‘You are moving to WHERE?’ How Printify Employees experienced moving to Latvia
In 2019 I took a new step in my career, and it involved relocating to Riga, Latvia. I must admit that I knew very little about this Baltic country, and I probably was not the only one who felt this way. Printify offers relocation support to Latvia and Estonia, where we have our main offices. Currently, our team has people from 47 different nationalities, and quite a few of them have moved to Latvia. So, what does it mean to move to this country? I talked with four other Printify employees who chose to move to Latvia, like me.
Moving to another country can be challenging. You have to get used to new surroundings and culture, not to mention all the paperwork and packing boxes. I was curious to find out how people from different backgrounds experienced their move to Latvia. I spoke with Phil, Martin, Leah, and Samadhi to find out.
Phil is originally from Scotland. Together with his Latvian wife, he moved to Latvia in 2017 to find a nice home to raise their four children. They decided to move away from city life and into the Latvian countryside.
Martin left sunny California, USA, for Latvia in 2015 and is very much enjoying the diversity of the weather. He is currently living in Latvia with his wife and daughter.
Samadhi first learned about Latvia through a mass email she received promoting studying abroad. She decided to move to Latvia from Sri Lanka in 2016 to continue her studies at a university in Riga.
Leah grew up in the American countryside. Her family originally came from Latvia. She had visited the country before and, in 2019, decided to relocate.
Throughout our conversation, a couple of things stood out that, despite all of us coming from different backgrounds, we experienced similarly.
Like myself, Samadhi had never visited Latvia before her relocation. She had done some research, but everything was a completely new experience. Nonetheless, she liked it from day one. However, it was not quite the same for everyone. Although Phil had visited Latvia before, when he first arrived to live in Latvia officially, it was quite a culture shock as he arrived in one of the smaller villages. Thankfully, this quickly changed when he started meeting people and getting familiar. For Martin, who had always visited Latvia in summer, moving in the middle of winter was also a bit of a surprise. He has really come to like and appreciate the changes in the seasons, though. So, Latvia was not love at first sight for all of us. However, one thing we all shared was our initial impression.
One can never get around first impressions. The first impression of Latvians we all shared is that they seem a bit closed off. Where in other countries, it’s common to greet strangers on the street, smile at each other, or even strike up a conversation with someone on the bus, Latvians tend to keep to themselves. Coming from Sri Lanka, Samadhi feels like hospitality is in her genes. “My boyfriend had to keep telling me not to offer food to all the visitors that came to our house,” she shares. In Sri Lanka, this is a very common custom and even expected. However, do not mistake this Latvian trait for unfriendliness! Leah tells us that with the help of Facebook, she has found it surprisingly easy to find new connections with very friendly and open people. Once you become part of a group, whether living in a small town or joining a group of people with specific interests such as hiking, you will feel a very close sense of community and connection.
Another thing you literally cannot get around in Latvia is nature. Staying in Riga, you can find anything a big city offers, such as theater, shopping, and culture. A modern working culture is developing, and more and more great, innovative startups are emerging. However, just a short drive out of Riga and you can feel like you’re stepping back in time, with access to beautiful nature, Martin describes. Whether you enjoy a walk in the forest or by the coastline, Latvia offers both. Many Latvians often leave the city to spend time in the countryside, and this is a habit many expatriates happily take part in too. Who knows, maybe the country house even comes with a sauna, another healthy habit to copy from Latvians. When discussing new habits we’ve picked up in Latvia, Phil tells us he’s been to more saunas in the past five years than in the 30 years before that. Getting close to nature is definitely one of the benefits of living in Latvia, which we can all agree on.
Phil and Martin are raising a family in Latvia, and they shared how much they feel families are valued in the country. When taking your children out for an experience in public, they aren’t seen as a nuisance; instead, they are embraced and appreciated. Phil tells us that in the UK, classes in school can be up to 30 to 35 children, and he feels there is much more room for his kids in Latvia. With the population declining in Latvia, compared to overpopulation in his home country, there seems to be much more appreciation for families and children. On top of that, Latvia feels safe, and although uncommon in many places around the world, children under the age of ten will often travel to school by themselves on public transport.
What I learned from this conversation with my colleagues is that although we all come from very different backgrounds and we have different perspectives, we appreciate very similar things in Latvia. Although we had to get used to how people interact, we found a wonderful closeness in different communities. And although Latvia’s outdoors might not have the grandeur and popularity other places in the world have, it’s so easily accessible that it makes you feel very close to nature. Latvia is a great place to live, work, build relationships, and even raise a family. Would you consider moving to Latvia?
