Welcome to the International Horizons internship abroad blog! If you do an internship in Hungary, you run the risk of never wanting to come back. In fact, the country is magnificent, whether it’s the architecture of Budapest, Lake Balaton or Hungary’s natural environment: everything is really beautiful. With its rich culture and history, you’ll quickly fall in love with this destination. Despite its setbacks with the European Union, Hungary remains a very affordable and friendly place to do your work placement in Europe. Victor Orban wanted to create a tough climate, particularly against immigrants and the LGBT community: but he didn’t count on his people, who spanked him in the last referendum, going against his desire to tighten the laws against LGBT people. In fact, the Hungarian people allowed themselves to be taken in by the siren songs of a hard right, and even an extreme right, but are now beginning to revolt against the powers that be. This is more or less the case throughout Central Europe: Prague, Warsaw, Bratislava, and of course Budapest, have declared themselves free cities through a political alliance, to denounce populism. In just a few lines, let us convince you to go to Hungary: you’ll love it. We’re a big fan: you can read about our experience in Budapest to find out more!
Budget for your work placement in Hungary
It’s still very affordable. And it doesn’t matter what time of year it is. So we recommend that you have an average budget of €600 to live on and enjoy your work placement abroad. You need a minimum of money to at least enjoy Hungary’s thermal waters and, above all, the many festivals that take place throughout the year! Accommodation in Hungary is not too expensive: solo flats, shared flats… there are plenty of options, especially in Budapest. If you want to find an ERASMUS flat-share, that’s perfectly possible: there are Facebook pages for that, or you can also contact the local universities, etc. Not only does this accommodation option allow you to divide the costs, but it also gives you the chance to meet people and make a group of friends as soon as you arrive: you can discover the city more quickly, and it’s much nicer to make memories together than to stay cooped up on your own when you’re doing an internship abroad ?
Getting to Hungary is not very complicated: from France, there are direct flights every day from several airports. If you’re braver, or if you want to be environmentally conscious, you can even take the bus! The journey takes just over 20 hours, but you’ll be able to admire the landscapes of several countries before you get there! Transport, both local and national, is really not that expensive. It’s not cheap either, but it’s still cheaper than in France. And no matter where you are in Hungary, distances are fairly short, so you can easily visit the country, and even the neighbours! In fact, there are plenty of things to do in Central Europe, which you can find out more about in our blog post “I’m in Hungary, where to travel during my work placement abroad” if you want to put together a little chill-out programme and make the most of your time in Hungary.
The food is not very expensive. Restaurants in Budapest aren’t particularly cheap, but they’re still very affordable. Shopping in supermarkets isn’t very expensive, and you should expect to spend around 30 to 40% less than the French average. And Hungarian gastronomy is great fun to discover: it’s the subject of one of our blogs, culinary specialities in Hungary.
What you need to know
The country is at the centre of Europe: you can easily travel to the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia and Slovenia. But don’t forget to visit Budapest, the splendid capital that rivals Prague in terms of tourism. A must: set aside two days to visit Lake Balaton, a magical place. Keep a small budget for the many clubs and festivals in Budapest: it’s the up-and-coming party destination for young Europeans! What’s more, lots of parties are organised in the thermal baths, so it’s really stylish. There’s no need to look at the photos – it’s not all chicks and guys with more six-pack abs than Thor, there are plenty of people like everyone else out partying, and it’s a great atmosphere. On the other hand, you’ve got to like electro, because Afro sounds aren’t really big in Hungary!
Hungary is a wine country! Less well known than France or Italy, Hungary nevertheless offers a wide variety of wines. In fact, the country produces Tokaj (on the border with Slovakia), one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. It’s a sweet wine that’s absolutely delicious: don’t hesitate if you get the chance to try it!
Every year, the Sziget Festival is held on the island of Oduba in Budapest: 500,000 people come to celebrate Art and Freedom! It’s one of the biggest festivals in Central Europe. I haven’t yet had the chance to go, but as I write to you – April 2023 – I’m making a mental note to look at the date and possibly buy a ticket. As a long-standing Interceltic festival-goer for generations, it’s my duty to go and put up yet another Breton flag! Algerians, we’re giving you a hard time about this.
Overall, Hungary is a bit of a country: nature is beautiful, the towns are just as nice and it’s great to wander through the streets of Budapest and Pecs. I particularly liked the architecture of Budapest, which is very clean and well maintained. The same goes for access to culture, the city offers lots of different things, and I particularly liked the Terror Museum: it’s extremely well done, and it’s not boring, it’s very interactive. I really recommend that you go there, it’s particularly moving.
Your work placement in Hungary
At International Horizons, our work placements abroad are tailor-made. They are tailored to your skills and interests. Hungary offers a wide range of activities and a constantly evolving economy. You can find the skills you want in Hungary. We’ll help you find your place in the field you want, in the sector you want to work in, so that you come back stronger from your work placement abroad, with a new set of skills. And, as with any internship project, you’ll need to take a number of things into account, not just your wishes, otherwise you run the risk of running into a few problems during your internship abroad, which can be easily avoided if you’ve prepared your project well in advance.
- Your school’s pedagogical expectations: because it’s important to respect them, as they will enable you to defend your placement in Hungary through an oral exam and validate your placement period abroad. This is very important.
- Your desires: what skills you want to work on, in what context, through what types of assignments, we can even go so far as to choose a specific type of company, bearing in mind that we try to place you in a small structure, to avoid you being sidelined in a large company.
- Your language level: if you already speak good English, your assignments will necessarily be more complex and richer than those of someone with a lesser command of the language. Your assignments need to be adapted to enable you to progress and have fun during your placement abroad, and above all not be depressed because you find your placement too hard.
Before contacting us, make sure you have your CV ready in English, or in Hungarian, if of course you have a good command of the language! We’ll improve it, highlighting your skills. And, thanks to International Horizons, you’re going to maximise your chances of going on an international work placement.
Would you like to do an internship in Hungary? Contact us and we’ll help you find the internship of your dreams, so you can benefit from a rich experience and discover this splendid country! And you can read what Guillaume has to say about his work placement in Hungary with International Horizons.
For more general questions, visit the International Horizons Internships Abroad FAQ.