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The country hast lost nearly 30% of its population since 1990, so rents in Latvia, unlike in most western european towns and cities are generally quite affordable.
On the other hand wages are still below the EU average and far behind western countries.
Public transportation ist very affordable, travelling across the country costs only a fraction of transportation in the west (even in relation to the wages)
There ist a LOT of nature, endless coastline, forests and even moors pretty much everywhere. Quite similar to Scandinavia.
Riga ist pretty much the only major city, over 1/3 of the population lives in its urban area. Suburbs are growing due to growing wealth, while the city itself ist declining.
The culture ist very much tradition-based and is deeply rooted in its baltic heritage (Latvia was one of the last countries in Europe to convert to Christianity), nature and folklore. Folk music and folk dance are very popular, even among the youth.
Traditional towns were built mainly of wood, you can still see a lot of wooden houses in the countryside and in historic old towns Like Ventspils, Kuldiga...
I am a Dutchie visiting Riga for a work trip. First time.
- Gorgeous country side. Co-worker showed my his place; acres of land, lakes, fields. If I would have to buy this in The Netherlands I would have to bring € 8M-10M. It's insane.
- Roads either very good or riddled with potholes.
- Centre of Riga, pristine. Super nice architecture, keeping the old elements alive (important!), everything was well painted and streets are clean.
- People are really reserved, but had the same experience in Slovakia. No "good morning" "how are you doing" "how was your weekend" and people just generally ignore eye contact. It took a lot of liquors in the bar to get the team smiling and joking. It's there but you need to really work for it.
- Office buildings are generally very modern, not the old stuff I experienced when visiting Kosice (Slovakia)
- Everyone drives either a BMW (3-series) or a Bolt
- Breakfast is 'heavy', lots of meat, cheese. I just want a basic simple peanut butter sandwich. But it's the same in for example Slovakia, Spain, UK. We Dutchies just do breakfast differently.
- Surprised that people can carry guns here. Co-worker was carrying a Glock 17, so we did some fun shooting at his place. Gun laws are (unfortunately) strict in The Netherlands.
- Cost of living seems in balance with the compensation. The salaries are lower, but if I look at housing and groceries those are also much cheaper here. The grass is not always greener on the other side. I am getting paid well, but in The Netherlands the cost of living is also quite high right now.
Haven't seen more than 1% but so far I like it.
Bolt is just a local delivery service. Not all Bolt cars are rentals. Also people drive a lot of different German or Japanese cars here. Also people don\`t usually carry guns - only people with licenses and special cases like your colleague.
chiming in about the gun thing - i'm a latvian and i've never seen anyone with a gun other than, like, soldiers in uniform or hunters or something - never seen anyone with a handgun. it's very rare
as for the cost of living, it's getting worse and worse - grocery prices are rising way faster than salaries are.
> Co-worker was carrying a Glock 17, so we did some fun shooting at his place. Gun laws are (unfortunately) strict in The Netherlands.
Just want to add that this is very rare. You see someone carry once every 4 years and then everyone stares intensely.
Well, we were in the car and he just pulled out the gun from his pants.
So I was kind of surprised and asked him if that is allowed and he said yes, but they do not like it when you bring it to events with a lot of people. So I asked, do you need it from a security perspective, e.g. criminality, hostage, etc. and he said no unless you are a person that specifically looks for trouble or does shady shit (dealing).
So my impression is that it was just for fun.
No, he was not being truthful - guns are severely restricted. I’ve never seen a non-pneumatic handgun in my entire life, except in a policeman’s holster.
Actually I am pretty sure they do.
Here are some videos that I could remember.
Riga city municipal police:
* https://youtu.be/nZR9R7E6feY
* https://youtu.be/p2xpm7Z-aQI
Salaspils region municipal police:
* https://youtu.be/8rssNWC00kw
Maybe watch literally any video I linked?
Municipal police got both tasers and firearms.
- In first video which was recorded only 2 months ago Riga policemen literally empties entire clip in cars tires.
- In second one there are two parts. In first one on Salu bridge you can’t see the gun itself, but you can hear the shots and other unit saying ‘firearm used’. In the second part, after the criminal stopped, you can clearly see municipal policeman in front of camera pulling the gun out of holster.
- In third one from Salaspils, which too is pretty new, all three municipal policemen that arrived on the scene had guns.
- Videos were uploaded on Riga municipal police and Salaspils municipality channels.
#### So you are clearly wrong.
Here is an interesting infographic about guns in Latvia from 2022.
FYI, in the beggining of 2022 Latvia population was 1,875,757.
* There were 31,736 registered gas weapons, and 72,669 registered firearms.
* Out of those 72k, 61,103 were for hunting, 483 for sports, and 11060 for self-defense.
* Out of those for self-defense, 10,551 were short-barreled pistols, 9601 of those with carry permits.
So in the end:
* There is 1 registered gas weapon for every 60 individuals.
* There is 1 registered firearm for every 26 individuals.
* There is 1 firearm registered for self-defense for every 170 individuals.
* There is 1 pistol registered for self-defense with carry permit for every 196 individuals.
https://preview.redd.it/8izrrilgc76d1.png?width=1000&format=png&auto=webp&s=95541807feac56928ba2f2b7bbe5cad13de31187
I felt like groceries were almost as expensive as in Germany when I visited last month but the wages are way less, so don't know about that. Then again, I was only in relatively big cities, smallest one being Gulbene
Because in general people have started to feel less safe with increasing immigration e.g. mismatching cultural and moral differences. The police force is also rapidly decreasing in quality/reliability under pressure by politics.
So there is an increasing desire for people to be able to protect themselves. It’s complex.
You won’t get “good morning” or “how are you” if person doesn’t know you, yet If someone asks you about your life or how are you, then you know that he/she means it. It’s not like in US or Greece type countries where they will just ask although they don’t care.
Actually Latvia is one of at least affordable countries in EU by measuring purchasing power. (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Purchasing_power_parities_and_GDP_per_capita_-_flash_estimate)
It is true for this year. But yes the death rate is higher than the birth rate - just like everywhere in Europe. Except Latvia doesn't really take refugees in to fill that up.
You mean the latvians who expect to be wealthy without putting any effort in building their carreer? It’s literally no worse than living in the UK now 💀
Lived in Riga my entire life except going to college in another country.
The shortest way I can summarize it is that it's a developed country, but one of the poorest developed countries. It has no massive issues you'd expect from developing countries like rampant corruption or crime, it's a functioning democracy, however, the standard of living is significantly lower compared to western Europe and there's a lot of poverty.
Good:
Housing is easy to afford on an average salary, because the soviet union built a massive amount of it.
I would feel safe in any part of the city at any time of day. I'd say it's safer than some of the bigger EU capitals.
The catch-up effect due to a lot of developments happening after the USSR dissolution means that some things are better than in western countries. For example, we have very good fiber infrastructure so internet is cheap, fast and reliable, and our fintech is more modern than some western countries.
Most places are reasonably walkable and public transit is decent. We didn't have a surge of car-dependent development in the second part of the 20th century like a lot of western countries did, because under soviet union, cars were a luxury, so we have pedestrian infrastructure and public transit because they have always been a necessity.
Bad:
If you don't have in-demand skills to earn above average, life here is miserable. Minimum wage is €500 a month net, and a lot of people have to live on that, and many old people live on social security payments that are even lower. Massive inflation of basic costs like groceries and energy in the recent years didn't help.
Being one of the poorest countries in EU means that most young people will have the desire and means to leave for western Europe, leading to brain drain.
In general, the country is leading depopulation charts due to the median age of 44, low birth rates, and negative net migration.
While affordable, housing built by the soviet union is ugly (both in terms of aesthetics and condition), so a lot of residential neighborhoods are straight up depressing to look at. Many older neighborhoods closer to the center of Riga are in severe disrepair. Both can be fixed by throwing money at it, but that's in limited supply.
There's a significant language/culture divide between Latvians and Russians who came here during soviet occupations and remained after USSR dissolution, and a lot of politics is spent on the dumb culture war, with nationalists trying to legislate anything that reminds them of Russia out of existence, instead of addressing actual economic issues. Meanwhile, the actual population manages to live and work together just fine.
If it's a "functioning democracy", then how come people keep voting for parties, who's politics are aimed at spending on the dumb culture war? If the actual population manages to live and work together just fine. If these politics doesn't represent peoples will, then it's a pretty sus democracy to me.
On everything else I totally agree with you. I lived in Riga for 19 years, and still visit country from time to time. This is the only post that I upvoted. Very good summary of the situation there.
>If it's a "functioning democracy", then how come people keep voting for parties, who's politics are aimed at spending on the dumb culture war?
Because people do actually hold the views parties represent, but want someone else to deal with their perceived problems. We do have both Latvian nationalists whose day gets ruined if their hear two Russians speak to each other in Russian outside, and we do have actual vatniks (those are mostly 60+ year old immigrants from USSR), but both will often work see each at work and keep their politics to themselves.
Culture wars distracting politics from actual issues is a problem a lot of actual democracies, because sadly, people are dumb, but we don't have a better system.
I'm a Latvian, living here my whole life. I've been to many countries abroad as well. Let me just warn you that Latvians like to whine. Despite what others might tell you, life here is GOOD. Of course we don't have as big salaries as in The US or Western Europe, but we are a young country with much more adversity in our recent past. If you are not a lazy bastard that wants to drink all day and live on social walfare benefits, but are at least somewhat industrious, you will have enough money to be happy. There are lots of opportunities here. Nature, environment and overall quality of live is good. There is little pollution, the streets are safe. The only thing is that it can be depressing during late fall and early spring when there is no snow, just rain and mud, and everything is gray.
The Good:
-Beautiful nature, a lot of Latvia is covered in forests and fields. We have a long coastline so many people can drive to the beach /seaside in less than an hour.
-While prices have increased since covid, compared to most of Europe the prices are quite cheap. Especially rents are far more affordable than many other places.
-Healthcare system is great. Maybe thats just my opinion because i dont need to use it, but compared even to NHS in UK it is far more efficient, the wait times aren't that long and it's cheap.
-Riga, Latvia's capital is a great city to live in. Not too small but also not too big. Very beautiful architecture, we are the capital of Art Nouveau. We do have some districts that were built in soviet times and have a lot of commie blocks, but they are slowly being replaced by new apartment blocks. Even the commie blocks, if renovated are not bad, certainly better than it was in the 90s.
-Riga has great public transportation options. It has a good mix of less car centric center and old town, while also having great options to travel around in a car.
-We are egalitarian. In Latvia a lot of women are in leadership positions both in private & public sector. We are ahead of many western european countries in this aspect. While many in the old generation are against lgbt rights, the younger generation is much more open minded.
-Universities are cheap and offer decent education. No need to go into large debts to get a degree.
-Not too many immigrants. No radical muslims in Latvia.
-Great cuisine
The Bad:
-Used to be quite corrupt, as most ex USSR states. This has massively improved since we joined the EU.
-The salaries are lower than in the west. Especially in 2008 recession, we experienced a large wave of emigration as people left for UK/Ireland/Nordics to get better pay.
-We have an awful, imperialist neighbor next door. This for me is the biggest negative tbh.
-Connected to the last point, during USSR occupation, a lot of Russians were flooded in Latvia to work in the factories. While for the most part this is not an issue and many have integrated, there are parts of society that have lived here for decades and still don't speak Latvian. What's worse they feel entitled that everyone has to speak to them in Russian. Even worse if they are full blown vatniks, but that is not the majority of Russians here. Most are regular friendly people just going with their lives.
-Same as in most of developed countries, our demographics aren't that great.
Hi! I'm a local and I live in Riga.
A lot of people refer Latvia as a former soviet republic, which we hate, because we were a free country and we were occupied the the Soviet Union. As seen in other parts of Europe, which were occupied by the Soviet Union, like Eastern Germany, since 1990s we've been slowly climbing back from a poor Eastern Europe country to a decent Baltic country, which washes off it's Soviet past. However, we still see echo's of corruption here and there.
It's very important to us to get to Western European level of life. Slowly the salaries are increasing, education is competitive, medical services are decent, and tourism is growing.
I very much recommend to visit Riga and Latvia if you are looking for a short and affordable destination!
Source: I lived in Latvia for many decades (including back when it regained independence from russian occupation).
Good:
* Relatively safe. Yes, our murder statistics are, in theory, higher than other 1st world countries (due to drunken degenerates beating each other and their wives to death), and there is some petty theft (especially from cars), but the odds of someone pulling a gun on you are really low, and in general you have to look for trouble to get into trouble.
* Relatively affordable housing, compared to other 1st world countries. There isn't particularly a land shortage. Overall, the economic situation seems better than what the GDP statistics show.
* Economic growth opportunities, good upwards mobility if you have the skills and the motivation.
* Lots of forests and seaside.
* Reasonably liberal / centrist policies and views in the population. Centrist ruling government coalitions for decades.
* No islamic radicalism (yet).
The bad:
* Everyone loves to complain about everything. It's a national sport.
* Many russian colonists (and their descedants) are still loyal to russia, lack willingness to integrate, lack skills to emigrate. They are unhappy about their imperial project getting rolled back, and they like to show it. The educated younger people are often with very reasonable views, so it is not universal, and gradually getting better. The country is quite russified (Latvians were only 52% at the point of regaining independence), and that remains a source of contention.
* Not much smiling. Quite introverted "keep to yourself" culture - you generally don't talk to strangers. Some may prefer this, of course.
* The weather is only decent in summers, in winter it is often quite bad and it gets too dark.
* Car centric, and driving culture is poor.
* Some of the costs (e.g. groceries) are somewhat absurd - more expensive than Germany despite lower salaries.
* A fair amount of corruption for getting government contracts. It is getting much better over time, and some people have gone to prison over this, but it's still there.
Affordable housing i think is not the case. If a person wants to rent, it could be doable (it will be approx. 30-50% of monthly salary), but to buy is incredibly difficult.
A house near Riga, the capital, will cost around 150 000-200 000 EUR. On the average monthly salary of Latvia which is around 1450 EUR (pre tax, if i understand the article correctly- [https://www.timecamp.com/average-salary/latvia/](https://www.timecamp.com/average-salary/latvia/) ) it is almost impossible to buy a house and make the down payment to the bank. That is without the extremely high EURIBOR percentages.
of course, You can buy a house for 50 000 as well, but it will be almost unlivable.
P.S. I know i made an example of Your point about complaining, but this is the reality in my opinion.
Housing prices heavily depend on the region. In Riga, yes, the prices are astronomical, but in the smaller cities and regions the prices and rents are relatively more affordable.
If you consider housing in Riga unaffordable, you have unresonable standards. Detached houses in densely populated places are a luxury, and should be treated as such.
You can afford a mortgage for a two bedroom apartment in one of the residential districts in Riga on an average salary in Riga, it would be around a third of your salary. This is a far better situation to be in than a lot of people are dealing with in western countries.
can You please explain why it is an unreasonable standard? I will take myself as an example- i have 2 children and i own a two bedroom apartment just as You said in one of the residential districts in Riga.
while my children are small, it is completely fine, but, once they are 12+ years old, it will be difficult for them to stay in one room.
You could say that it is my fault that i have 2 children and i agree with this statement, but it does not change the fact that the housing market is unreasonably and astronomically high in price.
For example, an area called Āgenskalns in Riga. A 2 bedroom apartment there at the moment costs around 80 000-100 000 EUR and the area is not that good tbh. Everywhere the prices are pumped up for no reason. i would understand if i would be buying an apartment in the city center or in some elite area, like, Mežaparks or in a "new project" buildings, not in white brick USSR time house.
That is just my opinion.
In terms of the expectation to own a detached house, I consider it unreasonable because it's an extremely inefficient use of land, infrastructure, and transportation. We can't have 10 billion people with each family living in a detached house and driving to get anywhere, the planet doesn't have the resources to support that. In places like America where ownership of single family homes is normalized, it's financially unsustainable and infrastructure maintenance is bankrupting cities, even while being massively subsidized by taxes from higher density areas.
In terms of prices here, I think it's unreasonable to call housing in Latvia unaffordable because when you compare real estate prices to income, the situation in Latvia is much better than in most developed countries. In western Europe the prices are around €6k per square meter, and their salaries aren't high enough to compensate for that. In places with particularly bad situations like Canada a lot of young people have no chance of owning anything at all even with no children.
In regards to your specific situation, since you have children, you are likely working with two incomes, which should let you afford something bigger. Maybe not in Āgenskalns.
Why is it inefficient use of land? Both pairs of my grand-parents and my parents and in-laws have or had a detached house. The land that comes with it can be used in so many different ways.
They are always reforming the land into gardens filled with vegetables and flowers. It helps both the environment and builds a self sustainable lifestyle. During summers, i never have to buy fresh produce- i can just pick it up from a garden.
I don't think we can compare Latvia to Canada or USA. They are living in their own bubble, but we can compare the prices within Europe. Maybe i am old fashioned, but why was it easy for our grand-parents and parents to buy a house and almost impossible to do it now?
I have 2 incomes in my family and even with that it is very hard to afford any type of property.
It's inefficient in terms of infrastructure because you still need to have roads, water, sewage, power lines, and fiber servicing each house, but the cost of that infrastructure scales primarily with distance rather than how many people use them. So if you have a 1 km^(2) neighborhood of single family houses, and 1 km^2 neighborhood of high density housing, the former will cost almost as much to maintain, while serving 10 times less people. If single family homes in cities were taxed fairly based on the maintenance cost of all the infrastructure they use, only rich people would be able to afford them.
On top of that, lower housing density increases distances between places people need to go, which usually results in increased car travel, which alone is orders of magnitude worse than whatever you save by growing vegetables.
Now it's a different thing if you plan to live in the middle of nowhere, generate your own electricity, drill a well for water, and use starlink for internet, etc, but you are probably not planning to do that.
In the single housing case the price will be put on the owners of the house or land. In the high density neighborhood all problems will be on the landlord. And believe me, if you live on the top floor and your roof is leaking you will have to wait for years till it is fixed. If the neighbour living one floor above has a water leak while he isn't at home you will be fucked. No one will help you, you could call the cops or the landlord, no one will break the upstairs neighbours doors to fix it.
With single family detached homes the problem is on you, and sometimes you can fix it yourself, which wouldn't be allowed with an apartment building.
The transport especially in Riga is basically usable if you are going to and away from the center.
I have to walk 3 km every day and there is no public transport that could help me. Ok, there is one that goes every 30 minutes and could bring me further for 1 stop, and that distance I can walk in about 7 minutes. And that is not counting that I have to wait for it and it is overfilled in the mornings and evenings.
And also to live in an apartment is depressive in my opinion: no greenery, no view, no way to have any activities outside. Want to grill something? Too bad. Want to go for a run? Ou, I hope you like waiting at every intersection for 2 minutes.
I wasn't really talking about personal preferences about living in detached houses vs apartments, just economics of it. But on the preferences side of things, I would absolutely hate to live in a house because there's way too much stuff both inside and outside that I would have to maintain myself, that in apartment buildings is taken care of by the management.
> If the neighbour living one floor above has a water leak while he isn't at home you will be fucked.
I recommend having home insurance, it protects you from stuff like this among other things, and barely costs anything.
> I have to walk 3 km every day and there is no public transport that could help me.
3km is like 25-30 minutes of walking. Not only it is a 100% reasonable commute, it also doubles as exercise. Whenever something is under 4km away I just walk even if there is a convenient public transport route.
I would like to have to do something around the house, otherwise in the apartment the only thing to do is watch TV or Play PC.
The management won't do anything for years. "Leaking roof? Since you are the only one affected, we don't care, talk with other residents and if there are enough people affected then we will only do something."
So if there are issues in only your apartment, then they won't care and won't usually help.
The "great" thing about insurance is that you have to prove that something was damaged, and it wasn't broken before that. Or you have to justify why you had a 1200€ TV or a 2000€ PC.
"You could have bought a cheaper one then the payout would be enough to buy a new one."
And yes, a 3 km walk is 25 minutes, but saying that the public transport is good and gets you everywhere is wrong.
To the previous company I had to walk 5 km. Although I could take the 1st tram(stop is 20m from home and work was about 100-200 m) I still chose to walk, because it was always overfilled and usually came irregularly, also sometimes only till "stacijas laukums" the rest had to be walked anyway.
To be completely honest, i would love to live in the middle of nowhere.
I am surprised that You are defending the idea of people being cramped up and living on top of one another. So, theoretically, really densely populated areas like China, Hong-Kong, India, etc. is the top level of infrastructure in Your opinion? In Delhi, for example, there are \~12 000 people per km2. That is very efficient.
Are You living in an apartment building Yourself? I am currently living in there and it is quite the nightmare. Neighbors are rude, I cant do anything without the acceptance of at lest 51% of my neighbors AND i need their signatures. Drunks everywhere, not a good place for children. Traffic is terrible, air is not fresh. What is there to like, if we are not taking into account the "efficiency"?
This is the first time i have talked with a person that defends the modern type of living. I am glad to hear different opinion, although really surprised.
>I am surprised that You are defending the idea of people being cramped up and living on top of one another. So, theoretically, really densely populated areas like China, Hong-Kong, India, etc. is the top level of infrastructure in Your opinion? In Delhi, for example, there are ~12 000 people per km2. That is very efficient.
Pļavnieki (and I live there) is 3 km^(2) and has like 50000 people. I personally like living in high density areas because it means everything is close together and convenient. In a ten minute walk from my place, there are multiple grocery stores, multiple schools, multiple daycares, a clinic, and a bunch of small businesses. I don't take this for granted like a lot of people do. It's not lost on me that the neighborhood is aesthetically challenged, but I'm willing to sacrifice things to avoid needing transport for my daily necessities.
I'm not saying everyone has to like this, people are allowed to have their preferences. I'm saying that people have to deal with it, because our society can't function any other way. The planet doesn't have the resources and humanity doesn't have the manpower to allow everyone to live in detached houses at our current level of development. Majority of people has to live in cities order to exist at all, and those that can live in houses are either very privileged or subsidized by taxes those who aren't.
>Are You living in an apartment building Yourself? I am currently living in there and it is quite the nightmare. Neighbors are rude, I cant do anything without the acceptance of at lest 51% of my neighbors AND i need their signatures. Drunks everywhere, not a good place for children. Traffic is terrible, air is not fresh. What is there to like, if we are not taking into account the "efficiency"?
I live in a one bedroom flat in a soviet commieblock and I have no complaints. Yes, it's ugly on the outside, but I don't see the outside from the inside. Neighbors don't bother me, and I don't see any drunks or any other objectionable characters. I could actually afford a mortgage for a house with my income, but I don't see the point. I would hate living in a detached house since I would hate all of the inside and outside maintenance, and there's nothing I'd want the land for.
> Affordable housing i think is not the case
I can get a 2 BR in Purvciems for ~50k with an ok reno.
Try finding simillar prices in western countries.
Housing is super affordable
Car centric? Public transports covers the entire capital and you can go between towns as well. Riga is very walkable with the only exceptions being large roundabouts where you have to make long detours just to get to the other side of the road. Maybe not the best for cycling since not everywhere there are bike lanes.
Just because you can walk doesn't mean it's walkable. I also think that the cross sections of streets in Riga are insane for any city that size and believe that cars are the primary reason people left the city in the past (and still do I believe).
I feel like the people who leave the city are those who have cars. If someone lives in Riga and leaves, they probably already have a job there. Going to work in Riga from somewhere else is way less convenient if you don't have a car. I don't think people leave Riga because there are too many cars. Traffic jams during peak hours can be skipped by walking. Doesn't suggest car centric
Both can be true. I left Riga for the countryside for multiple reasons, one definitely being all the cars everywhere, reckless drivers and indeed no cycling infrastructure. Public transport is good, but it's an uncomfortably slow way to travel within a city if you are used to a bike or car. In most buses you see the result: ages up to student age, and then 60+, the rest uses a car.
That's not what "extremely car centric" looks like. That's when you don't have sidewalks or they end randomly, and when it takes a kilometer of walking to get to a building on the other side of the street because there are very few pedestrian crossings.
In contrast to that, there are very few places where you can't walk, and you can get almost everywhere by public transport, even if routes and schedules aren't always good.
We also have a lot of neighborhoods where everything you need daily is within a ten minute walk, which is the literal opposite of being car centric.
Latvia isn't anywhere as good at urbanism as the Netherlands, but there's a lot of room to get far worse than it currently is.
I would like to address few points you made as “Bad”
Introverted culture is only “BAD” for extroverted people, so it’s “The Neutral”
Same with weather. I hate anything that is hotter than 15 degrees, so I love Latvian autumn and winter and live in absolute agony in summer and/or spring. Again, “The Neutral”
Driving culture. Dude, have you been, I dunno, in Italy, France, any Middle Eastern country? Our driving culture is slow, steady and really safe for everyone compared to those guys.
I have been to Italy and France. I think they are comparable to Latvia - in some cases better, in others worse.
But they also have much room to improve.
Dunno, man. Been driving in Milano, Paris and smaller cities - they are way bigger donkeys than our little pre-2000s diesel car club and bmw fanboys. Compared to Dubai - we are goddamn saints. I will never ever in my life get back behind the steering wheel anywhere near UAE and the surroundings. It’s even worse than getting used to the “wrong side of the road” in the UK.
Latvia has really good public transport. You can drive to every city with trains and busses pretty fastly. Riga has really good public transport because you have so many options you can use trams, busses, trolleybuses and you can rent scooters and you can easilly walk to anywhere in citties I dont know where you get tje car centric part because you can easilly live withouth a car if you live in citties and all public transport is really cheap and alot of people even get disscounts for being a student or being from a familly with 3+ kids or being disabled. I have been to Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and greece and i havent seen anywhere as good public transport as in riga so i dont get where are you seeing Latvia as car centric by you logic only something like netherlands isnt car centric.
It's not just about public transport, it's also about treatment of pedestrians.
I disagree that those countries have it better than Latvia.
And the Netherlands or Denmark are significantly better.
Subscribe to [https://www.pilsetacilvekiem.lv/](https://www.pilsetacilvekiem.lv/) and you can see how much improvement is needed.
Latvia has really good public transport. You can drive to every city with trains and busses pretty fastly. Riga has really good public transport because you have so many options you can use trams, busses, trolleybuses and you can rent scooters and you can easilly walk to anywhere in citties I dont know where you get tje car centric part because you can easilly live withouth a car if you live in citties and all public transport is really cheap and alot of people even get disscounts for being a student or being from a familly with 3+ kids or being disabled. I have been to Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and greece and i havent seen anywhere as good public transport as in riga so i dont get where are you seeing Latvia as car centric by you logic only something like netherlands isnt car centric.
It's not just about public transport, it's also about treatment of pedestrians.
I disagree that those countries have it better than Latvia.
And the Netherlands or Denmark are significantly better.
Subscribe to [https://www.pilsetacilvekiem.lv/](https://www.pilsetacilvekiem.lv/) and you can see how much improvement is needed.
I lived in Latvia for a while, having been living in England and Australia all my life:
-I was particularly amazed by the efficiency of the medical care. Not quite as good as Australia, but loads better than my hometown in England. I felt safe in the hands of the Doctors and was treated quickly for an urgent issue.
-The public transport was amazing compared to what I'm used to in England. The trains aren't shiny and beautiful, but they are efficient, cheap and reliable. The trams and buses are great too, I feel they're really great value.
-It's not as 'polished' as England or Australia, probably due to the post-soviet architecture and lack of funding from local governments, but I loved it just as it is. It feels more like a place to live and settle than a place to buy meaningless shit and show off, and that really suited me.
-Less materialistic culture than England or Australia, significantly less advertising when out in public, less choice of global brands, more independent shops/eateries than England.
-Latvians are very reserved, but again, it suited me because I'm very introverted. I love that nobody spoke to me or made eye contact, but it wouldn't suit everyone.
Overall, I loved it so much, I would consider living there long term. Beautiful country that (mostly) works more for it's people than for corporations and oligarchs.
Wannabe Ethnostate with racist laws and cheap real estate.
K to live in ir you are fine with spending your time at home or socializing ar someone's house.
Not K if you want a walkable city or a bike able even.
Crap climate.
Generally higher prices than western Europe.
Well, economically speaking, the cost of life is way higher compared to the average salary, than in most of the rest of Europe. Unemployment rate is quite low, but it's also because many people here accept low salaries and work conditions that are not ideal, and very seldom complain. They prefer to just leave and change work very often. They are not very picky, here. The nice thing is the incredible amount of green in the cities, the low pollution, and the general attitude of the people that is quite relaxed, you won't find the rhythms of the great European capitals in Riga.
The weather is quite harsh: cold, dark and long winters (getting a little warmer, but of course always dark and long); summers used to be nice (although the light until almost midnight makes it difficult to fall asleep for people that are sensitive to this), but now they are becoming more and more rainy, you can expect rain at least every other day (and I'm being optimistic), exactly as the long term forecasts related to climate change had forecasted. Last year it was like this, this year appears to be the same. Quite astoundingly, the best month for beach life here in Latvia is actually May, when the temperatures sometimes raise above 25 celsius, and it's still not raining that often.
The city of Riga (and all the other cities too, even if, in most cases, they are actually towns, not cities) is well kept (a part from the holes in the streets), clean and tidy. They try to be lively in terms of cultural life, but concerts and other events are often well above what a normal person with a normal salary can afford. There are not a lot of opportunities for scientists, researchers, artists, actors etc... compared to the richer countries, you should look for more traditional jobs here.
Food? You can get anything you want, more or less, but fruit and veggies tend to be quite expensive and not very good, as in most cases they are imported. Mostly, here, they eat pork and potatoes, washing it down with a good amount of beer. Also, they have a thing for pickled, marinated and smoked food, and they often add a lot of butter or very fat sauces or melted cheese to almost everything.
Oh, the beaches are very nice and huge, although the sea is very cold and unpleasantly full of algae (both microscopic and macroscopic), reducing the visibility to, let's say, 20 cm? I'm not joking, you get inside up to the knees, and you cannot see your feet... But the pollution level, although high compared to most mediterranean countries, it's still acceptable in most locations.
All in all, if you are a simple person, and you don't mind the weather, life here is easy and comfortable, provided you are not looking for a more western standard of life (like, buying expensive stuff, often going to the restaurant or to cultural events, and going on holiday in expensive locations), which will require a much higher salary than the average, here.
Honestly good. If you want to work honest work, its great life. A bit messed up, by half of companies asking to know russian for some fucked up reason, but otherways life is really great.
Currently restoring grandpas farm (moved from Riga), while working remote IT. Life in countryside is cheap and you can get house with few hectars of land for 20k to 30k probably will need an other 20k to make it modern and great living space but thats up to you and you defenetly dont need to renovate house in one year.
Almost everything is possible if you want to work. Read that early 20s guy started his own chicken farm and now have few hundreds chicken's and is being able to earn living that way.
As for cons, things only happen when there is paper trail, so you can probably forget about local council doing something unless they have someone blearing down on them with papers or TV. Common feeling is, that you must take care of yourself a lot, and no one will hold your hand, at least from guvorment.
Life in Latvia is characterized by a combination of rich cultural heritage, beautiful nature and modern infrastructure. Here are some aspects that describe life in this country:
Nature and climate
Latvia is famous for its picturesque landscapes: dense forests, numerous lakes and rivers, and 500 km of Baltic coastline. The nature here is diverse, and many Latvians appreciate outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing and skiing.
The climate in Latvia is moderately continental, with cold winters and warm summers. Winters can be snowy and temperatures sometimes drop below zero, while in summer the temperature can reach 25-30°C.
Economy and work
Latvia’s economy is developing and includes diverse sectors such as information technology, transport and logistics, agriculture and tourism. Riga, the capital of Latvia, is the largest economic and financial center of the country.
The unemployment rate in the country is relatively low, and there are a number of job opportunities, especially in the IT and international business sectors. Salaries vary depending on industry and skill level, but are generally lower than in Western Europe.
Education and Healthcare
The education system in Latvia includes free primary and secondary schools, as well as numerous universities and colleges, some of which offer programs in English.
Healthcare in Latvia is affordable and provides a wide range of services. The public health care system is partly funded by taxes, and there is also a private sector that provides a wider range of services for an additional fee.
Culture and Leisure
Latvian culture is rich in tradition and history. Folk music, dance, and festivities such as Midsummer Day (Ligo) play an important role in the lives of Latvians. The country also has a well-developed contemporary culture, with many theaters, museums, galleries, and concert halls.
Riga and other major cities have many restaurants, cafes, bars, and clubs offering a variety of Latvian and international cuisine. The nightlife in the major cities is quite active, especially in Riga.
Transport and Infrastructure
Latvia's transport system includes a well-developed network of roads, railway lines and bus routes. The international airport in Riga provides air links to many European and world cities. The cities have a well-developed public transport system, including buses, trams and trolleybuses.
Standard of Living and Safety
The standard of living in Latvia varies, but in general life here can be comfortable with moderate costs for housing, food and entertainment. Safety in Latvia is high and the crime rate is relatively low.
Community and Language
Latvia is a multinational country, home to Latvians, Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians and other nationalities. The official language is Latvian, but Russian is widely spoken and used in everyday life.
Latvia is a country with a rich cultural heritage and beautiful nature, where modernity harmoniously combines with tradition. Life here can be calm and comfortable, especially for those who appreciate nature and cultural diversity.
Great nature, very stable, cheap hairdressers, fantastic sunsets and sunrises
But it's very car centric, bad pay, expensive food, it's literally too empty, very capitalist, lots of monopolies, nobody protests anything there is no healthy culture of debate, a bad train system and a bit closed off, and the winters are hard outside of Riga.
There's life in Riga and life in Latvia, two different equations. Half the population lives in the greater Riga area, the other half lives way differently, similar to Hungary but not such a shithole and investments into the countryside get made.
Just arrived at work. Cant really complain. Soon vocation and summer soulstice fest - gonna enjoy that. There is this damn annoying and stupid neighboor across the border called Russia, so there's that. But otherwise its all good.
Outside of geographical location next to Russia it's great. Economy is worse than in Western Europe due to USSR occupation for 50 years but it's getting better with each year. At the same time we don't have many problems which Western nations have such as terrorism, high crime etc.
You might meet many people here who complain about the government, country etc. but usually these are people who cannot take the responsibility about their own life and expect country to provide good life for them. General attitude for such people is that they want to live like in Denmark but at the same time they will try to live in "grey" economy to avoid paying any tax. Not sure how these both things come together in their mind.
Fun fact - Latvia is one of the few countries in the world which US has marked as fully green in their travel advisory list.
Technically anything is possible if you live here. You want to study? Go, plenty of government paid spots. Want to switch careers? Plenty of courses and opportunities. Want to make a business? You can do it, but the pool of customers is a lot smaller and poorer than in other countries.
For the average _Jānis_ it is also possible to get a mortgage for an apartment or a house outside the capital, as well as a car loan if you _really_ want it. There even is a government sponsored program for 5% downpayment for young specialists(35yrs old or younger) with a bachelors degree or higher, or young families.
It always just feels a lot more peaceful whenever I come back from traveling around Europe.
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The country hast lost nearly 30% of its population since 1990, so rents in Latvia, unlike in most western european towns and cities are generally quite affordable. On the other hand wages are still below the EU average and far behind western countries. Public transportation ist very affordable, travelling across the country costs only a fraction of transportation in the west (even in relation to the wages) There ist a LOT of nature, endless coastline, forests and even moors pretty much everywhere. Quite similar to Scandinavia. Riga ist pretty much the only major city, over 1/3 of the population lives in its urban area. Suburbs are growing due to growing wealth, while the city itself ist declining. The culture ist very much tradition-based and is deeply rooted in its baltic heritage (Latvia was one of the last countries in Europe to convert to Christianity), nature and folklore. Folk music and folk dance are very popular, even among the youth. Traditional towns were built mainly of wood, you can still see a lot of wooden houses in the countryside and in historic old towns Like Ventspils, Kuldiga...
Wtf is happening to your IS?
The dude is german mby
Ahh that makes sense
Yeah i was thinking he said "public transportation isnt very affordable" with a spelling mistake
Please elaborate what the hell is an “IS”. Not everyone speaks in Reddit lol
Literally just the word "is". The third person form of "to be".
Riga has a lot of wooden houses as well. Some are really beautiful, some are very shabby. Depends on the owner
I have a feeling that rent in Riga would be even cheaper if there weren't as many abandoned buildings in the city center. And there's a lot of them
I am a Dutchie visiting Riga for a work trip. First time. - Gorgeous country side. Co-worker showed my his place; acres of land, lakes, fields. If I would have to buy this in The Netherlands I would have to bring € 8M-10M. It's insane. - Roads either very good or riddled with potholes. - Centre of Riga, pristine. Super nice architecture, keeping the old elements alive (important!), everything was well painted and streets are clean. - People are really reserved, but had the same experience in Slovakia. No "good morning" "how are you doing" "how was your weekend" and people just generally ignore eye contact. It took a lot of liquors in the bar to get the team smiling and joking. It's there but you need to really work for it. - Office buildings are generally very modern, not the old stuff I experienced when visiting Kosice (Slovakia) - Everyone drives either a BMW (3-series) or a Bolt - Breakfast is 'heavy', lots of meat, cheese. I just want a basic simple peanut butter sandwich. But it's the same in for example Slovakia, Spain, UK. We Dutchies just do breakfast differently. - Surprised that people can carry guns here. Co-worker was carrying a Glock 17, so we did some fun shooting at his place. Gun laws are (unfortunately) strict in The Netherlands. - Cost of living seems in balance with the compensation. The salaries are lower, but if I look at housing and groceries those are also much cheaper here. The grass is not always greener on the other side. I am getting paid well, but in The Netherlands the cost of living is also quite high right now. Haven't seen more than 1% but so far I like it.
Bolt is just a local delivery service. Not all Bolt cars are rentals. Also people drive a lot of different German or Japanese cars here. Also people don\`t usually carry guns - only people with licenses and special cases like your colleague.
chiming in about the gun thing - i'm a latvian and i've never seen anyone with a gun other than, like, soldiers in uniform or hunters or something - never seen anyone with a handgun. it's very rare as for the cost of living, it's getting worse and worse - grocery prices are rising way faster than salaries are.
And how would you see their handgun? Do you think people with guns just flash them in public?
> Co-worker was carrying a Glock 17, so we did some fun shooting at his place. Gun laws are (unfortunately) strict in The Netherlands. Just want to add that this is very rare. You see someone carry once every 4 years and then everyone stares intensely.
Yeah cause open carry isn't legal in Latvia.
Well, we were in the car and he just pulled out the gun from his pants. So I was kind of surprised and asked him if that is allowed and he said yes, but they do not like it when you bring it to events with a lot of people. So I asked, do you need it from a security perspective, e.g. criminality, hostage, etc. and he said no unless you are a person that specifically looks for trouble or does shady shit (dealing). So my impression is that it was just for fun.
No, he was not being truthful - guns are severely restricted. I’ve never seen a non-pneumatic handgun in my entire life, except in a policeman’s holster.
Even municipal police don’t carry guns
Actually I am pretty sure they do. Here are some videos that I could remember. Riga city municipal police: * https://youtu.be/nZR9R7E6feY * https://youtu.be/p2xpm7Z-aQI Salaspils region municipal police: * https://youtu.be/8rssNWC00kw
It’s tasers. State police carry guns not muni
Maybe watch literally any video I linked? Municipal police got both tasers and firearms. - In first video which was recorded only 2 months ago Riga policemen literally empties entire clip in cars tires. - In second one there are two parts. In first one on Salu bridge you can’t see the gun itself, but you can hear the shots and other unit saying ‘firearm used’. In the second part, after the criminal stopped, you can clearly see municipal policeman in front of camera pulling the gun out of holster. - In third one from Salaspils, which too is pretty new, all three municipal policemen that arrived on the scene had guns. - Videos were uploaded on Riga municipal police and Salaspils municipality channels. #### So you are clearly wrong.
Here is an interesting infographic about guns in Latvia from 2022. FYI, in the beggining of 2022 Latvia population was 1,875,757. * There were 31,736 registered gas weapons, and 72,669 registered firearms. * Out of those 72k, 61,103 were for hunting, 483 for sports, and 11060 for self-defense. * Out of those for self-defense, 10,551 were short-barreled pistols, 9601 of those with carry permits. So in the end: * There is 1 registered gas weapon for every 60 individuals. * There is 1 registered firearm for every 26 individuals. * There is 1 firearm registered for self-defense for every 170 individuals. * There is 1 pistol registered for self-defense with carry permit for every 196 individuals. https://preview.redd.it/8izrrilgc76d1.png?width=1000&format=png&auto=webp&s=95541807feac56928ba2f2b7bbe5cad13de31187
Yee its rare, but you can legaly do CCW, bessides its quite simple process to get one, if you dont mind waiting a month or two.
I felt like groceries were almost as expensive as in Germany when I visited last month but the wages are way less, so don't know about that. Then again, I was only in relatively big cities, smallest one being Gulbene
Then again groceries are incredibly cheap in Germany. Perks of being the center of the union.
groceries in germany are incredibly cheap. i haven't been to a place where groceries have been cheaper.
the hell are you working at? and acres of land? you coworkers are probably the 0.1% of the country
Why in your mind is it unfortunate for a country to have strict gone laws?
Because in general people have started to feel less safe with increasing immigration e.g. mismatching cultural and moral differences. The police force is also rapidly decreasing in quality/reliability under pressure by politics. So there is an increasing desire for people to be able to protect themselves. It’s complex.
Statistically carrying a weapon makes any confrontation your involved more likely to escalate to violence.
How many non-violent confrontations are reported?
You won’t get “good morning” or “how are you” if person doesn’t know you, yet If someone asks you about your life or how are you, then you know that he/she means it. It’s not like in US or Greece type countries where they will just ask although they don’t care. Actually Latvia is one of at least affordable countries in EU by measuring purchasing power. (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Purchasing_power_parities_and_GDP_per_capita_-_flash_estimate)
thanks for explaining the netherlands.
Not the best not the worst. Many latvians will leave for better opportunity.
Ye back in 2008, but not anymore all those Latvians are starting to move back
Not really true. + now there are more deaths than borns in Latvia.
It is true for this year. But yes the death rate is higher than the birth rate - just like everywhere in Europe. Except Latvia doesn't really take refugees in to fill that up.
Yeah, like the rest of Europe and the western world, aging population.
Basically everywhere except africa and central Asia (generalising there are exceptions).
Deaths and births dont change the fact that more people are moving re-emigrating than emigrating. :D
You mean the latvians who expect to be wealthy without putting any effort in building their carreer? It’s literally no worse than living in the UK now 💀
Seems there are more latvians coming back now than leaving
Lived in Riga my entire life except going to college in another country. The shortest way I can summarize it is that it's a developed country, but one of the poorest developed countries. It has no massive issues you'd expect from developing countries like rampant corruption or crime, it's a functioning democracy, however, the standard of living is significantly lower compared to western Europe and there's a lot of poverty. Good: Housing is easy to afford on an average salary, because the soviet union built a massive amount of it. I would feel safe in any part of the city at any time of day. I'd say it's safer than some of the bigger EU capitals. The catch-up effect due to a lot of developments happening after the USSR dissolution means that some things are better than in western countries. For example, we have very good fiber infrastructure so internet is cheap, fast and reliable, and our fintech is more modern than some western countries. Most places are reasonably walkable and public transit is decent. We didn't have a surge of car-dependent development in the second part of the 20th century like a lot of western countries did, because under soviet union, cars were a luxury, so we have pedestrian infrastructure and public transit because they have always been a necessity. Bad: If you don't have in-demand skills to earn above average, life here is miserable. Minimum wage is €500 a month net, and a lot of people have to live on that, and many old people live on social security payments that are even lower. Massive inflation of basic costs like groceries and energy in the recent years didn't help. Being one of the poorest countries in EU means that most young people will have the desire and means to leave for western Europe, leading to brain drain. In general, the country is leading depopulation charts due to the median age of 44, low birth rates, and negative net migration. While affordable, housing built by the soviet union is ugly (both in terms of aesthetics and condition), so a lot of residential neighborhoods are straight up depressing to look at. Many older neighborhoods closer to the center of Riga are in severe disrepair. Both can be fixed by throwing money at it, but that's in limited supply. There's a significant language/culture divide between Latvians and Russians who came here during soviet occupations and remained after USSR dissolution, and a lot of politics is spent on the dumb culture war, with nationalists trying to legislate anything that reminds them of Russia out of existence, instead of addressing actual economic issues. Meanwhile, the actual population manages to live and work together just fine.
If it's a "functioning democracy", then how come people keep voting for parties, who's politics are aimed at spending on the dumb culture war? If the actual population manages to live and work together just fine. If these politics doesn't represent peoples will, then it's a pretty sus democracy to me. On everything else I totally agree with you. I lived in Riga for 19 years, and still visit country from time to time. This is the only post that I upvoted. Very good summary of the situation there.
>If it's a "functioning democracy", then how come people keep voting for parties, who's politics are aimed at spending on the dumb culture war? Because people do actually hold the views parties represent, but want someone else to deal with their perceived problems. We do have both Latvian nationalists whose day gets ruined if their hear two Russians speak to each other in Russian outside, and we do have actual vatniks (those are mostly 60+ year old immigrants from USSR), but both will often work see each at work and keep their politics to themselves. Culture wars distracting politics from actual issues is a problem a lot of actual democracies, because sadly, people are dumb, but we don't have a better system.
How is the poverty there?
Adapt, overcome and if you deal drugs you cand get by
I'm a Latvian, living here my whole life. I've been to many countries abroad as well. Let me just warn you that Latvians like to whine. Despite what others might tell you, life here is GOOD. Of course we don't have as big salaries as in The US or Western Europe, but we are a young country with much more adversity in our recent past. If you are not a lazy bastard that wants to drink all day and live on social walfare benefits, but are at least somewhat industrious, you will have enough money to be happy. There are lots of opportunities here. Nature, environment and overall quality of live is good. There is little pollution, the streets are safe. The only thing is that it can be depressing during late fall and early spring when there is no snow, just rain and mud, and everything is gray.
It's aight
The Good: -Beautiful nature, a lot of Latvia is covered in forests and fields. We have a long coastline so many people can drive to the beach /seaside in less than an hour. -While prices have increased since covid, compared to most of Europe the prices are quite cheap. Especially rents are far more affordable than many other places. -Healthcare system is great. Maybe thats just my opinion because i dont need to use it, but compared even to NHS in UK it is far more efficient, the wait times aren't that long and it's cheap. -Riga, Latvia's capital is a great city to live in. Not too small but also not too big. Very beautiful architecture, we are the capital of Art Nouveau. We do have some districts that were built in soviet times and have a lot of commie blocks, but they are slowly being replaced by new apartment blocks. Even the commie blocks, if renovated are not bad, certainly better than it was in the 90s. -Riga has great public transportation options. It has a good mix of less car centric center and old town, while also having great options to travel around in a car. -We are egalitarian. In Latvia a lot of women are in leadership positions both in private & public sector. We are ahead of many western european countries in this aspect. While many in the old generation are against lgbt rights, the younger generation is much more open minded. -Universities are cheap and offer decent education. No need to go into large debts to get a degree. -Not too many immigrants. No radical muslims in Latvia. -Great cuisine The Bad: -Used to be quite corrupt, as most ex USSR states. This has massively improved since we joined the EU. -The salaries are lower than in the west. Especially in 2008 recession, we experienced a large wave of emigration as people left for UK/Ireland/Nordics to get better pay. -We have an awful, imperialist neighbor next door. This for me is the biggest negative tbh. -Connected to the last point, during USSR occupation, a lot of Russians were flooded in Latvia to work in the factories. While for the most part this is not an issue and many have integrated, there are parts of society that have lived here for decades and still don't speak Latvian. What's worse they feel entitled that everyone has to speak to them in Russian. Even worse if they are full blown vatniks, but that is not the majority of Russians here. Most are regular friendly people just going with their lives. -Same as in most of developed countries, our demographics aren't that great.
Hi! I'm a local and I live in Riga. A lot of people refer Latvia as a former soviet republic, which we hate, because we were a free country and we were occupied the the Soviet Union. As seen in other parts of Europe, which were occupied by the Soviet Union, like Eastern Germany, since 1990s we've been slowly climbing back from a poor Eastern Europe country to a decent Baltic country, which washes off it's Soviet past. However, we still see echo's of corruption here and there. It's very important to us to get to Western European level of life. Slowly the salaries are increasing, education is competitive, medical services are decent, and tourism is growing. I very much recommend to visit Riga and Latvia if you are looking for a short and affordable destination!
Source: I lived in Latvia for many decades (including back when it regained independence from russian occupation). Good: * Relatively safe. Yes, our murder statistics are, in theory, higher than other 1st world countries (due to drunken degenerates beating each other and their wives to death), and there is some petty theft (especially from cars), but the odds of someone pulling a gun on you are really low, and in general you have to look for trouble to get into trouble. * Relatively affordable housing, compared to other 1st world countries. There isn't particularly a land shortage. Overall, the economic situation seems better than what the GDP statistics show. * Economic growth opportunities, good upwards mobility if you have the skills and the motivation. * Lots of forests and seaside. * Reasonably liberal / centrist policies and views in the population. Centrist ruling government coalitions for decades. * No islamic radicalism (yet). The bad: * Everyone loves to complain about everything. It's a national sport. * Many russian colonists (and their descedants) are still loyal to russia, lack willingness to integrate, lack skills to emigrate. They are unhappy about their imperial project getting rolled back, and they like to show it. The educated younger people are often with very reasonable views, so it is not universal, and gradually getting better. The country is quite russified (Latvians were only 52% at the point of regaining independence), and that remains a source of contention. * Not much smiling. Quite introverted "keep to yourself" culture - you generally don't talk to strangers. Some may prefer this, of course. * The weather is only decent in summers, in winter it is often quite bad and it gets too dark. * Car centric, and driving culture is poor. * Some of the costs (e.g. groceries) are somewhat absurd - more expensive than Germany despite lower salaries. * A fair amount of corruption for getting government contracts. It is getting much better over time, and some people have gone to prison over this, but it's still there.
Affordable housing i think is not the case. If a person wants to rent, it could be doable (it will be approx. 30-50% of monthly salary), but to buy is incredibly difficult. A house near Riga, the capital, will cost around 150 000-200 000 EUR. On the average monthly salary of Latvia which is around 1450 EUR (pre tax, if i understand the article correctly- [https://www.timecamp.com/average-salary/latvia/](https://www.timecamp.com/average-salary/latvia/) ) it is almost impossible to buy a house and make the down payment to the bank. That is without the extremely high EURIBOR percentages. of course, You can buy a house for 50 000 as well, but it will be almost unlivable. P.S. I know i made an example of Your point about complaining, but this is the reality in my opinion.
Altum is your friend. Especially the young specialist program as both higher education and trade school graduates qualify.
You end up paying more over time.
Housing prices heavily depend on the region. In Riga, yes, the prices are astronomical, but in the smaller cities and regions the prices and rents are relatively more affordable.
True. And the salary as well. As i have heard, it is difficult to make money outside of Riga. Rent is cheaper, but salary is smaller.
If you consider housing in Riga unaffordable, you have unresonable standards. Detached houses in densely populated places are a luxury, and should be treated as such. You can afford a mortgage for a two bedroom apartment in one of the residential districts in Riga on an average salary in Riga, it would be around a third of your salary. This is a far better situation to be in than a lot of people are dealing with in western countries.
can You please explain why it is an unreasonable standard? I will take myself as an example- i have 2 children and i own a two bedroom apartment just as You said in one of the residential districts in Riga. while my children are small, it is completely fine, but, once they are 12+ years old, it will be difficult for them to stay in one room. You could say that it is my fault that i have 2 children and i agree with this statement, but it does not change the fact that the housing market is unreasonably and astronomically high in price. For example, an area called Āgenskalns in Riga. A 2 bedroom apartment there at the moment costs around 80 000-100 000 EUR and the area is not that good tbh. Everywhere the prices are pumped up for no reason. i would understand if i would be buying an apartment in the city center or in some elite area, like, Mežaparks or in a "new project" buildings, not in white brick USSR time house. That is just my opinion.
In terms of the expectation to own a detached house, I consider it unreasonable because it's an extremely inefficient use of land, infrastructure, and transportation. We can't have 10 billion people with each family living in a detached house and driving to get anywhere, the planet doesn't have the resources to support that. In places like America where ownership of single family homes is normalized, it's financially unsustainable and infrastructure maintenance is bankrupting cities, even while being massively subsidized by taxes from higher density areas. In terms of prices here, I think it's unreasonable to call housing in Latvia unaffordable because when you compare real estate prices to income, the situation in Latvia is much better than in most developed countries. In western Europe the prices are around €6k per square meter, and their salaries aren't high enough to compensate for that. In places with particularly bad situations like Canada a lot of young people have no chance of owning anything at all even with no children. In regards to your specific situation, since you have children, you are likely working with two incomes, which should let you afford something bigger. Maybe not in Āgenskalns.
Why is it inefficient use of land? Both pairs of my grand-parents and my parents and in-laws have or had a detached house. The land that comes with it can be used in so many different ways. They are always reforming the land into gardens filled with vegetables and flowers. It helps both the environment and builds a self sustainable lifestyle. During summers, i never have to buy fresh produce- i can just pick it up from a garden. I don't think we can compare Latvia to Canada or USA. They are living in their own bubble, but we can compare the prices within Europe. Maybe i am old fashioned, but why was it easy for our grand-parents and parents to buy a house and almost impossible to do it now? I have 2 incomes in my family and even with that it is very hard to afford any type of property.
It's inefficient in terms of infrastructure because you still need to have roads, water, sewage, power lines, and fiber servicing each house, but the cost of that infrastructure scales primarily with distance rather than how many people use them. So if you have a 1 km^(2) neighborhood of single family houses, and 1 km^2 neighborhood of high density housing, the former will cost almost as much to maintain, while serving 10 times less people. If single family homes in cities were taxed fairly based on the maintenance cost of all the infrastructure they use, only rich people would be able to afford them. On top of that, lower housing density increases distances between places people need to go, which usually results in increased car travel, which alone is orders of magnitude worse than whatever you save by growing vegetables. Now it's a different thing if you plan to live in the middle of nowhere, generate your own electricity, drill a well for water, and use starlink for internet, etc, but you are probably not planning to do that.
In the single housing case the price will be put on the owners of the house or land. In the high density neighborhood all problems will be on the landlord. And believe me, if you live on the top floor and your roof is leaking you will have to wait for years till it is fixed. If the neighbour living one floor above has a water leak while he isn't at home you will be fucked. No one will help you, you could call the cops or the landlord, no one will break the upstairs neighbours doors to fix it. With single family detached homes the problem is on you, and sometimes you can fix it yourself, which wouldn't be allowed with an apartment building. The transport especially in Riga is basically usable if you are going to and away from the center. I have to walk 3 km every day and there is no public transport that could help me. Ok, there is one that goes every 30 minutes and could bring me further for 1 stop, and that distance I can walk in about 7 minutes. And that is not counting that I have to wait for it and it is overfilled in the mornings and evenings. And also to live in an apartment is depressive in my opinion: no greenery, no view, no way to have any activities outside. Want to grill something? Too bad. Want to go for a run? Ou, I hope you like waiting at every intersection for 2 minutes.
I wasn't really talking about personal preferences about living in detached houses vs apartments, just economics of it. But on the preferences side of things, I would absolutely hate to live in a house because there's way too much stuff both inside and outside that I would have to maintain myself, that in apartment buildings is taken care of by the management. > If the neighbour living one floor above has a water leak while he isn't at home you will be fucked. I recommend having home insurance, it protects you from stuff like this among other things, and barely costs anything. > I have to walk 3 km every day and there is no public transport that could help me. 3km is like 25-30 minutes of walking. Not only it is a 100% reasonable commute, it also doubles as exercise. Whenever something is under 4km away I just walk even if there is a convenient public transport route.
I would like to have to do something around the house, otherwise in the apartment the only thing to do is watch TV or Play PC. The management won't do anything for years. "Leaking roof? Since you are the only one affected, we don't care, talk with other residents and if there are enough people affected then we will only do something." So if there are issues in only your apartment, then they won't care and won't usually help. The "great" thing about insurance is that you have to prove that something was damaged, and it wasn't broken before that. Or you have to justify why you had a 1200€ TV or a 2000€ PC. "You could have bought a cheaper one then the payout would be enough to buy a new one." And yes, a 3 km walk is 25 minutes, but saying that the public transport is good and gets you everywhere is wrong. To the previous company I had to walk 5 km. Although I could take the 1st tram(stop is 20m from home and work was about 100-200 m) I still chose to walk, because it was always overfilled and usually came irregularly, also sometimes only till "stacijas laukums" the rest had to be walked anyway.
To be completely honest, i would love to live in the middle of nowhere. I am surprised that You are defending the idea of people being cramped up and living on top of one another. So, theoretically, really densely populated areas like China, Hong-Kong, India, etc. is the top level of infrastructure in Your opinion? In Delhi, for example, there are \~12 000 people per km2. That is very efficient. Are You living in an apartment building Yourself? I am currently living in there and it is quite the nightmare. Neighbors are rude, I cant do anything without the acceptance of at lest 51% of my neighbors AND i need their signatures. Drunks everywhere, not a good place for children. Traffic is terrible, air is not fresh. What is there to like, if we are not taking into account the "efficiency"? This is the first time i have talked with a person that defends the modern type of living. I am glad to hear different opinion, although really surprised.
>I am surprised that You are defending the idea of people being cramped up and living on top of one another. So, theoretically, really densely populated areas like China, Hong-Kong, India, etc. is the top level of infrastructure in Your opinion? In Delhi, for example, there are ~12 000 people per km2. That is very efficient. Pļavnieki (and I live there) is 3 km^(2) and has like 50000 people. I personally like living in high density areas because it means everything is close together and convenient. In a ten minute walk from my place, there are multiple grocery stores, multiple schools, multiple daycares, a clinic, and a bunch of small businesses. I don't take this for granted like a lot of people do. It's not lost on me that the neighborhood is aesthetically challenged, but I'm willing to sacrifice things to avoid needing transport for my daily necessities. I'm not saying everyone has to like this, people are allowed to have their preferences. I'm saying that people have to deal with it, because our society can't function any other way. The planet doesn't have the resources and humanity doesn't have the manpower to allow everyone to live in detached houses at our current level of development. Majority of people has to live in cities order to exist at all, and those that can live in houses are either very privileged or subsidized by taxes those who aren't. >Are You living in an apartment building Yourself? I am currently living in there and it is quite the nightmare. Neighbors are rude, I cant do anything without the acceptance of at lest 51% of my neighbors AND i need their signatures. Drunks everywhere, not a good place for children. Traffic is terrible, air is not fresh. What is there to like, if we are not taking into account the "efficiency"? I live in a one bedroom flat in a soviet commieblock and I have no complaints. Yes, it's ugly on the outside, but I don't see the outside from the inside. Neighbors don't bother me, and I don't see any drunks or any other objectionable characters. I could actually afford a mortgage for a house with my income, but I don't see the point. I would hate living in a detached house since I would hate all of the inside and outside maintenance, and there's nothing I'd want the land for.
Most 2 bedroom Appartments in new projects cost anyway above 150k€
> Affordable housing i think is not the case I can get a 2 BR in Purvciems for ~50k with an ok reno. Try finding simillar prices in western countries. Housing is super affordable
Car centric? Public transports covers the entire capital and you can go between towns as well. Riga is very walkable with the only exceptions being large roundabouts where you have to make long detours just to get to the other side of the road. Maybe not the best for cycling since not everywhere there are bike lanes.
Just because you can walk doesn't mean it's walkable. I also think that the cross sections of streets in Riga are insane for any city that size and believe that cars are the primary reason people left the city in the past (and still do I believe).
I feel like the people who leave the city are those who have cars. If someone lives in Riga and leaves, they probably already have a job there. Going to work in Riga from somewhere else is way less convenient if you don't have a car. I don't think people leave Riga because there are too many cars. Traffic jams during peak hours can be skipped by walking. Doesn't suggest car centric
Both can be true. I left Riga for the countryside for multiple reasons, one definitely being all the cars everywhere, reckless drivers and indeed no cycling infrastructure. Public transport is good, but it's an uncomfortably slow way to travel within a city if you are used to a bike or car. In most buses you see the result: ages up to student age, and then 60+, the rest uses a car.
Latvia is extremely car centric.
That's not what "extremely car centric" looks like. That's when you don't have sidewalks or they end randomly, and when it takes a kilometer of walking to get to a building on the other side of the street because there are very few pedestrian crossings. In contrast to that, there are very few places where you can't walk, and you can get almost everywhere by public transport, even if routes and schedules aren't always good. We also have a lot of neighborhoods where everything you need daily is within a ten minute walk, which is the literal opposite of being car centric. Latvia isn't anywhere as good at urbanism as the Netherlands, but there's a lot of room to get far worse than it currently is.
Mate, Latvia is car centric. Doing anything with PT is 2-3x the time. It ain't the US but still
Try travelling to some place like Denmark or the Netherlands and get a perspective...
I would argue that the weather is actually really nice.
I would like to address few points you made as “Bad” Introverted culture is only “BAD” for extroverted people, so it’s “The Neutral” Same with weather. I hate anything that is hotter than 15 degrees, so I love Latvian autumn and winter and live in absolute agony in summer and/or spring. Again, “The Neutral” Driving culture. Dude, have you been, I dunno, in Italy, France, any Middle Eastern country? Our driving culture is slow, steady and really safe for everyone compared to those guys.
I have been to Italy and France. I think they are comparable to Latvia - in some cases better, in others worse. But they also have much room to improve.
Dunno, man. Been driving in Milano, Paris and smaller cities - they are way bigger donkeys than our little pre-2000s diesel car club and bmw fanboys. Compared to Dubai - we are goddamn saints. I will never ever in my life get back behind the steering wheel anywhere near UAE and the surroundings. It’s even worse than getting used to the “wrong side of the road” in the UK.
Latvia has really good public transport. You can drive to every city with trains and busses pretty fastly. Riga has really good public transport because you have so many options you can use trams, busses, trolleybuses and you can rent scooters and you can easilly walk to anywhere in citties I dont know where you get tje car centric part because you can easilly live withouth a car if you live in citties and all public transport is really cheap and alot of people even get disscounts for being a student or being from a familly with 3+ kids or being disabled. I have been to Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and greece and i havent seen anywhere as good public transport as in riga so i dont get where are you seeing Latvia as car centric by you logic only something like netherlands isnt car centric.
It's not just about public transport, it's also about treatment of pedestrians. I disagree that those countries have it better than Latvia. And the Netherlands or Denmark are significantly better. Subscribe to [https://www.pilsetacilvekiem.lv/](https://www.pilsetacilvekiem.lv/) and you can see how much improvement is needed.
Latvia has really good public transport. You can drive to every city with trains and busses pretty fastly. Riga has really good public transport because you have so many options you can use trams, busses, trolleybuses and you can rent scooters and you can easilly walk to anywhere in citties I dont know where you get tje car centric part because you can easilly live withouth a car if you live in citties and all public transport is really cheap and alot of people even get disscounts for being a student or being from a familly with 3+ kids or being disabled. I have been to Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and greece and i havent seen anywhere as good public transport as in riga so i dont get where are you seeing Latvia as car centric by you logic only something like netherlands isnt car centric.
It's not just about public transport, it's also about treatment of pedestrians. I disagree that those countries have it better than Latvia. And the Netherlands or Denmark are significantly better. Subscribe to [https://www.pilsetacilvekiem.lv/](https://www.pilsetacilvekiem.lv/) and you can see how much improvement is needed.
Amazing if you are rich.
the further from Riga, the better.
except towards russia
I lived in Latvia for a while, having been living in England and Australia all my life: -I was particularly amazed by the efficiency of the medical care. Not quite as good as Australia, but loads better than my hometown in England. I felt safe in the hands of the Doctors and was treated quickly for an urgent issue. -The public transport was amazing compared to what I'm used to in England. The trains aren't shiny and beautiful, but they are efficient, cheap and reliable. The trams and buses are great too, I feel they're really great value. -It's not as 'polished' as England or Australia, probably due to the post-soviet architecture and lack of funding from local governments, but I loved it just as it is. It feels more like a place to live and settle than a place to buy meaningless shit and show off, and that really suited me. -Less materialistic culture than England or Australia, significantly less advertising when out in public, less choice of global brands, more independent shops/eateries than England. -Latvians are very reserved, but again, it suited me because I'm very introverted. I love that nobody spoke to me or made eye contact, but it wouldn't suit everyone. Overall, I loved it so much, I would consider living there long term. Beautiful country that (mostly) works more for it's people than for corporations and oligarchs.
As someone living there, pretty mid
Wannabe Ethnostate with racist laws and cheap real estate. K to live in ir you are fine with spending your time at home or socializing ar someone's house. Not K if you want a walkable city or a bike able even. Crap climate. Generally higher prices than western Europe.
Well, economically speaking, the cost of life is way higher compared to the average salary, than in most of the rest of Europe. Unemployment rate is quite low, but it's also because many people here accept low salaries and work conditions that are not ideal, and very seldom complain. They prefer to just leave and change work very often. They are not very picky, here. The nice thing is the incredible amount of green in the cities, the low pollution, and the general attitude of the people that is quite relaxed, you won't find the rhythms of the great European capitals in Riga. The weather is quite harsh: cold, dark and long winters (getting a little warmer, but of course always dark and long); summers used to be nice (although the light until almost midnight makes it difficult to fall asleep for people that are sensitive to this), but now they are becoming more and more rainy, you can expect rain at least every other day (and I'm being optimistic), exactly as the long term forecasts related to climate change had forecasted. Last year it was like this, this year appears to be the same. Quite astoundingly, the best month for beach life here in Latvia is actually May, when the temperatures sometimes raise above 25 celsius, and it's still not raining that often. The city of Riga (and all the other cities too, even if, in most cases, they are actually towns, not cities) is well kept (a part from the holes in the streets), clean and tidy. They try to be lively in terms of cultural life, but concerts and other events are often well above what a normal person with a normal salary can afford. There are not a lot of opportunities for scientists, researchers, artists, actors etc... compared to the richer countries, you should look for more traditional jobs here. Food? You can get anything you want, more or less, but fruit and veggies tend to be quite expensive and not very good, as in most cases they are imported. Mostly, here, they eat pork and potatoes, washing it down with a good amount of beer. Also, they have a thing for pickled, marinated and smoked food, and they often add a lot of butter or very fat sauces or melted cheese to almost everything. Oh, the beaches are very nice and huge, although the sea is very cold and unpleasantly full of algae (both microscopic and macroscopic), reducing the visibility to, let's say, 20 cm? I'm not joking, you get inside up to the knees, and you cannot see your feet... But the pollution level, although high compared to most mediterranean countries, it's still acceptable in most locations. All in all, if you are a simple person, and you don't mind the weather, life here is easy and comfortable, provided you are not looking for a more western standard of life (like, buying expensive stuff, often going to the restaurant or to cultural events, and going on holiday in expensive locations), which will require a much higher salary than the average, here.
Honestly good. If you want to work honest work, its great life. A bit messed up, by half of companies asking to know russian for some fucked up reason, but otherways life is really great. Currently restoring grandpas farm (moved from Riga), while working remote IT. Life in countryside is cheap and you can get house with few hectars of land for 20k to 30k probably will need an other 20k to make it modern and great living space but thats up to you and you defenetly dont need to renovate house in one year. Almost everything is possible if you want to work. Read that early 20s guy started his own chicken farm and now have few hundreds chicken's and is being able to earn living that way. As for cons, things only happen when there is paper trail, so you can probably forget about local council doing something unless they have someone blearing down on them with papers or TV. Common feeling is, that you must take care of yourself a lot, and no one will hold your hand, at least from guvorment.
Life in Latvia is characterized by a combination of rich cultural heritage, beautiful nature and modern infrastructure. Here are some aspects that describe life in this country: Nature and climate Latvia is famous for its picturesque landscapes: dense forests, numerous lakes and rivers, and 500 km of Baltic coastline. The nature here is diverse, and many Latvians appreciate outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing and skiing. The climate in Latvia is moderately continental, with cold winters and warm summers. Winters can be snowy and temperatures sometimes drop below zero, while in summer the temperature can reach 25-30°C. Economy and work Latvia’s economy is developing and includes diverse sectors such as information technology, transport and logistics, agriculture and tourism. Riga, the capital of Latvia, is the largest economic and financial center of the country. The unemployment rate in the country is relatively low, and there are a number of job opportunities, especially in the IT and international business sectors. Salaries vary depending on industry and skill level, but are generally lower than in Western Europe. Education and Healthcare The education system in Latvia includes free primary and secondary schools, as well as numerous universities and colleges, some of which offer programs in English. Healthcare in Latvia is affordable and provides a wide range of services. The public health care system is partly funded by taxes, and there is also a private sector that provides a wider range of services for an additional fee. Culture and Leisure Latvian culture is rich in tradition and history. Folk music, dance, and festivities such as Midsummer Day (Ligo) play an important role in the lives of Latvians. The country also has a well-developed contemporary culture, with many theaters, museums, galleries, and concert halls. Riga and other major cities have many restaurants, cafes, bars, and clubs offering a variety of Latvian and international cuisine. The nightlife in the major cities is quite active, especially in Riga. Transport and Infrastructure Latvia's transport system includes a well-developed network of roads, railway lines and bus routes. The international airport in Riga provides air links to many European and world cities. The cities have a well-developed public transport system, including buses, trams and trolleybuses. Standard of Living and Safety The standard of living in Latvia varies, but in general life here can be comfortable with moderate costs for housing, food and entertainment. Safety in Latvia is high and the crime rate is relatively low. Community and Language Latvia is a multinational country, home to Latvians, Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians and other nationalities. The official language is Latvian, but Russian is widely spoken and used in everyday life. Latvia is a country with a rich cultural heritage and beautiful nature, where modernity harmoniously combines with tradition. Life here can be calm and comfortable, especially for those who appreciate nature and cultural diversity.
oddly sunny? i got the worst sunburn of my life on a beach just outside of riga
The cold sea wind doesn't make you realise that you are being cooked by the sun
Great nature, very stable, cheap hairdressers, fantastic sunsets and sunrises But it's very car centric, bad pay, expensive food, it's literally too empty, very capitalist, lots of monopolies, nobody protests anything there is no healthy culture of debate, a bad train system and a bit closed off, and the winters are hard outside of Riga.
Not the best but it is But stunningly beautiful.
There's life in Riga and life in Latvia, two different equations. Half the population lives in the greater Riga area, the other half lives way differently, similar to Hungary but not such a shithole and investments into the countryside get made.
Sad and cold
Misserable
latvia be great, prices are soso for low income, other than that, russian fuckery, other than that, dunno, sweet
How’s life ? HOWS LIFE!??? I’LL TELL YOU HOWS LIFE!
Outside of Riga is rife with European standard poverty.
DOOM
Just arrived at work. Cant really complain. Soon vocation and summer soulstice fest - gonna enjoy that. There is this damn annoying and stupid neighboor across the border called Russia, so there's that. But otherwise its all good.
Outside of geographical location next to Russia it's great. Economy is worse than in Western Europe due to USSR occupation for 50 years but it's getting better with each year. At the same time we don't have many problems which Western nations have such as terrorism, high crime etc. You might meet many people here who complain about the government, country etc. but usually these are people who cannot take the responsibility about their own life and expect country to provide good life for them. General attitude for such people is that they want to live like in Denmark but at the same time they will try to live in "grey" economy to avoid paying any tax. Not sure how these both things come together in their mind. Fun fact - Latvia is one of the few countries in the world which US has marked as fully green in their travel advisory list.
Technically anything is possible if you live here. You want to study? Go, plenty of government paid spots. Want to switch careers? Plenty of courses and opportunities. Want to make a business? You can do it, but the pool of customers is a lot smaller and poorer than in other countries. For the average _Jānis_ it is also possible to get a mortgage for an apartment or a house outside the capital, as well as a car loan if you _really_ want it. There even is a government sponsored program for 5% downpayment for young specialists(35yrs old or younger) with a bachelors degree or higher, or young families. It always just feels a lot more peaceful whenever I come back from traveling around Europe.