America

Life in Hungary getting more and more difficult as days go by. Prices are skyrocketing, gasoline is in scarce supply and there are shortages in stores. Cost of living is increasing. Income tax is raised to16% and sales tax was raised by 2%. All these and many other rules make the population very unhappy. Unhappiness is reflected in several antigovernment demonstrations. But since the ruling party is in huge plurality, the government's actions and decisions are rarely questioned.

Interestingly, the government-controlled media blames the war in Ukraine for all the shortcomings. BUT the Ukraine war is blamed by the US. Hungarian media openly blames America for all their shortcomings saying the America instigated the war in Ukraine and it is in their (financial) interest to keep it going.

This kind of propaganda results in very strong anti-American sentiment. Our friends and family keep asking us why is this happening? They make us responsible for the American behavior. It is well known that now is not a good time to be in Hungary as an American. As far as I know there were no violent acts against Americans but there are many subtle ways to show dislikes. 

Personally, I would hesitate to go to a restaurant and order food while the staff knows where I came from. Even though they live off tourists, English speaking tourists are now the exceptions. I know as a fact that travelers who arrived at Budapest Airport and showed their USA passport were treated in a very unfriendly way.

I don't need such a problem. As much as I like that country and would love to go there, at this time I would hesitate!