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Dreaming of moving

Dreaming of moving

Old Nov 9th 2017, 11:06 am
  #31  
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Default Re: Dreaming of moving

An interesting read for me ! I think that I am going to have to get an electrician in to see exactly what is what in the house that I have bought !
After I bought it, a new modern meter was installed prior to me taking over the property fully. It is an ex farmhouse and also has a three phase supply. On one of the room walls there is a rectangular box, grey / silver in colour, with a red light and green light and on / off switch on it… the cooker is connected to that and it works… there is another one in the barn but I have not tried that one and there doesn't seem to be anything connected up to it machinery wise.
I think it would be a good plan to find out exactly what sort of wiring is in there and also to fit a safety feature as suggested !
As to white goods, I will be buying new when there full time but will take a few electrical things over with me from the UK such as the slow cooker. I have bought a pack of adaptors cheaply from E.bay and they work fine for the few electronic devices I have tried so I'm not worried about fitting new plugs !!
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Old Nov 9th 2017, 1:12 pm
  #32  
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Default Re: Dreaming of moving

Just a few observations from a relative newbie living (part-time) in the NE of the country. Many wise words from the old hands, but for me the things that struck most were absence of low, depressing grey cloud which can spoil even a UK summer day. Public discipline and responsibility are generally much greater than my area of southern UK, with little apparent crime. There can be terrible road accidents with casualties not commensurate with the (lower) traffic levels outside Budapest. Most people seem to use the excellent bus services which runs reliably, and starts much earlier. At my UK address they don't even start till 7 a.m. whereas many Hungarians have already put in some hours by then.
Negative aspects for me include the difficulty experienced by working people in basic survival with prices at similar levels to UK but salaries very much less. Government beaurocracy seems bafflingly complicated, variable and very authoritarian in outlook. Some departments accept electronic communications, others only original paperwork (completed in blue ink, not black, please!)
I'd recommend making any move before Brexit while the going's good. Nobody has a clue what's happening afterwards, but do you really think it'll be any easier?
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Old Nov 9th 2017, 2:47 pm
  #33  
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Default Re: Dreaming of moving

@hobgoblins:
Good to hear you're manageing this well!

@blackwaterman:
Yes, the "paper wars" in Hungary are sometimes horrible - my wife just helped a friend with changing ownership of a house and telling all the utility providers the new bank accounts etc.

One crazy example:
Here both gas and electricity are provided by EON - but they have different offices so everything has to be done twice ...
On the other hand most people at these offices were very helpful, so it wasn't too difficult, just time consuming ...

PS:
I don't think you Brits will have problems - Hungarians like you and anyway they need all those foreigners' money.
Even in "Communist" times so some people tell me (I wasn't here then ...).
Of course you have to be careful, there are black sheep everywhere. We've built a kind of network of people that we can trust ...

Last edited by wolfi; Nov 9th 2017 at 2:50 pm.
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Old Nov 9th 2017, 6:33 pm
  #34  
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Default Re: Dreaming of moving

Originally Posted by ildiw13
HI, i am very interested how did you decide. we are in the same position. English husband, i am hungarian. Hw wants to go more. I am a bit scared of leaving everything, the security etc.
Did you find out anything about healthcare? Thats my biggest worry.
Ps we would move to Heves megye, Tarnamera. Would built our house.
Any advise?
I have been here for some 23 years and can not fault the health service. Waiting times seem a lot shorter than anything I hear about in the UK, GPs have a walk in service, no appointments needed and ours will do basic things like blood pressures, taking blood for routine tests, ECGs, remove stitches plus various bits of first aid if you turn up dripping the red stuff! Dentists - easy to find one who works on the NHS and the terrible corruption money has all but ceased (we never paid any anyway)

You don't say how old you are. If you are pensioner or nearly so then I would move before Brexit as there is (probably) going to be an agreement to fund the health care for existing resident UK pensioners after Brexit but for those who move after Brexit things are a lot less certain.

If you will need to work for a living then explore the possibilities before you move

Last time I was speaking to a builder about building a house he said that it would cost about 60k GBP to build a typical family house although there will be regional variations on that. (and it will depend upon the spec you want and the plot is not included). If you are going to self-build - things have tightened up in the last few years and you will need a qualified builder and BCO to oversee the works.
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Old Nov 9th 2017, 7:53 pm
  #35  
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Default Re: Dreaming of moving

Hi, thank you for your reply. i am 37 so still a long time till retirement and husband is 48. we have a 7 yrs old as well so need to think about his future. i have lived in England since 1998 - all of my adult life. I know this system much better than Hungary. Thats all new to me. I could get a job, dont think that would be a problem, not sure what my husband would do as he doesnt speak the language at all. Would be so much less stress if we move. We are looking to move back to the village where i have grown up and i still have family there too.
Such a hard decision to make.
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Old Nov 10th 2017, 2:30 am
  #36  
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Default Re: Dreaming of moving

Originally Posted by ildiw13
Hi, thank you for your reply. i am 37 so still a long time till retirement and husband is 48. we have a 7 yrs old as well so need to think about his future. i have lived in England since 1998 - all of my adult life. I know this system much better than Hungary. Thats all new to me. I could get a job, dont think that would be a problem, not sure what my husband would do as he doesnt speak the language at all. Would be so much less stress if we move. We are looking to move back to the village where i have grown up and i still have family there too.
Such a hard decision to make.
Yes it's time to take all in which as been written, as for myself first over in 2008 my dream gone Haywire watt I Dreamed off as Gone just a bought, Had fully renovated One Place and Sold just recently giving funds for Another Property which again is a rebuild, 60% work finished but still unable to stay Over Winter which I enjoyed as the Property is Off-Grid SO winters split IN UK & across in UA Kiev with my Wife, in 2 bed Dormer 110m2 Bungalow, Health no Problem Here, OK Paying privately Just had r/hip joint sorted Dry Hip Bone so CT Scan X-Rays Quartzone Injection and special Lubrication into Hip Joint all within 48 hrs Cost £235.00 including Taxi fares, I was when in Hungary a Lot Hospital was a Problem as P/Cancer and very little Help over There, Good Look to the Future digger47
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Old Nov 10th 2017, 9:06 am
  #37  
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Default Re: Dreaming of moving

Converter plugs are readily available here, good for small things like chargers etc.
Since I had a lot of Kitchen equipment I wanted to keep, and since what the Hungarians accepted as a kitchen was a long way short of somewhere I wanted to spend any time, I fitted UK sockets as part of the upgrade.
Attached Thumbnails Dreaming of moving-p1020018.jpg   Dreaming of moving-p1020019.jpg  
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Old Nov 10th 2017, 3:56 pm
  #38  
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Default Re: Dreaming of moving

I dislike the European electrical socket. It is constructed of a relatively soft plastic, fastened to an even softer back box by a couple of 'teeth' that attempt to grip the two components together.

This is almost okay when it's a single socket, but if it's double, the leverage applied when removing a plug from the second socket is too much for the grippers and eventually comes loose. You need two hands to remove a plug if you want to keep the socket fixed to the wall.

UK wall sockets are physically screwed to a metal back box with two screws which are more than capable of holding the parts together. Only one hand needed for removal!

Many things in Hungary are better than in UK, but wall sockets are definitely not.
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Old Nov 10th 2017, 4:24 pm
  #39  
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Default Re: Dreaming of moving

Shotgun, you're right!
That's why we generally use extension cords for all lighter loads (computers, chargers etc) that have to be unplugged and replugged regularly - any heavy load usuall stays plugged in all the time.

PS:
And now I could start ranting that we alwys have not enough sockets - even though I told the electrician to install as many as possible ...
But of course most people couldn't foresee the explosion of electronic devices 15 or 20 years ago ...
When I told the guy two years ago that I wanted 4 sockets (plus a fixed connection for the lights and a ceiling fan) in our summer kitchen on the terrace he looked at me incredulously ...
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Old Nov 10th 2017, 5:55 pm
  #40  
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Default Re: Dreaming of moving

Originally Posted by Shotgun
I dislike the European electrical socket. It is constructed of a relatively soft plastic, fastened to an even softer back box by a couple of 'teeth' that attempt to grip the two components together.

This is almost okay when it's a single socket, but if it's double, the leverage applied when removing a plug from the second socket is too much for the grippers and eventually comes loose. You need two hands to remove a plug if you want to keep the socket fixed to the wall.

UK wall sockets are physically screwed to a metal back box with two screws which are more than capable of holding the parts together. Only one hand needed for removal!

Many things in Hungary are better than in UK, but wall sockets are definitely not.
You can also get sockets that screw to the wall box like the UK although the wall box tends to be plastic which needs plastering in. You can also get sockets with a 'push button' on the top which will (help) eject the plug. Otherwise - yes the UK sockets tend to function better.
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Old Nov 10th 2017, 5:59 pm
  #41  
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Default Re: Dreaming of moving

I suspect that when I can eventually afford to move over permanently and start renovations, bringing UK wall sockets - lots of them - may be a good plan as I suspect it will need rewiring anyway, along with new plumbing etc etc !! At present, I have one non working socket in the main bedroom, one working socket in the second bedroom (which will become a bathroom) and one working socket in the kitchen (which will become a living room) !! I guess electrical goods were a rarity in 1950s Hungary !
I do know that, being an ex farmhouse, it has a three phase supply, not sure if that will complicate things.
I am also wondering….is there any practical reason to have the wall sockets located at head height on the walls rather than at floor level as in the UK ? Other than having to bend down, of course!
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Old Nov 10th 2017, 6:23 pm
  #42  
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Default Re: Dreaming of moving

We have our Schuko-sockets partially in combination with the light switches at a "reachable" height, partially just above the floor ...
And in the bathrooms and kitchens just above the "work-surface" - the more the merrier!
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Old Nov 10th 2017, 7:55 pm
  #43  
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Default Re: Dreaming of moving

Originally Posted by hobgoblins
I do know that, being an ex farmhouse, it has a three phase supply, not sure if that will complicate things.
I am also wondering….is there any practical reason to have the wall sockets located at head height on the walls rather than at floor level as in the UK ? Other than having to bend down, of course!
Having 3PH. may not complicate things - but look to see how many amps/phase. Sometimes you get 3PH but only 15A / phase which may make things a bit complicated. e.g. a washing machine could use 13 of the available 15A of the phase so you finish up having to be careful how you wire up the house to spread the potential load across the 3 phases. (Also I don't like 3PH in houses as people tend to forget that you can get a 400v belt if you are unfortunate enough to get a shock phase to phase).

One reason for having the plugs at head height (actually light switch height) is because the Hungarian wiring is radial without separating the power and the lighting (so no ring mains like the UK) The wiring generally is 30cm down from the ceiling and run around the room and dropped down where needed. You will often find a light switch with a socket adjacent because this reduces the amount of wire needed and reduces the chasing out of the wall (as do high level sockets)
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Old Nov 10th 2017, 8:52 pm
  #44  
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Default Re: Dreaming of moving

Originally Posted by Peter_in_Hungary
Having 3PH. may not complicate things - but look to see how many amps/phase. Sometimes you get 3PH but only 15A / phase which may make things a bit complicated. e.g. a washing machine could use 13 of the available 15A of the phase so you finish up having to be careful how you wire up the house to spread the potential load across the 3 phases. (Also I don't like 3PH in houses as people tend to forget that you can get a 400v belt if you are unfortunate enough to get a shock phase to phase).

One reason for having the plugs at head height (actually light switch height) is because the Hungarian wiring is radial without separating the power and the lighting (so no ring mains like the UK) The wiring generally is 30cm down from the ceiling and run around the room and dropped down where needed. You will often find a light switch with a socket adjacent because this reduces the amount of wire needed and reduces the chasing out of the wall (as do high level sockets)
Many thanks, I will have to get an electrician to have a look at the make up of the phase and get advice.
I see what you mean about the light switch and the socket being side by side and that is the case in some of my rooms but not others where the two are separate and at different ends of the room ! Again, I will have to see what advice the electrician gives as I would like to have multiple UK sockets at floor level if that can be done !
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Old Nov 10th 2017, 9:09 pm
  #45  
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Default Re: Dreaming of moving

Originally Posted by hobgoblins
Many thanks, I will have to get an electrician to have a look at the make up of the phase and get advice.
I see what you mean about the light switch and the socket being side by side and that is the case in some of my rooms but not others where the two are separate and at different ends of the room ! Again, I will have to see what advice the electrician gives as I would like to have multiple UK sockets at floor level if that can be done !
I would add that you will almost certainly discover that your present wiring is aluminium.
so plan for a complete (copper) re-wire, and ditch the old radial system.
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