I am an American that lives in Budapest.
Honestly if you are doing "tourist" things you will blow through $1,000 in no time over here.
We live on that monthly and pay no rent and we don't do allot of pricey things.
If you are happy to take public transportation and have a place to stay with family and rarely eat out and never spend much in cafe's, you could do it but it would be boring. The only place I find super fun and not pricey is spending the day at the lake, not something you can do all year around.
Walked through one of the newer malls a few days ago, nice stores inside but pricey. Average price for shoes was well over $200. a pair. The rent for stores is so high in the malls that they must sell expensive items to make bank.
Public transportation is good but always crowded, costs an average of $50 a person for a monthly pass which is only good in city limits.
You can still get a decent meal for 2 people for $25. but drinks can add up plus tips.
Maybe I am jaded these days. profit rules over here and there are hardly any bargins to speak of any longer over here.
Never been to Prague. Was in Poland last year, nice but it cost us over $500. to visit for 4 days at a B&B that is owned by one of my cousins. We got the "family rate" which still was too much for what we got.
Here and there we had great bargin meals but on average it was $40. for 2 with no alcohol.
In Budapest if you want anything nice like a river boat dinner, it is going to eat through $1,000 in no time at all.
You can live as a resident on less then $1,000 a month but then again you would be living in a rougher neighborhood. Rents in nice areas can cost as much as in the US
In Budapest you can get by in most places with only English. If you speak Hungarian you do get better deals.Sad to say but when we are shopping around the city I have to not speak and let my HU speaking husband do all the talking. The times I spoke up, the prices got higher right there on the spot.
I do see hotel rooms going from 33 Euros a night. Who knows the way they do things here those cheaper rooms will of been sold out when you go in to get one. That's basically how it is done over here, if they can get $ out of you then watch out.They always just sold the last one or something reasonable which was in an add just hasn't come in yet, tricky place if you don't know the ropes.
We don't know you personally, so it's a bit hard to say which one you'd like better ... :-) ... I've been to Prague in the Autumn and it was lovely, but I've heard it's really pretty in the winter. I've been to Budapest in the winter and it was lovely and I'd like to see it in spring or autumn.
Winters are toe-numbingly cold both cities, by the way. You'll need to invest in thermal undies, a good warm jacket and boots, and a hat, scarf and gloves. Summers are very warm.
One thing I couldn't help notice about Budapest is that the food there was very meat-oriented. It's not a place that vegetarians will find easy to negotiate - but that was nearly a decade ago and things might have changed since.
Budapest is a very large city. Tourist attractions are at a distance from each other, so you will need to use public transport to go around. It has a good subway, but and tram network.
Prague is much smaller, meaning he tourist area is pretty concentrated: you can visit it all by foot (or the occasional tram ride). Because of that, it feels very touristy, especially in the summer: the concentration of tourists in the city center can be overbearing.
Don't go to Budapest, hungarians don't speak english at all and most of them are very unfriendly. Prague is much prettier and also has better museums
Both cities are equally good and beautiful, each one in its own ways. Personally I prefer Prague, which however is smaller than Budapest and therefore more accessible.
BOTH lovely..The shopping no way as good as places in the WEST....
