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Hi!
hey, it is hard to answer a general question...

CEU is a small but good university by european standards, I believe it would rank pretty well in the states as well, but  you have probably researched that yourself. It feels and smells like a good (private) university in some anglo-saxon country,  I am nearly sure that international students make up much more than half of the population - in other words there is not too much connection between CEU and the rest of Hungarian higher education, it nearly feels like a different country (there are some Hungarians working there, occasionally.)
And, my friend who sometimes teaches there says, students have to work rather hard there...

From the prospective of someone having lived in Western europe but not the US:
With 2.5 inhabitants including agglomeration, Budapest is quite a vibrant city (I am biased but have seen a few cities)
Smaller than SF (surprized?) but reasonably large within europe (I think ranking around number 8 acc.to official statistics, larger than Prague, or Amsterdam, smaller than Berlin, similar to Hamburg... quite exactly the same size as Vienna, but feels younger, imho, and also more bancrupt... ).
Well, I can tell, hungarians are significantly different from germans, and even austrians, after all.
I think it is safe to assume that, like many other European cities, Budapest must feel different from home to a US person in many aspects, e.g. it is still (at this point) safer, much easier to live without a car, full of cultural opportunities (e.g. classical music) - and less multicultural than any reasonable city in the anglo-saxon world. But you will have CEU for that, The expat population has been steadily growing since the EU joined Hungary(or was it otherwise?), and includes many hundred medical students paying their asses off in Semmelweis Uni:-)
Being in eastern Europe, Budapest should feel rather cheap for you, as you can see from many threads of the type "can I live on that salary?".
The downside of eastern Europe is that some infrastructure is not quite as good as, say in Vienna. Some form of corruption is more widespread (you may not meet it though). Public health care is so-so, but you wont die on the street for lack of many(perhaps next year).(You can probably afford private health care here, not sure how that works tho).
Also, people speak less english (While not the main reason, it IS harder for a hungarian to speak good english than for -say- a german, believe me), and are generally slightly less travelled for financial/political?/ reasons (compared to Western Europeans, no idea about US). However, for below 30s all of that is much less true. Anyway, you won't starve here without hungarian knowledge for sure. (But hey, ever tried to get around in SF with german or French, or Hungarian?   

Of course US-expats on this list can tell you much better how Budapest feels for an american.

Any perhaps slightly more specific questions?

fireroller wrote:

Of course US-expats on this list can tell you much better how Budapest feels for an american.

I think you pretty much nailed it.

klsallee wrote:

fireroller wrote:

Of course US-expats on this list can tell you much better how Budapest feels for an american.

I think you pretty much nailed it.

What a remark...
I hope you wont expect me to apologise for posting in spite of not being a noble son of the US? I used my life experience - containing lots of times being a student/grad student in various places, click on my username - to compare Budapest to places I know. You don't like it, you don't read it, and you are welcome to post your opinions(the cited sentence was meant as an invitation). But there is no need to criticize me for investing my 10 minutes to write down what I consider useful information for someone in this situation.

fireroller wrote:

What a remark...

"Nailed it" is an American colloquialism, which means you gave the right answer, and nothing more needs be said. I actually paid you a complement.



I am also the one that gave your remark a "thumbs up".

ups, I  apologize then - well, I know the expression, but not your way of thinking. Your remark can be also understood that the cited statement is the only one in my post you liked, hence declaring my post useless.
Also, I haven't realised until just now, that the forum contains a tumbs-up otption, isn't this new technology amazing...am I getting too old for surfing?


So, Irene, we all (at least I) wonder, will  you opt for Budapest? Or rather go for boring old LSE... 
Did you already get accepted?(may I ask?) Btw, if you haven't checked it out yet, Facebook has at least one CEU students group, they surely like to answer your questions. Well that's probably true for nearly any school. Thinking about it, I will go and ask the same about the university I am moving into.

May I ask a question in return (to anybody who feels like answering) - what is the perception of Budapest among people in your area? (Meaning those people who haven't been invoved with it yet) Does anybody know the name and even associate it with a nice place, the birthplace of John von Neumann,  Eugene Wigner, and, most importantly, George Soros? (F(o)under of CEU).
Or all people can think if is some sort of place in wild, cold, communist bloc europe, a different spelling of București, with population speaking 'some form of russian'? ;-p
(oh, and I am violating the rules once again)

fireroller wrote:

the explanation is that it could be understood that this is the only aspect of my post you agreed to

Yes, that makes sense. The written word is sometimes often difficult to interpret. Especially when I used slang for literary effect (to pay you a complement and to give a nod to a fellow Californian). Ergo, no problem, and no hard feelings .

klsallee wrote:

Yes, that makes sense. The written word is sometimes often difficult to interpret. Especially when I used slang for literary effect (to pay you a complement and to give a nod to a fellow Californian). Ergo, no problem, and no hard feelings .

I am really glad you didn't mean it that way:-)
sorry again for accusing you of sprouting cynicism in hungarian dosage...

Hello lrenne_25,

Welcome to expat-blog!

See you around,
Melissa