Job Discussion Forums

dvasas · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 138 Location: Taipei, Taiwan

BloodyIrish · Joined: 08 Sep 2004 Posts: 39

AllOne · Joined: 13 Aug 2006 Posts: 23

Wow, I lived and taught in Hungary for four years and I never heard of anyone living well on a State school salary...

The flat situation in Budapest sux big time. The inexpensive flats are in ill repair and often furnished with old communist issue furniture; or completely cluttered with all the family heirlooms that they don't want to live with but can't throw away.

If you go to Hungary, be prepared to pay a ridiculous amount of money for a lousy flat unless you get really lucky (as I did - thank god). But when the luck ran out (as it did) the flat situation bowled me over.

Yes, if you can share a place with a lover it's better.

All I had was a cat. And a Hungarian princess at that!

All said and done, I LOVED my four years in Budapest and it broke my heart to leave my cat - even though she did knock my lap top on the floor and at one time even chewed through the power cord (that was after I had done a non-stop 24 hour computer hack....yikes)

BloodyIrish · Joined: 08 Sep 2004 Posts: 39

my flat was full of communist furniture, but it was great. if i wanted to live in an ikea shop i could stay in the west. my flat was huge. but that was outside of budapest (about 3 hours train outside). my friend ahd a small as hell flat in the 14th district but it was (not joking) furnished with ikea furniture, and was generally very snazzy looking, totally out of synch with the old building it was in. if you are not in the state system, sharing a flat (lover or otherise) is a good option. a friend of mine who has taught in hungary for years was in a great place right by the synagogue living with a hungarian friend.

mistael · Joined: 25 Sep 2006 Posts: 16

What about an American with a CELTA working in Budapest? Is it extremely difficult to obtain a work permit?

ALSO, Is there a quick train that goes to Vienna? My family lives there.

mongrelcat · Joined: 12 Mar 2004 Posts: 232

Track2370 · Joined: 31 Jul 2006 Posts: 9

wow, this thread is full of really great info. i'm an american undergrad, set to graduate from dartmouth with a b.a this spring. i'm planning on moving to budapest to teach afterward and was wondering if any of you had any luck securing a job before you headed over there or if it's best just to scour the area once you're already there? any specific companies that any of you would recommend i look into?

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

mistael, Americans are still eligible for legal working permits in Hungary - it's just a 'normal' level of hassle to get one (unless the laws have changed with 2007). There are good connections by train to Vienna, and to many other great locations, too!
mongrelcat, I don't know about teaching children - but I think you'd have to have a real teaching credential from your home country to work in either a state-sponsored school or in an international/English based kindergarten or elementary school.
Social conditions are probably about equivalent to Turkey - I've never lived in Turkey, but have visited multiple times and I have a work colleague who lived in Istanbul for six years. Equivalent, but different.....in terms of apartments, a teacher who is new to Central Europe can usually expect a basic apartment and enough money to live fairly well in the area, but not to save or travel outside the country much. Socially and culturally, it's different, of course, but I think roughly equivalent in terms of things to do and the ways that expats are accepted. Environmentally, well, I don't know about pollution where you are, but there are some areas in Central Europe that are rather polluted, usually worst where there is inversion over cities. This is pretty common in Prague, but I'm not sure about Budapest or other Hungarian cities. It would be a good question to ask, if you're concerned about air pollution.

Track2370, the normal route into most European countries is to come with enough financial cushion to get you through a few months at least, get a TEFL certification in the country where you want to teach, and then job hunt while you are here.
Good language schools don't usually hire from abroad, because people either don't show up, or when they do, sometimes they have not been honest about their qualifications. It's typical that the schools want to see candidates standing in their offices, nicely dressed and looking professional and responsible, before they'll give you serious consideration. You should beware of a school that will hire someone sight-unseen in Europe - they are likely to be dodgy, to have to do this.

You'll need a certification to compete on the job market. A basic course is 30 days on-site, including at least 6 hours of practiced teaching with feedback from teacher trainers. There are many such training centres in the region (one reason good schools won't consider candidates with on-line certification or no teacher training at all) and it's a good choice to take a course in the country where you want to teach. A good training centre can help you get oriented and give you useful contacts and information about schools and housing, in addition to some basics of teaching/learning languages.

Track2370 · Joined: 31 Jul 2006 Posts: 9

thanks for the tip. i've also been considering applying to teach through central european teaching program (cetp. i've searched the archives but couldn't find much on it. from what i know (off their website), they basically place you in a small-ish town where you teach in a public school. it costs about $2,000 but it includes an apartment for the year and a bunch of other helpful stuff. downside would be that you're in a small town and the salary is much lower (about 100,000ft) than in private language schools. have any of you done this program or have any thoughts on it? i'm on the fence between something like this and just winging it in budapest at a private lang school.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

One downside to small town life can be the language barrier.

In a larger city, there will be enough expats to both socialize with and to give you useful information/contacts about the area. In a small town, you may find yourself with just a few of your students to socialize with. If you're teaching children or teenagers, this can leave you high and dry socially, or in a situation where you've got very limited opportunities for any kind of socialization.

I don't mean that locals would be unfriendly, but, first of all, they'll have their own lives and friends, and, secondly, the thought of socializing in English may be an exercise many people don't feel up to.

I know a guy who taught in a small town in the Czech Rep, who said his social life was essentially limited to the other two native speakers living there, neither of whom he much liked. The locals just didn't have enough English to provide much in terms of friendship, and the teacher didn't speak enough Czech to make it work that way. He says it was a tough year.

So, one important question when considering small town life in Hungary is: How's your Hungarian?!!

Track2370 · Joined: 31 Jul 2006 Posts: 9

haha, my hungarian is non existestent at present. i was hoping, if i went the small town route, that i'd be close enough to budapest that i'd be able to head over there on weekends to satiate my english/social needs. idk how feasible that is, but it seemed like a decent alternative.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

If you're close enough and your salary is enough to support both travel and entertainment costs, it can work.

jdenn · Joined: 14 Jun 2005 Posts: 26

BloodyIrish · Joined: 08 Sep 2004 Posts: 39