How is Hungary for Muslim community?

Linzee wrote:

Hello all!
i need some info. regarding which area has majority of Muslims? Is there any Muslim school in Hungary where they Practice Islamic Religion!
As my kids are still young so i don't want them to forget the teachings of Islam!

While people are generally tolerant on individual and privately held beliefs,  that would be a rather touchy subject here in Hungary.  Islam has a very bad press and it's being mixed up with the migrant issues.

To my knowledge there are are no schools here where Islam would be part of mainstream teaching. And I am pretty sure the current government would not provide any assistance within public funding of such a school.     

There are no Muslim areas in Budapest or Hungary either.   

There is an Islamic society here but I suspect the numbers involved are very small.  If I remember correctly, there was a madrasse connected with the Islamic society in Budapest. 

You could always send your kids to a private international school where they might take into account your needs.   

You need to do more Google research and if you do, maybe you could post back your findings.

You might want to read some news regarding Hungary and Muslims to get an understanding of the environment in Hungary in regard to your questions.

The Budapest Mosque can probably give you the best answers to your questions. Contact info available here:

http://iszlam.com/english

Thank u all for ur replies...
Fluffy... i'm really sad to hear this but what to say? as my main problem is i have to be in Hungary for sometime with my kids and my husband has to be in and out.. for few weeks or so.. depending on his work! so i will be taking care of everything related to my kids! which i think will not be so easy!
As i remember when i visited in Budapest i saw many Arab people there, i thought there must be some Arabs living there permanently and must be having some family friends also... As right at the moment my kids and i can only speak English and Arabic fluently and we will be definitely interested to learn Hungarian as well.. so for that reason, i need some kind of adjustable environment for my kids then me!

Also i would love to thank u Klsallee for giving the information of mosques... i really appreciate it! that makes the job easy somehow i guess!

Linzee wrote:

....
As i remember when i visited in Budapest i saw many Arab people there, i thought there must be some Arabs living there permanently and must be having some family friends also... As right at the moment my kids and i can only speak English and Arabic fluently and we will be definitely interested to learn Hungarian as well.. so for that reason, i need some kind of adjustable environment for my kids then me! ...

There are some Muslim people but not many.   I've lived here quite a long time and there are more here now than there were before but the numbers must be very small. 

I don't think many Arab people live here permanently.   Either they are refugees, on holiday or something else like diplomats. 

If you and your kids learn Hungarian then you will be less isolated from the community.  The best thing is to send your kids to an international school and then you get social interaction there and your kids will have play mates.  I should say it's going to cost a lot of money to use an international school but perhaps your  husband's employer will pay for it.

Salam Linzee

Muslims are probably 20-30k in Hungary, Budapest probably have the highest concentration of Muslims, Syrians  (before even refugee crisis as Hungarians lived in Syria as refugees during war times & married there) & Yemenis are probably the highest of Muslim nationalities. The number was higher but since Hungary joined the EU many left for UK.

There is Arabic-Hungarian school on Saturday even if your not planning on joining its the best times to meet new people & make friends. There is a Hun-Arabic lesson for one to two hours on same day also. Its the perfect place to make contacts & ask about anything related to Islam especially food.

There was a Libyan Arabic school but i am not sure if its still open or not as it was supported by Libyan gov & they were struggling when i left Hungary last year. You could find

Is there any way to start learning Hungarian now?

also i would like to know that since we have permanent residency, i heard that the public schools and hospitals will be free but to avail that we have to activate the insurance in the hospital atleast 6 months before using it then we can have the benefits... so how to do that? any suggestions???

Also i would like to know will it be necessary for my kids to go to school in Hungary (either public or international) to obtain the passport? or can they carry on their education online from their hometown?? will it cause me any trouble or problem if i let my kids study online from their origin hometown and not in Hungary and apply for passport? (because i don't want to give them a shock, i want my kids to adapt enviornment slowly and later on once they will settle i might enroll in Hungarian school)

PLZZZZ any suggestions???

HU passport and school are not connected.

To obtain the HU passport your kids (or anyone) would need to speak Hungarian (unless they are Hungarian in another way such as one of the parents being Hungarian). 

If you want your kids to have Hungarian passports, then they should start Hungarian asap.  Kids certainly learn languages better mixing with other kids - the language in the playground will make them native speakers.

Home schooling is possible but I believe you will have some difficulties with the authorities who will want to know they are being educated and to the correct standard.  In general, like many places, it is illegal not to send your kids to school or even for them to have more than a few days off without asking for written permission.

Linzee wrote:

Is there any way to start learning Hungarian now?

Hire a language expert who can instruct you over something like Skype.

Linzee wrote:

i heard that the public schools and hospitals will be free

Medical care is not free. You have to pay monthly into the national health. And if you do that, then you can use the medical services without any additional cost.

National health is now combined with the tax office. To sign up, go to a local tax office, and ask to start the process and paperwork for registering for national health.

Linzee wrote:

will it cause me any trouble or problem if i let my kids study online from their origin hometown

Home schooling is possible, but your children still have to follow an approved local curriculum, which may not match what your home town offers.

Also, having permanent residency does not by itself lead to a passport. If your children are not the children of a Hungarian citizen (directly or by adoption), they have to speak Hungarian, and take the nationalization test just like everyone else.

True the national health is not free, you must pay monthly and from our experience you must wait a year to use it not 6 months.
I am a bit afraid to really complain about the medical as I am going in once again for some bone surgery here.
Don't want to rock the boat so to speak.
Overall so far on my shoulder it has cost about 60,000 forints out of pocket for med's for shots and tips for doctors.
Not done yet either. Not saying it is pay to play but my case is probably not exactly the most serious so if I had not moved my self up by tipping etc. I probably wouldn't be getting surgery now.
They would put my case on the back burner if you know what I mean.
I didn't tip one local surgery clinic for a minor thing a few years ago. Went back 6 or so months ago to have them look at my swollen shoulder. Got the run around for over 2 months time before they told me to go to my current ortho clinic.
No tip and they really put you off on the less serious things.
You must go through your district family doctors for most major things and they will send you on to the next doctor if they think you need it. If they aren't happy then you may hit a brick wall and get the run around, just saying everyone likes a bit of cash money for their efforts.
When we go home to the US a see any doctors they would never take a tip, maybe if someone was very wealthy they would take funds for the hospital if anyone was willing to give to charity but that's it, not for private gain. Two different worlds and ways of doing business, can't buck the system and win over here.
Meeting my anaesthesiologist later this week, at least she came right out and told me she is charging 15,000 to put me under . I wish I knew exactly how much everyone expects from me, a real guessing game on top of thinking about recover. I am thinking another 60 to 70,000 and I will be on the road to recovery, almost forgot , I will need some PT afterwards and their time is valuable too... Nothing in life is really free, you do get what you pay for most times.
Of course you do not have to tip but have to consider is your health worth it or not.
All medications are out of pocket expense too,not covered by national health, they may give a slight discount on some meds with your card but not much.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

No tip and they really put you off on the less serious things.

Yes, the tipping issue. I forgot that. What a mess. Not legit, but unofficially allowed as an additional out of pocket cost to "free" medical care in Hungary.

klsallee wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

No tip and they really put you off on the less serious things.

Yes, the tipping issue. I forgot that. What a mess. Not legit, but unofficially allowed as an additional out of pocket cost to "free" medical care in Hungary.

Real tipping numbers;

Cost per baby (birth), 300 EUR (in cash, and yes,  in EUR) to the medics.

Perhaps another 50K-60K HUF spread around the nurses.

Not really good is it?  We got personalised service because of it but imagine those without that kind of ready cash to splash.

Exactly, I am all for tipping if I get great service but to demand a tip is really, really disturbing when it comes to life or death.
Material world, what can one do?
I know in the US if a nurse or doc gives really good care most families spring for a gift but nothing like over here.

I will not complain however, maybe post surgery...
Don't want to be put on the **** list before then!

even if my kids are considering in minors means they are below 16... do they still have to give the test of Hungarian language to obtain passport?

if Hungary considers their international school curriculum then why are they not considering the other international schools curriculum? i mean all they want to check whether the child is availing his/her basic need in terms of education. (no matter its from Hungary or another world)

Regarding the health thing... i'm shocked as i heard was totally different from what i know now.... i heard that public schools and public hospitals/ clinics will be free for Permanent Residency card holders... then by staying for 4 years my kids will be able to obtain the passport coz they will be considering under age (no requirement of passing the language test like adults)

so anyone knows about this thing???

Linzee wrote:

even if my kids are considering in minors means they are below 16... do they still have to give the test of Hungarian language to obtain passport?

Probably not if they are below 18 (they are minors below 18, not 16).   But adults (over 18) do have to past the test in constitutional studies (in Hungarian).  Over 60s or incapable persons are exempt.  Don't know if kids under 18 are considered incapable.  You aren't going to get them passports in 5 minutes, it's going to take some years.

Linzee wrote:

if Hungary considers their international school curriculum then why are they not considering the other international schools curriculum? i mean all they want to check whether the child is availing his/her basic need in terms of education. (no matter its from Hungary or another world)

I think you should do more research as it's more formally organised that perhaps you realise.

It's always been the case that schools in Hungary are inspected by the education authorities.  They still have to comply with the legal requirements and national standards even if they are international schools.   There's a Hungarian National Curriculum  for Bilingual Schools and schools are accredited (i.e. have a Ministry school ID number).  As they are accredited, they can issue Hungarian school reports etc.  These are little books the children have  showing their educational history.   These are needed when moving from school to school and afterwards.

My kids have these books and so does Mrs Fluffy.  I don't have  anything like that as we do not have that system in the United Kingdom where I come from.

Linzee wrote:

Regarding the health thing... i'm shocked as i heard was totally different from what i know now.... i heard that public schools and public hospitals/ clinics will be free for Permanent Residency card holders... then by staying for 4 years my kids will be able to obtain the passport coz they will be considering under age (no requirement of passing the language test like adults)

Re: Health care - If not that it's not free, it is (assuming you pay the  monthly fixed amount) but then there's a culture of tipping the staff.  In theory you should get the standard level of care but tipping makes them care even more (supposedly).  If you are old, have no money, no relatives, dementia, incapable or anything like that, you are probably going to only just survive. 

Re: schools - yes, they are free but sometimes you have to contribute, especially in kindergarten. Like buying the toilet paper (yes, really!) or supplying the class fruit on a particular day.   Food is not free. There's also a culture of buying the teacher a present from the entire class at the end of the school year and at Christmas time.  There's usually a "coordinator" for the parents who sorts these things out. 

It all adds up over time.    It's just the way it is here.

Linzee wrote:

even if my kids are considering in minors means they are below 16... do they still have to give the test of Hungarian language to obtain passport?

Here is the Hungarian Naturalization law:

http://www.mfa.gov.hu/NR/rdonlyres/63EF … enship.pdf

Note, this section:

(4) A non-Hungarian citizen who was domiciled in Hungary for at least five consecutive years before the date of submission of the application, and if the conditions defined in Paragraphs b)-e) of Subsection (1) are satisfied, may be naturalized on preferential terms if the applicant:
a) was born in the territory of Hungary;
b) had established residence in Hungary before reaching legal age;
c) is stateless.

However, Subsection (1) :

e) provides proof that he has passed the examination in basic constitutional studies in the Hungarian language, or that of being exempted by virtue of this Act.

I am not a lawyer, but that reads to me they still have to learn Hungarian and pass the test even if they submit their citizen application before reaching legal age.

However, other provisions, such as if you submit your citizenship your minor children's language requirements can be waved. But then you have to learn Hungarian and pass the test then.

Perhaps you need to consult an actual immigration lawyer for the actual facts as I can not attest my opinion is correct, or the opinions of anyone else here unless they have actually done this process for their non-Hungarian children.

Linzee wrote:

if Hungary considers their international school curriculum then why are they not considering the other international schools curriculum? i mean all they want to check whether the child is availing his/her basic need in terms of education. (no matter its from Hungary or another world)

The link I provided to home schooling is the one to use for this question. International standards are not the same as national standards. I honestly do not know, but your children may still need to follow the national standards. For one totally hypothetical example, they may need to learn Hungarian history to follow national standards, which you home country curriculum may not provide.

Linzee wrote:

Regarding the health thing... i'm shocked as i heard was totally different from what i know now.... i heard that public schools and public hospitals/ clinics will be free for Permanent Residency card holders.

What you "heard" was wrong about health care. There is no free lunch here. You have to pay social taxes to take advantage of social services. Especially as an expat. You can not come here as a social case (only they do not have to pay -- because they can not -- and that right is mostly only limited to Hungarians).

klsallee wrote:

However, Subsection (1) :

e) provides proof that he has passed the examination in basic constitutional studies in the Hungarian language, or that of being exempted by virtue of this Act.
....
However, other provisions, such as if you submit your citizenship your minor children's language requirements can be waved. But then you have to learn Hungarian and pass the test then.

I think that law is maybe a bit out of date but theme is the same.  What caught my eye is that it looks like the exemption for over 65 is now exemption for over 60 but who knows for sure.  I was relying on that 60 threshold post-Brexit.

See here: Constitutional Exam for over 60s

As for the healthcare, it's not free as was said, it's about 7500 HUF a month per person.  If you had a baby in the last 3 years, then it's free for the mother. It's free for kids.  Even with kids doctor visits, there's tipping too.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I think that law is maybe a bit out of date but theme is the same..

That link was to the official Hungarian government web site. If it is out of date or not, I do not know. But that is what they are showing for the law in English. If it is out of date, then it should no longer be online and it should be replaced with the current law, else it is thus confusing if old laws are still online. If this is indeed an old law (?), that may smack of incompetents**.

**I guess someone will now claim I am bitter. 

klsallee wrote:

............That link was to the official Hungarian government web site. If it is out of date or not, I do not know. But that is what they are showing for the law in English. If it is out of date, then it should no longer be online and it should be replaced with the current law, else it is thus confusing if old laws are still online. If this is indeed an old law (?), that may smack of incompetents**.

I know, I know,  Administrative cognitive dissonance in Hungary? Really? Who would have thought it!

klsallee wrote:

**I guess someone will now claim I am bitter. 

You could always try to turn it to your advantage and claim to be Umami instead.

fluffy2560 wrote:

klsallee wrote:

**I guess someone will now claim I am bitter. 

You could always try to turn it to your advantage and claim to be Umami instead.

That is funny.

My wife says I am a sweetheart. I guess she is the definitive and final judge. 

klsallee wrote:

...My wife says I am a sweetheart. I guess she is the definitive and final judge. 

Aren't they always!

How can people who are not married to a Hungarian or not of Hungarian descent gain Hungarian citizenship? Through the investment scheme?
I was under the impression that this program was going to end.

Chikagoan wrote:

How can people who are not married to a Hungarian or not of Hungarian descent gain Hungarian citizenship?

This is an odd question. Since most every country allows paths to citizenship by foreigners without family or historical ties to the country.

Despite the current status of the law (as discussed above) my link provided above shows one can ask for Hungarian citizenship without marriage or historical descent and gain citizenship by:

Acquisition of Hungarian Citizenship Naturalization
Section 4
(1) On application, a non-Hungarian citizen may be naturalized if:
a) the person resided in Hungary continuously over a period of eight years preceding the submission of the application;
b) according to Hungarian law, the person has a clean criminal record, and at the time of the assessment of the application, there are no criminal proceedings in progress against him before a Hungarian court;
c) his livelihood and residence are assured in Hungary;
d) his naturalization does not violate the interests of the Republic of Hungary; and
e) provides proof that he has passed the examination in basic constitutional studies in the Hungarian language, or that of being exempted by virtue of this Act.

klsallee wrote:

Chikagoan wrote:

How can people who are not married to a Hungarian or not of Hungarian descent gain Hungarian citizenship?

This is an odd question. Since most every country allows paths to citizenship by foreigners without family or historical ties to the country.

Despite the current status of the law (as discussed above) my link provided above shows one can ask for Hungarian citizenship without marriage or historical descent and gain citizenship by:

Acquisition of Hungarian Citizenship Naturalization
Section 4
(1) On application, a non-Hungarian citizen may be naturalized if:
a) the person resided in Hungary continuously over a period of eight years preceding the submission of the application;
b) according to Hungarian law, the person has a clean criminal record, and at the time of the assessment of the application, there are no criminal proceedings in progress against him before a Hungarian court;
c) his livelihood and residence are assured in Hungary;
d) his naturalization does not violate the interests of the Republic of Hungary; and
e) provides proof that he has passed the examination in basic constitutional studies in the Hungarian language, or that of being exempted by virtue of this Act.

So the person who started the above thread meets these criterion?
Doesn't sound like it. Also it is not an odd question. I am picking up a certain degree of entitlement in the questions being proffered above.
I was under the impression that Hungary has made it rather clear that it is not going to be an "immigrant country" like, for example, the UK, the US or Canada.

Of course, some would like to have Hungary welcome all and sundry. I forgot about that point! 

Chikagoan wrote:

....Doesn't sound like it. Also it is not an odd question. I am picking up a certain degree of entitlement in the questions being proffered above.
I was under the impression that Hungary has made it rather clear that it is not going to be an "immigrant country" like, for example, the UK, the US or Canada.

Haha, I have to take that bait.

There's never been anything here as far as I know that excludes people of other origin acquiring Hungarian citizenship.   I remember in the 1990s a naturalised guy originally from Nigeria going to vote in the national elections. It even made the TV news. 

Don't forget Hungary has a policy of conferring Hungarian nationality on "Hungarians" outside the borders - e.g. those in Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria, Serbia etc. The only connection need be cultural and language (however basic).    Are they immigrants?

As if you didn't know, but to be blunt, the government has said that it does not want non-European and non-Christian people here such that it dilutes the "national identity and culture".  OV has related that several times.

Chikagoan wrote:

So the person who started the above thread meets these criterion?  Doesn't sound like it.

You are presuming a lot there. Anyone can ask for residency in Hungary without needing any ties to the country.  They just need to satisfy immigration law.

There are even Americans here who recently immigrated without any Hungarian ties.

Chikagoan wrote:

Also it is not an odd question. I am picking up a certain degree of entitlement in the questions being proffered above.
I was under the impression that Hungary has made it rather clear that it is not going to be an "immigrant country" like, for example, the UK, the US or Canada.

It is an odd question because you did not bother to check Hungarian law (which I provided on naturalization, and residency law is easy to look up as well), or the reality of other expats (see above) and just preferred to justify a world view based on political rhetoric.

Those issues are often not related at all.

Politicians say things. And then the civil service still keeps to the laws on the books. And that includes allowing anyone who qualifies to gain Hungarian residency.

Those that qualify under current law, as is published to my knowledge, are entitled to residency if they satisfy the law (which is not necessarily easy, but not totally exclusionary either). The government rhetoric is about what they claim are "non-legal" immigrants (what others would call refugees).

That is, for the most part, regardless of their country of origin people can ask for legal residency if they are following the Hungarian legal protocol. Which may lead to, if they live here long enough, citizenship.

In short, legal reality, versus political rhetoric.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Chikagoan wrote:

....Doesn't sound like it. Also it is not an odd question. I am picking up a certain degree of entitlement in the questions being proffered above.
I was under the impression that Hungary has made it rather clear that it is not going to be an "immigrant country" like, for example, the UK, the US or Canada.

Haha, I have to take that bait.

There's never been anything here as far as I know that excludes people of other origin acquiring Hungarian citizenship.   I remember in the 1990s a naturalised guy originally from Nigeria going to vote in the national elections. It even made the TV news. 

Don't forget Hungary has a policy of conferring Hungarian nationality on "Hungarians" outside the borders - e.g. those in Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria, Serbia etc. The only connection need be cultural and language (however basic).    Are they immigrants?

As if you didn't know, but to be blunt, the government has said that it does not want non-European and non-Christian people here such that it dilutes the "national identity and culture".  OV has related that several times.

Of course I  know that. And you probably know as well, that that is precisely why I am asking the question on this thread. 
That being said, I will take issue with your characterization of Hungarians living outside the border of Hungary as immigrants. If they are ethnically Hungarian, then they are Hungarian. period.
Hungary has historically supported the Hungarian diaspora and provided citizenship for them when they move to Hungary.
As I have pointed out previously, I am largely in support of a restrictive immigration policy in terms of Hungary. However, I have noticed that the government is creating closer ties with China and with East Asia. Consequently I think that there will be more Asians in the future in Hungary. There are already a good number I believe.

Chikagoan wrote:

....
That being said, I will take issue with your characterization of Hungarians living outside the border of Hungary as immigrants. If they are ethnically Hungarian, then they are Hungarian. period.
Hungary has historically supported its the Hungarian diaspora and provided citizenship for them when they move to Hungary.
As I have pointed out previously, I am largely in support of a restrictive immigration policy in terms of Hungary. However, I have noticed that the government is creating closer ties with China and with East Asia. Consequently I think that there will be more Asians in the future in Hungary. There are already a good number I believe.

Oh, this is good. I'm up for some noisy banter. 

The Chinese people/Asians we've covered before.  Yes, there are more and more. And Russians.

More to the point, you're putting words in my posts.  I think that's not much of an argument anyway.  What's ethnically <insert your nationality here> anyway?

Usually the nationality link/connection to another country is lost at about the grandparent or great-grandparents stage.  Some of the people in the surrounding countries go back further than that.

Mrs Fluffy's great grandmother was German speaking but does not entitle her to German citizenship at all*.  Same for me, one of my ancestors was German too. Apparently there's one who was Irish - doesn't make me Irish even though I drink Guinness, enjoy a good craic and can say Slainte.

I could argue on your hypothesis I am entitled to US citizenship because I watch a lot of US TV and can speak English, visited on holiday, have read some American books and I like native American Art.  Or Australian, NZ, Canada etc., for that matter.   Doesn't make me ethnically American (or would that require me to be a Navajo etc?).

*Germany is not a very good example but it will do for now.  As an aside, the Romanians were complaining about it since suddenly there were all these Hungarians in their country.  It also caused hassle in Slovakia and Serbia.  Romania is bad example as well (cf. Moldova) but it quite nice illustrates the randomness of borders.

Chikagoan wrote:

....

Off topic. Moving.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Oh, this is good. I'm up for some noisy banter.

Agreed but moving to Everything Else as it is off topic here.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Chikagoan wrote:

....
That being said, I will take issue with your characterization of Hungarians living outside the border of Hungary as immigrants. If they are ethnically Hungarian, then they are Hungarian. period.
Hungary has historically supported its the Hungarian diaspora and provided citizenship for them when they move to Hungary.
As I have pointed out previously, I am largely in support of a restrictive immigration policy in terms of Hungary. However, I have noticed that the government is creating closer ties with China and with East Asia. Consequently I think that there will be more Asians in the future in Hungary. There are already a good number I believe.

Oh, this is good. I'm up for some noisy banter. 

The Chinese people/Asians we've covered before.  Yes, there are more and more. And Russians.

More to the point, you're putting words in my posts.  I think that's not much of an argument anyway.  What's ethnically <insert your nationality here> anyway?

Usually the nationality link/connection to another country is lost at about the grandparent or great-grandparents stage.  Some of the people in the surrounding countries go back further than that.

Mrs Fluffy's great grandmother was German speaking but does not entitle her to German citizenship at all*.  Same for me, one of my ancestors was German too. Apparently there's one who was Irish - doesn't make me Irish even though I drink Guinness, enjoy a good craic and can say Slainte.
vab a
I could argue on your hypothesis I am entitled to US citizenship because I watch a lot of US TV and can speak English, visited on holiday, have read some American books and I like native American Art.  Or Australian, NZ, Canada etc., for that matter.   Doesn't make me ethnically American (or would that require me to be a Navajo etc?).

*Germany is not a very good example but it will do for now.  As an aside, the Romanians were complaining about it since suddenly there were all these Hungarians in their country.  It also caused hassle in Slovakia and Serbia.  Romania is bad example as well (cf. Moldova) but it quite nice illustrates the randomness of borders.

Oh come on now. Here we go and pretend that there is no such thing as ethnicity. There is no such thing as Hungarian, no such thing as English or Scottish or Slovenian. They are just arbitrary labels.
That's simply ridiculous and goes along precisely with my point about political correctness and multiculturalism.
Might as well argue that DNA has nothing to do with heredity  and historical annals are simply toilet paper.

Chikagoan wrote:

....
Oh come on now. Here we go and pretend that there is no such thing as ethnicity. There is no such thing as Hungarian, no such thing as English or Scottish or Slovenian. They are just arbitrary labels.
That's simply ridiculous and goes along precisely with my point about political correctness and multiculturalism.
Might as well argue that DNA has nothing to do with heredity  and historical annals are simply toilet paper.

Transferred to Absolutely Anything Else

fluffy2560 wrote:

As for the healthcare, it's not free as was said, it's about 7500 HUF a month per person.

Yep. That is the price for non-working people. For those with salaries, it is a percent of income. But either way, it is really cheap compared to other countries (I paid much, much more in Switzerland for example**). Basically a non-issue. Just pay it and move on.

But one gets one one pays for (or maybe slightly less). Not everything is up to western standards. For those coming from many countries, it may be an upgrade.

** But when I broke my hand under Swiss insurance I also got really, really good care (no less than 7 people in the operating room when I had a few metal pins put into my bone) plus all the PT. Better than in Hungary when I almost cut off my finger. But I still have my finger... so good enough.

Dang it, getting a bit "terrified" about my upcoming surgery here in Budapest!!
I agree though, one does get what they pay for...
Hungarian national health overall is about equal to the sucky Obama care in the US, one thing though in the US they actually do give out pain meds... In HU most doctors say, "Oh, I don't believe in pills and drugs"
Good thing I have my " stash"!! Although Oxy might be a bit much.
Basically I plan on just,"Cowgirlin' it out".

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Dang it, getting a bit "terrified" about my upcoming surgery here in Budapest!!

I have found, from my limited (thankfully very limited) experience, that the surgeons and most support staff here quite good (Although I would have preferred the doctor had cut off my dangling finger part I severed rather than yank it off. Of course it was anesthetized, but I still have blood splatter on the white jeans I was wearing upon arrival to the Emergency room that day). I had to get an injection from the nurse. Never even felt it. Great nurse.

Post operative follow-up is more hit and miss (mine was okay (except for a major paperwork muck up by National Health), but I know of others who had problems).

The hospitals, however...... May need to bring your own toilet paper.

Yes, bring your own TP, towels, soap. mineral water. extra blanket. food unless you enjoy day old stale bread with lukewarm tea. BYO  salt packet. spoon, fork and knife, sugar for the horrid tea. Forgot the list given for my knee surgery. I remember I walked over ( hopped over/limped over) and took a extra pillow to support my leg and the nurse gave me one heck of a dirty look. I guess she wanted a tip for me taking a pillow!
I am more than "thrilled" to only have to be in for half day and go home.
I did notice the upgrade last time I visited my ortho doc in the hospital settling, they now serve a dab of butter with the stale bread!!
Of course for the price overall and medical care, I actually could do without eating a thing, just give me my med's and set me free.
Not there to dine or make friends.
In the US I had some "female surgery" when I was 40 years old, dang nothing better then a adjustable hospital bed, not the old hand crank they have here.That 10 min; time line on a morphine drip was pure heaven...
No such thing here.
Oh well, like I said, one gets what they pay for...
I do agree though , I spaced out and forgot to show up for my late afternoon appointment with my anaesthesiologist and got the run around by her unpowered helper, was told to call my surgeon to see if I could still get surgery. He was super relaxed and cool about it all. I do trust  him, in the operating room they do have real pros here, the staff who is just helping, well, they need to go back to school!
After she told us to call him up to make sure we were still on, it was her who was calling me to come back.
Yes, I am trying hard not to think about this and perhaps being a bit too relaxed and missing my appointments.
it is what it is, whatever gets you through the night.
I have a extra open and relaxed attitude about going under, sort of freaks out the anaesthesiologists, in New Mexico , they couldn't believe I was so relaxed. After all we all have to leave at some time, not worth the stress to worry about it all.
Just have to have faith they don't pull a "Joan Rivers" on you!