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.
Blog Posts About Hungary
I spent three weeks in Dubai doing house sitting, a day in Abu Dhabi visiting the Grand Mosque and three days in the northernmost Emirate RAK.
With Germania from Berlin to Tel Aviv – My Flight to Sin City
ADVERTISEMENT – UNPAID – COLLABORATION This August, I had another very special goal on my schedule: I was invited to Israel for a month. For the flight there I chose the airline Germania, which among other destinations offers flights from Berlin to Tel Aviv. The city...
The Coolest Neighborhoods in Sydney for Digital Nomads
Is there anything better than traveling? Well, YES! Traveling while working! That means you can stay in a place as long or as short as you want and lead an adventurous life of a digital nomad without stressing about your budget. If you are tired of the same old...
Germany for Digital Nomads
With a German father, I grew up in Germany and spent most of my life in and around Frankfurt. That's why I was always more attracted to foreign countries and I didn't write a single blog post about my home country for the first 4 years as a blogger. Then,...
Romania for Digital Nomads
The name “Romania” comes from the Latin word “Romanus” which means “citizen of the Roman Empire”. Romania is situated in the southeastern part of Central Europe and shares borders with Hungary to the northwest, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to...
UAE for Digital Nomads
In recent years, the United Arab Emirates have experienced a new boom after the first one at the time of oil discovery in its territories. The new boom is represented by the remarkable economic growth that affected the pan-economic sectors of the...
How to Make Money with Cryptocurrencies
ABOUT HOW TO MAKE MONEY WITH CRYPTOCURRENCIES BY JOE TREBEK The cryptocurrency market has become much more mainstream over the last year, leading a greater number of people to explore the financial possibilities of digital coins. Although some ways of making money...
Kizz Me More Warsaw
In July, I went to my first Kizz Me More festival. Read in my post why I liked the festival and why I will go again next year...How to Get There? Warsaw is the capital of Poland and there are several ways to get there. By plane: Chopin Airport (WAW) lies around 10...
Indonesia for Digital Nomads
Indonesia has begun to emerge as an economic power in Southeast Asia, as well as a newly democratic nation. Its long history as the source of spices coveted around the world shaped Indonesia into the multi-ethnic and religiously diverse nation that we see today....
How to Start as a Digital Nomad in 3 Steps
So What is a Digital Nomad? The sad truth is that many people are not fulfilled with their jobs or they're stuck in a rut. One’s income plays a small role in that problem, but also living in one location for your entire life will do that to you. And the everyday...
Thailand for Digital Nomads
For me, Thailand is simply the best country for digital nomads. Why? Because for me here is the ideal relationship between all the factors I take into consideration when I choose a place: Internet, location, community, cost of living, infrastructure, Kizomba.Once...
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!
Subscribe to my newsletter so I can keep you posted about my life of travels and as a digital nomad! You will never miss a new blog post, a new ebook or where my next adventure is going to bring us. Because it’s never going to be boring!
DESTINATIONS FOR DIGITAL NOMADS
DESTINATIONS FOR DIGITAL NOMADS
Herrliche Bilder! Vielen Dank für den Tipp 🙂
Danke! Sehr gerne, Ursula 🙂
Having in control of your own time is what I find best about being a digital nomad. Making your hobby as your source of income is the best fulfillment in working life. Making yourself as a boss is really a good feeling. But the trade-off with this is that you have a firm self-discipline of yourself or else you will not succeed as a digital nomad. This is also the envy of the people from cubicle nation where they have to spend eight or more hours day juggling their best to finish their assigned tasks. A digital nomad is not like this, they were the ones to set the deadline of their tasks, so it is less stress.
Yes, you’re right! Not everything is perfect as a digital nomad. But being your own boss makes up for the downsides, in my opinion 🙂