Interview With an Expat: Nate (Budapest)

Hey! Meet Nate!

Even though we met in college, we didn’t actually get to know each other until we both wound up teaching English in Budapest (sometimes it takes an international flight to make a friendship–who knew?). Since he’s the one who opened my eyes to teaching in Hungary in the first place, I figured it was fitting to make him the first of many Expat Interviews.

After three years working as a high school English teacher in Hungary, Nate is back home in the U.S. And now that he’s settled back home in the States, he’s got plenty to say about what it took to move and live abroad! (Hindsight is 20/20, after all!*) Read on to see what he’s learned from navigating  his expat life! (His advice at the end is too good.)

*Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

1. Why Budapest?
After I graduated from university, I started looking for ESL positions throughout Europe and a couple positions in the Middle East. While I was in the middle of the process of applying for a teaching spot in Turkey, I came across an opening in a city about an hour south of Budapest by train. Since I knew practically nothing about Hungary, I thought it’d be an excellent opportunity to learn about something entirely new to me. I ended up taking the postion in Kecskemet, and after a year I made my way up to Budapest.

Soaking up the history on one of his many travels.

2. What was your greatest fear/hesitation before moving? How did that turn
out?
I’m not too sure if I had a big fear or hesitation before moving for the most part. If I’m being honest with myself, I didn’t give some of the potential pitfalls too much thought which maybe helped shield myself for many of the anxieties people run into. I might have been the most nervous about learning an entirely new language and if I’d be able to be understood. While I was able to pick up “survival Hungarian” (food, numbers, asking basic questions, etc.) I still haven’t picked up the language, and I’ve been doing fine. I do regret not putting more work into learning Hungarian to a degree, but in the end it is what it is.

3. What do you look forward to most during the week in your city?
This one is a bit tough, but it’s a combination of hitting up some of my favorite bars, going to a show that I learned about through Facebook, or even having some time to try out some Hungarian recipes I’ve been
wanting to cook for a while.

4. How did you meet your main community of friends?
I met a lot of them while attending university. (It’s funny how small the world can be.) For most others I met through networking with friends I already had and through colleagues that I’d bonded with.

Just a coupla ex-college kids who wound up teaching English in Budapest at the same time.

5. Any advice for those who want to move abroad?
People need to just chill out about everything. Flexibility is absolutely crucial if you want to succeed abroad. A lot of the “problems” I hear about from other ex-pats aren’t really problems in and of themselves, but more so a desire for the world to match with their set expectations of how things should be–and a lack of willingness to adjust themselves to local expectations and standards. Trust me, eventually you’ll learn the flow of things and it will make your life so much easier and positive.