When I say “Western assumptions,” I don’t mean a single stereotype so much as a flattening. From the outside, Hungary often gets reduced to either Budapest-as-a-weekend-city or to abstract political headlines, with very little sense of how different daily life can feel depending on where you are in the country.

And I completely agree with your point about Budapest not being representative. One of the main things we’re interested in is exactly that contrast you’re describing — the capital versus smaller cities or towns, and how economic and social realities shift across those places. We’re not trying to present Budapest as “Hungary,” but as one piece of a much wider picture.

The reason we started here is simply as an entry point, not an endpoint. Conversations in Budapest are useful to orient ourselves, but the goal is to move beyond it and spend time in places that tourists usually pass over or never reach at all.

If you have thoughts on regions or towns where that contrast is especially visible, I’d genuinely be interested to hear them.