The costs of living in BUDAPEST (ft. actual prices of food, rent, travel and more)💸
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 มิ.ย. 2024
- Hey! Are you planning to visit BUDAPEST and you don't know what to expect in the costs? In this video I would like to talk about the REAL COSTS of living in Budapest, Hungary in 2024. I will mention everything about shopping, renting prices, food, traveling and more with the latest statistics and informations.
❓If you have any questions about the life in Budapest, please leave a comment down below and I try my best to answer it!
Important links about the video:
💵 prices of the public transport in Budapest: bkk.hu/en/tickets-and-passes/...
💵 the greatest places and upcoming events: welovebudapest.com/en
💵 everyting about the Széchenyi (SZÉP) card for foreigners: szepkartya.otpportalok.hu/let...
❀ ˖° SOCIAL: / petraszanda
❀ ˖° ABOUT ME
NAME: Petra
AGE: 26
LIVES IN: Budapest, Hungary
WORK: 8-5 office
In this video:
0:00 Introduction
0:48 The situation in Hungary
01:32 What you should know about renting
03:12 Everything about shopping
06:33 Traveling and public transport
08:41 Eating out
11:00 What is the Széchenyi (SZÉP) card?
11:55 How to find good places and programs
#budapest #costofliving #hungary
Hi Petra, Nice to meet you 😊
Thanks for sharing everything openly with us.❤
Welcome here! :) It's my pleasure, I'm glad you appreciated my video! :)
Well one thing that is worth mentioning is the language barrier. In Budapest you can make it in English but in smaller cities it would be a whole different story. Hungarian is a notorious difficult language to learn(not impossible, but it will take a fair amount of time to become fluent)
Yes, thank you, you're absolutely right! I forgot to mention this, but maybe I will do a whole other video just dedicated to this topic. That could be really helpful. Thank you once again for mentioning! :)
I was just wondering about prices in Budapest, I've been there last summer and I will go this summer too, Budapest is absolutely beautiful, I didn't know the exact numbers for rent and salaries, so this video helped :) eating out in Budapest was much cheaper than the same food here in Bratislava (I know we have higher average salary but this was the one thing that I was surprised about, food was top tier), groceries were almost the same (last summer), Lidl is the best :) I also live in the outline of the city because its more green here and cheaper, I pay 325 euros for my half of the rent (including internet and energy costs), my bf the same - for 1bedroom (maybe around 53 m2), now I think groceries prices got so high, that I feel like I'm spending too much even though I really think about what I buy and use coupons :D the most pricey supermarket in svk is Billa... this summer I will go to Hungarian Grand Prix (F1 race) and airbnb prices are like 5x higher during that time :D but I'm really looking forward for being in Budapest again :) btw your english is so good!
I'm so glad that you found my video useful, of course there's a lot of other things that could have been mentioned in this video, but I'm so happy that you still got some information out of it. :) Budapest has tons of options if you want to eat out, but you should know that in 2024 Hungary leads the list in Europe in terms of the fastest rising prices for pizza and gyros. (Fun fact, haha.) :D
Yes, living in the outlying districts are so much calmer and greener, it makes it even more worth it! :) I could never live in the center with all those noises (especially in the summer, when everyone is out there partying). :D
Grocery shopping is a though topic. I also feel bad whenever I decide to buy something "fancier", then I check the price and suddenly... I don't want to buy it anymore. I hope that it will change for the better in the future.
I can imagine the prices during the Grand Prix, good luck on that!
But all in all, I hope that you will have a great time here in Budapest and in Hungary! :)
Which websites would you recommend for flat search in Budapest?
thanks for all the info! i'm moving to budapest in august for work and it really helped me out :)
since i'm going to be living alone and it's my first time in budapest, i'm looking to stay closer to downtown, like XIII, V and maybe even IX, VI, VII - do you really think it doesn't make a difference being on the outer districts? i like walking everywhere and being close to stuff...
how much would you guess someone would spend in total p/m with rent, groceries, eating out and maybe going to a bar once a week?
Hi! I'm glad that you found it useful! :)
About the districts you mentioned:
The V. district is the second most expensive district, since it's the one where the Parliament, the Basilica, the Váci Street (also known as: "fashion street"), the Liberty and the Deák Square etc. is located. You should consider this, before you choose a flat for yourself.
The XIII., the IX., the VII. are way better if we talk about the prices and they are still pretty close to the center, but the VIII. is also a great option, since most of the part of this district was renovated in the last 10-15 years (and it's still happening).
Of course you can still find good opportunities in every district (with a bit of luck), so if you really prefer one district, go for it. :)
The main site to search for a flat is: ingatlan.com (I checked it out, you can search there in English, you have to change language at the bottom of the main page), but there's also a lot of facebook groups (even in English) you can choose from.
You have to also know that 99% of the time you have to pay a 2-month deposit what you get back when you move out.
The monthly expenses really depend on your lifestyle (and how much you earn), but I made some calculation and I would say that an average monthly spending would be around 260.000 - 320.000 HUF (670 to 820 EUR) with all the things you listed above (I added the electricity, water etc. bills and I only calculated with a one-room flat - a 2-room flat price would start at around 250.000 HUF = 640 EUR).
(Please note that it's really just my calculation with a moderately strict spending mentality.) :D
It's getting a bit long, so if you have any other question or if you need any help later on, you can write an email to me and I will gladly help (email is in my bio). :)
I hope you will like Budapest, it's truly an amazing city. :)
Good luck!
Thank you. I got a good information from your video :) I really expect my BUDAPEST life !! Also I am worried about safe problem. Are there any dangerous area or utca in budapest ?
Thank you for asking this question! :)
First of all I would say that Budapest is not more dangerous than any other European capitals, so in general you should not be worried.(Hungary is in the 10 safest countries in Europe - according to the Global Peace Index.)
And because there are so many foreigners in Budapest, the people get really used to them.
Of course there are areas that feel less safe, but in the last decades the situation got way better thanks to some urban rehabilitation program. There are still streets for e.g. in the VIII. districts that are less safe, but the main areas are totally fine and safe even at night. A good example is the Corvin Quartier (behind the Corvin Mall), because today it's so modern and pretty, but it was a complete disaster and dangerous place like 15 years ago. Hős utca (Hős street) was also one street that is considered even today as a dangerous place, but as far as I know this situation has also been resolved.
The public camera system is very well established in the city (and it's constantly being expanded) which always helps to feel more safe.
If you would like to avoid feeling unsafe, walk on street that have good lights, find some people that you can walk with.
I never had a dangerous or unsafe experience and I really hope that I could calm you down. If you have more questions, please, ask them, I'm happy to help and now I also consider to make a video about this topic. :)
Stay safe! :)
@@petrasperspective Thank you so much for the detailed information. I think I can go with peace of mind. Please continue to make great videos. It will be very helpful to me as a foreigner living in Budapest. Thank you again ! :)
I'm glad I could help! :) If you need information about something about Budapest / living in Hungary, I will be happy to help. You can always find me here and I also added my contacts in my bio.
I hope that you will enjoy your stay here. :)
Petra, how's the transport from Zahony IBS Budapest to the rest of the whole City?
IBS located in the 3rd district, a bit further from the city center, but I wouldn't say that the transport is bad. The suburban railway line H5 passes nearby, the closest station is Aquincum which brings you to the "more central area" in the Buda side within 12-15 minutes, so it's pretty good. :)
Also recommended to use the bus 34 or 106 from the station called Záhony utca (Záhony street) that brings you to the Göncz Árpád városközpont (Árpád Göncz City Center) from where you can use the metro line M3. That metro line goes directly to the city center within 10-12 minutes.
Everything you need for planning your routes in Budapest you can find here: futar.bkk.hu/ and you can change language in the right top corner (if you use a laptop, like I do right now). :)
And also you can download the app: BudapestGO which is the official trip planner and you can also buy your tickets / passes with it online. (Also supports English.)
I hope this helped, if you have any other questions, just let me know! :)
Nice video i want to know how much will be ok for a student in hungary
Thank you very much! :)
Well, it's really hard to say, because it really depends on with what kind of exchange program you participate in (if you do, but I assume), because these programs pay most of the time enough to live comfortably here (at least they pay for the accomodation).
Dorms have also very different prices, it can be anything from 30.000 forints to 80.000 HUF / month. (77 to 200 EUR.) If you would like to save money I really recommend you to apply for a dorm place. They also organize a lot of programs for students which I think is really nice. (At least it's my experience.) :)
All in all I think that if we don't count in the "housing" prices which can vary a lot, 60.000 to 100.000 HUF for a student should be okay in Budapest. (60.000 HUF if you don't go out that often and you don't participate in costly programmes.)
Hi Petra, interesting video, i just subscribed. I really love to come to Hungary but i don't know how to get a job there, please is there any source one can apply? Thanks.
Hi and welcome to my channel! :) It's nice to see that you are interested in working in Hungary. The biggest Hungarian job search website is profession.hu. It has an English version profession.hu/en, so it's easier to search, but most of the job offers are going to be still in Hungarian.. and for Hungarians.
Linkedin has tons of options if you search for "English" jobs in "Budapest". I just checked it, the search returned more than 6.000 job opportunities.
You can also join to different Facebook groups with the same search terms "jobs in Budapest" (or Hungary, of course). They are also pretty popular.
With these you should definitely find soemthing that suits you.
I wish you the best of luck and I hope that you will come to Hungary soon! :)
Thank you so much
Hi, I am joining ELTE this September as a PhD student. I generally cook regularly and don't eat outside, so what shall my grocery cost be on an average? Is eating veg more cheaper? Also could you comment on monthly prices for private student dorms or where do I find student dorms? just incase I am unable to get a dorm room at ELTE. Thanks in advance, your video was really helpful!
-Abhinaba (India)
Hi! Good to hear that you will study here! :)
Well, your grocery costs really depend on what kind of food you would cook, because some of the "more special" ingredients can be expensive. I included some basic products in the video. Fruits and vegetables are not that cheap in Hungary (or at least for us, Hungarians), but I collected some examples (average prices):
- tomato: 1370 HUF / kg (3,5 EUR)
- cucumber: 1110 HUF / kg (2,8 EUR)
- potato: 420 HUF / kg (1 EUR)
- apple: 540 HUF / kg (1,4 EUR)
- lemon: 940 HUF / kg (2,4 EUR)
Budapest has a lot of markets, so I would recommend you to go to one and get your vegetables, fruits, even meats, but note that most of the elderly sellers don't really speak English.
Here's a website, where you can see some of the prices in English: www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Budapest
I can't really say anything about private student dorms, I have no experience with them, but I can say, that ELTE has a lot of dorms, since it's the biggest university in Hungary, so I don't think you will have trouble with getting a place. I'm sure that you will get a lot of information about the accommodation beforehand at the university, but don't be afraid to ask someone there who knows more about this topic (foreign students representative, ELTE facebook groups etc.)!
I will be moving to Kecskemet as a student. I will be living in a dorm. Is living cost in kecskemet same as budapest or its cheaper?
Kecskemét is a beautiful and peaceful city, I hope you will like it!
My brother studied in Kecskemét, as well and he also lived in a dorm, the living costs are cheaper definitely, the grocery prives are probably the same, since most of the shop (Spar, Lidl, Aldi etc.) set their prices nationally, but buying vegetables, fruits in local stores or markets are very probably cheaper than in Budapest. The same goes for prices in restaurants, cafés, bars etc., they are cheaper than in the capital.
Even the renting prices are lower, the average rental price in Kecskemét was around 128.000 HUF (320 EUR) in march 2024. (I couldn't find a more recent data, but it's still relevant.) Compared to the rental prices in Budapest at that same period (250.000 HUF or 630 EUR), you can definitely tell a difference. :D
I hope this helped, if you have any other questions, just let me know!
Enjoy your stay in Hungary! :)
@petrasperspective thank you so much for help. Can you help me with deciding which mobile sim to buy if I have to use Internet more...which is good for me as a student and if I can get a job there? I will be living in the dorm too. I hope dorms are clean and good.
By the way I love your videos.
You're welcome! If you would like to have a new SIM, in Hungary there are two main phone service: Vodafone and Telekom. They both have good deals, here you can inform yourself about them (with the information about the personal help):
Vodafone: www.vodafone.hu/english/home
Telekom: www.telekom.hu/lakossagi/english
The dorms and libraries (and also the educational buildings) definitely have unlimited internet access and wifi, so if you would like to use your laptop (or your phone), you don't have to worry about the internet.
I can't really tell much about how clean and good the dorms are, but in Hungary most of the dorms are pretty good, they are in good conditions, since they have to comply to the laws.
For job opportunities, I think it is worth to ask the student representative or the people who deal with foreign students. I'm sure they will give you some more information about the local opportunities. Most universities build a big community around the foreign students, so you can exchange your questions and experiences with each other.
I hope this helped! :)
CAN I AFFORD TO RETIRED IN BUDAPEST IF MY PENSION IS $1,200 A MONTH?
Thank you for the question! Unfortunately that is really hard to tell, since it really depends on your lifestyle, where would you live, are you living alone or not etc., but I would say that yes, it is possible to live in Budapest from that amount of money, if you live a moderately frugal lifestyle.
The prices of the flats can range from 500 (one-room flat) to 970 USD, so if you find a flat for a lower price, your pension should be more than enough.
I hope this answer helped you a little.
Bjú-da-peszt
Thank you so much for the video..i advice to say the amounts in euro 😊
You're welcome! I did! I added the amounts in euro everywhere, to make it easier to understand, I used the official currency code EUR. Go check it out again! 😄
Or did I misunderstand your comment? 🤔
@@petrasperspective yes right..I meant it's better to spell them.. because they were written only..thanks a lot again for this amazing video 😊
Oh, I see, now I understand! I will keep in mind for the next time, thank you! ☺️