dixieflyer

My husband and I are considering retirement in Hungary next year,just wondering if there are any members already out there,or who have visited,who could share experiences with us,we understand it can get very cold in the winter?warm in summer and are also wondering which area best to look for property first,the north side or south of the lake?

Sammy T

Think you are in the wrong forum!!

Scuba Steve

mmmmmmmmmmmmm, hungry

dixieflyer

sorry my first time posting,only just registered,advise as to how and where I should have posted please

dixieflyer

come on then sammy t .I cannot find my own posting on the forum,so that I can see where I put it? as a member of some experience and me only learning both with forums and computers perhaps you could email me and let me know where I am going wrong?

Pollyana

I will move this to the Europe forum. Click on the link and it will takee you to the thread. The original post is in the Australia Immigration forum.

dixieflyer

thankyou polly anna hopefully I will grasp the forum use soon!

Notalab

Hi, my wife and I live at the Western end of Lake Balaton. We know about 50 Brits who live here around the lake and have a get together once a month to exchange information and have a bit of a 'social'.

Ray51

This used to be very popular , for both retirement and 2nd/holiday homes , for Austrians , Germans , some Czechs and Slovenians even ; but of lately , I'm told , the Magyars have jacked up many prices to ( above ) usual european levels , particularly taking into account the quality on offer ; so , with the clear result that many of those punters of yesteryears now vote by staying away ! On recent ( last summer's ) drive past the lake , easterly towards Budapest , a good number of houses were obviously empty nad neglected and many establishments appeared as they had seen better times ;
Budapest , too : in most instances , appears ludicruosly expensive , for no apparent improvement in assortment , service or quality ;
yet , Hungary still not being even close to getting admitted into Euro-zone , maybe they see some sense and arrange for softenings of their currency ?
There could be bargains aplenty , around Lake Balaton then ; and the tax-situation , surely , could be a big attraction , still ?
But one thing that still remains cheap/o there , for now , though ; good dental and surgical attention - a new kind of "tourism" for them !

Notalab

Half of the Brits I know here have moved from the Costas, the most common reasons given for moving from Spain is that paradoxically there are too many Brits/Irish there now, crime levels are exponentially increasing, and worry about the overheated housing market. I'm yet to hear [1 exception] from anyone that they had wished they had stayed in UK/Spain. I agree that there is a lot of property for sale here, quite a few Hungarians put their property on the market as a speculative move and if a foreigner is stupid enough to offer the asking price then they will sell. Prices are increasing only slightly and there are plenty of good deals around. Crime [the exception being Budapest like any capitol city] is very low and the people are friendly. The language is unique and IMO difficult to learn but English is now the second language taught in schools and catching on fast. Ubiquetos Tescos have supermarkets in most towns and the quality and more importantly choice of food and goods are improving all the time. Utilities are quite expensive as they are in most places nowadays but fuel is still around 80p, coucil tax and eating out is cheap and we find that our pensions go a lot further than UK or Spain. I'm begining to sound like an estate agent [which I'm not] so will stop for now........

Ray51

Actually : why stop ?
You might yet be doing many of us a really Good Turn ?
Cheers !

Notalab

....Continues..... [I'll add snippets for your delectation [or not] from time to time].....
the day after we arrived in Hungary my wife fell of a step and broke her wrist.
Drove her to the local hospital which had a '50's air about it but this was soon dispelled as she was seen by a doctor inside 5 minutes, sent for xrays, xrays interpreted by another doctor to confirm break, plastered up and out of the hospital inside of an hour. Because we were not then on the Health Service net I had to pay the equivalent of around £55 but with such a good service thought it was money well spent. As from January this year [I think], If one goes to a doctor one has to pay around £1.50 to help defray the costs of the Health Service.
.... more tomorrow........

Ray51

Keep 'em coming up , mate !

Notalab

.... Continues.... natural domestic gas price is about 30p per therm [don't know how that compares with UK in general.] Water costs are a bit steep [IMO] but had a well dug last year for about £270 and the water is sweet. If I water the garden [quarter acre] using say 800 litres then the well refills itself in about 8 hours. 4 bedroom large house with garage in a good location [always location., location.....] cost me 95k two years ago. TV programmes
....continues later.......

Notalab

to continue......
TV. Sky like most places in Europe can be picked up with the required box and card, although with a small dish bbc1 and 2 and itv cannot be picked up.
Croatian TV can be viewed with a terrestrial antenna and it has lots of Movies in English.

Rates [council tax].... just paid mine this morning at the post office and it was £132 for the YEAR! We have another local tax for the upkeep of the roads and this year it will be £48 but whether this is a universal/variable tax in Hungary I do not know.

Dustbins are emptied once a week and no limits on amounts or type in my area. Big bulk [eg old beds/sofas/30ft fir trees] are collected twice a year.

more later.........