I have a software engineer friend who moved to Budapest, and she swears by it. It's a beautiful city with several universities, and it's incredibly affordable.
Hungary consistently ranks as having the lowest percentage of English speaking people in Europe. It's perhaps one of the few countries where this would actually still be an issue in Europe.
Sadly this is true, even among software engineers and highly qualified people. You can still get a job without speaking Hungarian, and you'll be able to get through mandatory work stuff, but it may be uncomfortable during casual conversations. People often feel uneasy speaking English so they tend to switch to Hungarian if only one or two English speakers are in the group.
But if you can find a good community, then it may work out really well. Budapest is really affordable and SE salaries are very high compared to the average cost of living.
Well, its survivable. I drove twice via "non-central" Hungary this year. And people understand basic English. However, can't comment on availability of English-speaking communities of smart individuals in Hungary.
As an IT professional living in Hungary atm, take my advice and don't come here. I've been living in Stockholm, Madrid and Wien for a while, so I have comparison. The intellectual community is evaporating, and although the city is nice, that shine will only last for a couple of a weeks. If I had a remote job, I'd go back to Madrid, loved it there :)
