Leben in Budapest

Budapest has a lot to offer. If you are looking to move to a beautiful city, that has a rich history and is affordable, then Budapest is the place to be! It is the capital city of Hungary, located in eastern Europe. After reading this blog you will know more about Budapest’s environment, nightlife, culture, public transport, housing, health care, and some words to get you started.

Fun Facts about Budapest:

• Budapest is The Thermal Bath Capital of The World
• Hungarian Names Are Regulated by The Law: names have to be chosen from a pre-approved list and any deviations must be approved by application to the Research Institute for Linguistics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
• Budapest Has the Oldest Underground in Continental Europe
• It is considered rude to clink your beer glasses
• The Hungarian alphabet has 44 letters!
• The national dish of Hungary is gulyás

• The world’s most famous escape artist was born in Budapest: Harry Houdini

City overview 

Budapest is located in central Hungary and it is its capital city. The city is an area of 525 square meters and a population of 1,752,286 people. Budapest was established in 1873, by the unification of the cities Buda, Pest, and Óbuda. They were joined together to create a city fit to be the dual capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Danube separates Buda from Pest and the areas are connected by the chain bridge.

Budapest has as many as 23 districts. 6 districts are located in Buda, 16 districts in Pest, and one district (XXI) is located on the island of Csepel. You can find districts I, II, III, XI, XII, and XXII on the west side of the river in Buda. District V is in the center of Pest, which is on the east side of the river. Districts VI, VII, VIII and IX surround District V. District X is the center of a more external circle of districts.

District XI, Újbuda, has the biggest population of all districts with 145.510 people living there. District XVII, Rákosmente, is the largest district with an area of 54.83 square kilometers.

Environment

Temperature
Budapest has a humid subtropical climate with relatively cold winters and hot summers. In January, the coldest month, the average low temperature is -1.2°C and the average high temperature is 4.1°C. In the warmest month, July, the average low temperature is 18°C and the average high temperature is 28.6°C.

Precipitation
The city has an average annual precipitation of 23,5 inches. On average there are 84 days of precipitation each year in Budapest and in the months of May and June, you can expect the most rainfall. Snowfall is fairly frequent in the winter months. They have a long summer period from May to mid-September and 1988 hours of sunshine throughout the year.

Hills
As you know by now, Budapest consists of two areas named Buda and Pest. Pest is a fairly flat area and Buda is quite hilly. The Buda hills were formed in the Triassic Period. The highest point of the hills and of Budapest is János Hill, at 527 meters above sea level. The lowest point is the line of the Danube which is 96 meters above sea level. Budapest is also rich in green areas. Of the 525 square kilometers occupied by the city, 83 square kilometers are green areas, parks, and forests.

Culture & Nightlife

Culture

Budapest has many beautiful places to visit. If you want to go sightseeing in Budapest you should visit the Hungarian Parliament, the shoes on the Danube bank, the Buda castle, the Chain bridge, Bazilika church, Fisherman’s Bastion, the great market hall, and Heroes Square.

The city is also known for its many thermal springs, it is even named the city of spas. Therefore, it is worth checking out Szechenyi baths. This is the most visited and much-praised attraction in Budapest. The spa has 18 pools, 10 saunas, several message treatments, and more. Budapest also has lovely green places to visit such as Gellért Hill and Margaret Island. Gellért hill is located near the Danube in Buda and it is a beautiful viewpoint to see the river and the chain bridge. Margaret Island is located between Buda and Pest in the Danube. The island is known for its water tower, the rose and Japanese garden, the ruins, and the musical fountain.

Food

Budapest established its own distinct cuisine based on products from the surrounding region, such as lamb, pork, and regional vegetables. Hungarian cuisine today is a combination of Asian components combined with French, Germanic, Italian, and Slavic elements. Restaurants in Budapest reflect diversity, with menus featuring traditional regional cuisine, fusions of various culinary influences, or cutting-edge new techniques.

Once you are in Budapest there are a few dishes and snacks that you must try such as Lángos, Kürtőskalács, Gulyás, and Paprikás csirke.

Lángos is a deep-fried doughy flatbread that’s eaten warm and slathered with sour cream and grated cheese or with garlicky butter. It is a great savory snack for on-the-go.

Kürtőskalács (chimney cake) is made from long strips of sugary dough wrapped around spits that are brushed with butter and roasted over charcoal. The sugar caramelizes to form a crispy coating and when the dough is removed from the spit, steam is released from the center like a chimney.

Gulyás (Goulash) is the national dish of Hungary and something you have to try when you are in the capital city. It is a thin broth made from chunks of beef cooked with onions, paprika, tomatoes, and pepper. Another dish you should try in Budapest is Paprikás csirke (Chicken paprikash). It is one of the most popular dishes in Budapest, chicken paprikash is essentially chicken coated in a sour cream sauce.

Nachtleben

Quirky ruin bars are Budapest’s most famous nightlife phenomenon. The club Szimpla Kert is the most famous club in Budapest and is the center of the nightlife scene.

Instant Fogas Ház is another very popular club in Budapest. Instant is still the biggest ruin bar in Budapest, with two courtyards and eight bars, all of which stay open until 6 am, seven nights a week. If you love night-time pool parties, you should also try to go to a party (spa-party) at the Szechenyi Baths. Think of a full-on rave in a thermal spa; pumping house music, cocktails, and an anything-goes atmosphere.

Finally, the best thing about the nightlife in Budapest is that it is the cheapest destination in Europe to buy alcoholic drinks!

Public transport

Public transportation in Budapest is provided by one of the largest transportation authorities in Europe. BKK (Budapesti Közlekedési Központ) operates all public transport in the city which includes 4 metro lines, 5 suburban railway lines, 33 tram lines, 15 trolleybus lines, 264 bus lines and 4 boat services and MOL BuBi, the bike sharing service.

BKK also has an app, where you can plan your journey, buy tickets, and find more information about public transport. The name of the app is BudapestGO and it is available for iOS and Android

Tickets

BKK has an integrated e-ticket system. This means you do not need to buy a different ticket for each mode of transportation. It was implemented to increase the use of public transportation and reduce the use of cars. You can buy tickets on the mobile app for all modes of transport, for a low price. Below you can find the prices of the tickets and passes.

Type of ticket

Price in €

Price in Ft

Line ticket

€0,92

350 Ft

Time-based

€1,39

530 Ft

Day ticket

€4,32

1650 Ft

Nostalgia ticket

€1,31

500 Ft

Fährticket

€0,44

170 Ft

Art der Fahrkarte

Price in €

Price in Ft

Monatskarte

€24,85

9.500 Ft

Jahreskarte

€298,14

114.000 Ft

Quartalskarte

€74,54

28.500 Ft

Semesterkarte

€42,37

16.200 Ft

Radfahren

Wie ich bereits erwähnt habe, betreibt BKK auch einen Fahrradverleih namens MOL Bubi. Dies ist eine nachhaltige Alternative in der Stadt und sehr einfach zu nutzen. Zunächst müssen Sie die App herunterladen, dann können Sie sich registrieren und eine Fahrkarte kaufen oder Pay As You Go nutzen. Eine Monatskarte kostet 500 Ft (€1,37), eine Jahreskarte 5.000 Ft (€13,74) und Pay As You Go kostet 20 Ft (€0,05) pro Minute. Es gibt 162 Fahrradstationen mit insgesamt 1.560 Fahrrädern in der ganzen Stadt, die bereit für Sie sind.

Wohnen

Eine Unterkunft in Budapest zu finden wird kein Problem sein. Es gibt viele Websites, auf denen Sie Wohnungen und Zimmer finden können. Zusätzlich gibt es Facebook-Gruppen, in denen Sie nach Wohnungen suchen können.

Ein Grund, warum Sie nach Budapest ziehen sollten, sind die Mietpreise. Diese sind sehr niedrig. Für eine Ein-Zimmer-Wohnung in Budapest können Sie mit 160.000 – 180.000 HUF (€450 – €500) rechnen. Wenn Sie nach einer Zwei-Zimmer-Wohnung suchen, liegt der Preis zwischen 230.000 – 260.000 HUF (€620 – €700). Ein Zimmer in einem Mehrfamilienhaus kostet etwa 95.000 – 135.000 HUF (€250 – €350). Die Lage der Wohnung oder des Zimmers kann den Preis ebenfalls beeinflussen. Die Preise sind beispielsweise in Pest höher als in Buda. Ein weiterer Grund, nach Budapest zu ziehen, sind die wunderschönen Loft-Wohnungen, die in der Stadt weit verbreitet sind.

Im Folgenden finden Sie einige Websites, die Ihnen bei der Wohnungssuche helfen:

• Alberlet
• Apartmentsofbudapest
• Ingatlan Jofogas
• Ingatlan
• Realestatehungary
• Housing Anywhere
• Uniplaces

Gesundheitswesen

Die Nationale Krankenversicherungskasse (Ungarisch: Nemzeti Egészségbiztostási Alapkezel (NEAK)) organisiert ein steuerfinanziertes universelles Gesundheitssystem in Ungarn. Wenn Sie für ein lokales Unternehmen in Budapest arbeiten, können Sie das ungarische öffentliche Gesundheitssystem nutzen, das die meisten medizinischen Kosten abdeckt.

Viele Expats nutzen Budapests zahlreiche private Krankenhäuser und Kliniken, die hochwertige medizinische Leistungen und englischsprachiges Personal bieten. Grundlegende medizinische Versorgung wird kostenlosen für Bewohner der Europäischen Union (sowie Island, Norwegen, Liechtenstein und die Schweiz) bereitgestellt. Sie müssen eine Europäische Krankenversicherungskarte (EHIC) und einen Pass oder Ausweis für das medizinische Personal vorzeigen. Sie müssen Ihre EHIC vor der Ankunft in Ungarn haben, ansonsten müssen Sie die medizinische Versorgung selbst bezahlen. Nicht-Notfälle und Notfall-Rückführungen sind nicht durch diese grundlegende Versorgung abgedeckt.

Im Folgenden finden Sie die Nummern zum Anrufen im Notfall in Budapest.

• Rettungswagen:104
• Polizei:107
• Feuerwehr:105
• Zentrale Notrufnummer:112

Einige Wörter zum Einstieg

Die Amtssprache in Ungarn ist Ungarisch. In Budapest können Sie sich auch mit Englisch zurechtfinden. In anderen Teilen Ungarns sprechen die meisten Menschen kein Englisch. Der Gesamtanteil der englischsprechenden Bevölkerung in Ungarn beträgt nur 20 %. Daher finden Sie hier einige Wörter und Sätze, um in Budapest einen guten Start zu haben

Englisch

Ungarisch

Public transport

Public Transport

Restaurant

Étterem

Supermarkt

Szupermarket

Geschäft

Bolt

Krankenhaus

Kórház

Nachtclub

Szórakozóhely

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