Experience in Budapest, Hungary by Levente

What is it like to live in Budapest? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

Many say that for those who come from the East, Budapest is like Paris and for the ones coming from the West, it's like Moscow. I've been to both cities and I live in Budapest, so I can confirm it.

Budapest is a place where you'll never be bored. Full of life regardless of the time of the day or the season. It's a mixture of Eastern and Western Europe, you can see that in every aspect except the prices. Prices are clearly Eastern European.

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What is the student lifestyle like in Budapest?

There are many students in Budapest therefore student life is vibrant and you can always find company for any activity you want to do.

Generally speaking, you can't find many students in clubs during the week but from Thursday evening till Monday morning, they party hard and without pause.

How much does it cost to live in Budapest?

Not easy to say an exact number, it highly depends on you. Generally speaking, accommodation is expensive but everything else is quite cheap compared to most parts of Europe.

You should expect to pay around 140000 HUF/month (around €417) for a one bedroom apartment in the city center which can be cheaper to around 100000 HUF (€298) if you're willing to look around outside the city center as well.

Public transport is ridiculously cheap, buying a monthly student pass costs 3450 HUF (€10), half of the price of an appetizer in a gourmet restaurant.

Speaking of food, you can find countless restaurants which offer 3 course meal menus for around 1100-1500 HUF (€3-5). Or you can settle for fast food if you want to save up a bit or if you are in a rush. The absolute winner of the category is Pizza King, offering menus for 500 HUF (€1. 50), which include 2 slices of pizza plus a soda.

Partying is super cheap. There are few places in Europe where you can go out for a night spending as little money as here. You'll meet a bunch of Western Europeans who fly here to party because even the cost of traveling it's cheaper than doing it back home in their county.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Budapest? Is there any advice you can give?

You could say it's difficult to find affordable accommodation which isn't far from the center. You should team up with other students and share a flat, I'd say that's the only way not to spend a fortune and still live in the center or at least nearby.

You should do a research on sites like olx as well because companies can have ridiculously high prices, while renting from the owner can save you hundreds of Euros. Use Google Translate and do your research in Hungarian!

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

You can find all cuisines here, except for real Hungarian. Streets are full of "authentic Hungarian restaurants" but you need local friends to find one which actually is. I think Lángos is the best so definitely try it!

What places would you recommend visiting in Budapest?

Most of the time you should avoid the typical touristic places but that's not the case in Budapest. You should follow the crowd and go where tourists go, those are the most beautiful parts. But this applies only to sightseeing! Never eat at any place where there are many tourists, those places tend to be overpriced and most of the time low quality.

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Is the nightlife good in Budapest? Where is good to go?

People come here to party from all around Europe, I think that says a lot about if it's good or not.

Where to go, well, district 7 is the party area so if you don't have any specific idea of where you want to go, just head there and you'll find a thousand clubs and pubs.

What advice would you give future students heading to Budapest?

A few Hungarian words can get you far as Hungarians love it when you say something in their language. Also keep in mind that they don't smile all the time but that doesn't mean they hate you, here it's normal. And last but not least, educate yourself on two topics: Hungarian football and politics. You can't avoid these two, whoever you talk to for any longer than 10 minutes will bring one of these.

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