4 Living in Szeged

The cost of living

The average cost of living in Szeged, including room, board and transport, amounts to EUR 350-400 per month. University canteens always offer inexpensive meals. Living expenses are reasonable in Hungary as prices here and in other Central and Eastern European countries remain highly favourable for Western Europeans. Public transport is generally inexpensive. Even English-language and illustrated books which participants in some courses may want to buy cost little more than EUR 8-12.

Banks

Banks are open Mon. to Fri., 9:00-18.00h, and Sat., before 12.00h. You can change money at any bank, bureaux de change and larger post offices. Visa Electron, Plus, MasterCard and EuroCard are the most popular bank/credit cards in Hungary, and you can easily find ATM machines in Budapest as well as in Szeged to draw forints from your home account. You may consider keeping the bulk of your money in travellers’ cheques.
If you do exchange money in Hungary, remember that the black market is illegal and not worth taking the risk.

Postal services

Post offices are open Mon. to Fri., 8.00-20.00h, and Sat., before 13.00h only. Stamps can also be purchased at any tobacconist’s.

Public transport

Bus, tram and trolley bus tickets can be purchased at any tobacconist’s, newsstand and ticket vending machine. A day pass gives you unlimited use of public transport for one day. Buses, trams and trolley buses run from 5.00-23.00h. At night, they run much less frequently. Warning: you must be especially careful on public transport, where most pickpocketing occurs.

Useful telephone numbers

Railway Station/MÁV (Information on train travel) Phone: 421.821

Coach Station Phone: 421.709 Phone: 421.270

Shops

Shops are open Mon. to Fri., 9.00-18.00h, and Sat., 9.00-13.00h.

Shopping Centres:

Tesco: This is a convenient hypermarket with small shops as well. You can reach this store by taking tram 1, buses 2, 83, 83A and 90 and trolley bus 8.

Cora: This is an even bigger hypermarket, where you can also find anything you need. Bus 79 and a private bus run from Mars tér.

Universum Book shop: A foreign-language book shop in Oskola utca for dictionaries, language books, novels, poetry etc.

Markets: The biggest market in Szeged is in Mars tér by the coach station

Late-night shops: There are a number of all-night shops. One in the town centre that might be convenient to you is located in Kelemen utca. You can get there by taking tram 1.

Canteens

University canteens (menza) offer wholesome meals at very reasonable prices. In fact, it ends up being much cheaper to eat there than to cook a meal at home. Canteens are also popular gathering places for Erasmus and Hungarian students alike. Students who attend courses at the University of Szeged can go to the SZOTE or the nearby Irinyi Canteens, or drop into the Gödör Restaurant. Canteens are open from Monday to Sunday, from 1 September to 15 August. They are closed Sunday nights and holidays.

University clubs

JATE Klub
Szeged, Toldi u. 2.

A popular spot for university students, the club can be found in the heart of the city. There’s something happening there nearly every day during the academic year. The club holds cultural events such as concerts, traditional Hungarian táncház dance nights, theatre performances and poetry readings. Also, dance the night away to more popular music at the disco nights held on Mondays or Wednesdays by student groups from the various faculties.

TÁK
Szeged, Boldogasszony sgt. 6.

TÁK is short for Tamási Áron Klub. The club has been operating for 15 years in the basement of the University’s Juhász Gyula Teachers Training College. Besides regular events, exhibitions are often mounted here. Every week you can see Hungarian and other classic films in the film club, and on Wednesdays you can even watch a football match. Furthermore, the club holds a traditional Hungarian village dance night called a táncház, where the Rozsdamaró ensemble plays folk music from Transylvania (in Romania) and Voivodina (in Serbia-Montenegro).

SZOTE Klub
Szeged, Dóm tér 12.
The club is a popular spot for university students studying at the Faculty of Medicine, but it is also frequented by students from other faculties.

Libraries

The University Library

The University Library is the largest library in Southern Hungary and one of the most important libraries in the country. With more than one million items it provides proper research facilities for Szeged’s community of students, university teachers and researchers.

How to register and borrow books

You can borrow books by computer. You only need your student card to use library services. Books can usually be borrowed for three weeks. Books returned late are subject to a fine. As our library is based on a storeroom system, you can ask for a book by filling in an application form. If a book has already been borrowed by someone else, you may reserve it. You can also use the inter-library loan system for your studies.

Library catalogues
Holdings obtained by the library after the 1960s can be found in the computer catalogue. The traditional card catalogues have not been expanded since 1995. You can also access our computer catalogue (OPAC) through the Internet.

Computer services
The library’s computer catalogue contains information on more than 400,000 books and periodicals. It also provides you access to additional databases, such as the bibliography of university employees or an English-language database of film reviews. Our CD-ROM collection is also of great significance. Through our Electronic Information Service (EISZ) you can also access the electronic version of more than 3000 periodicals.

Opening hours:
Reading rooms: Circulation section:
Mon. 13.00-20.00 13.00-18.00
Tues.-Thurs. 8.00-20.00 09.00-16.30
Fri. 8.00-20.00 9.00-16.00
Sat. 8.00-19.00 9.00-13.30

SZTE University Library
Address: 6720 Szeged, Dugonics tér 13.
Postal address:: 544.041
WWW: http://www.bibl.u-szeged.hu
E-mail: ref@bibl.u-szeged.hu

Somogyi Károly Városi és Megyei Könyvtár/Somogyi Library
The Library functions as a regional centre for inter-library loans and has several special collections including manuscripts by famous writers, poets and scientists and literature on the history of Hungarian-Americans. The Esperanto collection including about 300 books and 200 periodicals is also of great significance.
Address: 6720 Szeged, Dóm tér 1-4.
Email: library@sk-szeged.hu <mailto:library@sk-szeged.hu>

Sport facilities

Swimming Pools

Sport pool: Temesvári krt. 33., Újszeged. Take trolley bus 5 to the terminus, bus 60, or bus 2. Phone(: 434.234
City bath: Torontál tér, Újszeged. Phone: 431.672
Thermal bath: Fürdõ u. 1., Újszeged. Near the City bath. Phone: 431.133
Sziksós bath: Vereshomok út, Kiskundorozsma. Take bus 7 or 7T. Very friendly environment with a lake for angling and boating. Phone: 463.050

Ice-skating

Mûjégpálya (Skating Rink), Szabadkai út, Phone: 444.710

Horse Riding

Gold Riding Club, Szeged-Tápé Honfoglalás u. 65., Phone: 06.30.552.513, Fax: 496.792
Szabadidõ lovasklub/Paplóber BT., Dolgos u. 1., Phone: 480.634
Marathon Tereplovasklub, Berettyó u. 2/b, Phone: 495.315

Tennis and Squash

Gellért Szabadidõközpont (Recreation Centre), Szöregi út 21., Phone: 469.493
Kisstadion teniszpályák (Tennis Courts), Derkovits fasor 5-7., Phone: 401.197; 401.959
Fallabda Squash Club, Kenyérgyári út 3., Phone: 469.120
SZOTE teniszpálya (Tennis Court), Állomás u., Phone: 554.000