As I write this, it’s 1 May, Labour Day in Hungary. We’re in the countryside for the long weekend. It’s 22 degrees and full sunshine. Later, we’re heading to the chestnut blossom festival in Sümeg with Andrew and our little dog. Tomorrow we go back to Budapest. Sunday...
Andrew’s five-year Withdrawal Agreement residence card expires this summer. His right to live in Hungary does not. The plastic does. And because thousands of UK citizens received those first post-Brexit cards in 2021, 2026 has become the year of renewal. Andrew is...
The storks are back in Hungary. The hills still look muted, yet the grass is pushing through. Next week, Andrew and I will reopen our wine house for the season. It feels like stepping into a second life. But that house on the wine hill is not where we legally exist....
It’s Thursday, 8 January, and Hungary has disappeared under the heaviest snowfall most of us can remember in well over a decade. Roads are treacherous. Pavements are polished ice. Even routine errands suddenly require planning, patience, and a healthy respect for...
A few days ago, I posted a short video on social media about the new employment rules in Hungary. It was filmed quickly, between meetings, after reading the announcement and trying to interpret what it meant for families already here. I promised I would follow up with...
Wednesday night’s immigration event at KLUSTER with Dr. Sánta came with the usual mix of practical questions, and one in particular stuck with me: someone asked about the health-insurance requirement for residence applications. It was a simple question, but a sensible...
Last night’s HOW TO HUNGARY session at KLUSTER proved that nothing packs a room faster than immigration anxiety. Budapest has moved firmly into winter, and yet people arrived early, notebooks in hand, ready to understand Hungary Immigration: The Price of Staying in...
A Season for Home - and a Webinar Worth Joining It’s late October in Budapest: fog on the Danube, roasted chestnuts by the trams, and flags already waving for the long weekend marking the 1956 Revolution. My mum’s birthday falls on the 21st (Happy Birthday, Mummy, if...
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...
September always feels like a fresh start. In my family, it’s when we swap lazy Balaton days for the sharper pace of city life. This year brings something new: HOW TO HUNGARY @ KLUSTER. From mid-September, KLUSTER - a collaborative team house in the heart of Budapest...
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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