大咖福利影院

Milan.K wrote:

.... if anyone is in Budapest, would salary of some 900 euros be enough for decent living in Budapest?

Depends on your circumstances and if this is the gross amount before taxes/deductions. If you are married, with kids, then no, it's not enough. If you are single, without a car, simple needs, doing it for adventure, thinking of it for just short term then maybe.

In my opinion, "decent living" could not be achieved with this amount.

Milan.K wrote:

Thanks for the answer.

It's net amount. I'm coming alone, without car. No big needs, it's not an adventure move, it's a career move, since the company is pretty big and serious, so, it would probably help me a lot in my future career.聽 Also, I am promissed to get a raise next year, and I expect it to be more than 100 euros.

So, this would be a career move, and I'm just wondering if I will be able to live with this money without having to borrow money from my parents, for example, in order to survive the month.

If you have a small single room (plus bathroom etc) apartment (something like a student place), maybe it'll cost you EUR 250-300 per month probably. This leaves you EUR 600 for the rest. 600 EUR is only 20 EUR per day - 30 days per month. A McDonalds costs about 4 EUR. So, 20 EUR/day is not a great deal for a very high standard of living. The cost of food and goods is the same as anywhere else in Europe - it's certainly not cheaper here.聽 If you share a house/apartment, then you could probably push the cost down considerably.

Be careful about employers here in Hungary. Make sure you have a proper contract, and make sure they will actually pay you (not commission based). There are quite a few call centre type jobs being offered in Budapest for companies that have very bad reputations.

Milan.K wrote:

I dont like McDonalds, or any other fast food, and there聽 is a cantene at work, so I would probably spend less on the food...

I was only describing McDonalds because it's often used (originally non-seriously but gaining in acceptance) as a common measure of PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) and currency valuations for different economies around the world.

The Economist newspaper publishes a Big Mac Index. According to a couple of web sites I looked at just now (without overdoing any analysis), Hungary ranks #19 at USD 2.71 whereas Serbia ranks #44 at USD 2.08 for a Big Mac.

In other words, all things being equal it's about 25% cheaper in Serbia than Hungary.

Be thankful you are not going to Iceland (it was > USD 6 for a Big Mac). However, Iceland no longer has any McDonalds outlets since the economic crisis there - they all shut down. Maybe it's lucky for them!

Lilly76 wrote:

Are you guys kidding? 900 Euros (today's rate) is roughly about 240.000+ forint. I think a single person with simple needs can do just fine from that money. That amount is almost double or more of what the natives make.

No, we're not kidding. It depends what kind of life one wants to lead. Compared to Western Europe (UK, Germany, Netherlands etc), it's not a great deal of money. Prices here are the same as anywhere else in the EC. Entry level IT graduates in the UK for example (if they can get a job) earn more than that.

And of course expatriates always have higher overheads (e.g. travel) and end up paying extra for things due to lack of local knowledge (language, accessibility) etc.

Milan.K wrote:

Hi Guys, thanks for the answers!

At the end, I decided to accept the offer, but then I found out that my salary would be tied to forints, not euros, and that scared me away...

It's not so bad if you live in Hungary and do not need to buy imported goods or pay for goods in foreign currency (unlikely for expats). Any expat in Hungary is faced with the that problem on a regular basis as many goods are imported. One could consider going to say, UK, Germany, Netherlands or somewhere like that where salaries are higher.

Lilly76 wrote:

.... so when the dollar is lets say 210+ forint I get lot more forint to spend when it's only 200. So it's actually a good thing for me.

Yes, it's right BUT the cost of imports within Hungary will go up and therefore the cost of living will go up generally. You'll end up paying anyway. In a country like Hungary, with few natural resources, it relies heavily on imports (fuel, technology, raw materials etc). It's therefore goods bought in foreign currency which will be affected - fuel for example is priced in USD. Some things which are produced internally will be cheaper in the short term as there is a lag in seeing the effects in the economy.

It is notable that countries try and keep their currency low (e.g. China) so it makes their exports cheaper. The American government equates that with an "illegal" export subsidy. The Chinese are not particularly impressed with this argument or are choosing to ignore it.

So in the short term, it's good if goes the other way (more Forints for your EUR/USD) but it will be short lived as the National Bank will simply raise interest rates (and therefore increase the value of the Forint - people will want Forints because it gives them a higher return).

The issuer of the currency (National Bank) always has an aim to maintain price stability and one of the ways they do that directly is to use interest rates.

Milan.K wrote:

I found out that my salary would be tied to forints, not euros, and that scared me away.

Sorry, I missed this part earlier. I agree, I'd want my salary in euros too.

Milan.K wrote:

Update - company rule is to NOT fix the salary in euros, so, they won't make exception just for me. It seems that I'm not so special, after all.

Anyway, I have to decide tonight. And I don't have a clue what to do.

The Euro has apparently gone down in value due to the Irish debt crisis and other problems in Euroland (like Portugal). If you are mobile worker and flexible, then you can always just grab the experience for what it's worth, then leave after a year and go and work somewhere else. No job is forever and maybe having the employer on your CV will be a good selling point for getting the next job in the future.

Milan.K wrote:

You're right, but I can't leave if it gets rough, it's a 2-year contract.

Oh yes, you can.

Contracts always have escape clauses - ill health, circumstances beyond your control, military service, family issues, kidnap by pirates etc etc.

It's a job, not slavery!

Milan.K wrote:

But this one is a little bit different - they will send me to training all across the world, with everything paid, so, that's a quite big investment for them to just let go. If I want to bail out earlier, I will have to pay a little bit over $2000 per month left till the end of the contract.

It's not that different from many contracts in Eastern Europe but is never done in other places (like the UK). A lot of contracts contain that sort of clause. The chances of them chasing you (especially across borders) is almost zero. However, there's no point in starting on the wrong foot. If you like them and they like you, then it's all positive, so there's no problem really. I think they sound like a big corporation and if you can "survive" corporate life, then it's all good. Just go for it!

Milan.K wrote:

....Anyway, I decided to accept, so, we'll see where am I gonna end up.

Welcome to Hungary!