Things to know before you move to the Hungarian countryside

Dreaming of the tranquillity of the Hungarian countryside? Fresh air, bright sky with a glass of drink in your backyard – as we would all like to imagine it. Here are some stories to prove you wrong.

We do not mean to scare anyone away from moving to the countryside. These are obviously handpicked examples from the readers of Sokszínűvidék. And you can meet bad neighbours anywhere. If you do not have one, you are probably it. Also, if you want to feel better about your own neighbours, do not miss these funny anecdotes – all are true stories recalled by readers.

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Gossip girls

We all know the old lady archetype who knows everything about everyone in the village. It turns out that sometimes they seem to know more about you than you do actually. One reader recalled a story when she went home to her parents’ house to wash her clothes as the washing machine broke down at her boyfriend’s place. The old lady who lived next door put together the pieces and started spreading the rumour that she was dumped and kicked out of her boyfriend’s place because she accidentally broke the washing machine.

The fresh air

Most people in the countryside have experienced the pungent smell of the dunghills, usually placed carefully next to the fence. It was a recurring issue readers were complaining about. Many people also mentioned that some neighbours used dirty sewage water for watering the plants. Also, as much as we love animals, it is not ideal when they are kept right next to our house (pigs, chickens, ducks or dogs) in cages that are rarely cleaned. It is not only a sad sight but can be rather smelly too.