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Things I don't like about Latvia l My thoughts after 6 months living in Riga
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ส.ค. 2024
- Hello! Some time ago I shared with you things that I love in Latvia. Now I want to tell about the ones that i don't like. Don't be angry at me! I still love this place but I believe that in every country you can find things that makes you angry or sad. For sure I can find several ones in Poland.
Hugs and kisses,
Credits for photos
POL Wejherowo map/Wikipedia
Miasto Gdańsk/Wikipedia/Henryk Bielamowicz
Solaris Urbino 18 circulant à Riga/Wikipedia/Kevin.B
Sunny Skin/Pexels
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Winters are very mild because of the proximity to sea. This video is from 2024. This year's winter was particularly warm. Rain, mud, more rain, 0°. I don't think the big rivers even froze over to walk on reliably. When you see snow stuck on trees like on the picture, that happens in warm temperatures, and the snow falls down soon. You can experience an amazing level of sound damping for road noises and such. At -20° the sky is clear and any rare snow is a fine powder. If you are carrying a bag or abox, you can put it down and it stays clean. Or you can slip and fall and it's nothing.
Yes, agree that relationships with people are difficult to build.
You are showing a relatively *new* Solaris bus in Riga. Those have more bells and whistles than you can shake a stick at: cameras, kiosk displays, phone power sockets, beeping doors, battery power, suspension that lowers the step, air cooling, automatic stop announcement with GPS. Public transport might be bad in other towns. But in Riga the local authority gets new buses often, scraps old buses or donates them to Ukraine. The stink comes from people. It is relatively easy to ride without a ticket, and homeless people with dirty clothes or beer bottles do that. In winter there is smell from the humidity. The incidence of vandalism is low because of surveillance cameras.
Look up Ikarus in Russia to see an example of an "old" bus. Or a basic Turkish Mercedes O345 that they scrapped. They should have been more frugal. Trams from the 70s still are stil in service with upgrades.
The frequency of buses was reduced since the Divoc-38 crisis and never restored. They probably reduced the fleet, and a great many riders don't pay and show in the statistics.
I'm sorry, but the the story of the Princess and the Pea comes to mind. There is no sun in winter. I don't know where you could by a sunscreen. In summer people get brown intentionally and get free Vitamin D.
Six months isn't enough, especially in winter. A wise person once said that the best time to move to Latvia is in the winter-you see all the drawbacks first, and then summer arrives... People who come in summer often don't stay as long compared to those who arrive in winter. So, everything is still ahead for you ;)
looking forward to it! 😜
Omg thank you for talking about the public transport issues. I usually feel kinda bad complaining about that, but It makes me feel less crazy that you feel the same way. I started biking in Riga and feel so much better, I would definitely recommend doing that in the warmer months.
The public transport though in riga is very good. Buses trams and trollybuses will basically take you to any part of the city that you may want to go and even to nearby towns outside of it. In some cities surely the public transport is lacking or else you simply wouldn't want to be on it there
I like our weather. The harsh and dark winters make you appreciate the summers more :)
Well.. you have a point on that. But still I think you are the only one haha😅
How do they make you appreciate them more? Don't you appreciate things for their own sake without there needing to be something else? That makes no sense. Summer is good and plenty of people like it. If they like it then let it be. Some people prefer winters. Basically in latvia you get all 4 seasons to enjoy for people that like any of them
Love your video! As a Latvian I can tell you that we ourselves constantly complain about weather - even when its good, sunny and hot. About people coldness - you already explained - you have to gain our trust and then youll get true friend for life. Public transport in Riga old!? - not sure what have you used to but have been in Poland and we have same busses, nice new Skoda troleybuses and trams. About connections - agree - they are Riga center focused. And we rarely buy cosmetics in Drogas - after Covid quite a part of trade have moved to online shops. So try asking locals about where to buy something specific.
Public transport in riga is very good, busses trollybusses and trams will take you to almost any place in the city that you may want to go and even to some nearby towns outside of it. The transport seems modern and new. Two of the trams in riga are basically the same as in prague. Busses and trollybusses too seem very modern. However the older ikarus buses had really nice soft seats. The old trollybuses were like in Vilna, I think in Vilna they are still in operation or are getting gradually replaced
Thanks for sharing. As a person who is from Latvia I agree. Is good to hear this from someone who can compare with other country. Your so true, about saying thay latvians say when you get to know us we are very loving and kind, but how to get to know them if latvians look like, dont come closer to me. Just rare person will continue pursue this kind of person 😀 Even as latvian I have problems to get latvian friends, unless they are not from my school or work.
What Im saying we need to do better. 😀
I lived in Ireland for a while and I can tell you right now that latvian public transport looks excellent compared to the Irish ones. They still pay with coins here that you have to drop in a box, the exact amount, cause you are not getting your change back immediately. So better to have a leap card that is not very modern, too. Also, being late by 40 min, not showing up, passing you by if they are too full, and catching busses like taxis are a thing there.
As for the reason why there's not more of newer public transport in Riga. Younger versions struggle and especially in winter break down often, while old soviet stuff still keeps going even in harsh winters. Also, after Ireland, I really appreciate how reliable they are, and mostly they are on time.
I love Riga I rather travel on public transportation than a car.
I love Riga too. Riga is my Motherland. Yes, own car in Riga is huge headache. I better spend more time in public transportation than I spend money for car and all related expenses (car payments (if it is new), registration, insurances, maintenance, gas, parking, possible traffic tickets)
I like the country latvia❤😍
It will be interesting to see if your perspective changes after the next 6 months of living in Latvia during nicer weather period. A lot of these negative things seem to relate to the long winter here. Also I hope you get out of Riga during this time; there's so much to do outside Riga you just have to get out of the tourist comfort zone.
Maybe I will do update after summer 😅
You seem to have forgotten that she's polish, so any weather in Latvia is better than what she had back in her country
naaah, when the hot 25+ summer hits it's just rip dude. x_x
@@enemy1191 25+ isn't so bad. Unless you meant 35+
"so much to do outside Riga you just have to get out of the tourist comfort zone" - like what? I've been living here for 8 years already. If you are not into cold Baltic sea beach time or a day long walk in the woods, then you are out of luck. Long distance hiking in Latvia also sucks because there is no "right to roam" like in Sweden or Norway, where you can go almost anywhere and pitch your tent wherever you want.
Most my friends just do shashliki and drink alcohol outside of town for a good time.
Can't agree with the fact that only Riga has cultural life - there are theaters, cinemas, concert halls, festivals, clubs, sporting events, etc. in most of the biggest cities of Latvia - Valmiera, Sigulda, Cēsis, Liepāja, Daugavpils, etc. even though they do not have 100k or more citizens. I belive you have not been much around any other city than Riga.
Regarding products - SPF, lip balms, skin care - look for such things in pharmacy.
One can just compare number of entries on bilesuserviss for Riga and other towns - it's not even close. Other places have some events, Riga has most of them for the whole country.
Yes there are plenty of cultural activities all around latvia. From town festivals to historic activities to dance and music concerts. All sorts of other festivals or celebrations as well such as garden celebrations in certain castles or manor houses. Liepaja and daugavpils have been going down in population over the last 20 years or so but may be stabilizing now. In fact both are cities made to support a population of 100.000 people which they both had in the early 1990s and before the first world war and people there lived very culturally inspired lives
1. Yes, winters can be cold, but they are rarely brutal nowadays. As you said, there's often not much sun so stay inside and keep warm!
2. As for friendships - we have severe trust issues, as someone from Poland you'll probably understand. We tend to be more open during holidays, summer solstice in particular.
3. Public transport - there have been A LOT of mistakes in the past which are further made worse by the dire demographic situation and never ending increase of cost of living in the city forcing locals to the outskirts or out of the city entirely... by which point, as you said, public transport is basically left for those who can't afford a car. Routes used to be fine a decade ago, it's just that the city hasn't kept up with the aforementioned.
4. Riga as a city is dying, and fast. The active lifestyle you're talking about isn't sustainable anymore as there's simply significantly less young people compared to before which is made even worse by the fact that cost of living here has risen to the point where it's not realistic for locals to go out for a dinner more than once a week anyway. Latvia isn't the worst place to be young but it's far from being good.
5. I do not qualify to comment. :(
You are spot on about public transport. I bought locally made beauty products as gifts, but I have not received any good reviews. It is always better look for German beauty products than Latvian. Even I want support local beauty product markers, I can't buy such low quality stuff. Market is also small, so it is expensive and only few choices are available. But we can always go shopping in Poland. Also, we and Estonia and Lithuania don't have small convenience stores like Żabka. We have Narvesen kiosks, but not many people want to open Navesen store.
For polish people Żabka is more expensive than Lidl or Biedronka so we are usually doing only small shopping there.
Yellow Dzintars lip balm - the best thing in the world! I don't live in LV anymore and I miss it so much. Nothing else comes even close.
Uuu I will try it for sure! Thanks 🩷
Latvians are COLD, no ifs no buts
Okay, yes, I agree about the buses.
I usually use trams though, and they’re pretty good, no?
I am actually Latvian living in Gdansk 1 year. I don't see a lot of difference between weathers here and in Latvia. I know what you mean with "cold" people. Poles are more opened :) Well, Rossmann has much more to choose from than Drogas. Unfortunately haven't used a lot of public transport in Poland, so can't compare with that part :)
@@ievuciiite yeah, weather in Gdańsk could be similar to the one in Riga. But in Warsaw and south part is something else for sure 😅
@@halmanagaThat is true :D
Agree with everything except for the public transport one. 😅 Idk why you think that only poor people use public transport and the system is really not that bad.
I much more prefer taking the bus to the centre because of the parking situation in the centre.
It really depends where you live of course, but I have not seen an old bus in many months and I don’t even live in the centre.
P.S. I’m confused what you meant by saying that it’s faster to go by car than bus on the same route? Is that not the case in basically every place in the world? 😅
My experience is diffrent unfortunately. Maybe I am comparing to buses in Poland and they are just really good. About the time: of course it is like that always but it is like three times longer. So I don’t think the diffrence should be that big 😔
@@halmanaga I just think you might be a little biased based on the public transport you take home. For example, I can get to the centre by taking the bus from my house in less than 30 minutes (including walking to the stop), the car will take me there in 15 minutes (under the condition that there is not much traffic which doesn’t much influence the time the bus takes to the centre). I also take the bus to my choir (which is not in the centre) for 25 minutes, but the journey with a car takes 15 minutes.
Obviously, going to IKEA (which is very far) from my house would take maybe 1.5 hours, but take 30 minutes by car. But that’s just a question of taking several different busses and would be a problem anywhere.
My point being, the public transport system is not perfect but it’s also not so terrible as you describe it to be. 😄
In my opinion Warsaw has, probably the best bublic transport in Europe at this point. Also all buses and trams are locally produced in Poland and hevely subsidised so afcorse they will be almost brand new. So not a fair comparison, there is defenetly even worse cityies.
Perception of Riga public transport might depend very much on the routes and destinations. There are really good lines (quick, efficient, clean) and there are really dreadful ones as well.
@@marabicevska9235yes I don't understand this complaint about transport in riga. I think it's very good and trams trollybusses and buses will take you to almost any place in the city that you may wanna go and even to nearby towns outside of it in the metro area. The fleet is all modern as well although the older ikarus buses had nice soft seats. Latvia works with czechia and two of the trams in riga are basically the same as in prague. The time you mentioned also seems good. I lived in cartagena colombia, a city of similar size to riga and there you just don't wanna take public transport. At least sometimes. It's overcrowded and gets stuck in traffic jams and really take so much time to go anywhere and in addition in cartagena the bus network is not as extensive as in riga and people have to use motorcycles and cars to get to where they want to get which leads to traffic congestion. There are no trams or trollybusses in cartagena
I like the country Latvia!
Hi, Aga ❤
Population of Daugavpils is about 78000.
Yes something like that. It's been going down over the last decade or so but perhaps is stabilizing now. In reality it's city made to support a population of 100.000 people just like liepaja. Both had populations of over 100.000 in the early 1990s and around it before the first world war
Riga is not real Latvia. It is expensive, all is far away, not comfortable to live there. And smaller towns are not villages.
Interesting video! Looking at a map Latvia is a small country far away from any any large cities, like west Europe which have a variety of things to do. Can't expect much.
About getting to know Latvians, aren't most Latvians very nationalistic with little interest in other countries and cultures and people? That Latvians prefer relationships with each other.
I have a car today in USA and I do not like it since I break down and I put in money into it.
Now I live in USA CA LA and here situation is different than in Riga, distances are huge, without car life is hard, public transportation is developed, but not enough, should be more metro lines built by now. I like to drive, but I hate to spend money for car related needs, it would be better for me if LA had better-developed public transportation system.
Danzig is not Polish city. It is German city, which Poland stole from Germany. It will be Germany city again.
@@tiptop3922 XD
XDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
@@halmanaga start to pay reparations to Lithuania for Vilnius region occupation. Where your apologies to Lithuania?
@@halmanaga half of the territory of Poland nowadays - it is territory of Germany. Give Germany back their territories.
@@halmanaga Warsaw is a good German city in South-Prussia. Will be German again.
Drogas isn't a drugstore (aka pharmacy), because you can't buy medicine there. Drogas is more like cosmetics, hygiene and houshold product (something like that) store.
Interesting name. Basically means drugs or narcotics. Wonder why it was named like that.
@@dreamthedream8929that’s what I said before when I came back to Latvia when I was older.
Drogas is a store just for women. |f you are a man, you have nothing to do there