5 things people don’t tell you about Latvia ✨

5 things people don’t tell you about Latvia

1. It is true that it’s hard for foreigners to make Latvian friends. If you see racist comments or get remarks on the street, just know that those kinds of people are just louder. The majority of them are not like that. Join a council or a society, go to international events and parties, meet new people and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. Step out of your comfort zone and try to integrate and things will change.

2. Latvia is a very popular choice among students but people don’t tell you that an Eng speaking bach student who is able to work 20hrs/week is not able to get a good job most of the time. Mostly, it’s because of language or cus you’re only allowed to work part time. 70-80% of the students are not able to find a good desk job or job in the relevant field of studies but end up working in restaurants or bolt/wolt food delivery

3. It gets very VERY cold here (-30°C). You can literally feel the air you breathe go down your wind pipe when it’s below -10. Recently it hit -23°C and just a 10 min walk in that weather causes your toes to freeze even if you’re wearing warming socks and winter boots!!

4. Difficulty in getting permanent residency compared to other EU countries. When you take Lithuania or Germany for example, you only have to live there for a total of 5 years as a student/worker and you become eligible. In Latvia, your study time is considered half.

5. Latvians and international students do not study together most of the time, unless the Latvian students decide to study in English or bilingually, which is not all that common. This just makes it even harder for international people to make Latvian friends and integrate.

Bonus: Extremely high taxes. They say taxes are about 23% but in effect when it’s all cut and done, you lose about 30% of your salary. Also, as a student your tax is lower and as an international person on a work permit, you actually have a higher tax rate. With the mediocre salary scale and inflation, living in Latvia is manageable but in comparison with some of the other EU countries, it’s probably not the best.

#lifeinlatvia #latviataxes #studentlife #latvianstudent #internationalstudent #indianinlatvia #studygram #fy #foryoupage #foryou

five things people don’t tell you about lva people can be cold but they warm up in time to be honest limited part-time job availability it gets very very cold here difficulty in getting permanent residency compared to other EU countries Lans and international students do not study together extremely high taxes did you already know this or is this new information comment down below more information in the description