How do you get a Post office Box in Budapest?

Hi, not 100% sure but we think the post  office at Keliti train station has PO boxes.
My memory is shot but I believe we looked into that a few years ago but decided to just give our apt.mail box key to a neighbor to check for us.
That is what we are doing now while we are out of HU.
The post office is not inside the station but on the side of it.
In my experience mail coming from the US takes a long, long time to reach HU.
Sometimes we were lucky to get a heads up just days before a due date on something.
I think it is slower going out of HU then coming in though, most times anyways.

Not all post offices have PO boxes (called "PF" boxes in Hungarian). Nearest to us, the local, largest town had PF (i.e. PO) boxes, but we had to wait for months for one to become available (and do note: they were wood, not metal, and were visible when we walked into the post office, so unless you see actual "boxes" do not assume PO boxes are on site available).

Do note, we canceled our PO (PF in Hungarian) box this year because the price increase was ridiculous.

We asked for and received the right to have a rural mail box, which was "free" -- other than me having to dig a hole, pour some concrete, buy and install a mail box on our "road" (which is actually a "dűlő" or a "path"). But, even so ---  it saves us more than a 100 EU a year in post box fees, so totally worth it.

Rather than get a PO box (Hungarian PF address) just make sure where you get a place to live that it has mail service, and forward you US mail to your new rental address.

Thanks for the info!

We did find a post office that has PO boxes. But the form well actually it is 3 idental forms that we have to each fill out, is all in Hungarian!

So we will have to find someone to translate them and fill them out and then rent the box.

The place we are renting does have mail box but honestly it was not secure at all! Plus we had a PO box in USA anyway as when you rent somewhere we found it better to have a box than to use the mail at the rental.

Plus back in USA we had a lot i mean a lot of trouble with the delivery people! We lived on the beach and could walk to the post office on foot in 10 milns, but to have our mail delivered to us would take 3 days. Also when which was often there was any issues by the fact the mail never left the post office itself it was easier to get them corrected. (the old "he/she did not get it on the truck to take to your area, or they dropped it off or whatever did not fly when only 1 of 5 people there handled it and you could directly ask them what happened)

That was in USA i do not trust here on the other side of the world to expect it to be better!

Plus unless someone has a house i would not deal with having mail come to an address that is only temporary. But that is just me as i get more mail than most people.

I know USA will not forward any boxes, so  do not know what they r going to do with the one i know i have sitting there, but they told me they will forward all the rest of the mail but will only talk to an official post office in Hungary. I think they told us it was cause our box back in Florida is still paid up until like August so they said they will l only allow their boxes to go to another post office box for international forwarding. They said some crap about they will not forward to a residential address cause it was not considered a "safe" place if there was issues with the mail getting from Florida to Budapest. They said if we had a residential address in Florida then they would forward to residence in Budapest but since we already had our mail threw them that is the way it has to work.

The prices were reasonable from what i recall. I have to look exactly but i do not recall it being crazy although i only glanced at that. But i do have to look at that again.

The main thing was when the English speaking woman working there showed us the 3 page forms to fill out which they need 3 copies of, all in Hungarian we did stop. We did not want to or hell even know how to fill it out. We have to get it exactly right cause we have to relay that address back to Florida. So that is our task now.

We have the change of address form to send in an envelope with proper postage back to Florida we just need to make sure the address we give them is correct. 

It is bad enough using the ATMs at OTP Bank which are all in Hungarian!

I sort of feel for you but don´t you feel a bit stupid giving statements like that? I mean you´re not in the USA anymore so how could you expect everything to be handled in your native language That´s just dumb!

No it is not that i expect things to be in English, this is Hungary they are not hear to cater to English speaking people.

But they in Budapest at least attempt to try to do that very thing with all the tourist stuff in one regard but then in others not. It is not a negative thing as far as Hungary, just confusing at times.

I rather have less USA based fast food and stores or music and multi langue ATMs.

Hungary is extremely more USAish than i every thought, i did not think i would see of the things i have seen here. So that is surprising. Hungarians cannot understand why i do not eat burgers and like french fries, one guy told me i was "too ethnic" cause i like to do things "the old ways" he hee.

Course back in Florida i did have a 73 yr old Croatian guy and his brother try to help me order something cause they thought i did not speak English So it might be me!

Glad to hear you and your dad finally found a flat to live in.
Yes, almost all official documents are going to be in Hungarian.
You will have a time of it for awhile.
My UK friend knows a few trusted Hungarians that sometimes help her out with HU paperwork.
In HU everything usually must have many copies and be correct or they will toss it.
When I fist came to HU I never ran into anyone who spoke English at all, I am glad they have what they have now.
Sometimes however having a few English options makes me crazy because I get lazy and don't try to learn HU.
My husband thankfully takes care of any official business, answers our phone etc.
I do however pay bills at the post office by myself these days, I know the routine  and find there usually is someone around who will take mercy on me if I ever am in a pickle.
My son who is a HU citizen but grew up in the US had a terrible time once on the train in HU.
He was staying with his grandmother alone and had a HU girlfriend, later became his wife.
He dropped off his GF and was taking the train back to his grandmother home. He got all turned around, couldn't find anyone who spoke English and spent about 9 hours traveling this way and take way trying to find his way home.
He quickly learned some HU to get around. Studied maps for the subways and trains. Never got lost again.
I understand why the US post will only deliver to another PO box in HU.
It is security reasons,
In our experience the HU post may be slow but the mailmen are honest enough.
Never had any mail stolen, just delayed forever.
In the US we have had issues with the post. My son's passport was lost and his birth cert. was inside the mail.
I know a postal worker must of stolen it because we personally handed it in at the post office and it was to be secure and hand delivered to the house. Never came back.Just 2 weeks ago our neighbor here in Vegas delivered my DIL's new SS card, the mailman gave it to the wrong house.
Good luck finding someone to help with the papers, a neighbor may help you but in the HU custom you should either pay them a little something for their trouble or buy a small gift in exchange.

Not sure but you may need to sort this address thing out before going to immigration in HU.
They want to know everything about you and be able to reach you by mail and by phone.

FeliciaOni wrote:

..........The place we are renting does have mail box but honestly it was not secure at all! Plus we had a PO box in USA anyway as when you rent somewhere we found it better to have a box than to use the mail at the rental. ..............It is bad enough using the ATMs at OTP Bank which are all in Hungarian!

You could think about using a service instead of the post office.  We used to call these accommodation addresses.  This is just an ordinary street address for an office service company.   I have done this many times over the years.  In the USA, this used to be done by Mailboxes Etc (or some company like that).  We don't have that company here in Hungary but similar ones will exist I expect.  Costs money to do it.

Regarding the ATMs and banking services, my own bank has three language options: Hungarian, German and English.  OTP is a former state owned bank that was privatised and is the lowest level mass banking option but it is also the most universally available as it had to have branches everywhere.  If you go somewhere else like CIB or Budapest Bank or MKB you will find the menu options on the ATM that will include English. 

BTW, Citibank used to operate down on Vörösmarty tér (close to the British Embassy) and was favoured at some point by my US colleagues as they could have direct links to their Citibank USA accounts.  You should be able to operate your entire banking services in English using them but it's not the cheapest option.  I don't know the extent of their operations Hungary-wide.

FeliciaOni wrote:

It is bad enough using the ATMs at OTP Bank which are all in Hungarian!

Now that is odd. I have not been to an ATM in Hungary in the past 10 years (including OTP ATMs) that did not give me the a language option to continue in either English, German or Hungarian. But again, I do not live in Budapest.

Under Hungarian law, you are entitled to two free of charge ATM withdraws at any ATM you wish each month (from a Hungarian Bank Account). So if the OTP ATM is not in English, just go to an ATM that provides a language option you can work with.

True, we have used several banks in HU over the years and all the ATM's we have used have an English language option.
My husband uses the HU option but either way is good.
I was wondering about Citibank and it's hook up to the US account. Good to know may think about changing accounts to Citibank since we are visiting the US right now and it would be easy to switch over from B 0f A.
We have an account in HU with a HU bank. Used to use CIB and OTP, had several different accounts at different banks. Now use a German based bank in HU.
Really hate the bank transfer fees every month when we transfer from our US account to HU.
I suppose it is not really a transfer fee but a converting fee from $ to forints when we take out our cash. We feel it is better overall to keep most of our savings in US dollars in the US. Not sure why we feel it is more secure then just having our SS go straight into HU and get all forints.
10 Years in HU off and on and we still don't feel 100% comfortable with their systems.
I suppose it comes down to a long time ago when the gov. changed and my husbands family went from upper middle class to working class over night, they lost everything and he still has a fear it could happen again.
I still miss the old days when I used to stuff my mattress with money!

FeliciaOni wrote:

showed us the 3 page forms to fill out which they need 3 copies of, all in Hungarian

Only three pages? That is an example of minimal paperwork here.

Three copies?  Completely normal here.

Wait until you have to buy those official government stamps here....

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I still miss the old days when I used to stuff my mattress with money!

Been there. One may think one would sleep well having all that financial security, but who could sleep on such a lumpy mattress? 

Then I got smart: a few Hawaiian Missionaries lay flat enough under the mattress to get a good nights rest.... 

Ah, the Aloha State...
My son was born on Maui,lived all over the Islands for years, lovely place with mostly lovely people. By mostly is some Hawaiians do  not joy having outsiders on the lands even to this day. Can't really blame them as the first "whites" mistreated and disrespected the Hawaiian culture.
It is the only place I have visited in the US that still seems like a foreign country, sometimes the only American thing around is the flag waving outside the post office. Another world, sweet place though.First time I heard "Local Hawaiian style English" I really was in shock, no one told me they speak another language on the Islands, if you wish to fit into Hawaiian culture you must speak local.
You know a Hawaiian likes you as a friend if they speak Hawaiian to you, they keep the formal English for those they want to keep at arms distance away.
Worked in a beauty salon on Hawaii and all the women had the goal of teaching me Hawaiian. Guess they liked me some. Was ohana da kine.

OTP or at least the 2 we went too in Budapest had Hungarian only when using our OTP account. When using their ATM for our USA bank account yes it had English, German, French maybe 1 or 2 others. We have our USA bank account with JP Morgan Chase, they charge about 10 usd for 100k Huf which i do not think is too expensive but who knows we might be getting ripped off!

Citibank, honestly i have not seen a Citibank anywhere in Budapest, granted we have just been to D- 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 2. I recall hearing they left Hungary or something like that? I do not know to tell u the truth.

Long term large savings when and if we ever got to that point, i would honestly put in an offshore account in British pounds. But there again i read something about offshore accounts and the banks that did that i do not recall what it was something about them getting fined. I do not know. I only half recall it cause i was looking at using HSB and they had some drama so who knows!


Yes like the post office was very organized that i give to the Hungarians was amazing! I was shocked at that everything is done there! I mean people were getting loans, buy all matters of bills, and the attendant we had who spoke perfect English although could not help at all with the papers which was odd, she explained 4 different Lotto tickets to us. We do not play Lotto in any country but never saw them sold at a post office.

Yes the government stamps is something i do not quite understand but i am sure we will soon enough.

Yes we will get the address thing settled. Well like i said we found an apartment to rent so we do have an address just we as i said like a post office box and need one for USA mail.

We rented an apartment in D-2 on that river park road right near the Margit Bridge which is nice. When we go out of the building we see that um i am not sure what the structure is, but it is on the postcards i see. Ok i know that sounds so stupid!

If D-2 has like zombies or something awful feel free to let me know! he hee

The mobile phone i realize i just have to go to the mall and get one. I truly hate going to shopping malls which is odd as i love to shop! But i did not realize Budapest has smooth streets so like the 4 inch heels i wear everyday are not usable! But then again i might look for a cobbler to put those non slip things on the bottom, i have seen several cobblers around so that is good.

And the post office that has boxes is a short bus ride from our place so that is way good.

On  side note i can not figure out the buses! What i mean is that everyone was getting on without paying. I mean no one showed a pass or anything. We brought a pass and the driver said we were holding up the stop by trying to pay! Are they like free for the holidays or something?

FeliciaOni wrote:

On  side note i can not figure out the buses! What i mean is that everyone was getting on without paying. I mean no one showed a pass or anything. We brought a pass and the driver said we were holding up the stop by trying to pay! Are they like free for the holidays or something?

No, the buses or metro are not free. You have to either buy a pass or some individual tickets and stamp them in the machine with the slot when you get on.   The ticket machine stamps them with a time and date and machine number. On older buses, the machines are manual and it punches holes in a pattern.  If one ticket machine doesn't work, use another one.  Not stamping because of a broken machine is no excuse.

The system operates on an honesty basis.  No-one shows their tickets because of that. There are regular checks by plain clothes ticket inspectors.  They get on like ordinary passengers and then suddenly put on their BKV armbands and there's no way to jump off.  If you get caught without a  ticket, it'll cost you about 8K HUF cash.   You've probably been lucky because it's the holiday season and they are checking less.

The whole public transport system in Budapest is run by BKK so your tickets are good everywhere within Budapest and for some places outside of Budapest if you buy a supplementary ticket.   Some exceptions: the castle funicular, outside of Budapest on the HEV (suburban railway) which needs a supplementary ticket to say, the "artist town" of Szentendre and I am sure some other places.

You can go to a metro station and buy the tickets at the machine or a machine at the  bus stop.  The machines have menus in English and if for some reason they don't, go to a Metro4 station as everything there is very modern and new and the ticket machines will do everything you need.  Take crispy notes as the note readers are not always working properly. 

It's expensive to buy a per ride ticket (HUF 320 - 1 EUR) so best to get a couple of monthly tickets out of the machine.  If your Dad is over 60 (I think, whatever retirement age) then he can probably get a free pass BUT I do not know if that applies to non-residents or how you get the discount.  That was discussed a while ago in these threads.

An odd thing about the Hungarians in Budapest is that they all seem to know where the buses go and despite being involved here for 20+ years, I still do not know how they remember all the routes or if there's some system to it.   They also know all the districts and what they are like in some detail.  If you ask them, they can usually tell you which bus to take to any particular well known place without even looking it up.  My theory is that buses beginning with 2 possibly go to District II but who knows for sure.

FeliciaOni wrote:

Citibank, honestly i have not seen a Citibank anywhere in Budapest, granted we have just been to D- 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 2. I recall hearing they left Hungary or something like that? I do not know to tell u the truth.

Go to Vörösmarty tér (close to the British Embassy) and check it out.  Citibank are still there. I checked at their web site.   Their reputation is that they are OK to bank with but they are not cheap.

FeliciaOni wrote:

Long term large savings when and if we ever got to that point, i would honestly put in an offshore account in British pounds. But there again i read something about offshore accounts and the banks that did that i do not recall what it was something about them getting fined. I do not know. I only half recall it cause i was looking at using HSB and they had some drama so who knows!

Offshore banks do not like US customers any more because of the FATCA tax reporting issue.  I've read that the banks are actively encouraging US citizens to close their accounts.   You should be OK with a local account.

FeliciaOni wrote:

Yes like the post office was very organized that i give to the Hungarians was amazing! I was shocked at that everything is done there! I mean people were getting loans, buy all matters of bills, and the attendant we had who spoke perfect English although could not help at all with the papers which was odd, she explained 4 different Lotto tickets to us. We do not play Lotto in any country but never saw them sold at a post office.

That's really common in Europe. It's called "cross selling".   The biggest reason to go to a Post Office is paying bills (apart from stamps).  The billing organisation sends you a yellow giro slip which you pay at the Post Office (in cash).  That's really very antiquated for Europe. In most European countries I've lived in, one pays by  direct bank transfer over the internet.  In this HU system, you have to go to the bank to get the cash to pay over the counter at the Post Office.

FeliciaOni wrote:

Yes the government stamps is something i do not quite understand but i am sure we will soon enough.

Yes, that's normal.  It's to show you paid the taxes or fees.  They are not postage stamps.   It goes back centuries to put tax stamps on things and still used in many countries. You can see it today in another form on wine/alcohol in some places where tax bands are stuck over the corks.  Cars also have stickers on for the tax payment.  USA/Canada  have those yearly on vehicle license plates.  Hungary used to have it for motorway/highway tolls but not now as it's all electronic.  All these things are exactly the same kind of idea. But they are fading away slowly.

Have to be over age 65 to ride for free in HU and be either a HU citizen or a citizen of another EU country. Still not clear about those over age 65 and non EU citizens, not even sure if being a HU resident  from the 3rd country counts or not for the free travel.

Those over age 62 EU or HU citizen can get a discount monthly pass if yu can prove in writing you are retired.
A bit of a hassle with that one though, my husband is a HU citizen, retired from the US and had to write the head of the BKV and fight for his discount pass. It costs about the same if you get that as a student pass does.

There are no free bus days, everyone either has a monthly pass or a ticket.
Some people hop on without because in HU they use the honor system.
If caught without a punched ticket or pass, they will give you a large fee.
It seems odd at first as people get off and on from both the front and back of the bus, just faster then everyone standing in one long line and showing or buying from the driver.
In the old days they had a person on board every bus that would handle the buying and punching of tickets. These day the punch machine is usually on board, sometimes they are out of order so you must try another puncher, usually there are several on each bus at different points of entry.
It is not worth getting caught without a ticket that is punched or a pass. Fee are steep and the ticket collectors are rude and rough sorts.
They will threaten you will jail time if you don't show them a ticket, make you pay on the spot or later at an even higher rate.
Only those over age 65 need no ticket, they must show their ID if asked .Again, not sure people from non EU countries can ride for free even if they are over age 65.

FeliciaOni wrote:

OTP or at least the 2 we went too in Budapest had Hungarian only when using our OTP account. When using their ATM for our USA bank account yes it had English,

I have had accounts at many different banks, and OTP is the most English deficient. Not the best bank to select if you only speak English. I highly recommend you move to one of the foreign owned banks. They even send my monthly statements to me in English. Very nice. And much better English support both at ATMS and online than at OTP. I can not even use the OTP online banking to pay a yellow check in Hungary in English, as the English menu assumes I only have a Dollar account -- which is wrong -- I have to log in using the Hungarian language selection to pay a yellow bill.

FeliciaOni wrote:

Yes like the post office was very organized that i give to the Hungarians was amazing! I was shocked at that everything is done there! I mean people were getting loans, buy all matters of bills---

Yeah. Amazing. Until you need a letter delivered in a timely manner.

I do not care if I can buy a candy bar at the post office if my mail is late. And late it is indeed. I just got a letter from the USA posted on November 16th that was delivered to me on December 28th. And it was a bill. And it was due on December 31st.

The post office employees are spending their time trying to get you to buy a Lotto ticket rather than getting mail delivered on time.

Maybe you are impressed now, but wait until you do not get your check delivered on a timely manner from the US. Or worse -- an IRS letter stating you have to reply within 10 days, and that deadline was two weeks ago (yeah, that has happened to me too here).

FeliciaOni wrote:

Long term large savings when and if we ever got to that point, i would honestly put in an offshore account in British pounds.

Why an "offshore" account? Any bank in Budapest can open a British Pound account for you.

I keep my money in many different currencies, usually in the same banks (I have more than one bank of course). These days, it is all virtual money anyway, accessible from most places on the planet with an ATM card, and your money in EU national banks are insured up to a specified amount (if you have more than that insured minimum, invest it -- don't keep it in cash).

FeliciaOni wrote:

Citibank..... I recall hearing they left Hungary or something like that?

Umm.... No.

But many foreign banks have reduced their branches.

FeliciaOni wrote:

Citibank, honestly i have not seen a Citibank anywhere in Budapest

The Internet is your friend. For local business, simply type, .hu instead of .com for a web site. So thus try:

http://www.citibank.hu

For branches, see:

http://www.citibank.hu/gcb/Lakossagi_ug … e=HUEHGCL5

Had a HU friend who worked for years at Citibank in Budapest.
She  was chosen to escort ex pres. Bill Clinton around Budapest years ago when he visited the city.
It was some sort of Citibank thing and she was their rep.
She had visited Texas in her youth and stayed with an American family, so she sort of got the whole You all, thing.
Said he was a flirt and really funny and nice.
Still hard to imagine my sweet young Hungarian/Jewish friend riding around with Bill Clinton in a limo for hours.
Have not spoken to her in a couple of years, she had a baby and got all busy.

klsallee wrote:

I have had accounts at many different banks, and OTP is the most English deficient. Not the best bank to select if you only speak English.

Yes, it's the worst one.  At one point it was owned by Canadians (possibly of Hungarian extraction) who were supposed to modernise it.  I have seen it change its ways but  OTP is quite internationalised now with branches over Eastern Europe.  However,  it's still probably the worst bank for efficiency but it is everywhere and many Hungarians still have accounts there because it was the only bank with a branch in almost every town.  Some of the banks appear to be foreign owned but are now state owned as they nearly collapsed in the financial crisis.  MKB for example was owned by a German bank but I think the government rescued it and now has a majority holding.

Yes OTP has been around since the old system in HU.
We use Raffiesn ( spelling?) for us the banks seem about the same we still have to pay the fees every month to convert from dollars to forints but we would rather pay the fees then have our US SS checks go straight into a HU bank.
Not sure why but my husband is a bit paranoid about HU banks, all banks really but he likes to do things the hard way, thinks the forint is crap and believes it can sink at any time.
Actually in the old days he only bought gold coins for our savings.
Stocks in Sea World and gold coins.
Now we hate Sea World because of their animal abuse and gold is up and down.
Spend while we can is our new motto.

We only went with OTP cause i heard they were one of the only 2 that would open an account with only a passport. I think K/H was the other one but honestly i seen very few K/H Banks. When we get more settled and get our residence permit then we will shop around for better bank. And since we do have lease we can have more choices.

Next week we will get someone to help us with the form and go back to the post office.

I will let everyone know how it goes once we get it done

I give you credit for taking on Hungary and getting this far in just a few weeks time.
Not easy to move across the planet.
I am no financial expert at all, spend it as soon as I get it.
Always did that after age 4. Learned early if you don't spend it yourself, someone else will grab it.
Long story, saved for years to buy my own bike at age 4 only to have it trashed by my 2 older sisters before I could learn to ride it.
Never was good at saving after that.

If not for my frugal logical husband  I might be pushing a shopping cart instead of traveling the world.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Yes OTP has been around since the old system in HU.....
Not sure why but my husband is a bit paranoid about HU banks, all banks really but he likes to do things the hard way, thinks the forint is crap and believes it can sink at any time.
Actually in the old days he only bought gold coins for our savings....

I've had some work related dealings with Austrian Raiffeisen. It's a strange organisation as it's like a cooperative rather than a centralised corporation.  The branches own the HQ. Typical Austrian model banking.

Your hubby is right to be suspicious of HU banks and the Forint.  A lot of them were in trouble because of their uncontrolled lending in Swiss Francs into the HU mortgage market.  That's why the state had to step in and have a moratorium on foreclosures  otherwise there was a serious danger of civil unrest.   Things have stabilised now somewhat but all they have done is put off the problem.  They will have to write off those debts eventually.

Gold is too volatile recently.  Like oil.  Or rare earths. Shares would be just as good as at least to obtain diversity.

MT- Forgive me for not writing our your name, my mouse has died so it is harder for me to copy and paste things. Thankfully i have a touch screen laptop so it is not hard to type. Yes i am old fashioned i use a laptop! Although it does have 10 G of speed and 2 T of hard drive space, and i type at like 80 words per min so it is not too hard! The mouse traveled all the way from Florida to Budapest so i guess it just could not take it anymore, that said i go threw a mouse every 4-6 months anyway so it was due even if i had not moved.

I will miss Big Lots where i could just grab a nice wireless matching one for 8 bucks, now i have to find somewhere to buy one.

MT thanks for the kind words and the positive jest. I feel like i have not done as much as i would of liked to tell you the truth! But as you and my dad has pointed out we have lost about 10 days due to holiday closings of stores and people on break for the holidays, things not being open etc and we have not even been here 30 day yet and yet still have already rented an apartment for a year lease and done quite a bit. Even drove down to Croatia, Slovenia and threw central Hungary.

There is so much to learn and i do not begin to know how to do things here. But we do know what to do so we start with that. Yes one thing that is different is how slow people, things go in Hungary. Like also i am extremely focused person. Almost obsessionally so with things i am interested in or what to do. But that said i have good goals and i am a kind  gentle person so  it works out.

FeliciaOni wrote:

I will miss Big Lots where i could just grab a nice wireless matching one for 8 bucks, now i have to find somewhere to buy one. ...

You can get mice everywhere - Tesco (dull), Mediamarkt (stupidly expensive) and a few others. 

You shouldn't need to spend more than about 1000-1500 HUF for a branded mouse. 

If you go to Argep you can see lots of mice listed and even have them delivered (COD = Cash on Delivery for a service fee). 

In Hungarian, mouse = "eger",  Computer = "szamitogep".

Fluffy

Thanks as the next thing we need to buy is a TV! We have to get a small one about like 32 inches or less and HDMI but cheap. We were going to have it delivered or take a cab back, but did not know where to get one. Everyone we have met has an old tv which we cannot deal with. I am going to get a VPN so i can watch Netflix so i need a good TV!

FeliciaOni wrote:

Fluffy

Thanks as the next thing we need to buy is a TV! We have to get a small one about like 32 inches or less and HDMI but cheap. We were going to have it delivered or take a cab back, but did not know where to get one. Everyone we have met has an old tv which we cannot deal with. I am going to get a VPN so i can watch Netflix so i need a good TV!

You have lots of choices Felicia.

1) If your apartment has a TV, you could get a digital TV adaptor - these are cheap and some TV programmes can be had in English.  Then you only need the box, not the TV.   Old TVs are everywhere, no-one can give them away - difficult to recycle. In rented apartments (or at Balaton), they always put their oldest junk. Most younger people have flat screens as they use them with games consoles and PCs.   I think the English option has to be specifically selected for digital TV (my own TV has a dual language button marked A and B as some channels have dual soundtracks).

2) Maybe your apartment has cable TV already as part of your rental deal.  Doesn't help with the VPN but some programmes are in English. You will probably get your TV through the cable connection at least temporarily.

3) Buy a new one.  Probably the best thing is to go to Tesco or Auchan as they will have more "trustworthy" customer services. Or even Aldi.  But you'd need to take the bus or the tram.  The biggest Tesco is a Budaors (bus only).   Hungarian for TV = "televizio".   There's an Auchan at Savoya Park (tram 18).  If  you get their loyalty card, you can get a discount but the points themselves are useless. 

Mediamarkt is quite expensive and in my opinion, worth checking just in case but proceed with caution over their excessive pricing.  They have the biggest selection for sure.  I have a particular loathing for Mediamarkt.

Best thing is to shop around online at these company web sites.

Looks like 32" TVs in those places retail from about 60K HUF to 160K. 

We have DVB-T (Digital Terrestrial TV) here in Hungary and if you have that you can pick up quite a few extra channels, but most of them look like they are in German and many are blocked as they want money. 

As you say, if your PC has an HDMI socket, you can connect to the TV using that (and the right cable) and then you can extend your display to include the external TV.  I often connect my PC to TVs in hotel rooms that way.  Long HDMI cables (>10m) are quite difficult to find at a reasonable price.  I had to get mine from abroad.

I use a VPN to watch British TV and it works fine most of the time. I have not yet succumbed to Netflix or Amazon but I am tempted. My grown up kids have it and say it's great.

As it's Sunday, you've had it until tomorrow.  Thanks for nothing Fidesz! (that's the political party that closed all the shops on Sundays).

fluffy2560 wrote:

If you go to Argep

I can not stress this enough: buy electronics on-line. The EU requires all on-line purchases to have a return policy. Hungarian "brick and mortar" stores often will not take a return if things go wrong.

This is not the USA, where the customer is always right in the store, this is Hungary where the customer is a "guest" in the store.

I have had endless problems trying to return things in Hungary in small shops (larger, foreign owned stores like OBI do easily take returns). But have never yet had a problem returning items purchased on-line due to the EU directives.

FeliciaOni wrote:

Even drove down to Croatia, Slovenia and threw central Hungary.

You probably already know this, but your USA driving license is only good for one year in Hungary.

http://hungary.usembassy.gov/driving.html

After that you need a Hungarian license. There is not yet a simple "swap" agreement between the USA and Hungary, so you will need to take the local tests. The tests to get a Hungarian driving license are not easy. But there are many driving training companies in Budapest that can help you prepare for the test -- but of course they will cost you.

You may also need to take a course in emergency medical care to get the Hungarian license -- but that varies.

FeliciaOni wrote:

We only went with OTP cause i heard they were one of the only 2 that would open an account with only a passport.

Umm.... No.

Rather, it "depends".

There is a saying, "Believe nothing you hear, and only half of what you see." Double that in Hungary.

That being said, there is a great deal of variation between banks and even branches. For one thing, due to FATCA, any bank in Hungary should also ask for your USA SS Number. OTP actually wanted my USA issued SS card. Raiffeisen just had me sign an IRS W9 form. So you see how it can vary.

klsallee wrote:

....I have had endless problems trying to return things in Hungary in small shops (larger, foreign owned stores like OBI do easily take returns). But have never yet had a problem returning items purchased on-line due to the EU directives.

I second that.

I had forgotten about the EU directive on distance selling. 

The consumer laws here are weak and the attitude of the shops are poor, despite EU minimum standards.  The smaller ones have no interest in maintaining any kind of reputation in the market.

Mediamarkt used to be one of the ones I avoided because of their returns policy but post-EU distance selling directives, it might be better.   I still avoid it as things there cost $$$. 

I buy larger items in the UK and bring them here - no question refunds  and lower VAT. 

I think there might be moves afoot to regularise shipping costs as well.

fluffy2560 wrote:

The consumer laws here are weak and the attitude of the shops are poor.

I am actually in a multi-million Forint legal battle with a company that sold me a product without a proper CE certificate (only discovered after purchase). I requested a full refund. The Hungarian company refused. The first level Hungarian court ruled against us, and thus against every EU consumer right law in existence.

We are of course appealing. The understanding of EU level consumer law in Hungary, despite signing all the EU required directives, appears to be in practice rather pathetic.