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In my previous post, “The good, the bad, and the downright fascinating: Budapest at a glance,
Part I”, I disclosed just a few of the things that make Budapest a great city to live in.
But, as we all know, no country or city is perfect. In Part II of this series, I figured it’s only fair to take a look at some of the ways in which Budapest falls short.
Keep in mind that my subjective opinions are very much informed by my own upbringing and past experiences of living in South Africa, and that many may disagree with me. But several of the issues listed below are ones that I have discussed with both locals and other expats living in the city and are obstacles that they, too, struggle with.
What Budapest gets wrong
1. Food
This one’s coming partially from a place of bias.
If we’re talking pastries, desserts, or baked goods then, by all means, Europe is probably your guy. Hungary isn’t a frontrunner in this regard, but it certainly outperforms South Africa.
However, if we’re talking flavour and spice, then I’m willing to bet that Africa has you all beat. I’m quickly learning that, by European standards, salt is a spice. The first time I had an “Indian” curry here, I almost drowned myself in the Danube.
Keep in mind, however, that my hometown hosts the second largest population of Indians apart from India, so we were raised on a good bunny chow, breyani, and samoosas that could make your eyes water.
I’m sure Hungarians love their food, and there’s a good chance it’ll grow on me in the winter months, but my first impression was that it’s heavy and bland.
It’s a lot of meaty stews and soups, and you’d be remiss to forget their signature Langos – a large, flat donut (like a pizza but made out of donut dough) that’s traditionally topped with sour cream, grated cheese and sometimes chopped tomatoes, red onions and cucumber.
The sweet, hot Chimney Cake is a topic of contention in Central and Eastern Europe, as many countries like to claim it as their invention. Here, they’ll tell you it’s a locally crafted favourite, but Austria, Romania and many others will say the same thing. Personally, I don’t really know what all the fuss is about – it smells 100x better than it tastes.
Don’t even get me started on the Paprika.
Priding yourself in your nation’s most famous ingredient is one thing, but the hold that Paprika has over these people can only be described as a demented obsession. Also – so much sour cream. Sour cream in everything.
2. Public healthcare
This one comes from a personal sore spot, as my first few weeks in Hungary were riddled with resurgences of a nasty throat infection that eventually developed into tonsillitis.
The reason why it eventually developed into tonsillitis, however, was because finding a goddamn English-speaking doctor in this city was about as easy as channeling the second coming of Jesus Christ.
During the course of my 12-week-long quest to find a doctor with whom I could communicate, I connected with both expats and locals that shared my frustration, and who, very earnestly, could not point me in the direction of a viable solution.
The Hungarian healthcare system is set up in a way that allocates local public general practitioners – known here as ‘family doctors’ – to certain districts. The local GP assigned to the area where you live is legally obligated to accept you as a patient. You can visit a doctor outside of your area, but they’re not obligated to see you, and patients from their own district are given priority.
Sadly, for me, and in most cases, the GP in my area didn’t speak a lick of English. I’m not sure if there were genuinely zero English-speaking capabilities in that entire clinic, or perhaps it was out of xenophobic spite (which I wouldn’t necessarily put past the Hungarians), but there were quite literally signs taped to the clinic doors that warned English speakers to not even think about coming to the clinic without a translator, and also notified them in abrasive all-caps that they would need a translator to make an appointment over the phone, too.
I attempted to find English-speaking doctors. I asked literally everyone I knew. All the recommendations that I was given (which amounted to about three in the entire city) refused to see me because I didn’t live in their allocated district.
Eventually, I was able to contact my Hungarian neighbour, who generously agreed to accompany me to the local doctor and act as a translator. But, upon chatting with him, I learned that this was only the beginning of the many flaws in the Hungarian public healthcare system. As is the case with most government-funded healthcare schemes, waiting lists are about a mile long (especially for specialist doctors and surgeons), not all practicing doctors are necessarily good, and you’ll still have to pay for many kinds of prescribed medication.
You also have to pay in cash at most doctor’s and dentist’s offices, and at many of the government clinics, you’re required to give the exact amount of cash because they won’t give you change.
3. Conservative politics
Whenever I’ve hypothetically considered living in any country long-term, there are only two absolute non-negotiables for me.
It was no different when I first considered the prospect of moving to Budapest – the very first things I googled about Hungary were “is abortion legal in Hungary” and “is gay marriage legal in Hungary”. Abortion and LGBTQ+ rights are the two benchmarks by which I personally measure a country’s progressive thinking and moral compass (and I judge people the same way).
I can just picture it – all the Hungarians reading this very paragraph, laughing at me right now.
I’ll admit it, I was warned. But my Google Search assured me that abortion was legal in Hungary, and it is. Gay marriage is a bit more of a sensitive one.
Now, it’s worth mentioning that Budapest is a very progressive bubble within an otherwise conservative country, and most people in this city despise the current prime minister and his backwards stance regarding women, the gay community and pretty much any other social issue.
But the fact remains that, currently, Hungary upholds some not-so-groovy laws that oppress gay couples’ abilities to adopt children and strongly prohibit any mention of LGBTQ+ lifestyles in schools. Viktor Orbán, that lekker prime minister I mentioned earlier, also doesn’t really seem to rock with women that hard. His party infamously practices a distinctly macho style of politics that would ideally have women pregnant and at home cooking for their husbands.
So my liberal, feminist, queer ass is loving that about as much as you can imagine.
4. Xenophobia
Although I’m yet to experience this one on a personal level, it’s something I’ve heard quite a lot about from first-hand accounts. It’s not lost on me that my experience in any European country would be very, very different to that of a South African, or any foreigner for that matter, that doesn’t look like me. I’m lucky in that, although I’m not Hungarian, my white skin allows me to pass as one. Until I open my mouth and try to speak Hungarian, at which point you’d realise that I am in fact a confused French donkey.
However, there is often reference made by both locals and expats to the general anti-foreigner attitude that many traditional Hungarians still hold. Hungarian landlords, for example, often will not let their properties to non-Hungarian tenants. Many expats who come here to study have expressed immense difficulty in finding a job after they graduate. Even I was told by a very popular Hungarian bank that I could not open an account with them until I learned to speak Hungarian.
I understand pride in one’s people and wanting to encourage foreigners to indulge in the local culture and language as much as possible, but at the end of the day, expats can’t change the fact that they’re expats. And sometimes, no matter how hard some of us may try to make an effort and participate in Hungarian life, it will never be enough for the purists who want to reserve Hungary exclusively for Hungarians.
I’ve said many times, every country and city have their problems. At least here, I don’t have to eat dinner in the dark or sell an organ to fill up my car with petrol.
In Part III of this series, and the last post in the ‘The good, the bad, and the downright fascinating: Budapest at a glance’, I’ll take a fun little look at things that are just downright interesting and unique about Budapest. Stay tuned!
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