So you are interested, planning to study or even currently studying in Budapest? The possibilities to study in the city are vast with all major programs like Erasmus, Socrates etc available at almost all state universities and also on various private colleges and universities. So let's leave out academic possibilities (let's discuss it in another post) and deal with actual living and enjoying Budapest and Hungary.
Budapest is a very developed city but has its strange characteristics though. For foreigners it's easy to live and have fun in Budapest (nonstop) nevertheless when it comes to bureaucracy and administration issues then it can turn to you worst nightmare.
Let's take an everyday example:
Let's say you would like to open a bank account in a Budapest bank in one of the many banks established in Budapest. Be prepared to waste too many hours waiting for your number to ping on their idiotic queuing wall system. After you finally made it to the counter don't be surprised to find out that the lady behind the counter cannot understand anything of what you are saying, so you have to wait for someone speaking a foreign language (in the mean time the "n¨Śni" with the supermarket shopping bag waiting for her turn after you is mumbling something in Hungarian... not nice I guess). By the time you find someone to communicate and by the time you fill out all the forms they require you are exhausted and want rub the forms in their faces. I guess they just haven't got a clue about customer relationship.
Left alone all the paperwork and forms you have to submit to rent an apartment or worst, if you need a residence permit or Visa. So better you find an agency or a flat owner that speaks English at least and can help you through all these.
On the other hand after you dealt with all needed bureaucratic nonsense you can start finally enjoying life here.
Eating and drinking can be very affordable, and you could visit many cafes and pubs and clubs easily by walk or public transport. If you want to use a Taxi try to avoid hailing a taxi on the street and avoid at all cost unmarked taxis. Ordering a taxi by phone is cheaper than hailing one on the street.
Locals, especially young people are friendly and if you are not looking for trouble you will not find any.
0 Comments