Wonen in Boedapest

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.

Omgeving

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.

Uitgaansleven

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!

Openbaar vervoer

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

Ferry ticket

€0,44

170 Ft

Type of pass

Price in €

Price in Ft

Maandpas

€24,85

9.500 Ft

Jaarlijkse pas

€298,14

114.000 Ft

Driemaandelijkse pas

€74,54

28.500 Ft

Semestriële pas

€42,37

16.200 Ft

Fietsen

Zoals ik eerder noemde, exploiteert BKK ook een deelfietssysteem genaamd MOL Bubi. Dit is een duurzaam alternatief in de stad en erg gemakkelijk in gebruik. Eerst download je de app, dan kun je je registreren en een pas kopen of gebruikmaken van Pay As You Go. Een maandpas kost 500 Ft (€1,37), een jaarlijkse pas 5.000 Ft (€13,74) en Pay As You Go kost 20 Ft (€0,05) per minuut. Er zijn 162 fietsenstations met 1.560 beschikbare fietsen verspreid over de hele stad.

Huisvesting

Een woonplek vinden in Boedapest zal geen probleem zijn. Er zijn veel websites waar je appartementen en kamers kunt vinden. Daarnaast zijn er Facebook-groepen waar je naar huisvesting kunt zoeken.

Een van de redenen om naar Boedapest te verhuizen zijn de huizenprijzen. Deze zijn behoorlijk laag. Voor een eenkamerappartement in Boedapest kun je rekenen op ongeveer 160.000 – 180.000 HUF (€450 – €500). Als je op zoek bent naar een tweekamerappartement, kun je rekenen op ongeveer 230.000 – 260.000 HUF (€620 – €700). Voor een kamer in een gedeeld huis liggen de prijzen rond de 95.000 – 135.000 HUF (€250 – €350). De locatie van het appartement of de kamer kan ook een verschil maken in prijs. Bijvoorbeeld, de prijzen zijn hoger in Pest dan in Buda. Een ander voordeel van Boedapest zijn de prachtige lofts die erg gangbaar zijn in de stad.

Hieronder vind je enkele websites om naar huisvesting te zoeken:

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

Gezondheidszorg

Het Nationaal Ziekenfonds (Hongaars: Nemzeti Egészségbiztostási Alapkezel (NEAK)) beheert een door belastingen gefinancierd universeel gezondheidszorgsysteem in Hongarije. Als je voor een lokaal bedrijf in Boedapest werkt, kun je gebruikmaken van het Hongaarse openbare gezondheidszorgsysteem, dat het merendeel van de medische kosten dekt.

Veel expats maken gebruik van de talrijke particuliere ziekenhuizen en klinieken in Boedapest, die hoogwaardige medische diensten en Engelssprekend personeel bieden. Basisgezondheidszorg wordt kosteloos verleend aan inwoners van de Europese Unie (evenals IJsland, Noorwegen, Liechtenstein en Zwitserland). Je moet een Europese ziekenverzekeringskaart (EHIC) en een paspoort of identiteitsbewijs hebben om aan het medisch personeel te tonen. Je moet je EHIC al hebben voordat je in Hongarije aankomt, anders moet je voor medische zorg betalen. Niet-spoedgevallen en evacuatie zijn niet gedekt door deze basisgezondheidszorg.

Hieronder vind je de nummers om te bellen in geval van een noodsituatie in Boedapest.

• Ambulance:104
• Politie:107
• Brandweer:105
• Centraal hulpnummer:112

Enkele woorden om mee te beginnen

De officiële taal in Hongarije is Hongaars. In Boedapest kun je je redden als je Engels spreekt. In andere delen van Hongarije spreken de meeste mensen echter geen Engels. Het totale percentage Engelssprekenden in Hongarije is slechts 20%. Daarom volgen hier enkele woorden en zinnen om je op weg te helpen in Boedapest

Engels

Hongaars

Openbaar vervoer

Openbaar vervoer

Restaurant

Restaurant

Supermarkt

Supermarkt

Winkel

Winkel

Ziekenhuis

Ziekenhuis

Nachtclub

Uitgaansgelegenheid

Hoe laat is het?

Hoe laat is het?

Hoe gaat het met je?

Hoe gaat het met je?

Kun je me alsjeblieft helpen?

Kun je me alsjeblieft helpen?

Waar kan ik … vinden?

Waar kan ik … vinden?

Hoeveel kost dit?

Hoeveel kost het?