Why are thousands of German pensioners moving to Hungary?

More than 3000 German pensioners moved to Hungary in the last couple of years. But why do they choose to spend their elderly years in Hungary instead of their country of birth?

The number of German pensioners is increasing in Hungary, which has picked the interest of German public media as well. The MDR made a report which was looking for potential explanations as to why Germans choose to move to Hungary and the region of Lake Balaton.

Cheap housing compared to Germany

Real estate around Lake Balaton has been especially popular among German pensioners. There is no doubt that it is much cheaper to buy property in Hungary, especially in rural areas, than in Germany. A German real estate agent showed a recently renovated house, 10 kms from Lake Balaton for HUF 18 million (EUR 49,000) to prospective buyers before talking to MDR.

“You can’t even buy a garage for that price in Germany,” the agent told MDR, who also mentioned that they felt the increased demand from Germans. Search for houses exploded in the area, with three to six showings a day.

Read also: Which nations do Hungarians like and dislike the most?

Cost of living

The cost of living plays a huge part in moving to the cheaper Hungarian countryside. According to fintech bank N26 the average cost of living in Germany is EUR 2073 per month. Meanwhile, according to the German real estate agent, for German pensioners, EUR 800 is more than sufficient to live a well-balanced lifestyle in Hungary.

A German lady from Dresden said that in Germany, she would be homeless, even though she had worked for 55 years. “I just want to live in peace on my pension and I can do that in Hungary,” she argued.

Despite the high inflation in Hungary, which is still higher than in Wester-Europe, services are still cheaper in Hungary than in Germany. The report notes that in Hungary, EUR 1 gets you EUR 1.67 worth of services, making it the second cheapest in the EU after Poland.

Sense of security in Hungary

An evangelical pastor serving in Keszthely, Rita Mick-Sole, says that Germans are moving to Hungary in enormous numbers because the German political developments have made people feel insecure and dissatisfied, but in Hungary, they can be happy.

Read also: French survey: Hungary is one of the safest places in Europe