Is Kaunas Better Than Vilnius!?

There's an ongoing rivalry between Lithuania's two largest cities. But today, we look at the reasons why residents of Kaunas like their city more than Vilnius.

00:00 Introduction
01:00 Kaunas is quieter and calmer
01:24 Kaunas has better traffic
01:45 Still offers everything expected of a big city
02:04 Access to nature and green spaces
02:34 Interwar architecture
02:52 Cheaper/lower cost of living than Vilnius
03:05 A better place for tech work
03:20 Convenient geography
03:55 Conclusion

[fidenemini]

I grew up in Kaunas and being 65 now living in Vilnius for 40 years already. I equally love both my cities.

[SuperKREPSINIS]

i come to kaunas to study, after that i fall in love with it. created memory's and nostalgia. all the streets and places a bar named as blue orange or B.O. for generations of students. just amazing.

[nicolegrace]

i love kaunas so much despite living there for only 6 months. Cried a lot during my last week, I never felt this attached to any city I've lived in before

[markust]

Hello and thank you for this informative video.
I am from Lithuania but not from Kaunas or Vilnius. And I lived and worked a decade in different countries and way bigger cities. And this is what I have to say.
The Pandemic returned me back to Lithuania and I started exploring my own country. I bought two bycicles (for different type of riding) and just started to hit Lithuania as much as I could.
I visited Kaunas for the first time in May 2022 staying 5 days there. With the bycicle of course. This town didn't take my heart on the first day but I did from the second and up. I repeated my visit in late July 2022, for 5 days again. And I am going again in Sept 2022 for a week.
Before that Vilnius wss my only option for a larger city in Lith. I didn't know Kaunas was so cool. Also, it appeared to be much larger than it looked at first. But I went really to all corners - extreme ends of the city.
For me, a person not living in Vilnius or Kaunas - Kaunas is a clear winner. The atmosphere, the history, the development - all this is there. I would not agree it is much cheaper than Villnius. Maybe by a fraction but not like half cheaper. Vilnius probably offers more expensive luxury scene if someone is into it; but for an average person like me I felt no difference in expenses between two cities. Hotels cost the same. Rents are maybe 50€ cheaper in Kaunas per month for a bedroom apartment. Consumer prices, shopping and eating out is EXACTLY the same as in Vilnius (again let exclude weird overpriced exotic restaurants in Capital - no one goes there anyways). So Kaunas is equal to Vilnius by expenses and by tourism potential.

[Sniffleslt]

I lived in Kaunas my whole life, but I also like Vilnius. Rivalry was a thing in the teenage years, but it is clear now that when your neighbors live better that has ripple effect and makes your life better too. So I am all for whole Lithuania and beyond to get better, live better, be happier and prosper for many years to come.

[kestutisa]

Kaunas is great. Lithuanians built entire modern Art Deco city as their temporary capital in just 20 years.

[algieturas]

I visited in 2018. I'm an "Old Town" kinda guy. Less hustle & bustle & I preferred the architecture. My grandfather was born in Kaunas. Kaunas for me!

[erzonca]

The answer will be very different depending on people's preferences and life values... in almost every country in Europe.
Is Warsaw better than Cracow? Is Brussels better than Antwerp? Is Tel Aviv better than Jerusalem? Etc etc...
Depends!
The only thing in common is: nicer people in smaller, less individualistic cities (so not the capitals).

[teriasy]

Personally, I myself live in Kaunas so I might be a bit biased, but I just like it here more since people seem a little more nicer and tend to mind their business more. But Vilnius is seen as more accepting.
Either way, love Kaunas because of the nature too :)

[gedog]

I got married at Kauno Rotušė, very good memories. Also, kudos on not backing out of the Lithuanian names - not easy.

[iaintaylor]

A few years back I was actively considering relocation to Lithuania to escape the Brexit meltdown in UK. Turned out to be too difficult following Johnson's useless "deal", but I would certainly have considered Kaunas rather than Vilnius for the reasons quoted by your responders.

[sashkos.]

Thank you for the review. I'm trying to find which city to choose.

[kisutis]

A bit weird comparison… same as to ask what is better - Lisbon or Porto?:)

[karolis]

Lived in Kaunas for 8 years, while having work in Vilnius. Honestly I hated being in Kaunas. Since I'm not neither of these cities, I like Vilnius more due to people who are much more free and open-minded, while on the other hand people in Kaunas are generally closed and more reserved and I'd say they are unfriendlier (if that's a correct word). Additionally Kaunas does not seem to be technology advancing, despite mentioning of Kaunas University of Technology, which you'd feel in public services (clinics, public transportation). Another issue Kaunas has is that for some professions (I wish I could say for the majority) it offers lower salaries than on contrary for the same professions in the Capital. Plus, for people who are seeking cultural life, Kaunas does not have much to offer in comparison to Vilnius, sometimes it's due to lack of cultural venues, lack of cultural events and so on, thus whilst reading those comments where people admired living in Kaunas, I was happy for them, because of green spaces and outdoor activities, these could be found also elsewhere, therefore, a such comment is not having any significance for me personally. The mentioned interwar period's architecture in my humble opinion makes that city uglier, but don't wanna offend anyone from Kaunas, just my opinion and I believe there are also like-minded people on this argument as well. One thing is for sure is that people in Kaunas I'd say are resistant to progress and turn blind eye for they city's governance since having quite a few candidates to choose from during Mayor's election they remained to the one who's still conducting his business in Russia. There's no one to blame, but locals have set their priorities.

[F-oxi-e]

As a person from Kaunas I can tell you, there is one and only one reason why Kaunas doesn't like Vilnius. Kaunas ~ 96% of Lithianians, Vilnius ~65%...

[algijura]

4sure Kaunas is Kaunas with all his -and + …
but if i have to 4sure have to be Kaunas..

[ivanos_]

Kaunas only makes sense as an alternative if someone can't afford to live in Vilnius, otherwise the city offer nothing that can't be found in Vilnius, and I would rather choose Klaipeda as the second choice in Lithuania.

[nfinitz]

I'm from Kaunas and I choose... Klaipėda!

[ohbedi]

Traffic is calm but the drivers are horendous

[javediqbal]

I could be perfect example of why your wife said about video title 😁