Hungary for Digital Nomads
When I got to Budapest, it didn’t take long until I realized what a gem this city is. After staying there for a month, I understood that this is my favorite city in Europe: Great Wi-Fi, low costs of living, a perfect location to travel surrounding countries, and an amazing community with many events and coworking spaces. What can a nomad desire more?
Facts About the Hungary
Hungary is a country of unique beauty in the heart of Europe. With its size of 93 thousand square kilometres and its location at the border of Eastern and Western Europe, the country is an optimal choice for doing business by small and multinational companies.
While the Hungarian language may not be similar to any other European language, the country has extensive and historically established relations with all three main European ethnic and linguistic families: the Indo-European, the Slavic, and the Neo-Latin languages. For this reason, Hungary is especially capable of acting as a bridge between various cultures.
Located at the juncture of the 4 main European transport corridors, Hungary offers around 1,300 km motorway, an extensive railway network, and five airports.
Information About Entry and Departure
Traveling to the EU has never been more organized and stress-free. Due to the Schengen Agreement, citizens of certain countries are allowed to travel visa free among other Schengen states, meanwhile, citizens of non Schengen countries can travel throughout the Schengen states with the so-called Schengen Visa.
A Schengen visa will allow you to stay within the Schengen zone for a maximum of 90 days.
Safety
Take sensible precautions against petty crime. Bag snatching and pickpocketing are common, especially in Budapest. Be particularly careful on busy public transport, in train stations, at markets and at other places frequented by tourists. Theft of and from vehicles is common. Don’t carry large amounts of cash.
Money
Hungary’s official currency is the Hungarian Forint. It is possible to pay using Euro in Hungary, but the conversion rates are often not very favourable. Some larger hotels and tourist shops will even quote prices in both Euro and HUF, and the Euro price quoted might well be more expensive. If you don’t want to get HUF, you may try using your card. Small shops, restaurants, and cafes will only accept HUF. Other currencies won’t likely be accepted.
In Hungary, it’s possible to exchange money at a hotel, airport, bank, or exchange bureau. The good news is that Hungary is a bit different than in other countries – exchange bureaus often charge fair prices. Bureaus charge a mandatory 0.3% commission, but largely won’t charge additional fees.
ATMs are easy to find in Hungary, especially in larger cities; they will dispense forints at the mid-market exchange rate, but you may also be charged a foreign transaction fee. Currency exchange is available at banks for a surcharge. Hotels and airports will often charge a 10-15% commission on what you withdraw, so avoid them.
WI-FI
Wi-Fi in Budapest is pretty fast. I had stable and fast Wi-Fi in all the coworking spaces, cafés, and Airbnbs that I tested.
Mobile Internet
At the moment, Budapest has three mobile carriers:
- (Magyar) Telekom
- Telenor
- Vodafone
All providers have opened 4G/LTE to their prepaid users.
You can buy a SIM card at any provider shop, just don’t forget your ID for registering. Also, give yourself some time to complete the process—the signatures and paperwork for prepaid cards can take a while.
When you want to top up your Hungarian SIM card, simply bring your phone number to one of the shops. Remember to have it on hand for that.
Hungary is part of the European Union, and if you have another EU carrier, you should be able to roam internationally at domestic rates. The motto is ‘roam like at home’.
MiFi
Another possibility for mobile internet access is a MiFi device, which creates a WiFi network for you. I have tested the GlocalMe device and think it’s a really useful addition of my travel equipment. You can either use it as an ordinary wireless router with up to two SIM cards (very useful if you work with mobile TANs, you want to be available on your local number or if you want to use the social networks with a 2-factor authentication) but you can also use it without a physical SIM card but with the built in cloudSIM technology (which is of course more expensive) in over 100 countries worldwide. Apart from that it’s also a 6000 mAh powerbank, which is never bad to have with you.
Living in Hungary as a Digital Nomad
As one of the most affordable European countries to live in, Hungary has a low cost of living which makes it appealing to many.
When it comes to tourist attractions Hungary is not at all shy, showcasing an abundance of places to see and things to do. There are plenty of opportunities for enriching cultural experiences, from viewing historical monuments dating back to Roman Empires to visiting renowned UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Hungary’s location in the center of Europe makes it easy to travel to other European countries, especially neighboring countries like Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Romania, and Croatia.
Budapest showcases some excellent nightlife and entertainment like a “night party on the Danube”, fantastic festivals, the State Opera House, spa parties in the Széchenyi during summer and rejuvenating thermal baths to soothe your mind and body, to name a few. There is a wide selection of local eateries as well as regular to high-end restaurants.
Coworking Spaces
Káptar– A coworking space that’s constantly developing over time, KAPTÁR believes that an active working space leads to producing great results. There’s a possibility for you here to create a unique way of working in comparison to the usual day in an everyday office.
Impact Hub Budapest– Located in a beautiful turn-of-the-century building at the very heart of the city, we are so much more than just a co-working space. We are the new home for valuable connections, meaningful collaboration, business innovation, and an inspiring environment.
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20 important words/sentences in Hungarian:
| Hello | Helló |
| Yes | Igen |
| No | Nem |
| Thank you! | Kösz! |
| Please | Kérem |
| Excuse me… |
elnézést... |
| Where is …? | Hol van….? |
| My name is …? | A nevem ….? |
| I don’t speak Hungarian | Nem magyarul beszélek. |
| Do you speak English? | Beszélsz jobbat? |
| I’m German. | Németországból vagyok. |
| Could you help me? | Tudna nekem segíteni? |
| I need … | Szükségem van …. |
| Hungry | Éhes |
| Thirsty | Szomjas |
| Water | Víz |
| How much is this? | Mennyibe kerül ez? |
| Beach | Strand |
| Mall | Bevásárló központ |
| Hospital | Kórház |
The Numbers in Hungarian
| 1 | egy |
| 2 | kettő |
| 3 | három |
| 4 | négy |
| 5 | öt |
| 6 | hat |
| 7 | hét |
| 8 | nyolc |
| 9 | kilenc |
| 10 | tíz |
| 11 | tizenegy |
| 12 | tizenkettő |
| 13 | tizenhárom |
| 14 | tizennégy |
| 15 | tizenöt |
| 16 | tizenhat |
| 17 | tizenhét |
| 18 | tizennyolc |
| 19 | tizenkilenc |
| 20 | húsz |
| 30 | harminc |
| 40 | negyven |
| 50 | ötven |
| 60 | hatvan |
| 70 | hetven |
| 80 | nyolcvan |
| 90 | kilencven |
| 100 | száz |
| 1.000 | ezer |
| 1.000.000 | millió |
The Budapest Guide for Digital Nomads
Live Like a Local
Are you searching for a cool spot for digital nomads in Eurpe? You should check out Budapest in Hungary!
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