Hello! Looking to move to Hungary.

davemoore wrote:

Me and my family are looking to move to Hungary, now just reading a bit of the post on the forums they are making me think twice or am I just picking out the negatives from the post.

Which post?

Why do you want to come here?

What's the connection between your family and Hungary?

Good to know.

The post was about moving to hungary etc.
Why do we want to go to Hungary, many reasons and all the above. Lived in Austria (Mannersdorf) near the border with Hungary and spent time, many of days in Hungary. I don't think you need a connection to move to another country. I just felt that people on that post were not giving Hungary a positive feel and yet my time visiting Hungary was positive. Has it changed that much in the last 6 years.

Don't try to get a feel for a country based on a few forum posts. People who had some bad experiences* will go above and beyond to defame a country and punish the people that according to their perception wronged them, they're the loudest. Expats who live happily have better things to do.

*if you stick around long enough, you'll realize that some of the regulars here are bitter, who for some reason are stuck in this country, are unable to connect with the locals, their social life in reality is zero, so they use this forum as an outlet for their misery.

As a (pretty much) hungarian, I'd still advise you to think twice before moving here, coming from rich westerner countries you'll experience quite a culture shock, you'll discover things that you might not have observed as a tourist.

atomheart wrote:

Don't try to get a feel for a country based on a few forum posts. People who had some bad experiences* will go above and beyond to defame a country and punish the people that according to their perception wronged them, they're the loudest. Expats who live happily have better things to do.

*if you stick around long enough, you'll realize that some of the regulars here are bitter, damaged old people, who for some reason are stuck in this country, are unable to connect with the locals, their social life in reality is zero, so they use this forum as an outlet for their misery.

As a (pretty much) hungarian, I'd still advise you to think twice before moving here, coming from rich westerner countries you'll experience quite a culture shock, you'll discover things that you might not have observed as a tourist.

Atomheart
Very good response. I would like to ask if you are an ethnic Hungarian from Romania? Also, if you don't speak Hungarian then you really are pretty limited  in Hungary, ugye? I will not move there for about two years, but I continue to work on my language skills daily.

davemoore wrote:

Lived in Austria (Mannersdorf) near the border with Hungary and spent time, many of days in Hungary. I don't think you need a connection to move to another country. I just felt that people on that post were not giving Hungary a positive feel and yet my time visiting Hungary was positive. Has it changed that much in the last 6 years.

A few things to consider:

- Being a tourist is not the same as having to deal with daily issues and local bureaucracy, services, social issues, etc of actually living here. Austria and Hungary are different cultures. Different histories, both long term and recent (Communist / non-Communist). I would say it takes a few years to really "get to know" a place. So do consider that. Things will be different here. This can affect some commentary here. After all, may of us "bitter old people" at this forum (even if I first came to Hungary when I was 30 and moved to Hungary when I was 40), have property here, that needs some repairs at times, and not being able to get a "widget" here to fix somethings, that one can get at any store in any western European country can become annoying and one may vent that issue. Take that singular issue for what it is worth. But the take home message is, if you have to deal with issues more than less in Hungary, then you may have more issues than not. Some expats come and float in their expat bubble and love Hungary. Others who have to deal with the details here are a bit more "colored" by that experience. So take complaints as more warning signs, than stop signs, what you might experience as a non-Hungarian expat. It will probably mostly depend on your depth of immersion in the country..

- There was a change in Government in 2010. So, yes, things have changed over time since then. If you like that change or not I guess would depend on your political leanings. Maybe some of the "negative" feel you get is just people with a different political outlook.

- Depending on where you live, not speaking Hungarian may be a problem. Many find it a difficult language to learn. Pronunciation is also often an issue. My "accent" often means many Hungarians do not understand me as they are not familiar with people who try to speak Hungarian but have an accent. Contrast to that when I speak German with an accept -- German speakers still understand me.

I do take post on forums with a pinch of salt, I was just thinking why so many people were being grumpy about Hungary, yes I know going to Hungary and not living there are two different things, but they do make some nice cakes (that's not my only reason to move there). Now what I would like to know, if possible, the areas, towns, villages etc to avoid, as I understand crime is very little in parts of Hungary. As for sourcing things I think I have become good at that, I did fine a little hardware shop in Koszeg and they did the things I needed at the time, but I am looking around the Kaposvar area.

davemoore wrote:

As for sourcing things I think I have become good at that, I did fine a little hardware shop in Koszeg and they did the things I needed at the time, but I am looking around the Kaposvar area.

I may be wrong of course, but I would hazard to assume you might find that Koszeg, by the Austrian boarder with its Austrian influence and over the boarder clientele, may be a bit different than Kaposvar.

Web shopping is your friend if you can not source locally.

I am not one to move to another country and try and change it (as if I could), I like to be part of where I live (you know I can't buy marmite here, plays havoc with my cheese swirls, and cheese, every  cheese but cheddar), anyway I can live without the cheese swirls (although I was amazed when I came across Tesco's in Hungary, they had cheddar there and marmite). I like the local customs and ways not really one who has to have the things that they have back in my own country, As for speaking Hungrian from what I have seen, it looks easier (for me) then French, I even have trouble with my English at times (that may be something to do with having one too many).

But I think it did belong (Burgenland) to Hungary before 1921 (not sure about the years though) from what my wife talked about (I do listhen sometimes). The internet, where would I be without Amazon (a bit more money in my pocket), good and bad (the internet), what have we humans created. Yes only been across the border not too far in, although we did manage to get lost, went to far into the outback, got satnav out and guess what, No Hungary on it only western europe (did not know that about the satnav), still I had a compass from my boating days (looked up at the stars, we started out in the morning when the sun was out) and hay presto found Austria again.

atomheart wrote:

Don't try to get a feel for a country based on a few forum posts. People who had some bad experiences* will go above and beyond to defame a country and punish the people that according to their perception wronged them, they're the loudest. Expats who live happily have better things to do.

*if you stick around long enough, you'll realize that some of the regulars here are bitter, damaged old people, who for some reason are stuck in this country, are unable to connect with the locals, their social life in reality is zero, so they use this forum as an outlet for their misery.

As a (pretty much) hungarian, I'd still advise you to think twice before moving here, coming from rich westerner countries you'll experience quite a culture shock, you'll discover things that you might not have observed as a tourist.

I know, I get that here, expats saying this and that about the French. So what should I look out for in the culture shock, I lived in the Gambia for a year, now that was a shock, never seen rats that size before, I thought they were cats, still on the plus side they did have UK electricity sockets but they did make their tea with a lot of sugar (thank God I am a coffee drinker).

davemoore wrote:

As for speaking Hungrian from what I have seen, it looks easier (for me) then French

Ah. Yes. Excellent.

But that is only half of what I wrote. Your half. There is also the Hungarian side to consider -- that is if they understand your Hungarian or not is also important.

Case in point. My wife and go out to eat. I order, for example, paradicsomkrémleves (tomato creme soup) in Hungarian. The waiter will often just stare at me. My Hungarian wife will repeat it: paradicsomkrémleves, and the waiter will write it down. It is not that I am not speaking Hungarian. And what I said and what my wife said to me sounds exactly the same. But it isn't. I have a foreign accent I can not hear. And it is not always understood. That is, you have to consider the Hungarian locals and their interaction with you as participants in your move as well. Thus, learning Hungarian, to be locally understood is of course doable, but may be a bit more work than one may first expect. See for a good topic review this comment:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 56#3649105

It can be like that for many things here. Again, not a stop sign, just a warning sign.

klsallee wrote:

davemoore wrote:

As for speaking Hungrian from what I have seen, it looks easier (for me) then French

Ah. Yes. Excellent.

But that is only half of what I wrote. Your half. There is also the Hungarian side to consider -- that is if they understand your Hungarian or not is also important.

Case in point. My wife and go out to eat. I order, for example, paradicsomkrémleves (tomato creme soup) in Hungarian. The waiter will often just stare at me. My Hungarian wife will repeat it: paradicsomkrémleves, and the waiter will write it down. It is not that I am not speaking Hungarian. And what I said and what my wife said to me sounds exactly the same. But it isn't. I have a foreign accent I can not hear. And it is not always understood. That is, you have to consider the Hungarian locals and their interaction with you as participants in your move as well. Thus, learning Hungarian, to be locally understood is of course doable, but may be a bit more work than one may first expect. See for a good topic review this comment:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 56#3649105

It can be like that for many things here. Again, not a stop sign, just a warning sign.

Thanks for the link, I did that once here in France, ordered something I thought was correct in my mind and ended up getting something different that I did not like or maybe they was taking the mick. So, lucky you have a Hungarian wife, I don't think I can swap mine for a Hungarian one, that might be a bit drastic.

Now living in Budapest!

We moved last August, the first couple of weeks (even now) was difficult with capital D. I always had the impression that "this place is awesome to live in, everything is cheap and everybody is nice" That's what I thought coming and going here for the last 4years as a tourist. BOY I WAS WRONG....

Let me start by having the problem at the immigration to get our residence card sorted because the school needed the Lakcim before we can enrol our daughter. I wasn't aware that offices here are obsessed with stamps and unless a company will stamp the document your paper is not "genuine". (That cracks me up) I had an issue with my supposed employer after they gave me an "employment paper" with all details necessary but no stamps. Ended up not working for the company as they are dodgy like hell. Went back to the immigration office with a bank statement instead (changing my reasons for staying from employment to "others") showing financial means etc. and everything was done in a day, got my residence card in 3weeks. I must give the immigration officers a credit though, they were very helpful oppose to what others wrote regarding their service.

Now, Dodgy employer. I was offered a job and went to see the "boss". She discussed the terms of work. She told me I will be paid a certain amount for working 9-4pm. I got the paperworks and was surprised that the figure was 35% less with longer hours! I objected as that wasn't what we agreed on the meeting. Guess what I was told? That they do it for tax purposes, that it is normal and the rest of the money will be given in hand and they will honour what we discussed not what is on black and white. I NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING BEFORE! As far as I am concern, the four corners of the contract is the legal binding agreement.

School. They need everything translated to Hungarian officially. Which is understandable. We spent roughly 32,000huf for translation services at OFFI. At first OFFI was being difficult as they want the school report to be stamped. We explained that the primary school in London where our daughter went never stamp an end of school report etc.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the place, I LOVE the place but not all the people. I guess it's everywhere. Be that Budapest, London, Honolulu, Manila, Seattle etc. Some are nice but most are not. I can somehow understand to why some Hungarians are not particularly welcoming to expats like us. I spoke to a Hungarian friend and ask if it's  prejudice or my observations were right. He told me "locals can be mean, rude at times because they are frustrated with the way they work and how much they get. That most of them cannot actually enjoy the beauty of their own city and seeing an expat seemingly having it all easy going makes it more miserable for them."

I learned (and still learning) to tolerate the Hungarian locals. After living in England (Richmond upon thames) for quite a long time, it sets a different level of   acceptable behaviour that even my 9year old couldn't help but notice. One big example is jumping the queue, oh boy they love cutting the line here She once told a person who jumped the line "Excuse me that's very rude miss" and oh yeah apologising.. Some just simply does not know how to say sorry. Okay I get it English people overuse the word "sorry" but it is basic manner for crying our loud.

Expenses. We thought it will be significantly cheaper here but the difference is not that much really. Not sure if it makes sense to spend 190k for grocery alone for a family of three but still seems cheaper than how much we spend in London for the same types of food/dishes. Dining out is cheap. Entertainment is cheap, except when you go for the big events (i.e recently we went to watch Bocelli costed 39,900 each ticket but a movie ticket can be as low as 1,760)

Banks. I first opened an account with OTP, I did not find the tellers pleasant to deal with and they are not particularly helpful. They make you feel that you owe them big time by serving you at the counter! and they charge for everything I ended up banking with Raiffeisen, I heard complains about them yes but they provide an English customer service. I availed the premium account that requires a minimum deposit but works very well with what we are looking for.

5months since we moved. I can say that this place is good for us. Far from the what we know but lifestyle wise we are better off here.


Don't be discourage of all the moaning you read online (including mine haha). Trust me, I read worst. I was terrified at first but once you get the hang of it everything is easy going. I couldn't do my shopping on my own for the first couple of weeks. Thankfully my partner is so patient and supportive to go shopping with me all the time. I was advised not to take the behaviours of the people personally and don't let it get into my head. To be honest, that's the best thing I've done so far. I get on my own business and live our life to the fullest. At the end of the day we are here for a short stay and we'd rather have good memories than bad


A

amary89 wrote:

Now living in Budapest!

We moved last August, the first couple of weeks (even now) was difficult with capital D. I always had the impression that "this place is awesome to live in, everything is cheap and everybody is nice" That's what I thought coming and going here for the last 4years as a tourist. BOY I WAS WRONG....

Let me start by having the problem at the immigration to get our residence card sorted because the school needed the Lakcim before we can enrol our daughter. I wasn't aware that offices here are obsessed with stamps and unless a company will stamp the document your paper is not "genuine". (That cracks me up) I had an issue with my supposed employer after they gave me an "employment paper" with all details necessary but no stamps. Ended up not working for the company as they are dodgy like hell. Went back to the immigration office with a bank statement instead (changing my reasons for staying from employment to "others") showing financial means etc. and everything was done in a day, got my residence card in 3weeks. I must give the immigration officers a credit though, they were very helpful oppose to what others wrote regarding their service.

Now, Dodgy employer. I was offered a job and went to see the "boss". She discussed the terms of work. She told me I will be paid a certain amount for working 9-4pm. I got the paperworks and was surprised that the figure was 35% less with longer hours! I objected as that wasn't what we agreed on the meeting. Guess what I was told? That they do it for tax purposes, that it is normal and the rest of the money will be given in hand and they will honour what we discussed not what is on black and white. I NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING BEFORE! As far as I am concern, the four corners of the contract is the legal binding agreement.

School. They need everything translated to Hungarian officially. Which is understandable. We spent roughly 32,000huf for translation services at OFFI. At first OFFI was being difficult as they want the school report to be stamped. We explained that the primary school in London where our daughter went never stamp an end of school report etc.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the place, I LOVE the place but not all the people. I guess it's everywhere. Be that Budapest, London, Honolulu, Manila, Seattle etc. Some are nice but most are not. I can somehow understand to why some Hungarians are not particularly welcoming to expats like us. I spoke to a Hungarian friend and ask if it's  prejudice or my observations were right. He told me "locals can be mean, rude at times because they are frustrated with the way they work and how much they get. That most of them cannot actually enjoy the beauty of their own city and seeing an expat seemingly having it all easy going makes it more miserable for them."

I learned (and still learning) to tolerate the Hungarian locals. After living in England (Richmond upon thames) for quite a long time, it sets a different level of   acceptable behaviour that even my 9year old couldn't help but notice. One big example is jumping the queue, oh boy they love cutting the line here She once told a person who jumped the line "Excuse me that's very rude miss" and oh yeah apologising.. Some just simply does not know how to say sorry. Okay I get it English people overuse the word "sorry" but it is basic manner for crying our loud.

Expenses. We thought it will be significantly cheaper here but the difference is not that much really. Not sure if it makes sense to spend 190k for grocery alone for a family of three but still seems cheaper than how much we spend in London for the same types of food/dishes. Dining out is cheap. Entertainment is cheap, except when you go for the big events (i.e recently we went to watch Bocelli costed 39,900 each ticket but a movie ticket can be as low as 1,760)

Banks. I first opened an account with OTP, I did not find the tellers pleasant to deal with and they are not particularly helpful. They make you feel that you owe them big time by serving you at the counter! and they charge for everything I ended up banking with Raiffeisen, I heard complains about them yes but they provide an English customer service. I availed the premium account that requires a minimum deposit but works very well with what we are looking for.

5months since we moved. I can say that this place is good for us. Far from the what we know but lifestyle wise we are better off here.


Don't be discourage of all the moaning you read online (including mine haha). Trust me, I read worst. I was terrified at first but once you get the hang of it everything is easy going. I couldn't do my shopping on my own for the first couple of weeks. Thankfully my partner is so patient and supportive to go shopping with me all the time. I was advised not to take the behaviours of the people personally and don't let it get into my head. To be honest, that's the best thing I've done so far. I get on my own business and live our life to the fullest. At the end of the day we are here for a short stay and we'd rather have good memories than bad


A

So, it looks the same there as it was for us here in France, took ages before the locals would speak to us (and I say ages as in years), to this day some still do not speak to us or just about say hello, I suppose if we all got on in the world there would be no more wars, so life is just like that I guess. I think as life goes if we just sit still we see nothing and do nothing. I knew from a young age that I would not stay in my birth country (my parents being from different countries may have some bearing on that). I don't think I let things hold me back, otherwise what's the point of learning or exploring. I do look forward to my next chapter in life and hopefully my last (as I do want to call a place my home now) and not where I live. If things dont work out I will just carry on.

davemoore wrote:

....
I know, I get that here, expats saying this and that about the French. So what should I look out for in the culture shock, I lived in the Gambia for a year, now that was a shock, never seen rats that size before, I thought they were cats, still on the plus side they did have UK electricity sockets but they did make their tea with a lot of sugar (thank God I am a coffee drinker).

Are you following me around?  Or am I following you?

I also lived in Gambia (in Kololi) as well and I've been there many times.  And Austria. Gambia is a lot easier to live in than here but there's more to do here for sure.   Sometimes I think it's more developed there than here (like getting unlimited/unmetered 4G internet - been available for years in Gambia but slow to arrive in Europe - major annoyance for me).     

I came for the first time in 1994 so I've been here on and off a long time and with large blocks (years) of full time.  In 1995, Mrs Fluffy and I became an item, kids arrived and the rest is history.

Certainly you can get Marmite but they haven't quite grasped Ginger Beer or Salt n Vinegar crisps (no problem in Gambia).  I don't think I've seen draught Guinness in cans here recently (ok, not British, but close).  They used to have an even bigger section in Tescos but nowadays it's slimmed down on shelf space.  We're more patrons of Auchan now as they have other stuff like curry ingredients at better prices.

You might want to consider somewhere closer to where the action is and in Hungary, that's Budapest. I don't think much is going on a Kaposvar these days.  I know others live out in the sticks but it must be isolating and quite dull at times. 

Some of the other posters might think some of us on these forums are bitter.  That's rubbish.  We all like a whinge and to complain now and again.  Some of us are married to Hungarians and are in for the long haul.  We're invested.  It doesn't mean we cannot complain - particularly about the government.   I even know of one person who was here (because of love) during communism - and yes, there was plenty of complaining about the government then too.   

Now where's my cat...ah and where's the pigeons....with The Donald soon to be impeached, the writing is on the wall for current style of illiberal government favoured here.

One takeaway from this forum is that we all live here, and I think you'll find that we've lived here for a long time.  And we don't want to leave, we enjoy our time here despite the troubles.
I always say that everywhere in the world has troubles, just different troubles.

You may have heard that a Japanese train left the station 20 seconds early and the head of the railways apologized? While in Brazil, most are just happy a serviceable train made the effort to show up at all.  Different expectations, different troubles.

BTW amary89, is that grocery bill you have for 6 months???  Are you eating steak every night?  I think my monthly shopping bill from the local farmer's market, Tesco, and assorted shops is less than 30,000 Fts. Mind you, wine may double that figure :-)

amary89 wrote:

Now, Dodgy employer. I was offered a job and went to see the "boss". She discussed the terms of work. She told me I will be paid a certain amount for working 9-4pm. I got the paperworks and was surprised that the figure was 35% less with longer hours! I objected as that wasn't what we agreed on the meeting. Guess what I was told? That they do it for tax purposes, that it is normal and the rest of the money will be given in hand and they will honour what we discussed not what is on black and white. I NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING BEFORE! As far as I am concern, the four corners of the contract is the legal binding agreement.

This is tax fraud, pure and simple.

The longer I have lived in Hungary the more I encountered this. And worse. Tax avoidance (usually using illegal means) almost seems to be a national sport.

Expats should avoid this local game. The worse a Hungarian gets is a fine. Expats that sign a contract that includes such fraud might, if caught, result in expulsion from the country.

amary89 wrote:

Don't be discourage of all the moaning you read online (including mine haha).

This is the best take home message. The "moaning" we longer term people do are more like caution signs to new arrivals. In fact, I wish I had a better resource of such warning signs with things to watch out for before I came here, it would have saved me a lot of time, effort, and money. It also would have speed up my integration here as I would know what to expect on both the light and dark side of Hungary.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Some of the other posters might think some of us on these forums are bitter.  That's rubbish.

I think the only bitter post in this thread was that person being bitter about others (in his opinion) being bitter.

Oh, the irony. 

fluffy2560 wrote:

davemoore wrote:

....
I know, I get that here, expats saying this and that about the French. So what should I look out for in the culture shock, I lived in the Gambia for a year, now that was a shock, never seen rats that size before, I thought they were cats, still on the plus side they did have UK electricity sockets but they did make their tea with a lot of sugar (thank God I am a coffee drinker).

Are you following me around?  Or am I following you?

I also lived in Gambia (in Kololi) as well and I've been there many times.  And Austria. Gambia is a lot easier to live in than here but there's more to do here for sure.   Sometimes I think it's more developed there than here (like getting unlimited/unmetered 4G internet - been available for years in Gambia but slow to arrive in Europe - major annoyance for me).     

I came for the first time in 1994 so I've been here on and off a long time and with large blocks (years) of full time.  In 1995, Mrs Fluffy and I became an item, kids arrived and the rest is history.

Certainly you can get Marmite but they haven't quite grasped Ginger Beer or Salt n Vinegar crisps (no problem in Gambia).  I don't think I've seen draught Guinness in cans here recently (ok, not British, but close).  They used to have an even bigger section in Tescos but nowadays it's slimmed down on shelf space.  We're more patrons of Auchan now as they have other stuff like curry ingredients at better prices.

You might want to consider somewhere closer to where the action is and in Hungary, that's Budapest. I don't think much is going on a Kaposvar these days.  I know others live out in the sticks but it must be isolating and quite dull at times. 

Some of the other posters might think some of us on these forums are bitter.  That's rubbish.  We all like a whinge and to complain now and again.  Some of us are married to Hungarians and are in for the long haul.  We're invested.  It doesn't mean we cannot complain - particularly about the government.   I even know of one person who was here (because of love) during communism - and yes, there was plenty of complaining about the government then too.   

Now where's my cat...ah and where's the pigeons....with The Donald soon to be impeached, the writing is on the wall for current style of illiberal government favoured here.

I think Budapest would not be for me, (although I have not been there) but when I do come to Hungary I will certainly visit. I have lived out in the wilds for many years and don't mind it but as time gets on I would like to be close to a big town (about 15 mins away) just incase I need a ambulance. The Gambia I was there, ooh must be 30 years ago now, Yundum If I remember (my partner at the time had family there), I have to say I don't think I would go back, way too hot for me and when it rained, it certainly rained down on you. I remember one day laying  in the water, no idea now where it was (must be a river as no waves just really flat) just floating on my back and not sinking and fish jumping/flying out of the water. Still, Kaposvar one reason (but not the only) as it has a ice rink and my family like to skate and are in competions here, so must be near one of those, me I would like to b more in the West part of Hungary, but from what I see about Kaposvar it looks nice.

davemoore wrote:

....
I think Budapest would not be for me, (although I have not been there) but when I do come to Hungary I will certainly visit. I have lived out in the wilds for many years and don't mind it but as time gets on I would like to be close to a big town (about 15 mins away) just incase I need a ambulance. The Gambia I was there, ooh must be 30 years ago now, Yundum If I remember (my partner at the time had family there), I have to say I don't think I would go back, way too hot for me and when it rained, it certainly rained down on you. I remember one day laying  in the water, no idea now where it was (must be a river as no waves just really flat) just floating on my back and not sinking and fish jumping/flying out of the water. Still, Kaposvar one reason (but not the only) as it has a ice rink and my family like to skate and are in competions here, so must be near one of those, me I would like to b more in the West part of Hungary, but from what I see about Kaposvar it looks nice.

Gambia 30 years ago. Not much has changed.  Things should change now the old President has gone as that guy was a kleptomaniac.  Biggest hassle I found there was the electricity - always breaking down and extraordinarily expensive. 

You should visit Budapest - it looks almost exactly like Vienna architecture wise.  It's better looking really with the Danube sweeping through the middle, the castle area, Citadel etc on the bank, parliament, Buda hills in the background framing the scene.   Not quite the same in Vienna which has that odd bypass canal thing going on.

We can do ice rinks in Budapest.  There's an outside one at City Park each year - see this pic Ice Rink.  There's a small one at Decathlon (sports store) in Budaors as well. 

Proximity to Austria is OK but to be honest, it doesn't really matter. I can get to Vienna in 2.5h by car and Vienna Airport in about 2h - they have better intercontinental connections than Budapest.  Eventually we more or less just stopped going to Austria as things have improved here service wise over the past say, 10 years.   

BTW, if thinking Western Hungary, you might want to consider Sopron - almost a bubble of Hungary inside Austria and nearly everyone speaks German there. Small town too and nice scenery.  They are supposed to be building a motorway to it.

fluffy2560 wrote:

davemoore wrote:

....
I think Budapest would not be for me, (although I have not been there) but when I do come to Hungary I will certainly visit. I have lived out in the wilds for many years and don't mind it but as time gets on I would like to be close to a big town (about 15 mins away) just incase I need a ambulance. The Gambia I was there, ooh must be 30 years ago now, Yundum If I remember (my partner at the time had family there), I have to say I don't think I would go back, way too hot for me and when it rained, it certainly rained down on you. I remember one day laying  in the water, no idea now where it was (must be a river as no waves just really flat) just floating on my back and not sinking and fish jumping/flying out of the water. Still, Kaposvar one reason (but not the only) as it has a ice rink and my family like to skate and are in competions here, so must be near one of those, me I would like to b more in the West part of Hungary, but from what I see about Kaposvar it looks nice.

Gambia 30 years ago. Not much has changed.  Things should change now the old President has gone as that guy was a kleptomaniac.  Biggest hassle I found there was the electricity - always breaking down and extraordinarily expensive. 

You should visit Budapest - it looks almost exactly like Vienna architecture wise.  It's better looking really with the Danube sweeping through the middle, the castle area, Citadel etc on the bank, parliament, Buda hills in the background framing the scene.   Not quite the same in Vienna which has that odd bypass canal thing going on.

We can do ice rinks in Budapest.  There's an outside one at City Park each year - see this pic Ice Rink.  There's a small one at Decathlon (sports store) in Budaors as well. 

Proximity to Austria is OK but to be honest, it doesn't really matter. I can get to Vienna in 2.5h by car and Vienna Airport in about 2h - they have better intercontinental connections than Budapest.  Eventually we more or less just stopped going to Austria as things have improved here service wise over the past say, 10 years.   

BTW, if thinking Western Hungary, you might want to consider Sopron - almost a bubble of Hungary inside Austria and nearly everyone speaks German there. Small town too and nice scenery.  They are supposed to be building a motorway to it.

I will visit Budapest when I am there as I do like architecture and would like to visit the Christmas market. I did go to Sopron (my brother and his wife) wanted to go to C&A, they have  thing about shopping so we went for the day. I think the Austrians like to go across the border for the food (I found it cheap to eat out in Hungary) and the food is tasty if I say so myself.

Vicces1 wrote:

One takeaway from this forum is that we all live here, and I think you'll find that we've lived here for a long time.  And we don't want to leave, we enjoy our time here despite the troubles.
I always say that everywhere in the world has troubles, just different troubles.

You may have heard that a Japanese train left the station 20 seconds early and the head of the railways apologized? While in Brazil, most are just happy a serviceable train made the effort to show up at all.  Different expectations, different troubles.

BTW amary89, is that grocery bill you have for 6 months???  Are you eating steak every night?  I think my monthly shopping bill from the local farmer's market, Tesco, and assorted shops is less than 30,000 Fts. Mind you, wine may double that figure :-)

Is that what you spend on food each month and do you produce some of your own food. This is what I would like to do (grow my own etc).

davemoore wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

davemoore wrote:

....
I think Budapest would not be for me, (although I have not been there) but when I do come to Hungary I will certainly visit. I have lived out in the wilds for many years and don't mind it but as time gets on I would like to be close to a big town (about 15 mins away) just incase I need a ambulance. The Gambia I was there, ooh must be 30 years ago now, Yundum If I remember (my partner at the time had family there), I have to say I don't think I would go back, way too hot for me and when it rained, it certainly rained down on you. I remember one day laying  in the water, no idea now where it was (must be a river as no waves just really flat) just floating on my back and not sinking and fish jumping/flying out of the water. Still, Kaposvar one reason (but not the only) as it has a ice rink and my family like to skate and are in competions here, so must be near one of those, me I would like to b more in the West part of Hungary, but from what I see about Kaposvar it looks nice.

Gambia 30 years ago. Not much has changed.  Things should change now the old President has gone as that guy was a kleptomaniac.  Biggest hassle I found there was the electricity - always breaking down and extraordinarily expensive. 

You should visit Budapest - it looks almost exactly like Vienna architecture wise.  It's better looking really with the Danube sweeping through the middle, the castle area, Citadel etc on the bank, parliament, Buda hills in the background framing the scene.   Not quite the same in Vienna which has that odd bypass canal thing going on.

We can do ice rinks in Budapest.  There's an outside one at City Park each year - see this pic Ice Rink.  There's a small one at Decathlon (sports store) in Budaors as well. 

Proximity to Austria is OK but to be honest, it doesn't really matter. I can get to Vienna in 2.5h by car and Vienna Airport in about 2h - they have better intercontinental connections than Budapest.  Eventually we more or less just stopped going to Austria as things have improved here service wise over the past say, 10 years.   

BTW, if thinking Western Hungary, you might want to consider Sopron - almost a bubble of Hungary inside Austria and nearly everyone speaks German there. Small town too and nice scenery.  They are supposed to be building a motorway to it.

I think the Austrians like to go across the border for the food (I found it cheap to eat out in Hungary) and the food is tasty if I say so myself.

Sopron is popular for Austrians to go and shop, also for the Brits living as far as Vienna, they do day trips, have beauty, hair treatments, dentist and hit Tesco's.

SimCityAT wrote:

davemoore wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Gambia 30 years ago. Not much has changed.  Things should change now the old President has gone as that guy was a kleptomaniac.  Biggest hassle I found there was the electricity - always breaking down and extraordinarily expensive. 

You should visit Budapest - it looks almost exactly like Vienna architecture wise.  It's better looking really with the Danube sweeping through the middle, the castle area, Citadel etc on the bank, parliament, Buda hills in the background framing the scene.   Not quite the same in Vienna which has that odd bypass canal thing going on.

We can do ice rinks in Budapest.  There's an outside one at City Park each year - see this pic Ice Rink.  There's a small one at Decathlon (sports store) in Budaors as well. 

Proximity to Austria is OK but to be honest, it doesn't really matter. I can get to Vienna in 2.5h by car and Vienna Airport in about 2h - they have better intercontinental connections than Budapest.  Eventually we more or less just stopped going to Austria as things have improved here service wise over the past say, 10 years.   

BTW, if thinking Western Hungary, you might want to consider Sopron - almost a bubble of Hungary inside Austria and nearly everyone speaks German there. Small town too and nice scenery.  They are supposed to be building a motorway to it.

I think the Austrians like to go across the border for the food (I found it cheap to eat out in Hungary) and the food is tasty if I say so myself.

Sopron is popular for Austrians to go and shop, also for the Brits living as far as Vienna, they do day trips, have beauty, hair treatments, dentist and hit Tesco's.

Well I have no hair, so that rules out that one, dentist, I think a checkup is on the cards, is Tesco's still going strong there?

davemoore wrote:

SimCityAT wrote:

davemoore wrote:

I think the Austrians like to go across the border for the food (I found it cheap to eat out in Hungary) and the food is tasty if I say so myself.

Sopron is popular for Austrians to go and shop, also for the Brits living as far as Vienna, they do day trips, have beauty, hair treatments, dentist and hit Tesco's.

Well I have no hair, so that rules out that one, dentist, I think a checkup is on the cards, is Tesco's still going strong there?

Last the misses visited. it was steady I guess

davemoore wrote:

Is that what you spend on food each month and do you produce some of your own food. This is what I would like to do (grow my own etc).

I live in Budapest so aside from some terrace herbs, I buy all my food. I am lucky to live near Lehel Piac so I get farmer's produce and meats year round.  Yes, I know that a lot of what is there is large marketed and not family run farms, but it's fresh and seasonal, and I can tell which are Tesco extras and farm fresh.

Vicces1 wrote:

davemoore wrote:

Is that what you spend on food each month and do you produce some of your own food. This is what I would like to do (grow my own etc).

I live in Budapest so aside from some terrace herbs, I buy all my food. I am lucky to live near Lehel Piac so I get farmer's produce and meats year round.  Yes, I know that a lot of what is there is large marketed and not family run farms, but it's fresh and seasonal, and I can tell which are Tesco extras and farm fresh.

When we lived in Burgenland we had a few chickens, grew some veg and bought some pigs (live ones) from a chap just across the border in Hungary, I also took a goat ( a live one) when I moved to Austria, I think the Swiss customs had a bit of a surprise, mind you they gave me some water for the goat.

Not a farm, but I do have a dog who gets regularly spoiled at cafes across Budapest. They let her walk around and give her water. I've tried to teach her to bring me beers but hasn't worked yet....

davemoore wrote:

....
I will visit Budapest when I am there as I do like architecture and would like to visit the Christmas market. I did go to Sopron (my brother and his wife) wanted to go to C&A, they have  thing about shopping so we went for the day. I think the Austrians like to go across the border for the food (I found it cheap to eat out in Hungary) and the food is tasty if I say so myself.

If you like Vienna, you'll have deja-vu in Budapest.

There's a big wheel there at the moment, like the London Eye but IMHO the Xmas market ain't up to much (are any of them?). 

I hope when you were in Sopron you visited Chen's Chinese Cooking.   Excellent Chinese buffet and not too expensive either - it's next to the OBI and opposite Tescos - it's on the top floor of the shopping centre..

Chikagoan wrote:

Atomheart
Very good response. I would like to ask if you are an ethnic Hungarian from Romania? Also, if you don't speak Hungarian then you really are pretty limited  in Hungary, ugye? I will not move there for about two years, but I continue to work on my language skills daily.

I'm from romania, but hungarian is my native tongue. Hungarian is important if you want to connect with the local people around you. Unless, maybe, if you move to Budapest and work for a multi-national company where everybody speaks english...

fluffy2560 wrote:

Some of the other posters might think some of us on these forums are bitter.  That's rubbish.

I wasn't referring to you, you're pretty ok. I was referring mostly to... you know who , I believe he/she explicitely stated he would prefer to move back to where he came from. That person also likes to tell stories that are either completely made up or very out of context (maybe forgetting to mention that his spouse is part of an ethnic minority - can be inferred from his stories -, with a very peculiar culture), not representative of the avereage hungarian ppl. 

davemoore wrote:

Now what I would like to know, if possible, the areas, towns, villages etc to avoid, as I understand crime is very little in parts of Hungary.

In general you'll want to avoid villages/towns with a huge gipsy population, they're the poorest stratum of society in Hungary, making them more prone to crime. If you move to a village with lots of them, the question is not IF or WHEN your house is getting burgled, but HOW OFTEN! If you use google image search for "ciganyok reszaranya megyenkent", you'll find maps showing the "bad" countys with a darker color.

atomheart wrote:

davemoore wrote:

Now what I would like to know, if possible, the areas, towns, villages etc to avoid, as I understand crime is very little in parts of Hungary.

In general you'll want to avoid villages/towns with a huge gipsy population, they're the poorest stratum of society in Hungary, making them more prone to crime. If you move to a village with lots of them, the question is not IF or WHEN your house is getting burgled, but HOW OFTEN! If you use google image search for "ciganyok reszaranya megyenkent", you'll find maps showing the "bad" countys with a darker color.

I hate to concur with that kind of sentiment but it's generally true.  There are gangs of them here and there.  They are well organised and brazen. 

Generally burglars will steal your stuff but won't kill you or beat you up.  They won't come in if you are at home - never heard of a home invasion. 

But, we've been burgled - obviously by Spiderman - as we were on the 1st floor that time.  Screwdrivered the patio doors and stole my kids pocket money. Insurance coughed up. Neighbours have been burgled - they weren't insured.   I've had my car stolen. Had my other cars broken into into a couple of times - smashed a window and one idiot ripped the lock out and stole about 20 Ft and my fire extinguisher. Nothing else in it but major door damage - I started to leave it unlocked.  I've also been pickpocketed.  That's maybe 5-6 incidents over 23 years. 

I now live in a house with security doors, shutters, floodlights, metal bars on vulnerable windows,  alarm, motion detecting cameras and soon, a big dog in the garden.  According to the cops, we'll never be a target as there are much softer targets around - why choose us?  Apparently the police say in my village, there were 200 burglaries in the past year.  I think that's pretty high but it's not that urban here - houses spread out, plenty of trees etc.  There's a high level of twitchy curtains here which is quite good if a little nosey.

My Hungarian Canadian friend used to keep a .22 pistol in his house in addition to his dog, alarm etc.    That's  utterly OTT.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Generally burglars will steal your stuff but won't kill you or beat you up.  They won't come in if you are at home - never heard of a home invasion.

Has happened many times, a few examples:

old man beaten to death by burglars
old man beaten to death, his brother left alive because he pretended to be dead
burglers beat old man half do death, leave him unconscious and set his house on fire, he dies of wounds
gang accused of breaking into old people's homes, tying and beating them up, then stealing valuables, being prosecuted

atomheart wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Generally burglars will steal your stuff but won't kill you or beat you up.  They won't come in if you are at home - never heard of a home invasion.

Has happened many times, a few examples:

old man beaten to death by burglars
old man beaten to death, his brother left alive because he pretended to be dead
burglers beat old man half do death, leave him unconscious and set his house on fire, he dies of wounds
gang accused of breaking into old people's homes, tying and beating them up, then stealing valuables, being prosecuted

Oh dear, obviously I'm in a lucky bubble.  Now I shall be worried.

atomheart wrote:

davemoore wrote:

Now what I would like to know, if possible, the areas, towns, villages etc to avoid, as I understand crime is very little in parts of Hungary.

In general you'll want to avoid villages/towns with a huge gipsy population, they're the poorest stratum of society in Hungary, making them more prone to crime. If you move to a village with lots of them, the question is not IF or WHEN your house is getting burgled, but HOW OFTEN! If you use google image search for "ciganyok reszaranya megyenkent", you'll find maps showing the "bad" countys with a darker color.

Thank you for the info, that is what I wanted to know (what to look for) much appreciated. At least with my background in security services I should be ok.

I personally resent how non-Hungarians move to Hungary and expect Hungary to conform to their vision of a politically correct and multi-cultural society, in direct opposition to what most Hungarians want.
I am sure that this will leash a firestorm of indignant replies, which is OK. It is fun to read and respond and fostering honest debate is beneficial.