Things I don't like about Latvia l My thoughts after 6 months living in Riga

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

[aliali-evlm]

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.

[MarcvsClavdivsMarcellvs]

Hi, italian here, i live in Riga, my wife is Latvian, best decision i have ever made in my life! Coming from Rome wich is the cradle of chaos i am used to everything. I like harsh weather cause it makes me stronger both mentally and physically. I think you can survive winter if you have sun inside you! Ciao!

[jndominica]

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.

[missgaljazina]

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.

[HakkoChannel]

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.

[Shadow]

I like our weather. The harsh and dark winters make you appreciate the summers more :)

[edgarLV]

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 ;)

[Monica-ikup]

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.

[davebeat]

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.

[gracebutler]

I love Riga I rather travel on public transportation than a car.

[comjaunatne]

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.

[travelvideos]

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.

[MiladyZhanet]

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.

[ievuciiite]

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 :)

[marabicevska]

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? 😅

[Kayta-Linda]

Okay, yes, I agree about the buses.
I usually use trams though, and they’re pretty good, no?

[meinardsl]

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. :(

[MaboodShah-mq]

Try to rent room or flat near your work place to avoid buses.

[janis]

Population of Daugavpils is about 78000.

[gracebutler]

I have a car today in USA and I do not like it since I break down and I put in money into it.