almafak

Hi everyone,

I am a well-travelled British expat, recently retired. My background is project management and electrical engineering. After much searching around I finally decided to relocate to the southern region of Zala county in western Hungary. A year ago I was offered the freehold of a perfectly liveable house complete with original Russian-made furniture and a huge garden for next to nothing. Now I have splashed out on a "zartkert" (literally 'walled garden' but actually a smallholding) on the south-facing slopes above the village. It is just under the legal maximum of 1 hectare (2.42 acres) permitted by Hungarian law for EC citizens. This also has a perfectly liveable furnished farmhouse and a winery building. The plot has been poorly maintained for many years but has vines, apple, peach, plum, walnut and chestnut trees and even a small forest. Total cost less than £4000.00 freehold. I get free travel on public transport by waving my passport. Health service is good too.

scot47

Wow! Good luck with learning Magyar !

bakedbean

Welcome to the forum .

fidobsa

I must have missed this thread back in October but welcome to the forum. Will you be keeping both properties? I will be putting my house in Belezna up for sale next spring but if and when it does sell I want to remain officially a resident of Hungary so I might need to buy a cheap property. If you need any help finding specialist shops or whatever, let me know.

TerryandBrigi

Fellow zala expat !
Hi there, property certainly plentyful in availability and affordable prices for sure.
Will be looking for additions myself over next 4/5 years, ahead of moving permanently

almafak

We will keep both properties. The village house is our legal address. The zartkert has only a plot number and does not count as residential. I can sit for hours up on the patio of the zartkert, gazing out southwards across the valley.

I really miss the old-fashioned 'ironmonger' shops that stock hand-tools, pots and pans, nails, obscure fittings and smell of kerosene. Körmend has two of these (and a blacksmith) but it is a bit too far away. There is a Mezőgazdasági bolt in Nagykanizsa near the bus station which is good for seeds, garden tools and winemaking gear. OBI is too mainstream ("you want a WHAT!"). I got a peening jig for my scythes from Slovakia.

fidobsa

Have you tried "Let's Do It" which is near the Lukoil petrol station in Nagykanizsa? They sell the DIY side of ironmongery and the shop next door does the pots and pans etc. Most things are sold loose so you can buy one coach bolt or whatever. There is also a tool specialist in the town centre, roughly opposite the Police station and the guy in there speaks a bit of English.

almafak

Many thanks! I will take a look next time I go into town.

BEVS

Hi and welcome to BE.

I think I'll move this over the the Hungary forum where there are more people to see your thread.

Nice avatar BTW