Why do German pensioners flood Hungary? – VIDEO

Germans have been moving to Hungary for quite a while now. Historically, there have been multiple bigger waves of Germans coming to live in our country. These days, the number of nationalities are much lower than in those historical times.

According to the Central Statistical Office, there are currently 22,310 German citizens living in Hungary. A report made by the Hungarian Deutsche Welle lets us take a peek into the lives of these Germans who are currently living in Hungary.

Why Hungary?

The most common scenario is the German retirees moving to Hungary to live out their pensions here. Since the cost of living is much lower here in Hungary, even with the exorbitant inflation lately, they prefer our country. They still come out in a more financially beneficial situation than if they stayed in Germany. Instead of the expensive German rent prices, they buy a house here. The Hungarian overhead cut is a fifth of what the Germans have to pay.

All in all, it sounds logical that the retired Germans would choose to stay in Hungary. The area around Lake Balaton is the most preferred by them, near one of the popular summer vacation spots those Germans still in the workforce like to visit in the summer.

There are other aspects that contribute to these migrating patterns. One of such is the political trajectory of the countries. Some Germans are against their country’s migration politics or the measures taken against the coronavirus and opt to move to a place more aligned to their political values. (Read more about the Hungarian migration policy HERE.)

The Hungarian crew of the Deutsche Welle interviewed some Germans who have been living in Hungary for quite a while now.

Lives of the expats

One of them is Herbert. He has lived in Nemesvita for the last 16 years. He has established a Westernpark and managed to learn Hungarian. He talks about life in Hungarian while feeding his animals. He comments that he has found a real home here and how he loves Hungarians, although if he knew back then how complicated it is to start a business here, he probably wouldn’t have tried his hand at it.

Angela and Holm are retirees and were oscillating between Hungary and South America. In the end, they bought a house in the Lake Balaton area. They say they haven’t regretted their choice.

“We already are half-Hungarians. At least in our hearts, we are for sure.” They say.

Drawbacks of the plan

Surprisingly, the inflation doesn’t affect expats as much as one would expect, since their income is higher than those of the Hungarians. Since their house is much cheaper here, they can afford to spend more money on food and necessary items. Read more about the Hungarian prices HERE.

They admit though that there are disadvantages. The main problem is the language barrier they encounter in their official dealings. One of the biggest issue is in the healthcare system, when there aren’t any people who speak German or English. This is a real problem, especially when trying to call an ambulance. For this reason, many German retirees move back sooner or later to Germany. Additionally, the younger Germans are less inclined to move to Hungary because of the low wages and the above mentioned other concerns.

Here is DW’s video: