20 Dutch families move to a tiny Hungarian village: what do they know?

In a tiny village in Nógrád County, Hungary, 20 Dutch families have purchased houses. According to the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), the number of foreigners living in Nógrád County has been steadily increasing since 2017. Still, the county has the lowest number of foreigners in the country. Some of them are there for work, some have settled there permanently. What does Legénd have that other settlements do not?

Ten Dutch families live in Legénd, another ten have holiday homes

Tamás Tunkel, the mayor of Legénd, told nool.hu that there are currently about ten Dutch families living in the village, and another ten have holiday homes. Mr Tunkel pointed out that there is a mistaken theory that they are fleeing their homeland because of climatic problems caused by rising sea levels in the Netherlands. However, he says, reality is quite different.

Mr Tunkel told nool.hu:

I have already asked the Dutch here about this theory, and they have rejected it outright. However, it is important to know that 17 million people in the Netherlands live in an area smaller than half the size of Hungary, in extremely intensive conditions.

Easier to own property in Hungary than in the Netherlands

He added that soaring house prices are not helping the situation of the Dutch in their homeland. While in Legénd, they can buy a complete house, with a plot of 1,500 square metres, in The Hague, for example, they cannot do it for the same amount. He explained that it is much more difficult to own property in the Netherlands.

The mayor said that the Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries in Europe. Meanwhile, in Legénd, people enjoy being close to nature. They can take a walk in the forest without meeting anyone. They like the calm, quiet and free life in the countryside, he said.

Based on the nool.hu article, 24.hu writes that the mayor had previously wanted to set up a Dutch cultural municipality in Legénd together with the Embassy of the Netherlands. However, there was no demand from the Dutch residents.