wolfi

It's probably quieter in the North and there's more "action!" around the Balaton - but only in summer ...

As I've written before, I decided to go to the vicinity of Hévíz, because this spa town has guests all year round, restaurants, hypermarkets etc, all the amenities you expect.

FenTiger

The major differences are what will make you happier living Balaton way or North Hungary. My wife's family live in a village south of Miskolc. Car journey to airport is 1.5 - 1.75 hour's depending on traffic. We have Hungarian friends in the same village and Miskolc. For us living elsewhere isn't on our minds as long as we have everything we want from the house and land. We are still in UK but go over once or twice yearly.

Maybe you should think about the hobbies you pursue and what you can't go without, I.e.good shops for food, etc. Then look for somewhere that matches your wants. Do you want remote, village, town or a bit of each.

GMC girl

Thank u all for ur help & guidance. We have a bit of a dilemma, we both work here in th UK, hubby is 60 this year & I am 46. We are very seriously considering selling up to come over Hungary as the few times we have been we really like the people & the place. Our only main concern is that we would sell here, to buy there & could we live on tour small savings ? I would be happy to get a little job but don't know how realistic that would be, we intend to grow veg & fruit if possible. We want to integrate into village life & learn from the residents

fidobsa

I wish you luck but should warn you that quite a few people give up and go back to UK for various reasons. I have also given up on Hungary and my house is now for sale but I'm not going back to UK. In my case I just found it too difficult to learn the language and am moving about 50 miles to Croatia, where a lot more people speak English. I think I could have learned the language OK if I had come over in my 20s or 30s but it gets harder as you get older. Some of the regulars on here have Hungarian spouses and that obviously makes it easier.

Peter_in_Hungary

What some have done is to buy here and maintain the UK house as a let which provides income and a bolt hole if you decide to return. However having that bolt hole could make it to easy to give up and leave. Village houses can range between 5,000 to 60,000 pounds depending upon the type and area/location (area/location being more important than type) Balaton area is expensive, a few miles away from the lake the prices are significantly less. Zala county (wset) tends to be cheap as is the north and south but of course generalisations are always dangerous.

You should take advice on any property you want to buy but not from the agent selling the property!!!

duztee

Suggest if you have the time you can hire a motorhome for a week and park in different parts of the country to look around.
Google, Lakoauto berles will give you hire companies.

wolfi

Or, if it's not the main season, just drive around in your car and look for a hotel, "vendéglö" or "panzio" where you like the surroundings ...

That might even be cheaper than a motorhome!

And you can try different restaurants, try to talk with people and get a feeling for the place.

That's what I did 20 years ago, coming from a visit to my sister in Budapest - and being very surprised that almost everything was closed at the Balaton in October, except for Hévíz!

Another nice surrounding for you (and good for your health too ...) might be the vicinity of any spa here: Sárvár, Bük or down south Harkány with the famous wine city Villány nearby.

hirschhs

Where we are, on the bend of the Danube, it's pretty, relatively cheap still, close enough to Bp (40 mins by train) picturesque enough to have Hungarian day trippers walking through but not well-known enough to get many foreigners.

wolfi

Steve, yes the Danube bend is nice - quiet as I remember from a visit ...

And not too far from the busy capital, good choice!

Btw, did you know that Kismaros was a kind of German settlement until WW2?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kismaros

heli2010

currently doing just that in a small village east of tiszafured bordering Hortobagy if your into growing your own and cooking your own food then it easy as if you want takeaways then I would look elsewhere
we have fresh bread delivered daily and mainly shop at lidl and coop we spend about 2000ft per day average for food for 2 adults
Gas is 50% dearer than UK electricity is 65% less than UK we pay the equivalent of 30p standing charge per month and 4.5p per kwh, water rates 450ft per month plus per cubic meter of water no charge for it hitting your roof as in UK
flights to UK are wizzair out of Debrecen or ryanair out of Budapest
cars, furniture and breakfast cereals are expensive

fidobsa

Wizzair also do a flight from Budapest to Birmingham. It is fine at the Birmingham end but at Budapest they either treat you like cattle or convicts! I would guess that is more down to the way Budapest airport operates so I do not blame Wizzair.

GMC girl

Thank you all for the information, we grow some veg here & cook most of our meals, that said we do like to eat out as it's just 2 of us. Usually from Bristol to Budapest which is best for us. We are continually looking at our options as we both want to do this.

It's not the liking the lifestyle or the language that is making us think more, it's the fact that to make it a reality we will definitely have to sell up here. It really will be a as of all eggs in one basket, with little or no safety net.

Sachina

Ryanair do cheap flights from Bristol to Budapest which as you live in Wales might be convenient to you. My son who lives in Cornwall paid £78 return for his flight when he came over last October.

The nearest airport to me is Kosice (Slovakia) which is 25 miles from where I live. Wizair do a flight several time a week from Bristol, although slightly more expensive than flying to Budapest.

Peter_in_Hungary

That's what we did in 1994 ! Things were different then, Hungary was not in the EU, (give it a bit and the UK might not be either!!) and the new political system was still it turmoil (but then so is the UK now!!). We moved into a small flat and spent 6 months looking for out home. No internet or estate agents then! We wrote about 600 letters and place ads in newspapers and eventually found where we are to day, bought it and started to make it what we wanted (we've nearly finished) It obviously helped that my wife is Hungarian, but that is not quite so important today.

So what did we do - built a farm from a house with some land, (water, electricity, fences, animals and machinery all missing) and educated 2 young children through school and university (both now have MSCs) and we became grandparents - so it can be done

GMC girl

Hi, we are very interested to hear more about the area