I am an american born in usa and i moved to Hungary with my father who is also an american born in usa and a US Navy veteran.

I am NOT caucasian and neither is my father. We are black americans. We have no family or friends here in Hungary. We only speak USA english.

Now we are not Jewish although many both in usa and here think i am. I am not sure exactly why. When we rented our flat here in Budapest the real estate pointed out all the synagogues in the area near our flat! he hee

Well let me clarify that, I do not go to synagogue and am not part of any Jewish community. Racially i am part Ashkenazi jewish. I have never gone to any church at all and never been baptized or what they do to kids at catholic church, christianized or something? I never went to any church growing up or as an adult.

I do not eat pork(which is their favorite food here in Hungary for some reason!) and i am aware of how to eat kosher and live a kosher lifestyle. And i honestly know more of the Torah than i do any of the other religions of the book.

So i can not say how it is to be Jewish in Hungary. I can say how racism is as far a the standpoint of being a black person and one that i not christian.

That said i would say racism is much much less here in Budapest and the small amount of travel we have done in Hungary since being here.

Feel free to pm me personally for any questions.

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Greetings! Fear not. Hungary is no more racist than any other average country. Here there is a holocaust museum and Hungary respects all...but a little short with gypsies...as they tend to deserve the reputation because while some do honest work there are still many who steal and cheat etc. I guess they "aggressive" by mature cause that is just how they survived. As an American citizen of Jewish-Hungarian decent you will have no problems! Good luck! P.S. Just don't let the bureaucracy get you down cause nothing happens really fast in Hungary! LOL!

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A touchy subject but one worth asking, especially given circumstances that have arisen regarding immigration of Muslims into Europe.

We are Americans not of Hungarian ancestry, and Jewish although we are absolute atheists and somewhat anti-Zionists. So, we don't fit into the mold of typical Hungarian Jews. Even if we were practicing Jews we would be Reform which Orthodox Jews don't consider being Jewish at all.

That said, we have experienced "light" racism of the kind I label as innocent antisemitism. Hungarians don't like Jews as a society and have a deep but weirdly unidentifiable dislike of Jews. Basically, their parents and grandparents etc. hated Jews and a lot of things get blamed on Jews like banking fees etc. Some of this is perhaps understandable especially given the anti-Hungarian efforts of Jews like Soros, Nuland, Kagan, Kolomoisky etc. and the large amount of jews in positions of power in the banking industry which has been historically predatory.

But, we haven't experienced any overt antisemitism and I haven't lost any friends over it so I think it is on an individual basis. However, as I said we don't practice the religion, follow kosher diet restrictions, wear any bizarre clothing etc. Basically, we are not Jewish once they get to know us. But, we also don't go around advertising it nor forcing any extra considerations, on the other hand we don't hide it which would be ridiculous having close relatives living in Israel. I experienced far more antisemitism in the US than here in Hungary and a lot was extreme. But, we live on Lake Balaton in a region which sees a very large number of foreigners as tourists. We are more a curiosity being Americans than anything else but generally people think I am Dutch as I speak English and have blonde hair. Being an American baffles them.

I find it interesting to hear about Blacks in Hungary which are a fairly rare occurrence and perhaps far more obvious. I haven't seen any discrimination whatsoever for Blacks here but again there are so few it is hard to say what that means. The few I have met and talked with tell me they are fine and all is well.

Muslims are an entirely different matter for very good reasons and they are perhaps lower than Gypsies on the Hungarian ethnic hatred list.

I understand that the racism becomes more significant in Eastern or Northern Hungary and especially anywhere there are ethnic Ukrainian Hungarians. Ukraine is not far and antisemitism is rampant there. Same for Poland.

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I would add as a comment though that there is antisemitism in every country of the world and that to avoid it entirely is impossible. Even in Israel there is a kind of bizarre antisemitism within the Jewish community as there are varying degrees of Jewishness and being Reform or Conservative (the same thing to Orthodox Jews) is heretical. In Israel being Reform or perhaps far worse, being Christian, will definitely get you some adverse treatments. I kind of dread going there for that reason yet must to visit my son who lives there. I suppose it is just the cross we must bear in life for being Jewish.

I do feel though that through my personal experiences I have done a bit to reduce antisemitism here in our area of Hungary. But, it will never be eliminated entirely.

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Hello Felicia;

So glad to hear from you. We have something in common and that is religion. I also have none to speak of. I am agnostic but still of Jewish ancestry. So people take you for Jewish - welcome to the club.

Speaking of food, Hungarian cuisine is the very best that I know of particularly pork dishes. I have great memories of dishes such as plum dumplings and chestnut puree, and the summer fruits of Hungary are not equaled anywhere that I know of.

I am very glad to hear that your experience of prejudice is minor especially (I assume) in comparison to the US. I also have no family or friends in Hungary and would be starting afresh. My experience is people are generally friendly and a smile gets one in return. Hopefully also true in Hungary????

Are you renting an apartment? My plan would be to stay in a hotel or airbnb short term and figure out the rental situation on site. Cost of rentals from my limited checking is high - hopefully there are better rental options through an agency.

Wishing you a great day.

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Choosing an expat health insurance provider is an important decision. Get a quote from our trusted expat health insurance partner, CIGNA. With Cigna Global Health Options, you can create an international health insurance plan that's perfectly tailored for the needs of you and your family.

Hello Peddington;

Your positive message builds my confidence, thank you. I am somewhat concerned about the political situation particularly Jobbik. However since the media, being an interesting phenomenon and seems to prefer controversial subject matter of a negative kind. they are covering Jobbik a lot.

As an aside, a technical question about posting here - I sent a message earlier to Felicia and thought it was lost because it took 4 hours to show up here. I wonder if it was because of my lack of tech expertise navigating this site.

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Hello Borschelrh;

Thank you for your very informed message about racism and life in Hungary. What a pleasant surprise to learn that there is a member on this site also Jewish. I am also not religious and I consider myself agnostic because I don't know, but nor do I care. A great documentary film on the subject is "Zeitgeist" which covers religion and other very controversial topics. The film is on you tube - the 2007 version of Zeitgeist is the one that impressed me.

I am very glad to hear that you are having such a positive experience living in Hungary.

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“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”

? Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion

Richard believes that the Bible is not the best place to learn morality, albeit he wrote the above in mischief because he knew that the book reviewers would quote it.

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Well i just can not agree on the food thing about Hungary.

The food i have had here is the worst i have ever had in Europe or by people from Europe back before we moved. We lived in St Petersburg, FL and there was a very large Slavic/Baltic communities. Russians, Poles, Croatians, Lithuanians, Serbians etc that were directly from their homeland. I will admit basically no Hungarians and no Hungarians had business or anything, but they maybe just did not like that area. Anyway now being here eating food from those groups has been no different from back in usa.

That said there is a Russian place near us that we have to try.

I will not judge Hungarian food as maybe i have just had bad experiences?

Most we have had is very bland.

I have found the raw food at like stores to be of very bad quality and also not as fresh as the standards we are used too in USA or even other parts of Europe. So we really are selective.

A mgr at a meat market told us that is just due to the fact that Hungary is a poor country still and part of the reason why the meat does not taste as good is due to the food fed to the animals is not so great. So whatever. He hee

That said Hungary eats lots of pork and lots of bad pork! Pig feet and other such things are everywhere and honestly there is not enough money to get me to eat that.

But honestly i am not going to criticize Hungarians i think it is just a culturally thing of what they like to eat. Me i a bit biased maybe due to i really like German food and also some Scandinavian and British/Irish. Hungarian food is very different from German food so do not believe people when they say different! he hee

Now one thing i will say which has been an adjustment is Hungary is really Hungarian. There is very very little interaction with its neighbors. Most Hungarians do not travel even to near countries and you do not run into people from the border countries either.

Second thing is Hungary has way way way too many Turkish restaurants. Ok i find Turkish food both bland and not very good, but Hungarians love it so i guess they are happy. I did not like Turkish food cooked by Turks in USA and still hate it here.

I love lamb and do eat that if and when i can.

Ok with all the above i guess that is why i had someone call me a German symbolizer! Or yes once again why i have had people think i am a Jew He hee. But whatever.

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As far as people

Well as i said people are much less racist here again i speak as who i am and what i look like.

Yes the gypsies are treated badly here and yes i will also say they are annoying to common people. Never had any issues with them and i cannot say i have seen some of the bad things people say they do.

People eating out of garbage cans is a common thing here but i see all kinds of people doing that here so i wold say it is more of a general Hungarian thing with both gypsies and the "whites".

I can not speak for how it is to be muslim or an Indian as i am not those but they walk around and no one is like throwing anything at them or saying anything rude.

Oh going back to gypsies our neighbor had a friend over and i guess the guy had never met a person from the USA and well the guy loves rap and hip hop. Anyway the guy comes up to me and my dad and introduces himself and says how he is a Rommi. We are like ok cool, We were going to ask him how it is as a gypsy being a Hungarian. This guy is a PHD professor so not like stealing from people or anything, ok like he asks my dad where he is from, my dad says USA Nebraska originally to be exact. The gypsy guy says "no you are not", my dad says um yes i am! The guy then says some spill about how my dad has brown skin and dark hair so he is mediterranean, my dad says sorry buddy i am 59 years old i know who i am i do not need you telling me. Ok then my dad asks this knowledgable guy where is my daughter from? Which is me. The gypsy replies"Oh she is from New York, she is Jewish and little black like Alicia Keys or Drake" i have never been to New York n my life and have no family that is from there in any way!

So just as it would be rude to assume things about gypsies based on looks it is just as close minded to stand there and tell some grown people who they are just based on looks also.

And for some reason, once again i am from USA, so i can not speak of how it is for a black African, but you hear over and over of black Africans telling tales of being cussed out, and harassed by the locals. Our other neighbor is from Kenya and told us some story that i hear over and over. I am sorry we have not seen this. Most Hungarians like anyone else in the world are interested in their own lives and trying to make ends meet more than taking time to cuss out some person from Africa. Like i said in the case of our neighbor he said where this happened and i am sorry we have been to the same stores over and over and never seen this. By now we would of seen these things, i doubt they hide if it was so bad

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Speaking of food.....I am so sorry to hear about your bad experiences with the local cuisine. Even more sad to learn about the dumpster diving for food. It is very sad that the economic situation is so bad.

My food memories of Hungarian food are mostly from growing up and being fed food cooked in the Hungarian manner by my mother and others of our acquaintance. I think a child remembers these events and they make a lifelong impression.

I am also sorry to hear about the bad quality of the food that is being sold. I wonder if it may be possible to make friends with the butcher and he may up the quality provided to a friend.

Interesting that there are so many Turkish restaurants in Budapest. I have never eaten Turkish food yet, will try it when I am in BP.

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Back at you! Unfortunately THIS site does not allow comments of political nature. They want to maintain their "neutrality" I guess, opinion or not! So I can't get in to Jobbik or any other political party's position, agenda etc. There is much information on the Internet but be warn it is viewed much different abroad than in Hungary. As to the site technical aspect, it may just be the time of day when there was a lot of traffic that it showed up with a delay. There is also moderator (censor) that checks comments as I found out. So...there! Ultimately Hungary is not made of sugar (and actually there is no more sugar factories as they been put out of business I think) but is not bad considering. Unfortunately it is in the middle of the EU migrant debate along with the Visegrad countries. The future remains to be seen. Incidentally get your citizenship or bring a lot of money otherwise hard to get residency permit! Good luck!

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Oh you asked about rentals, sorry i did not respond to that!

Yes we rent a flat in Budapest. We pay a fair price i think i have seen more expensive and well there might be cheaper but some of the other areas are not as nice or as good transportation wise.

I am sure there are better deals but we did the best we can.

I just went online and booked a place online from florida. I knew nothing so i did the best i could which was scary but it worked out ok. We knew we would not find a long term rental right away so we booked for several weeks a apartment type rental instead of a hotel. It had a washing machine, full kitchen etc things to live for a month really.

It took about 4 weeks to find a long term place that was with a rental car and looking hard every day.

Many people live with other people and crap like that. We made sure to rent a place that would just be us!

If you need some help or more details send me a pm!

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My plan is to come for a visit first and arrange for an apartment rental in BP . Arranging a rental long distance seems difficult and questionable since my geography knowledge of BP is very minor. All I know of is the 8th arrondisement (sorry I do not know the Hungarian name for this). Wow I just remembered it is kerulet. So I just know of this area since it is where parents lived. So it seems a better idea to check and make this decision in person. Looking at rentals on line seems very high prices - I have primarily looked on Craigslist so am hoping a better way would be through an agency. If anyone has had dealings with an agency they recommend, I would appreciate hearing of it. Also what would be a reasonable amount of monthly rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in Pest. I say Pest since I think it may be easier transportation wise since I do not plan on a car. A big factor would be safety - are there areas in BP that are safer than others? Many thanks for your advice.

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Sorry pm seems not available/working.

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I just pmed you directly let me know if you get it. It worked for me so who knows.

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Dear Hotjazzman;

I have done some archival searching on this site and am addressing you because I have read many many posts by you that are amazingly informed, full of knowledge, well worded information and opinions on many different subjects. Your information is hugely informative and is a lesson in Hungarian history and other subjects. Thank you for all the information provided, it is very meaningful particularly since being posted by a Hungarian. I ask that you respond to my initial post regarding return to Hungary. Thank you, I will pay attention to your response.

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Hi Ildi:

Much like yourself our family left Hungary in 56. Our parents passed away, children are grown and I returned to Hungary 18 years ago.

While I am not Jewish I do attend cultural programs and hear what the community has to say.

The only people who talk about antisemitism is the left and the USA. Hungary poses a problem because Orban wishes to continue to build a healthy economy. That is not of interest to the powers that be - thus the negative press.

My neighbor is a rabbi, he claims this is one of the safest countries for Jews.

You need to be discerning when you make decisions based on the news and hearsay.

If you have further questions or just want to chat - feel free to contact me.

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Glad to have found your comment. You are very detailed and precise in your writing, even state specifically that you are anti-Zionist - and yet..... :)

Regarding Hungarians and their 'dislike' for Jews - it is due to their not understanding the difference between Jews and Zionists. If you didn't know the difference - honestly now - how would you feel about what you thought were Jews?

There needs to be a constant clarification for me on FB also - because I think by the majority the people are fine. Knowing the history of Hungary - this is a tough nation that had to withstand plenty of injustice so it is no surprise that they are mistrustful. I owe it to myself and others to try to understand.

Peace.

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Hi Ildi - reading the messages as they come in order. About rentals in Hungary. You must be aware that there is a dual market: 1) for foreigners 2) Hungarians.

This is not only a difference in price but also in the quality. If you are OK with antique furniture - should you remember from your childhood or visits - you can get much better prices than if you are looking for western style units. There are mostly luxury units for westerners.

Agencies will likely have the pricier options, but take a look at ingatlan.com to give you an idea of the offerings.

I cashed in my 401K when I came and caught the end of the bargains in purchasing. Remodeled I now rent to foreigners also - city center 1 bdr. 93m2.

See if you can get an agreement with an AirBnB host to rent long term (mo.) at a flat rate rather than a nightly. You can make an offer - they can either except of decline but at least you've tried.

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I will not speak of goverment or rules as i do not know. But i would Hungarians a bit less senative to Jews than many other European countries.

I will not speak for every Hungarian of course and i have not been here too long.

But being a black american many Hungarians think they can just say things that are offensive and if you do not appear to be that ethnic group you should not care!

I have encountered many Hungarians say very negative and anti Jewish things mostly do to ignorance. Even we were at a coffee shop and some guys tell my father about the so called "Holocaust" of Hungarians in 56. When my father and i pointed out that was a military confrontation. The real Holocaust was with Jews amongst the other groups less than 10yrs earlier. The men their "well those were just Jews, Gypsies and Poles the world is always better with less of those people!" and the guys were laughing and slapping him on the back and were buying drinks for everyone. He and i got up and left, they were upset that we did not want to stay.

This type of thing happened a few other times. We were invited to someones house for dinner one time and they used a term we had never heard of. We asked what does that mean? The woman said that was the term for gypsies, we said hmm never heard of that. I asked is that for the Roma gypsies of this area? She said that is what Hungarians call them. Ok so i go home and look it up and found that is a offensive term for them.

So whatever.

That said Hungary is a much much much less racist or anti semantic place than usa. Generally people are quite tolerant.

The Muslim thing is talked about greatly in all of Europe and even more so in regards to Hungary. But honestly you see openly Muslim people every day and no one says anything to them or is openly rude to them. Now i am sure when it comes to like jobs, or business they most likely get drama.

Since moving here i lost count of the number of Arab men that have talked about, and expressed their desire to meet a Hungarian woman and have her marry him. I would be rich if paid in huf even for the number of Arab men that have asked me to "help me meet a Hungarian woman so i can stay in EU" and i am including Turks in this also. I talked to a friend of mine that is 62yo and also from usa she gets the same thing in the past 9yrs she has lived in Hungary.

But by the same token going to get a residence permit to live here many stray Muslim men her on a work visa to impale chickens got much less hassle than usa people. If Hungary has such issues with Muslim men you would not know it from going to Immigration.

I have talked to many usa and uk people that get more hassle about living here than many single muslim men.

So i would say what a country says and what they really do are most different.

Which is not unique to Hungary, more true with my country of orgin USA as partly why i do not live in usa! he hee.

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As far as rentals

I have no idea how Airbnb or any of those type things work. I do not believe in living with other people nor do or would i ever sublet our place or any type of room sharing type thing. Or virtual motels or whatever that stuff is.

We just rented a kitchenette for a few weeks until we found a normal 1yr lease for a flat.

That said yes like anywhere you have to look well. Many companies, people try to overcharge USA people but they do that to the locals also.

SInce we have lived in our flat countless Hungarians ask us how did we find this place? How did we find it for that price? Etc. I have told many the price for our flat and they said that is the same price they would pay. But also a few have told me that they have paid more so less really!

At least in District 2 where we live. I do not know about some of the others cause did not really look there.

I will not say we got a super deal but i do not think we were overcharged either. One thing is we faced many many companies not rent to us. Many said all kinds of weird excuses, i mean i had one woman say she only rents to gay male couples? One woman say she only rents to sex workers and pimps i mean all kinds of ridiculous stuff.

But in most cases when i conforted them about this, as Hungary does not like discrimination either, they simple just said that it is hard to cheat or ripoff usa people as we either find out quickly and or we are more willing to do something about it. Where as most of the real estate people said Hungarians take a lot more than USA people do and they can get away with much much more.

Basically i found that if you look at a site that provides it in english it is not good. I found you find a site that is Hungarian and just use your browser to translate it then it is better.

I found a very good company that we rented from and they have been more than helpful with many things. So it can be done.

That said many Hungarians and i think some USA people i do not know, live with other people in the long term even. I honestly do not know how they get residence permits with that type of housing situation. Who knows.

We have a 1yr lease written in Hungarian and English done by Hungarian company and we got hassled. I have no idea how they people that are staying with people or renting from some stray person get threw it.

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Greetings! I have read your pre-move postings and even replied to some (trying to be helpful) but as a black person if you figured that "prejudice" is non-existent in Hungary than you where obviously mistaken. As to comparing Hungary to the US well not so fast. Hungary is roughly the size of Florida in size and even in population. But the US is lot more diverse than Hungary. We have more illegals in the US than there are Hungarians PERIOD! On the other hand there are many among Hungarians that done some thing for Jewish people like Schindler, often risking their lives. One should note that Jews like Gypsies are a fairly close knit group. These presents issues on their own. Most Hungarians will treat you as you treat them. The exceptions are bureaucrats, thugs and the mildly educated. Hungarians have a strong sense of Nationalistic pride and don't cherish racial intermixing, LIKE IT OR NOT! I guess when you a small nation it is easy to DISAPPEAR if you "contaminate" the gene pool! Just my two forints, LOL! Hope you Dad is doing well and his health is holding up!...

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Hey peddington

Glad to hear from you again!

Yes i never thought or said prejudiced is non existent in Hungary! Please read my posts as i said several times Hungary is much much less prejudiced than usa i think i made that clear on more than one time.

Florida is about twice pop than Hungary other states i have lived in even more than that.

Yes USA is much more diverse. We have been around less other Europeans being in the middle of Europe than we were in FL. I thought there would be more Croatians, Poles, Germans, Russians, Serbs, Austrians here in Budapest where you can walk to these places! It has surprised me that we have run into adults in Budapest that have never been to Croatia or Austria. I am surprised Hungarians do not travel more.

There many small countries smaller than Hungary where people travel a bit more but i think that might have to do with even smaller countries still are wealthier countries.



What bothers me is those facts and then i get Hungarians telling me about the USA even though they have never been there. I have had many Hungarians not understand how non whites are allowed to leave ?

I do like it here and i will say Hungarians would be better served to try to let outsides like myself learn of their land and culture, never do they say anything nice about it here! I am the one saying nice things about Hungary most times. I mentioned how good the produce is here nice and clean and she said well in usa it is better, i simply said that no in usa many times they sale either rotten or green stuff her response was that she knows american-go and f myself! more funny than anything but whatever.

Yes i think there is much resentment when someone tries to be nice to them as i really am, it is like they find that odd. Like they feel no one likes them so they find it strange if someone is nice to them.

Hmm maybe that is it, i am half German so yes if they detest racial mixing so since i am a direct product of that i might remind them of something they do not like?

I do not know how Jews live in Hungary not because of any prejudice but like i said there is no where that serves lamb. he hee.

I learn new things here every week and i do like it here, and as i said we plan on staying in Hungary for several more years at least 5.

Thanks for asking about my fathers health! He has been a bit stressed due to being so busy dealing with stuff from USA and things here. We have not had much of a chance to really have fun even though we are coming up on a year here! Not really due to anything about Hungary or being here just more stuff from USA being so slow. Makes it clear even more why we left and glad we live here.

I did not move here to racial mix with anyone or get a husband, as i said before we just want a nice calm life which i think we can achieve here.

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Hello,

I am American moving there in 2017 to Budapest.i had a question what kind of medical insurance package was required for you to be a resident of Budapest.I am looking at different plans,did you need hospitalization to stay long term besides having regular medical coverage.

Thanks

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I have heard mention in the Indian press that Jews have never faced discrimination in India for hundreds of years. Very few live here now though, having migrated to Israel and elsewhere.

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I'd be curious to hear what kind of feed back you get on this. I am Jewish and American. I'm moving to Budapest in January for work. thanks

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Ildiko - renting from an agency you must consider that they will charge the owner one month rent for their service (some places do more by charging a %)

In order for the landlord not to lose out they will raise the rent to accommodate for that expense. While it is harder work - you would be saving money finding your own place.

There is a dual market - I believe we talked about that once. One is for foreigners with western style apartments with western prices. There are the Hungarian apartments that don't look much different from what your family left in '56 but much less expensive. The choice is yours.

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