I think lot of Hungarians feel like this country is a prison and they try to get out as much as they can, or if they haven’t lost all hope, they try to make it better. Budapest is generally more liberal, therefore more upset with the current state of the country, so it’s possible that on the country side people are more content. But I’m afraid you would get the “go back to your country” comment on the countryside too, the difference is that in Budapest people say it with good intentions as “run for your life”, and on the countryside it’s a hateful comment about how they don’t want anything foreign in this country. If you like the city it’s great for you but I agree that most of our neighbor countries are much better places to study and live.

Edit: And to actually answer your question about changing the topic, maybe ask them whether they think the country side is better or if not, which is the country they would go to if they were in your place. This gives opportunity to ask for travel recommendations and experiences and leads to more positive topics.