Budapest

I visited Budapest for a week and fell in love with it. Simply an amazing and beautiful big city complete with all the entertainment options (including walkability, stunning architecture and peaceful city parks).

I decided to come back for 1.5 months to see if I wanted to make it a first or second home base. By the end of that time I was anxious to get back to Bangkok.

All of the pluses were still great. However, there were two big downsides :

1. The people in stores especially the middle aged women who looked like they were on the brink of committing suicide and the only thing that kept them going was the thought of making your shopping experience as miserable as possible. That said, I did find millenials who have grown up post the fall of the soviet union to often be very friendly and helpful. Maybe if I wasn't staying in the central area, which is a heavily tourist zone, I would have enjoyed the locals more.

2. AirBnB and foreigners have driven many Hungarians out of the central area. I like living in an area that is mainly locals but has a minority of foreigners to spice things up somewhat. Otherwise, I feel I am living in an anywhereville. Some day I may go back and see if I can find a place a little farther out and check out that experience.

I agree with the latest reviewer, BP is the Bangkok of Europe , especially in the summer when the temperature is between 35-40 C . Vasts of digitalnomader hubs& meetups and its very easy to build new relationships. It's dynamically getting more and more expensive because of the influx of the wealthy chinese hungarians. Also, many shared service centres come here from Western Europe.( That's why you can find a huge percentage of tech- minded young people here.). $1,500 is the lower entry to maintain a decent living here, I would rather say 2500. As a foreigner you have to pay at least $700- 800 per month for a one bedroom apartment. Do not be deluded by the local salaries which are relatively low because the government subsidizes the costs of housing for the native hungarians, and all the health services are free for them ( for these, as a foreigner you have to pay a lot)

My girlfriend an I were here for 40 days for christmas, today we are leaving and our strongest sensation is that Budapest is so overrated.

The main idea I arrived here with was that this was the cheapest capital in Europe. Not at all from our experience. For example we were coming from Edinburgh and there we spent less than here in groceries. Museums and attractions in general are not cheap. AirBNB is cheap here, mucho more than Scotland for example.

Many people that work in bars, shops, etc here is almost offensive.

Pros: Architecture, Metro 1 line, snow in winter, Danube :)

Maybe because it was winter or because we are around 40s and we are not into parties, but IMHO there are so much better capitals in Europe like Prague, Edinburgh, Barcelona...

I spent 54 days in Budapest and absolutely loved it. After Chiang Mai it's my favorite destination as a nomad.

Pros:
*Beautiful city
*Super affordable
*People are friendly and the majority of people I spoke with spoke English well
*Tons of things to do from great night life to the hot baths, bike and walking tours and a vibrant food scene
*No issues with internet and I was pleased with the co-working I worked out of (Kaptar). There are also some great coffee shops to work out of. My favorite is Flow, a few minutes walk from Octagon.
*Weather was great until the start of November when it changed quite dramatically.
*I had an amazing airbnb which I paid $1,050 for 30 nights. You can definitely find great places for cheaper.

Cons:
*At times I felt the streets were too crazy. The city has a ton of tourists and I can only imagine what it's like in the summer.
*The Hungarians are heavy smokers. Thankfully there is no smoking indoors.
*It got very cold and gray from the start of November. This had a bigger impact on me than I anticipated and negatively affected my experience. If you're like me and don't do well in the cold then I'd avoid Budapest from the start of November.

Feel free to write me if you have any specific questions. My username on Nomadlist is @justin_butlion.

The best city I've been too by a long shot! Only there for 7 days and fell in love immediately. Amazing vibe, tons to do, tons to see, beautiful city and the architecture is stunning all around you. The people are lovely and super friendly. The city is well kept. The only downside is that it's not warm all year around.

I lived between Budapest and Szeged for a year. The public transportation and city vibes kept me alive while the winter weather almost killed me in winter. Definitely get out before it gets cold. Spring to Fall you can visit Lake Balaton and their wine country for some nature, Szeged or Pecs for a college town vibe, heaps of cafes and outdoor restaurants. The pastries and food markets. The thermal baths are great and not too expensive, great parks to visit, nightlife options, and music festivals. Cost of living is great when you're making US level wages, my roommates and I lived like kings and queens. Many locals are hostile towards foreigners, especially NGO expats (the wage gap is large between locals and expats). However, most are polite and some even cordial. The younger generation can speak English, the older generation cannot - based on my experience. The Hungarian language is a beautiful queer thing that I could never tire of. I loved it and would have stayed longer given the chance. Honestly - cannot wait to go visit and return to Hungary when I get a chance.

The city is amazing: it combines beautiful architecture with an energy that rivals Berlin - minus the hipsters!
Plenty of nice little coffee shops, co-working spaces, nightlife in abundance and all that at very affordable prices

Great city that sucks you in. There is a true thing here called the "BudAffect". Many nomads/travellers come here for 4 weeks and then get sucked in for 6 months or longer.

I personally came and after planning to stay for 1 month ended up staying for ~3 years. Now I am feeling the itch to travel again but Budapest has earned its place as "home" and I will return here after my next set of travels.

Budapest + hungary has the pro-s of a tropical digital nomad hideaway, if you go there in the warmer months: the climate is like in Bali between June and September, however mornings can be refreshing. And there s a plethora of spas, thermal baths and swallow lakes with waterskiing and boarding amenities throughout the country which is easily and quickly accessible by the grid of well-maintained highways. The street scenery and style spans somewhere between Barcelona and Berlin so as the plentiful nightlife programs and the scope of culture and art ! Almost the entire younger generation speaks pretty good english however with the elders you might have language barriers.

I'm from Bucharest but BUDAPEST is way beyond the best capital in comparaison with the romanian city. The scenery + the narrow streets & wide boulevards are full of interesting cafes/bars/pubs/restaurants. Prices are affordable/reasonable and you can take a chance with it.

Have spent over 4 years living in Budapest and also extended periods in many other places usually towards the top of the rankings on nomadlist. Nothing compares to Budapest. It is by far the best place in the world to live for people of all ages, but especially young people. It has everything and anything you could possibly want and it's centrally located in the best continent on the planet.
I moved away for a few specific reasons but really hate that I had to. The only city I think is even close in comparison to how great Budapest is, is Barcelona.

Very nice city, great architecture and many historical buildings. The river and castle at night are one of the best things to see in all Europe. Many Starbucks and other coffees in the city center with good Internet. Overall getting more expensive and touristy but still cheaper than Western Europe. People however are a dealbreaker there, most unfriendly cold and rude people of all Eastern Europe.