In an interview with German newspaper Die Welt, one retired German couple explains why they moved to Hungary, pointing to the country’s standard of living, which they say they could have never afforded in Germany.
“I wanted to live somewhere warmer. On the other hand, our financial situation did not seem particularly good. I receive a pension of 800 euros, and my wife unfortunately does not receive a pension. It would have been a fight for survival in Germany,” the pensioners told the newspaper.
“In Hungary, on the other hand, we can both live well with this amount of money,” said 67-year-old Roland S.
Roland S. notes that life is “much cheaper,” in Hungary.
“We pay 10 euros a month for electricity. In Germany, it was 10 times as much. Water costs us four euros a month. We spend around 500 euros on various daily purchases, groceries and dog food for our three dogs. We treat ourselves to everything we want,” he said.
Cheap real estate was also a factor in their decision, even if it was not easy to find a house in their price range.
“That wasn’t easy, as our price limit was 15,000 euros. But we were lucky and bought a house with 80 square meters of living space on a 3,000 square meter plot of land. One thousand square meters of this was planted with a vineyard. Three years ago we paid just 9,500 euros for everything together – and the house is 20 minutes from Lake Balaton. Of course, we had to do a lot of renovations ourselves, but we also had some help from tradesmen,” he said, noting that tradespeople in Hungary are capable, efficient, and charge honest prices.
German media is characterized by a strong anti-Orbán bias, but this German couple appears to favor the Hungarian prime minister.
“Hungary is characterized by national pride and traditional values. This should be clear to you,” Roland said. “I think Orbán is a decent politician who stands up for his country and its citizens.”
In my opinion, very few politicians in Germany do this,” he added.
In regard to whether he misses Germany, he said: “Not really – except maybe a German electrician. But that’s more to do with the language than the skills. Otherwise, I miss almost nothing in everyday life.”
Although he and his wife only speak a little Hungarian, he said everyone he has met has been friendly and open, and that he sometimes chats with his neighbors.
However, one downside is the state of the healthcare system in his area. He says if they have any medical issues, they travel back to Germany.
Regarding whether he would ever move back to Germany, he answered: “Who knows in which direction Germany will develop. At the moment, I prefer to stay in Hungary.”
Since the article was published, they appear to be not the only Germans with a favorable opinion of Hungary. The interview garnered nearly 1,000 comments.
“Orbán, like Wilders, has been a shining light since 1998,” said one comment.
Another wrote: “At the beginning of my retirement, I bought a small apartment in a Hungarian city. I simply can’t stand the madness in Germany any longer, and in the long run I will move away completely. The interesting thing is what they tell me about Germany in Hungary. They told me that five years ago all Hungarians wanted to go to Germany and Austria, but today, despite the difference in wages, many want to come back. And that now more and more Germans are coming to Hungary.”
It is not unusual for retired Germans to move abroad due to the cost-of-living crisis back home, although Hungary may be a new destination for more and more Germans also due to its close proximity to Germany, allowing for trips back home.
In the past, Orbán has stated that he sees a wave of Christian migrants coming to Hungary in the future. He has also expressed remorse for his country expelling the country’s ethnic German population after the end of the Second World War, saying it was a historic mistake.
Overall, Orbán is very positive towards Germany and the German people, but he has said that the country has changed radically over the last decade.
“Now, Germany is no longer Germany. It’s a colorful, changed multicultural world, where migrants coming in are no longer guests in this country… They are not there as guests of native Germans, but in their own right. It is now their country, too,” he said.
