dimdom

Hey all,

You seem to have really good insights and tips here, so hopefully you don’t mind me posting. I am Hungarian and lived in the UK for a while now. Having said that all my family and friends are in Hungary. I am keen to move back but I am not sure. My husband is British and he is well up for it, I am just a bit worried about him.

How did you guys find settling in? How long did it take? Do you miss the pubs, the chats in shops or with dog walkers? What was especially hard and what helped/could’ve helped? Anyone here that lives in Gyor?

Dominika

Expatrick

Sorry Dominika, living in Budapest (8 years now) but for what it's worth we (me ,& British wife) have found living here incredibly easy - & I imagine that Győr would be much the same!
Can honestly say I don't miss anything about the UK! I admit that we did enlist paid help to do our initial immigration procedures but as you are Hungarian that won't be a problem.

Arrived on a wet December evening with just a bag each (with some boxes of personal stuff to follow later), having got rid of all our furniture in the UK. Threw our bags into the apartment we had rented and went out for a meal. I clearly remember sitting in the restaurant and thinking (& feeling) very relaxed & happy. And it went on from there!

Good luck!

Jack_Russells4ever

Personally, I don't miss anything about the UK. My only regret was not moving here 10 years earlier when I first thought about leaving home. Just make sure you and your partner get out and mingle with the locals often and try to avoid getting in the rut of only hanging out with expats.

Expatrick

Hear, hear! I cross the road when I hear British voices!

Peter_in_Hungary

Gyor is a nice place with the nicely centre renovated IMO probably a better bet than Budapest.

Are you looking to get employment here? if so research this first. How does your husband feel about the language? if he is not up to it then it can be very isolating. Whilst your family may be here does your husband have close ties in the UK that will be missed? I suspect that the days of (very) cheap flights are over so popping back to keep in touch won't be as easy. (I skype my siblings weekly)

We came here about 27 years ago, we stuck everything in an articulated lorry, saw it off and then got on a bus, me, the wife, the kids and the dog! My wife is Hungarian, I'm a Brit and the 2 kids were born in the UK and we are all dual nationals (me last year). No regrets.

Whilst life was different then we did all the paperwork before we left through the embassy in London and it saved lots of pain here at a time when we didn't want to deal with all the state bureaucracy 'cos were just too busy finding our new life. At that time Hungary was outside the EU - just like the UK is now.

Expatrick

Peter, I would have thought that with Győr being close to the border & having foreign businesses based there a fair bit of English would be spoken, no?

Peter_in_Hungary

Yes but a lot will require German. Whilst many foreign companies or companies dealing internationally will require English (or German or Japanese) the language at the coffee machine will be Hungarian and for inclusivity some Hungarian will be needed

Expatrick

True!

farka

Gyor? Good choice - there is a branch of https://www.britishstore.hu/ for when he gets the withdrawals....

wolfi

Györ is really nice, especially the old city center.
And I'm sure that there are quite a few people (especially the younger ones) who speak English - and would like to practice it.
The Hungarian language is kind of problematic for your husband, being totally different from the other European ones.
I can read and understand the advertising of Lidl, Tesco etc but when an official letter comes I immediately give it to my wife who also is Hungarian.
Enjoy your life here!

duztee

I have been happy with living here for 10 years now, Yes of course there are the occasional frustrations. But the only thing I really miss is proper Fish and Chips!

Peter_in_Hungary

+1

Expatrick

What did we do? The OP has sunk without trace!

FenTiger

+1

FenTiger

I had been visiting Hungary once or twice a year for 18 years before we moved here in 2020. On those visits I built up a small circle of friends and we'd get together as often as we could. Often our trip in August coincided with the Hungary National Day so we'd go to a thermal pool. Friends of our friends also met up at the same place for the day.
I missed out something above. Both my Hungarian wife and I are deaf and mostly converse in sign language so my situation is different to yours.
I've been here two years now. Do I miss anything? I've always said No, but sometimes when watching a movie and places in UK appear I do look back at the occasions I visited those places. But ..... then I remember how life was in UK and realise I wouldn't swap it for my new life in Hungary.
Our main reason to move here was financial because my NHS pension isn't enough for a decent standard of living. Repairs to our UK house would have diminished my NHS pension fund. My Hungarian wife always struggled to find employment offering decent pay which she got when she switched to becoming a British Sign Language Tutor but her employers kept messing her about dropping her classes from 4 per week to 1 per week then 2, then 3, then back to 1. So I'm funding two of us!
I always looked forward to visiting Hungary where I felt I could switch off and forget everything amd every time I switched off until a few days before we had to return to UK, only because I was thinking of our dogs.
Pubs in Hungary - forget it unless you live in a city or town. My favourite drinking hole in our village closed some 5 years ago. Gutted is how I felt. The other places ... not my cup of tea .... last time I ventured into one with brother-in-law and nephew all eyes were on us! But hey, in UK I rarely went to pubs in Orpington because they were mostly a bit rough.
Social circle - when we first moved here it was in the middle of the coronavirus but 6 of us went out for walks etc. As my Hungarian Sign language is still pretty basic I've depended on International Sign language to converse. Some deaf friends know International Sign language so it's helped up to a point to have a decent conversation.
Sticky point - I've been finding it a bit tiring when deaf friends try to influence ideas for our house or bombard us with ideas. At the end of the day it's us paying for them. I've had to cut off one who went too far!
TV - you can access British TV. I've only recently subscribed to a VPN to access it. So far 6/10 is my rating.
Football - superb access for UK and European leagues.
Property - alot cheaper than UK but if you find a property you like you may end up in a bidding war with a Hungarian whose been working in EU and has as much dosh or more than you have.