Location: Where to Live with a Family in Budapest

Expatriate Housing in Budapest

Keep in mind when searching for a place to live in Budapest:

• Neighborhood – While some transferees prefer the inner city (which typically offers apartments), most tend to look for homes in the hilly Buda side and nearby suburbs of Budapest.
• Overall transportation needs – heavy traffic during rush hour might make areas near public transportation much more appealing.
• Commute to work – In the mornings (7:00 – 9:00 a.m.) and after office hours (4 – 6 p.m.), traffic can be really heavy between your workplace and your home. A 10 minute drive on the weekend might translate to a 30 minute or one hour drive during the week. The worst case is crossing the river Danube from the Buda side to the Pest side at around 8 a.m. Elisabeth bridge (Erzsébet híd) tends to be the fastest bridge to cross.

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Expatriate housing

Expatriate families tend to seek housing on the Buda or western side of the city. They prefer living in family homes located in green, quiet and clean residential neighborhoods.

The most popular neighborhoods in Budapest for expat families are districts 2, 11 and 12 on the green and hilly Buda side, close to international schools.

For those who want to live near work and do not mind busy-city noise, recommended areas on the Pest side are the centrally located districts 5, 6, 7, and the southern edge of 13. Apartments in these districts are usually smaller; surroundings more urban, thus more polluted and noisy.

Less expensive, more comfortable

Expatriate families are just recently discovering the south-western residential areas in the 11 and 22 – include the southern part of Sasad, Madárhegy and Budafok within Budapest city limits, as well as suburbs such as Budaörs, Törökbálint and Diósd. You get ‘more house’ for your money here, and since the area developed later, rush hour traffic will be gentler on you than in the northern Buda districts 2 and 3.

There are two shopping malls with cinemas, restaurants and nice shops: MOM Park in district 11, and Campona in district 22. There are also numerous other large shopping centers in close proximity: Auchan, IKEA, Tesco, Cora and many more near highways M0, M1 and M7; but even Mammut mall is easily approachable.

Getting around: You can reach the nearest Metro line at Deli pu by car or by public from anywhere in the area. Drop your car at Deli and hop on the subway (Metro) to go to the city center. New Metro 4 is going to come even closer, but I don’t dare to predict when that will really happen. Driving is easier in this recently developed south-western area, serviced well with highways and motor roads. The airport and major highways are also easier to reach from here than from the northern and central districts.

Recommended School in the area: ICSB. Driving through the back roads of the Buda hills, you can also reach the other international schools without being caught up by heavy rush hour traffic.

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Other Posts about Buying Real Estate in Hungary:

• Location: Where to Live with a Family in Budapest
• Location: Where to Buy Investment Residential Property in Budapest
• Rental Yields in Budapest
• Expenses When Purchasing
• Buying for the Right Price

Back to Buying in Budapest »