Hi! I'm going to live in budapest soon. Do you have any advices about the best things to do or to avoid?
Tell me about your craziest experience there
>>1058548
Avoid: eating kebabs. They are just crap. Much like in other countries, you shouldn't eat them anywhere.
Best thing: try the ring pastry.
szimpla kert or any of the other ruin bars.
>>1058548
where you from, anon? where will you live? is it permanent or you just come for erasmus?
>>1058548
My hidden treasure chest, golden grand piano, my beautiful castillo.
What's a good place to live in Budapest? That's close to the center? How's the cultural and social life in it if you only know English? What is the monthly cost for a modest but not completely poverty tier life?
>>1059015
After a discussion with a woman in a real estate agency, she told me that I would need at least 300.000 forints (950€) for a decent living. It represents 2 salaries in Hungary
>>1059030
Damn, I thought it would be cheaper. Is this when you buy your own place so you don't have to include rent, or is this when you rent a place?
>>1058981
You
Ooh, you
Ooh, I'd leave it all
>>1059032
This is with the rent included, so it's still much cheaper than the other european countries
>>1059034
Well I don't know, in Serbia you need like $500/month for a perfectly normal life. From what I've seen of Hungary, it's not in a much better state regarding crime, prostitution, general degeneracy and being a third world shithole (that Serbia admittedly is).
But... when I look at how much life supposedly costs in rich Euro countries, like Germany or UK or whatever, I fail to see what they're paying for honestly. Then I look at Numbeo and it turns out that they're paying like 3k euros per month for an apartment... but why the fuck.
>>1059035
I have been a few times in budapest and it's far away than a third world shit hole. It's not the cheapest european country but you can have a decent life without spending 3k per month. Also I always feel safe there, never had any problem with the locals. And for prostitution I never saw a hooker in the street except some gipsy girls at night but they won't harass you like african girls in spain or france
>>1059030
That sounds about right, the more the better, though. Remember that the € to Forint rate is constantly changing, Forint getting worse and worse, but the cost of things only ever goes up, never down. Make sure to have enough money that would be fine if prices would go up significantly.
A nicer place in the 5th district would cost you a lot of that 300k...
http://ingatlan.com/listasz/kiado+lakas+v-ker+1-1-szoba
Cultural life I don't really know of, social life... Be prepared that every local will want to hang out with you (except some nazis and hipsters) just cause you're a foreigner.
Hungary is notorious for dubbed movies... The good news is that art house cinema is always subtitled, and there's plenty of choices there. Free movie festivals as well, etc.
For Hollywood movies with subtitles instead of dubbing go to Mammut (take tram number 4 or 6 from the 5th or 7th district to Széll Kálmán tér), they always air mainstream stuff with the original language. Westend and MOM also has original language Hollywood stuff sometimes, but that's less predictable. (The language is always stated in the schedule, get someone to show you the abbreviations once. Port.hu if you want to google translate.)
Around Király utca you'll always find bars open, with some expats here and there.
5th and 7th are the better places for food, make sure to frequent your closest market hall. (Hold utcai if you're in the 5th, 7th has more I think.)
You don't really want to live Northeast from Rottenbiller utca. It may or may not be better the past few years since I only pass by rarely, but just avoid it. That Keleti area may not look like anything dangerous to you, but you don't want to walk home from a party further downtown to there. (Unless you also instinctively hide all your valuables when leaving a bar piss drunk and don't show them till you're home.)
>>1058757
There are some edible ones. I recommend the kebab at the Corvin/körút cross. Hungarians call them gyros btw.
I forgot the best things to do...
Go to a Turkish bath. Rudas has a nice view, Széchenyi is huge, Lukács is close to the center but still has a variety of pools, Veli bej is neat and cute, Király has its Soviet rotten charm, I could go on, there's one for each weekend basically.
If you need fresh air, check out the caves. Best to go caving during July or August, when the air quality drops, and it's too hot to exist outside.
Check out the trails of the Buda mountains. You can take a bus/tram from Széll Kálmán tér, and then go for a short hike, long hike, trail run, downhill cycling, whatever you like.
People from districts 1-2-5-13 normally go to Margit-sziget for their morning or evening run. From district 7 Városliget is closer.
Should you have any problems making friends (which you won't), you can always join one of the regular couchsurfer meetups or something like that.
Avoid public healthcare, or have a native Hungarian with you if by accident you get in contact with public healthcare.
I don't know how it is in France, just mentioning this as it was strange for some of the expats I've met in Budapest... Hungarians (like most Eastern Europeans afaik) don't do icebreakers. Unless it's someone who has many expat friends, they won't really do the "nice weather, eh?" talk. If the weather is bad, everyone will complain of course. (But then secretly feel bad about having the same view as others on something.)
>>1059256
Thanks very much for the advices! Do you live there or are you just a regular traveler?
>>1059415
I was born and raised in Buda, moved away after having lived there 25 years. I do visit every couple of months.
I do have a few expat friends, too, but I mostly know the city from the locals' point of view, so I can't advise too much on English-language cultural life and the like.
Anything else -- just ask.
>>1059484
In wich country did you decide to live now?
For the public health care, what are the things I should be careful?
>>1059030
Loool wtf, if you rented a very nice room in the center you get it for 300 euros at the very maximum, then if you eat out for literally all your meals that's maybe 10 euros per day. Going out EVERY night and spending 10 euros (which buys you like 6-10 drinks) may add an additional 300 per month, and taking all these extremes it's still only 900. Monthly transportation pass is like 10 euro more. Really, making 950 euros net per month is an exception even in Budapest.
>>1059668
>if you rented a very nice room in the center you get it for 300 euros at the very maximum, t
What do you mean by room? I can't find a place in the center that's not a complete shithole for less than 600e.
>>1059669
Sorry I thought you would come as a student and implied you'd just want to rent a room in a shared appartment. However I'm still pretty sure you can get a decent appartment way way under 600 EUR, suggest you to check here:
realestatehungary.hu/
>>1058548
>>1058548
>>1059526
I moved to the Netherlands.
May I ask what brings you to Budapest?
There is no specific thing, just avoid in general.
The healthcare workers are highly educated and experienced, so in that regard it's fine. In every other aspect (supplies including medicine, staff, friendliness, facilities, etc) it's a hit or miss, locals improve their chances with bribes. Everyone is quite skilled, just overworked to the point they can't really treat you as a human being, just a problem that needs to be solved. Private healthcare should be good, especially dental treatments should be well worth the money. There they also speak decent English.
>>1059758
>May I ask what brings you to Budapest?
Not that anon but I'm poor and want to start living like a normal person at least for a few years before I kill myself.
Did you move to the Netherlands for work? I wish I had a job.
>>1059758
Budapest is a logical choice for me, I have been there a few times and I had this strange feeling that I felt like home everytime I was there. I really can't explain why I love so much this city, it's just I feel good when I'm there.
I also like Amsterdam very much, I was there last summer. Maybe I will move there after a few years if I fail to adapt to the city (but I really don't expect that!)
>>1059905
You will start to live like a normal person the day you will stop to think about killing yourself. If money is your problem, you will have the same problems in hungary and anywhere else.
>>1059917
I don't know dude, whether you need $1k/month or $5k/month to live a normal life is a pretty big difference.
And nice circular reasoning there, if I could have a normal life, I wouldn't think about that in the first place, would I.
>>1059905
I moved to the Netherlands because I wanted to live like a normal person before I kill myself (I now know why I wanted to kill myself, and done with that thought).
Getting a new job also coincided with the move. If you like browsing /trv/, maybe look for some social media related jobs? It might start with shitty internships. (Travel-related jobs I have no clue of.)
>>1059915
It does have its distinct vibe, I see what you mean. Act like a guest, then you can keep up this feeling the longest. Hospitality overrides everything in Hungarians? Eastern Europeans?, so as long as one acts like a visitor, you're going to be treated great.
Just bullshitting here, you're going to have loads of fun. Good luck with the move! Also please improve the city so that I could move back. lol
>>1059975
Depends where your income is from. $1k looks cheap, but when you get your money in Forints, you're in for a big surprise, as $1k will look like a lot... Ofc if you have savings in US dollars already, then you can live like a king. Then I might recommend places like Pécs (yes, that's a town) or Debrecen even that are even cheaper, but still have some expats. If you have to work, then Budapest is better.
>>1060037
I also spent a long time with this idea of killing myself and like you I understand now where it comes from.
Yes you are right about staying like a guest as long as possible is probably the best way to keep this feeling alive. I don't think I will be able to improve the city but at least I'll bring some good vibes!
