“Hungarians are very resourceful”

Sandor Kosdi was born in the Netherlands, but his roots are in Hungary. “My father is from here, and fled to the Netherlands in 1956. He became a real Dutchman. Sadly he passed away in 2006,” Sandor says. He’s been living in Hungary for about twenty years now, in Hajdúdorog, near the cities of Debrecen and Nyiregyháza.

In Hungary, Sandor has a small production company. The freedom and space in this country made him decide to give up his job at an installation company and start his own business. His wife was born in Hungary and wanted to return to the country, which was the deciding factor. He bought eight hectares of land and a small house. “Having studied Telematics, I thought I would work as a programmer or something similar. But I followed in the footsteps of my parents, who used to have a horticultural company. My brother in the Netherlands is also a horticulturist.” Sandor has a small company, but in recent years, impressive greenhouses have been built in the south of Hungary, where the latest Dutch techniques are used. Cultivation of products like tomatoes and cucumbers is at a high level here, he says. Another advantage is the many hot springs in the country.

On his land, Sandor has a two-hectare foil greenhouse. Here and on the open field, he grows red pointed peppers. For crop rotation, he has a few hectares of sweetcorn, white cabbage and cauliflower. The vegetables are exported to Germany, Sweden and Lithuania through wholesalers. Some are also sold to local greengrocers. “In the past, I took some wrong decisions in terms of business, so I’m in a tight spot now, but we just keep going,” he explains. “Without a bank, that is. In the Netherlands, you can’t go without a bank, but in Hungary you are on your own. On the other hand, labour costs are very low here, and life in general is a lot cheaper. There’s a lot of complaining here, but Hungarians are real go-getters. When there’s a power failure in the Netherlands, there’s panic. In Hungary, they start looking for a solution. Hungarians are very resourceful.”

Although many Hungarians don’t understand why he left the Netherlands, he says he really found his niche in the country. The culture in particular attracts him. In some respects, he says, there are big differences. “The people here grew up a bit tougher than in the Netherlands, and the Hungarian society has a lot of respect for authorities. If there’s a celebration at our children’s school, everyone looks their best, and the national anthem is sung. In the Netherlands, people are much more relaxed. On the other hand, in the Netherlands millions are donated if a disaster happens somewhere, while in Hungary you don’t hear much about that.” He says Hungary has undergone a major evolution in recent years. In the cities in particular, modern malls, including cinemas, are shooting up. “So we enjoy ourselves here. The only thing I sometimes miss about the Netherlands, is a simple night of billiards. That’s hard to find here.”