How Well Could You Live in Riga Latvia?

Just came across your channel. I'd love to visit Latvia.

Looks like a nice city

It's not Eastern Europe, no.

Is it most common with gas stoves in the kitchen? Where does the electricity come from, gas plants or imported?

I love Latvia, my girlfriend is from Liepaja in Latvia, so we are there every summer, greatings from Norway ❤❤

I lived in Riga for a few months this year and what he is saying is 100% true. And definitely try out the market it’s amazing!

You're doing great 🎉

prices bigger than in UK... geezuus

It's expensive! Same as UK!

Is the trout and salom in the market wild caught and not farmed? The supermarket fish was significantly cheaper?

Loved watching the video. Very informative too

these prices are reassonable .
yes.
if you make 2000 euros a month or more.

That market is in decline. They've closed down 2 out of 5 indoor sections, which used to sell fresh food, and put up stalls with cleaning supplies and trinkets. Farmers can't afford to pay the rent. The outdoor area smells, and almost all traders are Russian who don't speak English. You have more freedom to pick vegetables in a supermarket.

Birch sap in bottles is a rip-off. You can get a big jar from a tree overnight for nothing if you have drill and a pipe and manage to protect it from ants. It's almost pure water.

In the dairy section you can buy raw milk and cream in your own container. Those cheeses are industrially produced and not great: almost all are young varieties. There is one trader near the booze who sells goood aged cheese. The raw meat is good value.

Those special offers in the supermarket for dairy and eggs are essentially the standard price. Other supermarket chains don't require a loyalty card for most offers.

Hello Justin, thank you very much for puting in the time and energy to make this extremely useful video for all who are planing to visit Latvia--Riga. Also learned a great technique for filming in the store by placing the camera in the shopping cart and then pretending to speak into your mobile while you mention the prices. Amazing way to beat the system.
I know you did not like the Flat you visited in the center, how about showing few flats away from the center with better prices.
Hey, another idea for you, I was wondering how do you travel between all these countries, Latvia, Georgia Poland etc. Make a video about the airlines you use and how do you buy airline tickets and prices etc.

before covid everything was half price cheaper

I could say prices in Latvia are pretty high comparing with their salaries. Some prices are very good comparing with prices with Germany or Belgium, for example - in meat and fish. Meat and fish is expensive in Europe. Milk product prices are extremely expensive in Latvia comparing with Europe countries Aldi or Lidl prices. But what is the main difference from food in Latvia and from food in West Europe is TASTE. Latvia's meat taste as a meat, tomatoes taste is extremely good compared to their tasteless vegetables. When you put dills in the fridge whole fridge smells so dilly, in West dills have no smell. Etc. Taste and smell in Latvia's products are natural and good. Netherlands is very proud of their scientific approach to growing vegetables by growing vegetables without soil in huge greenhouses. Yes, they grow beautiful and intact, but they have no taste, no smell, and are highly chemicalized. Maybe that is why we have cancer explosion in last decades....

Also you can get a lollipop for 29 cents

riga was way cheaper than finland when i visited last summer

This video was funny to watch because I visited the same food market on my vacation

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Our country (Latvia), government, doesn't do jack sh** about taxes anywhere, and opposition is fighting for such things because of economical and energetical issues caused by EU to drop the Russian gas import for energy, and they are fighting to help the regulars to breathe a little, because in winter it might be very cold as the gas reserves are depleting. Heating up homes might double if not triple the price this winter. We have to wait and see how things will move in politics, maybe coalition (leading parties) will finally get their brains straight and do something, lower tax for products or energy, or something.

About butter, in supermarket you can get average butter for ~1.20Eur 200g. Butter is butter if the fat consistency is 82% and no additives are there. Buying more expensive butter, like 200g @ near 2 Euro mark, is no different or healthier, or tastier than the ones for less. It has the same texture, the same feel, the same butter taste. If you put it on the bread, there's no difference between them.

Regarding driving, taxiing, then I have to recommend, in case you have a drivers license and you know how to drive, then I would suggest getting applications on your phone like Bolt (there is a Bolt Drive section), Carguru, and City Bee. Those are like rental cars, but you can quickly rent them through application, you just need your drivers license pictures and your face when registering an account. It's actually really fast and easy to set up, and then you find closest car near you, or cheapest one to drive per minute, and you can take it for a drive. It's cheaper than taxi if you plan to drive from airport to center or suburbs, and vice versa. Taxi can get 2x expensive of the cost.

Less well than 2 years ago, that's for sure.

People from the outside may think so, but knowing that our salary is ~ €500 per month on hand...so after calculating all the bills that are mandatory, nothing is left... ⚖️
If someone had told what will happen to the country upon joining the EU!
the people blindly trusted, I feel sorry for myself and the Latvian people 🇱🇻

450 fior options 32 sqm :D stupid russian owner is too greedy :D

In Riga buses and trains are also available for transportation. Also there are bikes etc.

have a tour around daugavpils because of its history and for it being the second largest city in latvia :)

also prices in riga is sooo much more expensive than outside if it xD except apartments these days apartments in riga are cheaper than in the countryside xD

birch sap fermented with raisins and lemon and bit of black currant leaves for winter is the best homemade naturally carbonated sprite out there !! my dad makes them for every winter

Latvia price wise is up there with countries like Belgium, France and others but unfortunately average salary is way below the average of the countries mentioned before. Beautiful country but not for the low to mid class earning people.

Latvia is in Northern Europe. Welcome.

One problem 450 euro is only rent
electricity and heating is added price
most of people here in Latvia cant afford to rent a flat for 450 a month because average salary is 750 Eur
this is the most corrupted country not counting Russia
A large amount of bosses even doesn't pay taxes for their workers, and government doesn't care it. Our government only is thinking about ways to steal more and more money out of us

Since most earn less than 500eur a month, trust me, this place is extremely expensive for locals.

Tbilisi Georgia looks different than I remember.

them cucucumbers expensive cause it was off season for cucumbers. they are grown in green houses in offseason thats why they are expensive. in summer when its season she already said they cost like 50 cents per kilo

Russian cheese?? Is what? Fake cheese?

Can you survive in Latvia only speaking English?

You should go to Ventspils, I think it is the best town in Latvia. You got nice beach, a river, a lake all in one small town <33
and the bicycle lanes even go until you officially go outside of city.
People are much more nicer than in Riga also.

Great video!🤌

yeh, so many Brits, belonging to the gay community travel around the world, and are looking for young boys, new followers to join their blue community, especially among these new EU members... Old British traditions..😁

I love your videos, I am very happy to see, I hope you have a lot of success, that you continue to grow in everything you propose ❤

one thing about riga is all of the russians

Latvian here , subscribed and liked , you are very good in explaining things mate , i live in UK for 9 years , love youre vids

Food prices in Riga now are insanely high!!! I don't know how anybody can even afford eating there anymore, considering their very low wages!
Ok, rental prices are still low (and will stay so for long time to come i believe), but still - no wonder locals don't really have any extra money to spend on anything other than essentials just to survive and the result is that the streets are empty like in a ghost town most of the time and the whole place seems like a graveyard.
And no wonder why the country of Latvia's population has dropped a dramatic 30% in just some15 years!
Most of them leaving being young people in their prime working age. The only people that have stayed are drunks, junkies, homeless, old people and beggars so no wonder Riga looks like crap cos no one is fixing there anything, the city is basically in ruins.
The only part of the town they have polished and maintained in some kinda ok condition is the old town, everywhere else it's just ruins.

Love from China

Hey, thanks for the video, it was very helpful. I am considering moving to Ringa by end of year..

Latvia is not eastern but nord europe

As a Scandinavian I came to work in Riga at a bank (2022), I made about 900 Euro after taxes... (1500 before tax)
Then bare in mind that most Latvians make less than I made for the same job to be precise I actually had a 500 Euro monthly bonus for knowing an other language besides English.

I had to pay about 650-700 euro a month for my first apartment that was 2 rooms (500+gas+electric+water). I paid initially 1500 Euro with all fees and the first month rent.

This was an apartment in the center of Riga.

I later shared a studio apartment with a friend, the cost would drop to about 400 each on the apartment..

Imagine that we Scandinavians and other outside workers that comes has a higher salary than avarage Latvians in the same work... Then a fair picture can be taken..

Is 1.45 Euro a milk expensive? Yes... If you only have 200 - 450 Euro after paying for housing and taxes... Then yes... It is expensive..

1 Month travel card for the trains 30 Euro. A lunch at work 5 Euro.. A pack of cigarettes 5 Euro.

Lets say I work 20 days okey... that is 5 Euro lunch 20 days a month... that´s 100 Euro...

If I made food at home and took with me to work most likely someone would steal the food and I would have to go buy lunch anyways.. (yes my Scandinavian co-workers stole eachothers food)

Oh yeah.. and the Russians there makes even less... Making it very very hard to survive.

Very good people though, very racist against the 30 percent Russian population, but all in all good people.

Except that with a lot of poverty a lot of crime come along..