1. Latvia, together with Estonia and Lithuania, is known as the three Baltic states. Latvia covers an area of about 64,000 square kilometers, which is the size of eight Shanghais, and the country is divided into nine municipalities and 109 autonomous regions. Its capital, Riga, has a population of less than one million and is a second-tier city in Europe.
2. There are many buildings left over from the former Soviet Union in Riga, and there is mud and water on the ground, and the street scene does not look neat enough. I feel that the city of Minsk in Belarus is cleaner, and maybe Belarus is better at the face engineering of the city. But when it comes to the interior and details of the building, Latvia does an excellent job! The facades of buildings in Belarus are beautifully repaired, and the interior facilities are often not satisfactory, and even heating is not guaranteed. The exterior of Latvian buildings looks old, but the interior decoration is very modern and very European.
3. The old town of Riga is well preserved, the building has a strong sense of history, and the interior is exquisite and elegant, with a sense of design. But a little further on, you can see a lot of homeless people with frostbite on their hands and feet, Riga is a little depressed in rainy weather, and the weather in early April is especially bad, with overcast skies and biting winds! This climate may also have contributed to the local suicide rate, with Latvia being one of the countries with the highest suicide rate. And on the street, it is common to see some ragged people holding kittens or puppies in their arms, preferring to be hungry themselves and give food to the stray dogs on the street.
4. Latvians are generally relatively friendly! The young service staff have a good attitude, salespeople, bank staff, etc., many of them can speak English and will take the initiative to smile, while the older generation is relatively cold. Of course, individual young people may have a bad attitude, and this is only a minority. Having said that, in Riga's old town, there are a lot of foreign tourists, so it doesn't necessarily accurately reflect the attitude of the locals.
5. Latvians are generally more beautiful in appearance, Latvians are not Slavs, and their appearance is more Nordic style. Walking through the streets, I saw half of them being Rak people who looked like they were from Northern Europe, and the other half were Russians or immigrants who looked like Russia. Many Latvian men like to grow beards, have a kind of North Caucasus style, look fierce on the outside, but are gentle on the inside.
I feel that a lot of Latvians are a bit introverted, they don't talk to strangers casually, and their relationships are relatively cold. Passers-by rarely cast a smile on foreigners, but when someone asks for help, the attitude is generally good! In a small city, the security situation is good, and you can even leave your bag outside without anyone taking it, which makes people feel more at ease.
6. In Latvia, the main language of communication is Latvian, and Russian is occasionally heard. The locals do not have a strong sense of linguistic pride, as Latvian is a small language and is accustomed to communicating with foreigners in a foreign language. In Latvia, many places have signs in Latvian, so if you can't read Latvian, you have to rely on an interpreter.
7. The salary level of Latvians is not high, the legal minimum wage in 2023 is about 600 euros, and there are also university graduates whose salary is only 500 euros. This level of income is not enough to support local prices, and the common people live very frugally, and I personally feel that the wage level in Latvia must meet the standards of Spain to barely maintain a decent life. The tax burden is heavier, and the average Scala citizen earns more than 1,000 euros after tax, which is considered the middle class, while the income of some skilled jobs can reach several thousand euros.
In Latvia, the job of a delivery boy is not easy. Local students rarely go to work part-time to deliver food, especially when they ride bicycles to find an address on a snowy day, the work is hard and the income is not high.
8. The climate in Latvia is colder, sometimes even colder than Scandinavia. However, it is still much warmer than in North China! Temperatures in the capital, Riga, range from 15 to 25 degrees Celsius in summer and -10 to 5 degrees Celsius in winter. Sparsely populated cities outside the capital tend to experience temperatures in the mid-teens in the summer, exceeding 20 degrees Celsius at the hottest time, and similar to the capital in winter. The coastal areas are windy and dry in spring and summer, while autumn and winter are rainy and snowy, with few sunny days.
9. Prices in Latvia are not cheap, and the price of goods is denominated in euros, which is much higher than in Central and Eastern European countries such as Poland, Slovakia and Russia. In contrast, supermarket goods in Russia are much cheaper. The variety of fresh vegetables in Latvia is very limited, and even the largest supermarkets do not have as many vegetables as the vegetable stalls at the entrance of the domestic community! The ice cream fridge here is even bigger than the vegetable fridge. The country's products are really rich and good, while Latvia's material resources are relatively scarce.
In Latvia, tropical fruits such as durian are almost uncommon, and the most common tropical fruit is mango. Chicken, pork, and beef are the main meats, and the main aquatic products are herring, mackerel, and salmon. Shelled aquatic products such as shrimp and crabs are not produced here. Many friends are misled by the name of the Baltic Sea, thinking that this is a seafood paradise, but in fact, the Baltic Sea is the lowest salt sea in the world, the water is clear, there is no fish, and the seafood resources are not abundant.
10. In Latvia, fast food restaurants such as McDonald's, Subway, and KFC are mainly concentrated in the capital and several surrounding cities. Asians, especially Chinese, are very rare, so Chinese restaurants and other Asian restaurants are rare after leaving the capital. Sushi is quite popular here and can be found in smaller cities. Places with small foreign populations are mostly local restaurants and cafes, as well as some Italian restaurants and pizzerias.
11. In Riga, the minimum cost of renting a single apartment, the monthly rent plus the cost of water, electricity and heating is about 450 euros. The rent is generally around 300 euros, and the cost of utilities is about 150 euros. If the budget is less than this amount, it can be difficult to find a suitable house.
12. Trains in the Baltic region are not widespread, and Riga retains some train lines, but the coverage is limited. Locals usually travel by bus or at a reduced fare. The city of Riga is very well connected, trams and buses cover most of the area, I only took the bus once, I thought I had to find a driver to buy a ticket, but in fact there are ticket vending machines on the bus, the ticket price is 1.15 euros, and the printed ticket is a paper ticket. I took the bus for four stops and bought my ticket until the third stop, which is very close to the stations in the city of Riga.
Small towns and villages, sparsely populated, generally have only one bus stop per town, connecting to other cities and towns. Outside of the capital, it can be inconvenient to get around without a car. It is not difficult to buy a used car for a few thousand euros.
13. When shopping in Riga, I saw that those older people wore similar styles to the old people of the country, and the dressing styles of young people were generally European and American. If you're all the way from Western Europe, you might find it a bit rustic to dress here. There are no specialty stores for luxury brands in Riga, only collection stores and vintage stores. Due to the small size of the country and the convenient transportation, many people will go to Sweden, Germany, France, Italy and other places to buy high-end clothes. If you want to save money, you can choose a chain of second-hand clothing stores, where second-hand clothing is very cheap.
14. Basic education in Latvia is free of charge and of good quality, but there is still a gap compared with the developed countries of Western Europe. The salaries of teachers are not high, so they are mostly middle-aged and elderly. In terms of universities, the science and engineering courses at the Riga University of Technology (RTU) and the medical subjects at Stradins University (Stradins) are both excellent, attracting many foreign students in recent years. Tuition fees are relatively cheap compared to other countries, and many courses are taught in English.
15. For single men, Latvia may be a small paradise, and the developed customs industry makes many male tourists linger, and the title of Little Amsterdam is worthy of its name. Riga Central Market is a must-visit place, not far from the Old Town, close to the neighborhood plus the long-distance bus station. This market is one of the largest central markets in Europe and was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1997, along with the old town of Riga. The market is a collection of five German airship hangars, each with its own unique pavilion, selling a variety of agricultural, animal husbandry and fishery-related products.
Jurmala is a small town located more than twenty kilometers from Riga. In Latvian, Jurmalla means "seaside" or "beach". Famous for its beaches, it is one of the most popular seaside resorts in Latvia. Every summer, people from all over Latvia flock to this resort.