As the leaves gather in Budapest’s courtyards and steamy coffee powers me through Márton-nap (St. Martin’s Day) weather, my husband, Andrew, and I are also on a timely mission familiar to many: booking our annual flu shots. Sorting healthcare as a foreigner still...
Sunday Morning: New Borders, Familiar Confusion It’s Sunday morning, and the new EU Entry/Exit System (EES) officially begins. I just came back from Rome yesterday, and even there, you couldn’t miss it - posters, screens, and warnings everywhere across Europe. This...
Every October, as the evenings draw in and the air smells faintly of roasted chestnuts, I find myself scrolling through restaurant menus instead of Netflix. Budapest’s Restaurant Week 2025 has just kicked off (2–19 October), and this year more than a hundred of the...
I was genuinely surprised when I first learned how inheritance works here in Hungary. Having lived in Canada, the US, and the UK, I’d always assumed that if you left a will naming your spouse as your sole heir, that would be that. Simple. But in Hungary, the law has...
As watch the bins being hauled out this morning - first chilly one of October - I realised our street in Budapest looked a little more alert than usual. Lids properly shut. No artful pyramids of recycling. It’s not paranoia: MOHU waste collection rules 2025 kicked in...
The rain is coming to finally break Budapest’s summer heat, and the city feels alive again. September always has that “back to school” energy, even for grown-ups like me. It’s also the month when my inbox fills with the same question: “How do I actually get Hungarian...
The shift is undeniable: autumn has arrived. The rain has broken the summer heat, and Budapest feels lighter, brighter, and a little more alive. Andrew and I are spending more time back in the city, and it’s already shaping up to be a busy September. September 17th...
Money doesn’t stay behind when you move countries. It follows you - in all its messy, complicated forms. Pensions. Taxes. Healthcare costs you didn’t think about until the first time you need a doctor. Even the exchange rate that suddenly makes your monthly budget...
I didn’t apply for Hungarian citizenship. I inherited it. Through descent. A neat perk of having Hungarian parents though it came with none of the practical instruction manual. Passport in hand, I landed in Budapest 8 years ago thinking it would smooth everything. It...
It’s late August, and while Andrew is still clinging to shorts, I’m staring at the calendar and admitting that autumn is sneaking up fast. This week will bring not just the return of school bells and Budapest traffic but also a new routine for many digital nomads...
I’m Anikó Woods, a Canadian-Hungarian who’s been knee-deep in life here since 2017 - bureaucracy, culture, and everything in between.
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