European Union Forums

[Bill-Ferny]

im taking a gap year soon.going backpacking and i would really like
to prolong my stay in Hungary( my father is Hungarian,enough said),therefore i would like to get a job on a farm, preferably one where i would just pick a fruit or vegetable of some sort.just wondering how difficult it would be to find one..thanks in advance.

[Tarondor-of-Gondor]

I live in Hungary part-time and my husbands family still lives there.
I lived for 1 1/2 years in a small sort of village near Budapest.
I think it would be rather hard to find a job that you are looking for. Most small neighborhoods have men that do day jobs around small farms for people and are known in the neighborhood. Most Hungarians in small villages don't take in total strangers very often.There is very high unemployment in Hungary so regulars would make it hard for you to take their work from them.
We often hired a man to do some small garden work around my mother-in-laws place, it was very hard work. Most Hungarians aren't afraid of doing the work themselves and will save the really bad jobs for a day worker to do.
You might do better to teach English to some high school students since they are all under pressure to learn English well.
Having said that, the wages will be so low with either job, it may be best to just bring some extra cash with you for your trip.
We own an apt. in Budapest and don't even think about working there, we leave to work in the states since our money goes father in Hungary and it is very hard to find work in Hungary.
I hate to bust your bubble, you may get lucky and met someone that will take you in but again the wages are very low. The average worker in Hungary takes home only around $600. per month after taxes working full time.

[Uldor-the-Accursed]

Honestly, Marilyn T answered the question perfectly. I lived there myself before and my family comes from the North Eastern part of the country, about 4 or 5 hrs drive from the capital Budapest. We are from a village there with plenty of farmland and it's true, unless you know someone, they don't take it just anyone.

You would be better off teaching English that would be the best thing for you and if you go to one of the smaller cities, Nyiregyhaza, Debrecen, Miskolc that sort of thing.