Living cost in Latvia

Culture, cost of living, and other benefits of life in Latvia While Latvia real estate prices are expected to see some appreciation now that the country is on the Euro currency, there are plenty of cheap apartments. You can get a halfway decent place for 500-600 euros per month, and go up from there. If you need luxury, there are plenty of high-end homes in Riga and Jurmula. In fact, the influx of wealthy investors seeking top-quality real estate has created pockets in each town that few Latvians could afford. You can live as cheaply or as well as you like. The scene in Riga is excellent, as well. It is easily my favorite place to live in the Baltic States, compared to the less interesting and less scenic Lithuania and the pricier Estonia to the north. The cost of living when it comes to food can be quite cheap. Even some of the city’s better restaurants offer business lunches for as little as five euros, which come complete with coffee, tea, or sometimes even wine. There are a number of trendy bars where drinks can be had for four or five euros, as well. Because Latvia is only home to two million people, you’re bound to run into some of the same folks as you work your way into the Latvian culture. In fact, I ran into one of the speakers’ support staff from my Passport to Freedom conference in a bar in Riga. If you’re a single guy, you’ll find no shortage of beautiful women in Latvia. It’s really quite something, and the education level in Latvia overall is excellent for having real conversations. If you’re a single girl, you’ll find plenty of Latvian men who are among the best dancers I’ve ever seen. There is, without a doubt, some serious Russian influence in Latvia. As I headed to the western suburbs and eventually to Jurmula, you could definitely tell that the bulk of the people spoke Russian. Latvia is home to the largest ethnic minority of Russians in the Baltic states. That said, the people I know who live in Riga full-time — and who have studied Russia extensively — don’t believe Latvians should be worried about any incursion. I understand that many Americans grew up on a steady diet of “how romantic Paris is”, and have long dreamt of living in Europe. That said, I urge you to love the world’s up-and-coming places to make sure you don’t fall into the tax or wealth confiscation traps being laid by bankrupt countries like France where the government’s best efforts to bring in new business have fallen flat. Living in Latvia has a lot of the feel of the cobblestoned cities of western Europe, at barely half the price. Nowhere in Europe is going to match the low cost of living of Southeast Asia or even parts of South America, but Latvia has to be one of the cheapest places to live in Europe for the level of sophistication it offers both young and older expats. Thanks with, Anisuzzaman Kiron Managing Director Sunrise Education Consultants Dhaka office: House- 96, Senpara Parbata, Mirpur- 10, Dhaka 1216, Bangladesh Comilla Office : House- 1086, Race Course, Comilla, Bangladesh Phone: +88 01911 87 82 74 E-mail: info@sunrise-bd.net Web: www.sunrise-bd.net Facebook: www.facebook.com/SunriseEC