How is it living in Miskolic or Eger ? Or the nearby areas?

I found further west OK. If rail link is an issue then Fuzesabony is link station into main lines. I bought at Poroszlo 18 months ago and have no accessibility problem; and of course property is much more affordable. If you are not too worried about level of services, the there are cheaper places along that railway line.

{ If you are not too worried about level of services, the there are cheaper places along that railway line.}

Well if there are cheaper towns, areas feel free to let me know! We are looking at buying a home when we move to Hungary in early Dec. So if you know of a different area to look feel free to pm me!

It depends what you are looking for. There are always plenty of places at small money habitable but in need of renovation. Look at the railway map between Fuzesabony and Debrecen. There is no system of estate agents in the area. Some places on internet, but most it's a case of look for elado boards and knock on the door. I would not recommend living in a village in eastern Hungary without Hungarian. I had to learn fast when I went to Poroszlo. I am around for most of September in Poroszlo if I can be of any help.

FeliciaOni wrote:

Well if there are cheaper towns, areas feel free to let me know!

Another expat here mentioned this site, which he said he used to buy his house in Hungary:

http://hungaryproperty.org/

I do not know anything about this site's quality or reliability, and so I am not advocating this site, and no large city seem to be in their database, but it has a convenient option to search for properties by price alone (in British Pound, but you can to to www.oanda.com to convert to Dollars). Which can give you ideas for properties within your price range all over the country (and what you can expect, from pictures provided, regarding renovating needs according to your price range -- cheaper almost always means more renovating).

FWIIW: North east Hungary is lovely, but very cold in the winter. And older, cheaper houses are not always well insulated. The more south west you go in Hungary, the warmer.

FeliciaOni wrote:

For some reason some one built lots of houses in that Spanish clay tile roof style

Flat, clay tile roofs are the traditional roof style. Very common. And even one of the a limited roof styles allowed in some areas due to building regulations.

Gray roofs (either flat, like tar-shingle roofs in the US but square and laid in a diamond pattern, or wavy looking and appearing like the Spanish style tile roof) are often concrete-asbestos tiles from the communist period. Best to avoid those and houses with this roof type (which are often the cheapest houses, for obvious reasons).

Another roof style, depending on region, is reed but those need to be renewed every 15 years or so.

Depending on local regulation modern tar-shingle or steel roofs are also an option on new construction / renovating.

klsallee wrote:

...... like the Spanish style tile roof) are often concrete-asbestos tiles from the communist period. Best to avoid those and houses with this roof type (which are often the cheapest houses, for obvious reasons).

Another roof style, depending on region, is reed but those need to be renewed every 15 years or so.

Depending on local regulation modern tar-shingle or steel roofs are also an option on new construction / renovating.

Since I just had some offers back only this week on my own roof tiles, I can share the following:

"Spanish style" red tiles are the absolute cheapest.  200-250 Ft/tile (available anywhere)
Upmarket grey or black tiles with straight edges are 500 Ft/tile (and take 2 weeks to arrive from Germany)

These sorts of tiles have a life span of about 50 years.

Asbestos tiles are everywhere but you can get rid of them for 40K Ft (150m2) but all they will do is bury them in a landfill for someone else to dig up later.  This only applies for the "safest" asbestos.  Some people want to test them to make sure it's not the worst kind of asbestos (red? blue?) with special disposal requirements.  But so long as they do not crack or spread dust, they are harmless. In other words, do not disturb them and let let sleeping tiles lie. 

Tar shingle is definitely the cheapest stuff. I would not really recommend that even though it's lightweight relative to ceramic tiles.  To me, tar shingle is more like stuff to put on outbuildings.

Reed roofing is quite good for insulation if done correctly. Can last 20+ years. But has to be done professionally and kept in trim.  It's a cheap solution.  In the UK we have "thatched" houses and they are becoming more popular as ecological options although finding thatchers is quite problematic.

fluffy2560 wrote:

"Spanish style" red tiles are the absolute cheapest.  200-250 Ft/tile (available anywhere)

Since "California" was mentioned in the original post, I assumed, and I may be wrong, that it was a reference to the Mission style, which looks corrugated. For example:



Or this : http://www.roofingstore.ca/clay&concrt_Clay04.jpg

And those types of tiles are not readily available here in Hungary. There are similar looking tiles in Hungary that give a slight mission style looking roof, but they are often concrete (modern -- no asbestos) and not the cheapest.

The cheapest are the flat red clay tiles, which, for example, we used when we re-roofed. Not so much for price, but we wanted to restore the roof to its original design (the tiles look a little corrugated, but that is just an optical illusion in the photo due to some vertical channels on them to improve water movement down the roof, and the darker red roofing over the porch is fiberglass):

fluffy2560 wrote:

Asbestos.... so long as they do not crack or spread dust, they are harmless. In other words, do not disturb them and let let sleeping tiles lie.

This is true. But after 40 or 50 years since they were installed, assuming none have cracked is a big assumption. And they will have to be replaced eventually, probably in the lifespan of the new owner. So they become a problem at time of purchase. Removing them during re-roofing may result in cracking some. And they will decrease the resale value later if left on.

We had the large asbestos sheet roof on one building, which looks like corrugated roofing (like the image below -- but note this is actually a fiberglass roof of similar design):



This type of sheeting is nailed on. And the wood roof rafters constantly expanded and contracted from humidity and heat, as all wood will, causing the nail to go up and down basically filing the roofing sheet, and making dust. From experience, not worth the hassle to have this type of roof. Which is why I say to avoid this type of roof.

Hmm interesting info about the roofs.

Yes i guess i just mention it due too in California the red style is everywhere and they crack and would fall on you randomly. But that is due to the heat. Here in Florida people use those also and they get loose and large birds will pull them up and make nests or just pull them up for something fun to do. And the birds are the large pred ones like eagles and ospreys which are protected so you just have to live with it.

But like obviously if a house has a bad roof that has to be replaced right away that would make a house a no. Some minor repairs within reason is ok but we need to move in the house to live in right away.

Will post you.

I was asking more about the cities, area as far as living there.

Like i understand those are things one has to just go and see for ones self. But i was just asking as as people on here seem knowledgeable.

FeliciaOni wrote:

But i was just asking as as people on here seem knowledgeable.

Well, to start, I can not know what price range you consider an "affordable house". So regarding "affordable housing" I can say only generally:

What I can tell you is price alone is a poor indicator of where to live. The housing costs in a region will be cheaper for a reason. For example, Detroit is very affordable at the moment, but price alone is not necessarily a significant reason to look for houses there.

House prices could be because of poor economic conditions, which means people want to move away, and which also can result in significantly higher local crime rates (some who I know who live in north-eastern Hungary claim if something is not nailed down, it will "walk away"). Or it may simply be a more isolated region and no one want to live there anymore.

Less expensive houses, not already renovated, will commonly need renovation. Creeping damp up walls is a common issue, which can be "hidden" for a sale with a quick layer of thin plaster and or paint. You will have to dig into the wall to know. We hired an engineer to survey houses before we bought and the owners were upset when the engineer dug into the wall for an inspection but that is the only way to do it properly. Plumbing may be old and basically useless. Again, need an expert to review it. Heating costs may be high in the house depending on its construction type (old brick alone will not give much insulation, but they do have a thermal mass effect, but also the most likely to have wet walls which decreases the thermal mass effect). City houses more likely will have either electric or gas heating. But if the house is old, the gas may have been recently added and I have seen many houses with gas heating with pipes all over inside the house on the walls. Kind or ugly. Electrical heating may be expensive. New construction (in the 1990's) were not uncommonly built using cheap materials, and even such a "new" house may need renovation today.

So it really is, as you said, and I agree, it needs a personal visual and inspection not just of the house, but also of the area.

Be careful when buying. Cheaper towns also means longer rides to hospitals, less services in general.
also more chances of break-ins and scammers due to no jobs in the area.
Really you should try Hungary out for at least a year before tying yourself down to one location.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Yes i agree you have to look at a town and get  a feel for it. Hungary is not that big of a country so does make that easier.

Yes pretty much those are things you should look at when buying a house anywhere in the world, does it have good construction or faulty?

Marilyn Tassy
Well i would not make such a major move to a country if after a year i want to leave it. I am amazed at how much you dislike Hungary and for so long! You really should move to someplace else if you are so unhappy that is not good for ones health.

FeliciaOni wrote:

Well i would not make such a major move to a country if after a year i want to leave it.

I think the point is that Hungary will not be what you may think it is. It is not the US, nor is it Germany. Things "work".... differently here. A visit or vacation here really means little to really know the country.

It takes a year (or more -- I say it took me longer than a year living here full time) to stack up the positives and negatives and see how those balance for you personally. One area may seem a great place to live, but then six months later your well runs dry, or all your water pipes freeze, or why your power just went out and you do not speak the language to figure out why or how to get it restored, or why you got a letter saying a collection agency took money from your bank account for some unpaid bill (which you did in fact pay), or you are constantly dealing with petty theft, etc (all things that have happened to people I know). Caution, till you get your "sea legs" so to speak, is thus being suggested. Assumptions and fixed ideas here will not uncommonly turn out badly.

And those who have a family member who speaks Hungarian, or who speaks Hungarian themselves, and who thus knows or is more exposed to the daily issues going on here are a lot more aware of the daily realities and pitfalls of life in Hungary. And thus may be a little more sensitive to issues they know about, and simply wish to "warn" others so they can avoid running into similar walls.

No one said you would leave Hungary in a year, just be sure to see what areas fit you, a year goes by fast.
never said I disliked Hungary just the way things sometimes go over here, you'll see.

Couldn't of said it better, live and learn, some people hate to listen and take solid advice.
Hungary is Hungary and not like anywhere else on earth.Have to take the good with the bad and yes, see what fits your personality.
Can not move to a new place and have fixed ideas, I lived in 10 US states and had culture shock in my own country ever time I moved.
Same system, same flag waving in the sky but so different in each state.

Do not get me wrong, i truly want to hear everyone's views and you all live in Hungary for many years you are kind enough to share advice which i am beyond thankful for.

I rather have someone warn me of things than to not mention things!

Marilyn Tassy- i was not trying to offend, you speak of what happened to you. I will admit no one i have talked too on here, other forums, people i have met personally have had some of the issues you have had in Hungary. But i have had issues with government things and people that no one else has had here in USA so maybe you have had some bad luck as i have often had! he hee

No fixed ideas will not be good. I most certainly do not about Hungary. I do look forward to finding out how it is to live in Hungary by living in Hungary.

Oh goodness after living in 29 different states so much is the same in USA. It would be nice if it was a bit more different. But yes it depends on your personality and what things are important to you. Like a friend of mine is moving to Belgium. She loves French food and culture and loves to grow food and stuff. Me i Hate French food and their culture is not a good fit for me you could not pay me to live there.

Afraid my "personality" does not allow me to not tell it like I see it.
My husband and I are "old Hippies" and never could take much from "the man".
He escaped Hungary in his 20's and I was a teen run away, we have a low tolerance for any insane rules and regulations although we do abide by common laws that make sense.
There are many laws and regulations here in Hungary that are so confusing, even those who made the law don't even understand them. Some laws are still stuck in the old system and other are so new no one knows what is really going on.
We like to live below the radar, sometimes it's harder to do here then you would think, other times it is so much easier then anywhere we have ever lived before.
Prices for food, car insurance, dentists and most healthcare are allot cheaper then in the US.
having people be nosy and get in your business is higher here, have to set a boundry as soon as you move in.
We got too close to our neighbors too soon and found ourselves in a few sticky situations.
left Hungary years ago for a few months and when we returned we were less chummy with them and my husband sort of used the old, "My wife is a stranger here" excuse to set limits.
He got very chummy with an old friends ex wife and daughter, she was calling our house all the time to talk for hours with my husband, he had to use me as an excuse to cut her off, telling her I was a jealous person, far from it but simple excuses for simple people.She would not of understood that he found her a boor.
I am sure once you move to Hungary you will be asking more advice, hope you don't get yourself into a sticky situation, very easy to do here since many people mistake being friendly with being stupid, happened with us more times then we care to think about.

Hmm from hearing from people it seems the smaller cities which are poorer are more non expat places in the since not too many expats live there! he hee. As long as people are down to earth and normal then it seems like most cities should be ok.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

.....she was calling our house all the time to talk for hours with my husband, he had to use me as an excuse to cut her off,..... you don't get yourself into a sticky situation, very easy to do here since many people mistake being friendly with being stupid, happened with us more times then we care to think about.

Sometimes you have to be horribly blunt in HU (and other places) otherwise they will just not get the message. It's definitely less of a polite society and with language issues as well it's the only way to get through to people.

I find the way to deal with it is just to give it to them really straight. Otherwise there's ambiguity. In the wrong circumstances that gives rise to hope of whatever kind  - for love, money or whatever.

Yes, it helps to be blunt, guess I was raised with too many concerns for other's feelings, big ol' Girl Scout me...
It was strange though that my husband decided to tell this women I was jealous of her calling rather then for him to tell her to stop calling 4 times a week.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Yes, it helps to be blunt, guess I was raised with too many concerns for other's feelings, big ol' Girl Scout me...
It was strange though that my husband decided to tell this women I was jealous of her calling rather then for him to tell her to stop calling 4 times a week.

Could have just said you were both busy with other stuff.  She was probably looking for an angle.  I've seen this sort of thing before. They try and ingratiate themselves in if they think there could be money, work or something else to their advantage, even like an affair. It's really quite obvious when they do that.  I suppose you were perceived to be rich. 

Happened to us. In our case, she wanted her husband to do our DIY as he had no work. Quite laughable really considering I've got a shed full of machine tools and gadgets for that kind of thing.

Coming to this thread late, but as a westerner moving to Hungary, my thoughts may help. We have chose Debrecen as the place to live after looking at other areas including Eger. Aside from having family in the city it was more the feel of the place that convinced me. I felt at ease & comfortable almost immediately & that was the key for me, as it is not a feeling I experience in many places around the world.

We have recently done the ownership changes requirements for water, gas & electric, which was all achieved in one morning, absolutely unheard of in UAE! I am realistic enough to realise it wont be all plain sailing, but you need to just deal with what comes your way ^ get on with life.

Not to dishearten you, but it is very different to live in a small country / village in Eastern Hungary from anywhere in the US. I agree with Marylin that do not invest in a home before living in the area for some time. The properties in the east are cheap for a reason - you will also have a very hard time selling it.
You could rent in Miskolc or Debrecen for a year and discover several areas before buying, visiting, looking around, etc. One area near Miskolc I would definitely recommend is the Szerencs district: Tokaly, Tállya, etc. It's wine country with better resources, cultural events and less disadvantaged circumstances.

desertbhoy wrote:

We have recently done the ownership changes requirements for water, gas & electric, which was all achieved in one morning, absolutely unheard of in UAE!....

You were lucky. 

Once we had "swapped" electricity meters (we were paying for the neighbours and they were paying for us).  We only noticed after about 2 years when the neighbour left (he was Japanese renting the place) and his agent noticed the meter numbers were incorrect.

We've never received a correct water bill even though we're watering the garden etc and they come and read the meter on a regular basis.  They say they cannot see we use any water. Our bills are literally always zero. We can see the numbers on it go up.  Mrs Fluffy has said she's exasperated trying to sort it out and might just give it up trying as they seem unable to fix it.

I guess we were lucky, but given it took 6 months to get a telephone line installed in to a 15 year old house here in Dubai, anything is an improvement. The telephone company asked me to dig up the road outside the property so they could install new cable!

Again, coming back to the earlier point, having both the seller & my wife able to converse with the suppliers in Hungarian was a huge advantage & should not be under-estimated, but I was pleasantly surprised by the helpfulness of all the utility suppliers, willing to advise rather than just answer questions.

I also got my bank account set up, which is the first time I have ever been mugged inside a bank.

Guess we are lucky to have all the meters in our flat.
However it took us almost a year for the electric co to send us a bill.
We went into their offices a number of times to ask them to send us a bill. They always told us everything was fine and we just kept checking the post box but no bill( check as they call them here)
While we were sitting in the electric co. we could overhear conversations and it seems most people were actually way behind on their bills and in the office to stop a turn off of services.
off to do that again next week, fingers crossed!
We like to stay on top of all charges, just let's us sleep better at night not owing anything to anyone.
We always go into each and every utility co. and let them know we are on holiday for an extended time and to stop billing the house, we pay up what we owe before taking off and then run around when we return to restart billing.
My ex DIL's mother had 2 huge properties,, a 3 story home in Buda and huge 6 or 7 room villa at Balaton. All those properties but cheap as heck.
She told us her mother had rigged something to slow down the meter readings, many Hungarians do that here from what we've heard over the years, wouldn't really be surprised to find out several of our neighbors are also doing that, even with the lock boxes on the meters.
Funny story, a few years back in our house the cable man came out to check the lines on the roof. One neighbor saw him coming into the house and she ran outside and started screaming to everyone to shut off the illegal wiring in their homes!!! Seems half the house had Jerry Rigged free cable!!!
Glad my son divorced from that family of thieves, all those properties and rentals she had and still wanted free services.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Funny story, a few years back in our house the cable man came out to check the lines on the roof. One neighbor saw him coming into the house and she ran outside and started screaming to everyone to shut off the illegal wiring in their homes!!! Seems half the house had Jerry Rigged free cable!!!

Funny you say that Marilyn, where I currently live, we also have cable TV but I've never seen any blls for it and no-one seems to know who is responsible for getting it fixed, maintained etc. It just seems to be there. In any case I would resent paying for it as it's all in Hungarian.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Glad my son divorced from that family of thieves, all those properties and rentals she had and still wanted free services.

Ah well, some war stories on that subject:

1) Mrs Fluffy tells me sometimes that her honesty and innocence surprises even herself.  She's taken to telling me when she sees something dodgy going on that she had never ever even thought of that trick or scam. She sums it up  nicely by saying she's not Hungarian enough.

2) A Hungarian guy told me he went as an observer to a seminar on "store security" where some big wheel from a chainstore like Tesco or Auchan was telling the audience about the methods and so on of shoplifters.  Apparently, most of the audience was bored stiff and reason became apparent when the Hungarians were asked to contribute any experiences to the discussion.  There were so many new tricks on how to pull a fast one, it turned out the Hungarians could teach the experts.

Funny!!
I love Hungary but I admit without even seeking out any criminal types, I have honestly known more dishonest Hu in the US then honest ones.
Even going as far a capital crimes.
There was a very long period of over 25 years in the US when we made great effort to avoid all Hungarians, changed our phone numbers and moved away.
Never, ever even involved a bit in their affairs but even coming into close physical contact with them scared the living daylights out of us.
Sort of bad that many have come back to roost in Hungary, take the money and run sort of thing.
Guess sometimes the screening process is not as tough as we think it is, all the sumbags got in.As well as hard working honest people too.
A few of those crimmies were later deported or buried, some did time some are still at their old games.
We stay clear of them even here in Hungary, we know where they like to go for drinks etc. and we never go there.
Not always great to be popular...
We know their hangouts in a few US cities as well, no wonder I never got to eat out much in the US at HU restaurants... Or coffee houses in Vegas... just sayin'.
I mentioned once to our current neighbor that my ex DIL and her mother did some really, really horrible things to my son. Said the least she deserved was someone throwing a brick threw her huge window on her mini mansion in Buda.
He actually said he could arrange it for us if we wanted it done.... OK, sort of scary, not going down that road!!

Most all of these shady characters were unskilled and young when they left Hungary, desperate to make money in a new country. Thankfully my husband had real life job skills and never had to stoop so low. odd now many of these people are holding their noses up high but in my opinion they should of been put away a long time ago.Hurt allot of people along the way. Makes me slightly wary of just letting in so many people without doing real background checks.These criminals did go through Interpol before coming into the states, guess we have not seen anything yet with people just walking in freely as is happening now in Europe..( my Husband grew up around these shady people and it was hard to break old friendships)

desertbhoy wrote:

I guess we were lucky, but given it took 6 months to get a telephone line installed in to a 15 year old house here in Dubai, anything is an improvement. The telephone company asked me to dig up the road outside the property so they could install new cable!

That happens here too.  In several areas of the village I live, people have bought plots of building land but there are no services. No-one is prepared to - for example - connect the water supply so the land goes undeveloped. The water company is not prepared to pay for the investment and recoup through charges.  And it seems, the first person to install will bear ALL the charges (very high, EUR 1000s) and presumably cannot recover from the ones that come after.  Hence an impasse.  We decided to buy a house for renovation rather than build new simply because all the services were already there. It was far cheaper to do that than have to lay on new services.

desertbhoy wrote:

Again, coming back to the earlier point, having both the seller & my wife able to converse with the suppliers in Hungarian was a huge advantage & should not be under-estimated, but I was pleasantly surprised by the helpfulness of all the utility suppliers, willing to advise rather than just answer questions.

Mrs Fluffy can do the same but it does not always work out.  We find there's a lot of half-truths, mis-truths and speculation going on.  We want to move our gas meter moved to another location as it's in the way of some building work. So far we've had people telling us it will cost a fortune and others telling us it'll cost nothing much at all.  We're also wondering if we can get our electricity supply moved. That also seems hard to nail down.  Mrs Fluffy says it's best to just wait until the house is renovated before asking and do it all step by step afterwards as she knows they will make it complicated and she doesn't want to deal with two or three sets of difficult people at the same time. In other words, not much chance of planning ahead.   

desertbhoy wrote:

I also got my bank account set up, which is the first time I have ever been mugged inside a bank.

I find it hard to believe all the banks are in trouble in Hungary myself as their charges are very high.  Their profits must be large enough.  The government percentage charge on cash withdrawals is also close to criminal.  No wonder people like cash.

desertbhoy wrote:

I was pleasantly surprised by the helpfulness of all the utility suppliers, willing to advise rather than just answer questions.

Yes, that free offering of advise does seem nice here.

At first.

Then you start to realize many people here want to give you their opinion and advice on most every topic, even if unsolicited. And then you start to realize a lot of this free advice is wrong.

This old wisdom which I have learned to be good advice provided by and to myself here — "Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see."

klsallee wrote:

This old wisdom which I have learned to be good advice provided by and to myself here — "Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see."

Sounds like a case of A B C (used in police training):

A - Assume nothing
B - Believe no-one
C - Check everything

When I first came to HU, I always wondered why people engaged in seemingly meaningless repetitive discussions about "what to do" in the post office, or at a public counter, in a bank etc.  The reason is exactly ABC. 

Always triangulate answers from multiple sources and if at all possible get it in writing, especially where public services are involved. And if there's a confirming paper, make sure it's got a rubber stamp on it from the organisation and it's signed by someone in authority. 

Mrs Fluffy tells me that in Hungary decisions that are made, stamped and so on are decisions that cannot be reversed, even if they violate other rules.

Yes as they saying goes, everyone has an angle here.
My big question is to tip or not to tip medical staff.
Have done both and really now sort of think perhaps only tipping your family doctor is the best unless you are going in for surgery.
All specialists expect tips but we have gotten more bad advice, no advice or come back in a few months and we will take another look answers from so many specialist here that we no longer toss our money at them.
Only the family doctor and that is about every few visits, tip too often or too much and they will have you coming in every week.
Just finished up with over a year of slow going dental work at the dental school. Really liked my dentist, friendly neat made me relax etc. So long a treatment time and so many different things she did for me I knew I just couldn't figure out a number to tip her, I am not rich enough to give her what was her due. I did pay for services as well as for materials for my teeth but I wanted to give her something a little extra.
I gave her about $200. worth of silver Native American jewlery. Not sure she was in love with it or not but figured she could always re gift later...