Erasmus Experience in Budapest, Hungary by Cyntia

Why did you choose to go to Budapest, Hungary?

I really loved Budapest when I visited it 2 years ago and I thought it is an awesome location to live in and it was actually close to me, as I am from Romania and also my family roots are Hungarian so I wanted to learn more about it.

How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

As an Erasmus student you receive 80% of your grant before mobility which for me was 1792 Euros.

What is the student lifestyle like in Budapest?

Honestly you kinda make it as you please. My schedule at Uni request me like 16h a week so I had plenty of time to travel around or go to parties, but in my home country we have more student activities to attend to, but actually I think they had Hungarian events, so not suitable if you don't know Hungarian but there were also organisations like ELB and ESN who would organize events.

Would you recommend the city and the University of Budapest to other students?

The city yes, the university not that much.

What is the food like?

I don't like it. If you are vegetarian you won't like the traditional Hungarian food either, but there was a place called Vega City that had cheep vegan food and also my favourite place to eat was Bors Gastro Bar, they have soups and baguettes. Also, Romania probably has the lowest prices on food and everything so every other country seems expensive.

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Budapest?

In the end no, because I found it on a facebook group.

How much does it cost to live in Budapest?

Depends on your life style. My rent + expenses would have been like 220 EUR a month, but usually it is hard to find a rent under 300 EUR, and if you don't eat a lot or party a lot you can survive with 250 EUR I guess. Also the transport pass is 10 EUR a month for students.

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

Usually they are but you don't learn that much and Hungarian is really difficult, I didn't manage to learn it.

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Budapest from your city?

I went from Romania to Budapest by train, it was 19 EUR and took around 5 hours.

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Budapest?

Oh, there are some places called ruined bars that are amazing, I can name here Szimpla, Instant, Doboz. And a very popular place for Erasmus was Morrison's 2. Every Monday there is Erasmus night and everyone would go, but I must say, overall, music in Budapest clubs/pubs it's bad cause it is not that new, even if it's mainstream.

And for eating? Can you recommend some good restaurants in Budapest?

VegaCity, Bors Gastro Pub, Fecske Presszo, Krua Thai Budapest.

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

Vajdahunyad Castle, Buda Castle, all the bridges that cross Danube are pretty interesting but Chain Bridge is the most popular; Heroes' Square, The Zoo and also the Zoo Cafe, House of Terror, St. Stephen's Basilica, Dohany Synagogue, Gellert hill and Citadella, Margit Sziget and other smaller ones.

Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Budapest in the future?

Better find accommodation that is close to pubs more than your faculty if you are going to go to parties cause at first it will feel really strange to travel by night, even though I must say I didn't had safety issues.