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Cost of living in Hungary

Here are some typical 'cost of living' prices comparing Hungary to the UK. The prices shown are typically what you might pay in the local villages around Lake Balaton.

TYPICAL PRICES
  Hungary UK
COUNCIL TAX (annual) £80 £1500
MEAL INC DRINK £5 £12.50
HORSE RIDING £7.50 / hr £25.00
COFFEE in local Café £0.30 £2.50
WINE in Supermarket £0.80 £4.00
BOTTLE of BEER £0.40 £1.50
1KG CHERRIES £0.50 £6.50
ICE CREAM CORNET £0.50 £1.60
SAILING CHARTER
(4 berth 25 ft 7 days in June)
 £550 £1020
THERMAL HEALTH SPA £4.00 £25.00
DENTAL IMPLANT £550 £2500
7 DAY CAR HIRE £140 £140
1 LITRE UNLEADED £0.95 £1.10
LABOURER 1 DAY £15.00 £70.00
TRADESMAN 1 DAY £25.00 £200.00

Budapest itself being a capital city is more expensive but when you are in the villages around Lake Balaton the cost of living drops dramatically. So unlike most of the rest of Europe you can holiday in Hungary relatively cheaply and if you buy a second home there you can spend most of the year there and live comfortably on very little.

That makes it a very popular place for Brits coming up to retirement or any age who just want somewhere nice and comfortable with good weather that doesn't cost a fortune to eat out.

If you own a property in Hungary and you need some work doing the cost of tradesmen is very low compared to the UK and the council tax usually has people stunned at the difference from what you pay in the UK.

One of the things we talk about at the shows(so sorry if you've heard this anecdote from us already) is a typical example of cheap living, it was a trip to see a couple that had already bought a property, they wanted to show us what they had done to the house, so we arranged to meet in the cafe in the village where they live.

We bought 5 drinks which were 4 Cappuccinos and an orange juice, it came to 740 forints, when worked out into sterling it was £2.42, that's 5 drinks in a village cafe.

In the UK in a village cafe typically one Coffee would cost £2.50.

The cost of living is just one more reason why you should buy a property in Hungary.