Schools

cpfoutz wrote:

....

We want to send both kids to public schools, but two concerns:
1) What school will give them a good education?  I presume the school is assigned based on location.  Is there a school that may have a more diverse population?  Those that may be better funded? 
2) I saw in another post where kids may be made fun of for not having a strong basis in the language and perhaps having an accent.  Any advice to prepare them for it or help avoid it?  My oldest son makes friends quite easily (and has even done so on the playgrounds of Budapest) but he also is quite sensitive.

The schools available to you are dependent on your civil registration. You may have a choice in that area but it won't be much - perhaps 1 or 2 schools.    You need to apply to the school and ask the director if your kids can attend.    There are score tables but you'd have to search for it.

Commuting can take time so best to have closer schools and even better alternate transport in case of car difficulties.     

Your kids might get hassled by other kids over language but believe me, the situation is worse when your kids get to teenage years.  Infighting with their school friends is awful but language will not be one of those issues.  In any case, after 6 months, your kids will be fine when they get in the swing of the class, school and daily use of language.  Don't forget they need to read and write as well as speak Hungarian but you've got time for that as they are young.

Be aware that schools can be  religiously oriented. This means there are religious education lessons with (here anyway) nuns and priests walking around "teaching". 

Certainly some areas have more money than others.  The richest areas are places like Budaors and Torokbalint which have lots of large international businesses and are commuter areas for Budapest.  My own village, Budakeszi, is also commuterland, is relatively wealthy  but I've never known why.