read on forums that that is the worst district in all of Budapest. Is it really so bad and could anyone tell us if our street (if somebody knows it) is situated in the "bad" part?
Thank you!!
J&I

Hi, my suggestion is to wait for the confirmation of that flat, the Hungarians call the VIII district as "Ghetto", not as Jewish quarter, but as a real bad place, by the way you can find better for less in a central position, if you are young, using public transportation and and preferring for sure, more safe areas.
Don't forget: as foreigner in Budapest, you are just a lemon to squeeze.
For any help please, let me know.
Cheers

i have a question also..
i am from Indonesia and i am currently going to give my expected salary to the company that going to hire me. i do not know anything about Hungary and how much does it cost to live there. i have a wife. how much is it do you need in euro or HUF is a "SAVE SALARY"? because the company that going hire me ask me back how much do i ask for the salary to go to Hungary. i am planing to ask for 2000 eur to 2500 eur. is it enough for 2 people? can i have savings? how much is enough or more than enough?
Please reply and give details also..
i a running of time to anwer them.
Thanks alot.

Hi!
I am Hungarian and I live in Denmark and in Hungary, too. So I know, what mean to start a live in a new country. 2000 euro is enough, but 2500 better
Hungary is a jungle, you have to be very clever to save money.
The biggest part of the budget is the renting. It is up to use car or not. My opinion the cheapest way to use car, because the cheap supermarkets for example Auchan is outside of the city. And very nice cheap flats there are not in the city center.

Good day from Budapest.
You have to think that the rent will cost around 120.000 huf/month with the building costs, but not with water, electricity, telephone.
With a salary of 2.500 Euros you can live and save money (actually 1 Euro = 275 huf), it depends also by your life style, and if you have some benefits from the company. One flat out of town is cheaper, but your you can live in the center in good areas and you will gain a better quality of life. The center is beautiful, but you have to keep the eyes well open, the country actually is a mess and the Hungarian they like very much to cheat a foreigner.

For a better shipping you have to go out of Bp, ut you can reach the sites with public transportation or a taxi, but ask before the price to who receive your phone call!!!
.
This is a quick reply, I will be very happy to give you more detailed information, if you get 2.500 Euro month say yes, by the way.
Ciao
Giuseppe

wow..thanks alot guys..your information help me alot. hope we can meet IF i got in..thanks alot..

2500 euro is fairly very good salary/month, but i think you wont't get it )) If yes, that's about net 350.000 HUF.

Don't belive the other guys: you can rent a fully ok. flat in the city center for 80-90.000 HUF (even you can have for 50.000, but that will be smaller).

Think about +25-30.000 HUF for expenses (water, power, heating, net). Don't rent a flat with "remote heating system" (in Hungarian: tavfutes), the price of it is a horror.

Food depends: you can do it from 1500-2000 HUF/day, if you go often to restaurant, it's more expensive. McDonalds menu is about 1000 HUF, main food in a restaurant starts from 1000-1200 HUF up to the stars. But comparing to western eu countries, Hungary is very cheap.

Don't be afraid, no common problems are here, but it's very fashionable to spit back to the country from abroad, right Kati? Although some state owned services are funny, and personal relationships determines dozens of things, you can get a pretty good life here.

(moderated: no free ads)

Dear Rebeca,

Cafè Mirò Grande is one of the crappy restaurant in the crappy Liszt Ferenc ter, the last place to visit in Budapest, if you are the owner, please, advertise it somewhere else, we are trying to give good and real tips to travellers coming in this town to enjoy or to work and not to be cheated.

I suggest you as well, to don't put this advert on "tripadvisor.com", it will be censured immediately.

Cheers
Giuseppe

Hi guys
I've received a job offer from an international company in Budapest. They are offering 200.000, and I just assumed that was net. It is actually gross so I am freaking out a bit now cuz I would be taxed at 36% if I am not mistaken so maybe shouldnt take the job.
It is not a career move, it is just something I wanted to do for a bit of change and now I am not sure it it's worth it. Any advice?

Dear Kova,
200.000 HUF gross are around 470 euro/month. if you think it worths...
There is an exodus of Hungarian to Uk and Ireland to find better condition of life, think twice.
Cheers
Giuseppe

200,000 per month before tax is NOT a good salary.  Of course it depends on your job/skills/expertise etc, but you won't get an awful lot more than 120,000 after tax (that's a rough guess), and that will almost entirely get eaten up by flat costs (rent, common costs, utils) if you are a single person not sharing.

Don't move here for that salary if you want to enjoy your time here, IMO.

Hi,
If someone helps, the rent is not that bad, but if you try to arrange it for yourself as a foreigner, you will pay at least 80-120000,- HUF / month. If a friend help, you can get a small flat for 55000,- HUF.
Monthly Mobile phone expense - 6-8000,- HUF for me, and I do not phone a lot.
Monthly Internet broadband expense - 4-6000,- HUF
Monthly Utility Expense - for us for 3 in a small new flat of 50 m2 27000,- HUF with electicity, water, common fees for building and trash. We do not have gas.
Monthly public transportation fares (tram,bus,tube..etc)- City monthly pass is 9400,- HUF, you can use any public transport with this within Budapest.
Food is a difficult question, to eat at a canteen when you work is at least 800,- HUF / day, but it depends on the place, so this is the very minimum. I would say you will spend at least 60-80000,- HUF on food, and from this it is not sure you can eat out.
Cheers,
Kata

I am studying in Budapest and my best tip is that you check ingatlan.com which is the largest data base for apartments in Hungary, there you can find small flats of no more than 45 000 Forints a month. Furthermore, how much you spend in you common costs depends on you I am studying so I spend most of my time in the library and I am originally from Sweden and at home it gets more colder than here so I really never use to turn on the heater cause it does not get cold enough in the winters in my opinion. so as mention i do not spend more than 10 000 huf in common costs. But everything is up to you. I am here for studying so I can not nor do I want to spend money .. p.s try to learn some Hungarian at least some words it helps you so that they wont reap u off. The country is very corrupted otherwise once u know the system there are not so many problems in leaving cheap if thats what u want..

@ jelenaivona
I lived in the 8th district and it's not as bad as they make out, the ghetto part has moved away from town but I wouldn't live beyond Fecske ut or Leonardo da Vinci utca. Generally speaking IBUSZ is trust worthy but the price you quote for a 1 room flat seems high 150-250 Eur is more realistic (are you sure they didn't say 55 000Huf which would make more sense).
Unfortunately to rent flats at 150Eur you have to speak Hungarian so realistically aim for 200-250Eur for a 1 or 1.5 room flat (not bedroom) in District VIII.

District V, VI, VII, IX might be more expensive.

I think the flat only will take the salary

Please note that there have been a number of 'can I live on this salary' related questions within the past year on this forum, with rather detailed answers.

@Juanito_33 :
well, its all relative. hungary may seem 'very corrupted' if you are looking from scandinavia/finnland or northern germany, but more or less normal in our region, and actually quite clean from the Indian, south american, Bulgarian perspective.
In terms of 'personal relationship network' centered thinking it is similar but somewhat more intense than Austria or Bavaria, or Czech, but probably less so than Bulgaria or Sicily (the lattest two places I do not know really but this is how Hungary is generally placed).

Anyway, it is definitely a good idea to learn a bit of the language when you get here, if only to impress girls/guys :-)
It probably takes years for most persons to get fluent in hungarian, even for newborns;)
(@english speakers: no, german is not a hard language for you, hungarian is...!
@finnish speakers: yes the grammar has doubtless similarities and the pronaunciation is easy - but it is still no picknic...)

Economy... it does generally suck, but there are a few jobs where you can get away even without Hungarian. OF course, some branches of IT, and from what I hear, there are a lot of jobs 'customer service on the phone' in multinational companies (Exxon, IBM,...) - moreover in this field there are open positions to work in languages which less popular locally, such as Dutch. 
(Also Scientific research is often done mostly in English, so foreign scientists who *must* live in this country and either don't mind working for 120-200k net salary, or are good enough to get extraordinary funding, can work here - unbelieveable, but there are a few fields science in which Hungary has actually earned a 'honorouble mention' level, e.g. areas of discrete mahematics or 'network science' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_science )

EDIT: salary above is of course in HUF per month, if it was EUR or USD we were a very different country altogether...

When mentioning salary figures it is useful if you state which currency you are using!

100k huf? You never make it a living in budapest! Specialy not with family!
Aprx for 2 people must have 350 to 400 k a month for a decent living, not luxury, just decent...

Jano67 wrote:

100k huf? You never make it a living in budapest! Specialy not with family!
Aprx for 2 people must have 350 to 400 k a month for a decent living, not luxury, just decent...

Today, true. But the original post was from 2008. There has been a lot of inflation in the intervening 4 years.

Even so, many Hungarians still make very little (often far less than expats). Some can "get by" because they don't have some fixed costs (i.e. they own their house or apartment so don't pay rent).

Hello everybody!

Since all posts are older, I was wondering what would be a good pay nowadays in Budapest?
Would I be able to save money with 2500 euros net?

Thanks!

In UK when we use the term "salary" we normally mean per year, not per month. Weekly or monthly figures are normally called a "wage" and are paid on a weekly or monthly basis respectively.

Thank you for that lesson which is not entirely correct since "wages" are for hourly work and salary can be monthly or yearly, but all of that does not answer my question nor is relevant to this topic.

manadive wrote:

Hello everybody!

Since all posts are older, I was wondering what would be a good pay nowadays in Budapest?
Would I be able to save money with 2500 euros net?

Thanks!

EUR 2500 netto! WOW!

Some helpful posts for you:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=198178https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=176263

Best Regards,
PK

Useful links! Thank you!

Pacific16 wrote:

manadive wrote:

Hello everybody!

Since all posts are older, I was wondering what would be a good pay nowadays in Budapest?
Would I be able to save money with 2500 euros net?

Thanks!

EUR 2500 netto! WOW!

Some helpful posts for you:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=198178https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=176263

Best Regards,
PK

manadive wrote:

Thank you for that lesson which is not entirely correct since "wages" are for hourly work and salary can be monthly or yearly, but all of that does not answer my question nor is relevant to this topic.

How is it not relevant? All I'm saying is that to avoid confusion it is best to state whether a given figure is per week, per month or per year. My comment was not aimed at you specifically anyway. Others look at these forum threads for guidance and will benefit if there is less ambiguity.