Index – National – Ten settlements where we can get away from the epidemic

Noise, stress, coronavirus. We would move out of the city, but we don’t know where: a significant part of the settlements around Budapest are as unaffordable as the city, and daily commuting takes years off our lives. So let’s go further and not walk every day? The coronavirus has definitely made a positive difference in life at the same time that employers have realized that it is not so bad to work from home, if our jobs allow it. By creating the correct protocol, the employee can be monitored and accounted for in the same way, up to a maximum of one loose run or one wash-iron during the day.

I mean, let’s move, but where? We have compiled a list of ten settlements that are worth escaping from Budapest.

Here is a subjective list.

Embergyűlölőknek: Mátraszentimre

It is a serious change in life if someone moves to the highest settlement in the country, the beautiful Mátraszentimre. It’s not a very good solution with a young child, but even if our little genius has graduated and been admitted to college, we parents have no choice but to relax from the fatigue of parenting. The small villages of the Mátra are mainly recommended for those who basically do not want to meet people. This will be the case, so it is best to prepare in this way in advance. You can buy a house for around ten million guilders, but it is worth considering that you still have to spend so much on it. However, even this will be a fraction of what we would spend on housing in Budapest. In return, we are guaranteed a quiet and peaceful environment. The Mátra is a magical place that you once caught will never let go.

For beginners: base frame

Small town in the hills of Zala. Basically that’s enough to make it worth it. In the field that looks like wallpaper, hills and valleys alternate relentlessly, and in the spring, fields of steel-blue wheat and spring rapeseed color the landscape. In Bázakeretty, the whole town is about to have its own school so that people can move here from the cities, because they think it is good to live there. That is why it is worth starting even with a small child. You can hardly find a house for sale, so it is best to inquire about the possibilities locally. The National Blue Tour passes through the village, so it is not impossible to start even with a child.

For security players: Sárospatak

If we do not want to leave the city, because we need milk at ten o’clock at night, but the bunny is not missing, go to Sárospatak! If we have already mentioned Mátra, Zemplén cannot be left out either. Nowhere is October as beautiful as here: the forests are covered in gold and red, the castle of Füzér, Boldogkő or Regéc stands out among the trees, and the whole is steeped in destruction and zest for life. The people of Zsuzsanna Lórántffy are charming and homey, as if the prince’s wife is still watching how things are going. Within a reasonable amount, you can find a home here with good compromises, even in a large area. If not on the banks of the Bodrog, but a street or two from the elegantly winding little river.

For peccaries: Orfű

Not just because of the song. Orfű is a beautiful transition between the town and the tourist area, with lakes and forests. For example, there is a general school only in neighboring Abaliget, or you have to travel to Pécs. So basically it is better to choose this village with an older child. Or with an undergraduate PTE student, perhaps this is best for you. It is not possible to buy a house here at a very low price, but it will surely be in a good place. Because there are no bad neighborhoods in Orfű. The houses are lined up in the streets, with large gardens, huge trees and silence. If you are not fishing, it pays to be good to fishermen because there is so much to do with freshly caught catfish.

For traditionalists: Őriszentpeter

Where there is no fence, the world opens. Even if we are in a village of Őrség. The Őrség is a separate world, where it is not fashionable to build a fence, only if the image of the village dictates where the small table is placed in front of every second house, with a bottle of pumpkin seed oil on top. If you need someone and then you talk, you don’t need to be constantly held back, no one will accept you anyway. A spatial experience reminiscent of the slopes of Austria with the decay of Eastern Europe and an elusive elegance. Nowhere after two heart attacks can retiring be as good as here. Even an old farmhouse can be renovated together with agricultural buildings, but we can also find a house where this work has already been carried out by the previous owner.

For lovers of Tisza: Csongrád

The Hungarian Riviera. And this is not a joke. Where the Körös flows into the Tisza, a cozy little sandy beach awaits those who wish to swim. It’s like Rome, you just don’t have fucking big houses and you can take a bath and sunbathe. The remaining thatched fishing houses in this part of town are terrific, if we’re lucky we can even find properties in this area. The range of possibilities is endless, we can buy here a house of up to 130 square meters for the price of a small apartment in Pest. And what good faces are those who have simply called a difficult-to-interpret contemporary work of art Intestinal Twisting! You can easily get anywhere by bike within Csongrád, but this is the city from where you can drive to Budapest once or twice a week. The highway is twenty minutes away, from where it can be divided quickly.

For outdoor maniacs: Ravenstone

Who wouldn’t want to live in a place that is on the postcards? Winding streets going up hills, little houses, handicrafts, house wine and castle ruins. And this can be gathered roughly in Hollókő, although not in the open-air houses, but even in one of the neighboring streets. You can do just about anything, even from a dilapidated farmhouse to conjuring up an authentic jeweler with a porch and a water octopus. Of course, you can also build or buy a palace on the outskirts of the village if you come across him. Hollókő is basically not far from Budapest, but it takes a long time to wander to Hatvan, from where you can already team up on the highway. Therefore, it is better to travel from here once or twice a week.

For trend followers: sugar

Lake Velence is a new favorite of those moving outside of Budapest, especially Gárdony. Continuing with this trend, we now offer another town where the public of gentlemen has not beaten prices yet, a lot. Sukoró was mainly in the news about the successful land exchange on the left, but the small settlement is worth much more than that. Not as touristy as Gardony, much quieter and more intimate, but there are some good restaurants or inns. The village also has a free beach, the road leads here under the road. For cyclists and runners, avoiding the lake is a real experience in all seasons. If we don’t want to invest the price of an entire apartment in Pest in a property in Sukoro, compromises will be needed, but the task is not unfeasible. The big picture makes up for it anyway.

For eternal romantics: Balatonarakattya

At an early age we wanted to stay at Lake Balaton all year round Balaton Lake Balaton out of season is magical, mysterious, peaceful, intimate and much more ours than in summer. Living like Lake Balaton is basically not a cheap hobby, as our needs are completely different in July for two weeks than in the rest of the year. If we think of a settlement on the shores of Lake Balaton, we can roughly calculate that almost the entire price of the house in Budapest must be sacrificed for the new house of your dreams. We chose Akaratty because it is not the most exclusive, so it is still affordable, and it is also the settlement from which it is still convenient to walk to the capital to do business. We draw this line in Csopak in the north and Zamárdi in the south.

For those who like jokes, head to Surány

If you don’t run to Lake Balaton, the Danube is still here. We have chosen one of the settlements on the banks of the Danube, which is mainly a recreation area, but more and more people are moving into a lifestyle. The approach to Surány from the capital is problematic because you have to get to the bridge large or pay for the ferry. And this is not acceptable with daily commutes. It is a trip in real time with the special atmosphere of Surány. Little yours once in fashion got huge, but the roads are still dusty. Property prices have fluctuated in a matter of seconds, but good compromises can be made. With a wisely chosen property and enough imagination, you can work a miracle and we really don’t want to visit the city anymore.

Book cover: Martiskó Gábor / Index