Cheapest cities in Hungary

180km south of Budapest there is a medium-sized University town called Szeged. Population around 200,000 people. It's nice it's clean and safe and the prices are quite lower than those of Budapest whether you are looking to buy property or rent. The town has a large population of young people because it hosts several universities with both domestic and foreign students. The job opportunity is probably not as good as that of Budapest because to be able to work you do have to speak Hungarian since it's a small town and large companies are not represented where you could be only an English-speaking employee . But it's perfect for studying over there. They have English education at the University in medicine pharmacology dentistry engineering and there could be some others I don't know of.

For what it is worth, there are only 8 large cities, and 11 small to medium sized cities in Hungary. So not a lot to choose from. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c … of_Hungary

What's a city?  Depends on the definition.  Here, there are many places which are large but are only towns but might be classified as cities elsewhere.  In my own country (UK) it seems cities are usually only cities if they historically have a cathedral.  But I think the new thing is for the Queen to give her permission.  Every so often they have a competition to acquire the description "City".   Here in HU, I don't know what the criteria is.

But where you live depends who you are.  If you're on an expat package, you're going to live close to the place of work.   If you come here looking for something to do, I think it's going to be (again) job and remuneration driven. 

Then it comes down to good accounting - 1/3 housing and utilities,  1/3 food and 1/3 savings/clothing/entertainment.

If you're in for the long term, then if you have kids the main thing people move out of the city is for a garden, access to green spaces, schools and possibly public transport.  Moving just a few km outside of the city can make a massive difference in house prices.  My own village is for some weird reason expensive (utterly undeservedly) but just down the road 3-5km, it can be 1/2 the price for a family home.   There's a LOT of building work going on here all the time and we've just acquired a new secondary school.

fluffy2560 wrote:

What's a city?  .... In my own country (UK)

I think we should go with the local Hungarian definition. Not a foreign one.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

What's a city?  .... In my own country (UK)

I think we should go with the local Hungarian definition. Not a foreign one.

Well, yes, I was hoping someone would put me straight on what a city is in Hungary.  Might be population size rather than an award by the monarch as in my own country. 

I think in the USA, a city becomes incorporated but what that really means I have no idea. 

Maybe it's like a business - like Los Angeles Inc.   Or Detroit Inc.

I could Wiki it but sometimes, asking is more interesting.

https://www.veol.hu/hirek/mitol-varos-a … e-1719415/

"A határozat szerint azok a települések ütik meg az átlagos városi szintet, ahol a lakosság lélekszáma eléri a 10 ezer főt, és az az elmúlt öt évben folyamatosan növekedett, csatornázottsága minimum hatvanszázalékos, a belterületi utak kilencven százaléka szilárd burkolatú, van alapfokú és középfokú nevelési-oktatási intézménye, van rendőrkapitánysága vagy helyi rendőrőrse, hivatásos tűzoltósága, katasztrófavédelmi őrse vagy önkormányzati tűzoltósága. Van egészségügyi alapellátás, van tanuszodája vagy többcélú sportcsarnoka, az elbírálást megelőző évben a helyi önkormányzat bevételeinek legalább húsz százaléka a helyi iparűzési adóból folyt be."

So the criteria:

-more than 10000 inhabitants
-uninterrupted growth in the past 5 years
-ratio of sewers 60%
-asphalted roads over 90%
-has emelemtary and secondary school
-has own police
-has own firefighters
-has doctor's office
-has swimming pool or sports complex
-at least 20% of the income of the settlement was from business tax in the previous year

Rawlee wrote:

.....
So the criteria:

-more than 10000 inhabitants
-uninterrupted growth in the past 5 years
-ratio of sewers 60%
-asphalted roads over 90%
-has elementary and secondary school
-has own police
-has own firefighters
-has doctor's office
-has swimming pool or sports complex
-at least 20% of the income of the settlement was from business tax in the previous year

Useful if a little complicated. 

Can a city be downgraded once it's a city? 

What does city status do for a place?

Rawlee wrote:

-has doctor's office

Even our little village of 300 people has a doctors office..... Due to National Health requirements.

So that is a rather silly requirement for a city.

Leave it to politicians and bureaucrats to make useless, silly and non-sense regulations.

Rawlee wrote:

-
-has swimming pool or sports complex

LOL!!! I can but assume that is a OV requirement.... The *little* football fan... Good grief..... 

klsallee wrote:

Rawlee wrote:

-has doctor's office

Even our little village of 300 people has a doctors office..... Due to National Health requirements.

So that is a rather silly requirement for a city.

Leave it to politicians and bureaucrats to make non-sense regulations.

Rawlee wrote:

-
-has swimming pool or sports complex

LOL!!! I can but assume that is a OV requirement.... The little football fan... Good grief.....

For OV, the sports complex could only be a football stadium and a narrow gauge railway line.

If it was me, I'd include a check on the proportion of the population with more than 4 children and how many minivans.   

I might also check how many Labrador doggies the fire chief has and how many donuts are consumed per week at the police station.

If there were not enough paved roads or sewer pipes, I'd blame it on Soros, Juncker and the EU.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Can a city be downgraded once it's a city?

Good point.  Very good point.

Such as... uninterrupted growth... That is an easy point of failure.

Because... Sh*t happens....

I doubt the Hungarian politicians have thought that through....   

fluffy2560 wrote:

If there were not enough paved roads or sewer pipes, I'd blame it on Soros, Juncker and the EU.

LOL!!! 

But... Actually... Not.

In desperation, they may indeed try that....   

Scary..... 

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

If there were not enough paved roads or sewer pipes, I'd blame it on Soros, Juncker and the EU.

LOL!!! 

But... Actually... Not.

In desperation, they may indeed try that....   

Scary..... 

A lot of these kind of infrastructure things are paid for by EU grant money and the banner "cohesion" funds - a misnomer perhaps.   

I suppose they could "legitimise" lack of pipes by blaming it on the EU  -  i.e. a grant was not awarded (.......to  OV's relatives). 

Juncker is going to retire soon and his co-conspirator Soros is ancient. 

I wonder who OV has lined up to blame for the next round?

You are really a miserable bunch, full of hate.

You didnt even read the article I posted, only comment BS. The answer is right in there. Cities arent "demoted". All these criterias are actually quite objective, they show which settlements have potential, which villages can function as regional engines for growth. They get this rank to show if they are good places to live at, where one can find all the basic necessities (my grandmother's village doesnt have sewers or piped water, or police, firefighters or doctor, not even a school, there is only 1 shop - open 4 hours a day - and a single pub, no post office, the priests only visits once a week for an hour; if you wanna check, its called Fony).

Compared to before 2015 (when this law was made), cities were awarded this title based on political reasons.
http://www.mtafki.hu/konyvtar/kiadv/FE1 … 56-481.pdf

"A  leginkább  a  rend-szerváltozás  évében  ugrott  meg  a  városok  száma,  amikor  minden  idők  legnagyobb  várossá nyilvánítása zajlott le, hiszen addig még egyetlen esztendőben sem lett 41 település  egyszerre  város.  Belejátszott  ebbe  a  nagyon  „sima”  várossá  nyilvánításba  –  mivel  minden jelentkező” szinte automatikusan megkapta a címet – a politikai vezetés jókora nagyvonalúsága  és  az,  hogy  mindez  a  „nagy  remények,  a  hatalmas  lelkesedés  és  eufó-ria”  idején  történt.  "

Left-wing government basically doubled the amount of cities in 1990, just because.

Rawlee wrote:

You are really a miserable bunch, full of hate.

Pot, kettle, black.  It's called satire.

Rawlee wrote:

....
You didnt even read the article I posted, only comment BS. The answer is right in there. Cities arent "demoted". All these criterias are actually quite objective, they show which settlements have potential, which villages can function as regional engines for growth. They get this rank to show if they are good places to live at, where one can find all the basic necessities (my grandmother's village doesnt have sewers or piped water, or police, firefighters or doctor, not even a school, there is only 1 shop - open 4 hours a day - and a single pub, no post office, the priests only visits once a week for an hour; if you wanna check, its called Fony).

I did read the posted text, the link was TLDR between sips of coffee and looking for diversions to put off doing any work. 

Rawlee wrote:

....
Compared to before 2015 (when this law was made), cities were awarded this title based on political reasons.

And politics has absolutely nothing to do with it now?

I see no hatred here, if those here hated it so much they would not be living in Hungary. That aside the OP is going off topic slightly I would say