Blog Post Archives

The 5 Best Ruin Bars in Budapest

Posted on June 29, 2019 by Josh

Ruin bars in Budapest have been a growing trend over the last 20 years. They started as an underground movement, but quickly became the heart of Budapest’s nightlife, drawing locals and tourists alike. From the street, the bars look like ruins, but once inside, there is mismatched furniture, graffiti, drinks, and a welcoming atmosphere.

Below is our list of the best ruin bars in Budapest. (Word to the wise: dress warmly in the winter season, many of them don’t have walls or windows and it can get quite chilly at night.)

Szimpla Kert

Established in 2001, this is the original and one of the largest ruin bars in Budapest. It has high ceilings and an open courtyard with multiple bars throughout. Thrift store furniture and a stripped down communist-era car provides seating for guests sipping drinks, chatting, and listening to music. As the original ruin bar, Szimpla Kert is also the busiest.

Instant

With more of a club vibe than a bar, this once-apartment building boasts 26 different rooms, 7 bars, 2 gardens, and 7 stages. The drink prices run a little higher here, due to popularity and the club-like atmosphere. Walls have been knocked down to allow for DJs and dancing but each room has a unique feel. Grab a drink and explore, as you’ll find something different around every corner.

Racskert

This ruin bar has a relaxed festival feel, with pitchers of iced-tea and hot dogs served from a garden shed and live folk music. Serving pizza, burgers, and sandwiches, this is an ideal spot to grab a drink and hang out with the locals. Indoor and outdoor seating in this converted car park provides a great spot to watch a football game as well. The chill atmosphere picks up in the evening; with recycled water cisterns illuminating the graffiti covered walls.

Mazel Tov

This bar is definitely on the chic side and feels more like a regular bar than the others. The newer spot serves shawarma and mezze plates during the day, while a DJ spins everything from jazz to techno at night. Exposed beams, brick walls, and fairy lights contribute to the ruin style, but it has a more modern feel than the original ruin bars.

Fogas Haz

This bar was named after an old dentist sign found inside, during its first renovation. It was originally a squat house that turned into a bar, art studio, and bike shop. The space is known for the large tree at the center of its courtyard, covered in colored lights. Fogas Haz has a bit of everything, with a cocktail bar and live music on one floor, a terrace and garden outside, and a club-style space for dancing underground.

To explore these amazing ruin bars in Budapest, get started with Behere to plan your trip!

Written by Katie Tatham – @kltatham (Canadian wanderer & outdoor enthusiast)

Why Behere is Not Another Remote Work Program

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Josh

Behere was created for all women who value flexibility. Not just for digital nomads or fully remote workers.

“Oh another remote work program, great.” We’ve heard this countless times as Behere has been compared to many remote work programs. Behere actually shares very few similarities though. With numerous programs in the market, and this being a new space, we understand the confusion. So we wanted to highlight what makes us so different and what Behere is all about.

What Behere is not…

A remote work program, a group tour, or a travel-while-working ‘tribe’. Behere is not a group that travels around with ‘participants’, or a traveling community that moves from location-to-location together.

We also don’t use the term ‘digital nomad’ because that eludes that we cater to an exclusive group of people. Behere was created for all women who value flexibility.

What Behere is…

A new way for women to live, work and travel.

Behere makes it possible for women to live, for a month at a time, in cities around the world, without the hassles of getting set up. We are helping women design a lifestyle that meets their individual needs and wants. Active in over 12 cities and growing, we have a supportive infrastructure in place, year round. This lets women choose when and where they want go.

What we’re creating at Behere is not just about remote work, it’s about the future of living and work. It’s about providing a sustainable way to thrive in your lifestyle.

What we’re about

A community of women, around the world, that share common goals and values. We’re helping women embrace flexibility, step out of their comfort zones and better meet their needs and wants.

Behere is striving to change the way we live and work. We’re providing opportunities to make flexible lifestyles possible for more women. Women that want to embrace flexibility and rid themselves of workplaces created by men, for men.

With the 9–5 work structure becoming an old paradigm, riddled in sexual harassment, unequal pay, sexism and lack of inclusiveness, women are looking for ways to live and work on their own terms. Millennial women especially, are playing a major role in shaping the future of work. They are choosing more flexibility in their careers. With millennials valuing experiences more than things, and majority of female millennials wanting to work abroad, we see the rising need for this.

It’s not about escaping your life, it’s about living your life, and one that you truly enjoy.

But why just women?

We’re helping highlight the importance of women having independence and creating lifestyles that suit them. Women find it harder to have tough conversations with their managers, don’t take as many vacation days and still do not receive equal pay (& won’t for another 217 years!). Remote work is helping solve some workplace issues by helping women shatter the glass ceiling.

At Behere, we’re working to help women shed the days of being stuck in cubicles. Of being unproductive in open concept offices, waiting for vacations days or being locked into long leases. That’s why we share resources to help transition to remote or freelance work and this list of places to find remote jobs.

We’re helping women meet their desires and passions to explore, experience, connect and feel inspired.

Society’s definition of ‘work’, ‘workplaces’, ‘living’ and ‘lifestyles’ is being redefined. Our goal is to help women redefine those for themselves.

We hope to help you start living the way you want soon!

– The Behere Team

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Ready to experience more? Head to gobehere.com to learn more and get started with your flexible lifestyle.

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Join our free community here to hear about our events, meetups and more near you! They range from coffee catch ups to coworking events & more, like this women’s only coworking event we hosted in Chiang Mai & this one in Bali.

How Remote Work Helps Shatter the Glass Ceiling

Posted on September 12, 2017 by Josh

Why working for a distributed company can increase your opportunities for professional advancement – especially for women.

“Only 35% of women working in traditional office environments reported a promotion in the last year, while 57% of women working remotely reported the same.” – Ultimate Software’s 2019 State of Remote Work report

We asked Laurel, the COO of Yonder, to share her thoughts on remote work and female professionals.

Not surprisingly, remote work is on the rise throughout the world. Choosing where you roll up your sleeves for the day includes a lot of perks, like arriving to the “office” in your jammies, clocking in as early or as late as you want, or logging in from a cafe. Yes, it can be just as relaxing and indulgent as you imagine it to be. But, it’s not just valuable for your ability to get your beauty rest. It can be equally as valuable for you to give your career the professional boost that you’ve been working so hard for.

Distributed companies are often based on a ROWE management strategy. This means leadership doesn’t care when or where you do your work, they care about your results. This doesn’t mean your boss will be insensitive (actually, most virtual companies have even better culture and relationships than co-located teams!). It does mean the barriers that have been supporting the glass ceiling are being hammered down. This is because the factors that contribute to discrimination are removed from your work environment.

Sound too good to be true? Here is a breakdown of how that ceiling becomes just a sky when your team is geographically dispersed:

Everyone wants flexibility, not just you.

Unwilling to relocate? Family responsibilities at home? Time off needed for hobbies? These aren’t sacrifices any more. They are standards. Almost everyone with a remote job is seeking a better work-life balance. Not only is it acceptable to take breaks, it’s celebrated. Trust me, no one will care when you tell your team you’re headed to the dentist at 2:00 pm, except to wish you luck.

Interaction is equal.

Didn’t get invited to lunch with the boss, or to the golf course with that big client? Good news: no one else did either. When you’re limited to virtual interaction, the playing field is levelled in terms of gender, race, religion, orientation, and physical limitations. You are just as capable of sending an email to that big fish as anyone else on your team, so go for it.

Evaluation is based on results, not time.

Managers have developed a reputation for being “head counters” because, in their mind, productivity means seeing heads in the cubicles around them. In reality, those heads might be focused on solitaire and Facebook. The future of work doesn’t include this loophole. We treat adults as responsible and self-disciplined individuals, so how many hours you spend in your chair is up to you. (Spoiler alert: It’s still usually around 40 per week.) Remote workers are able to work at their own pace and on their own schedule, as long as they meet their deadlines.

Salaries are based on industry averages.

Throw your salary discrimination complaints right out the window. In remote work, compensation is usually based on national averages. This is because Company A doesn’t want to change the compensation of Employee M based on the cost of living in the 10 countries they’ll be in that year. So the average is calculated, and… done. It’s as simple as that.

We often hear about the technological, economic, and sociological benefits of the future of work. We rarely hear about the impact on equality. What an incredible result to overlook! Women, or any other commonly prejudiced demographic, can now be empowered to choose the role, the company, and the lifestyle that matches their goals. This is regardless of their age, geographic location, or familial status. As long as you have (and are willing to develop) the skills it takes to be a great remote worker, you can have the freedom to excel in any professional role. And I hope that you do!

If you’re interested in transitioning to remote work, but have unique concerns or questions, visit Yonder. With resources including a podcast, articles, even one-on-one mentoring – they educate and support as you navigate into the future of work.

About the Author: Laurel Farrer works remotely from her new home in rural Connecticut so that she can balance her passion for business operations and event planning with her life of traveling, home improvement, and snuggling with her husband and two kids.