When Ricardo Schmitz’s brother was visiting him in Vilnius, Lithuania, the pair went for a wintertime stroll at midnight — one thing he mentioned they’d by no means do again house in Brazil.
“My brother hadn’t seen snow since he was a child, so he was tremendous excited. We walked from midnight to 3 a.m.,” Schmitz informed CNBC Travel. “Not at any second did I really feel burdened or involved. For me, this is priceless.”
Schmitz first got here to Vilnius in 2018 as an change pupil in a research overseas program. After securing a full-time function, he returned in 2020 and now works as a senior guide for Deloitte and a lecturer in finance and tax legislation at Lithuania’s Mykolas Romeris University.
“When I got here again right here I had that peaceable feeling that I’m at house,” he mentioned. “The plan for the foreseeable future is to keep.”
Skilled workers wished
Schmitz is one in all many foreigners residing in Lithuania, whose numbers rose from round 145,000 in 2022 to greater than 200,000 in 2023, in accordance to local media.
The tongue-in-cheek “Vilnius — the G spot of Europe” marketing campaign hit world headlines in 2018, whereas government-funded organizations — like Work in Lithuania and Invest Lithuania — intention to entice expert foreign workers and funding to the nation.
Ricardo Schmitz.
Source: Ricardo Schmitz
With a inhabitants of simply 2.8 million, Lithuania has a scarcity of native expertise to gas the nation’s rising expertise and finance industries.
Young professionals like Schmitz are drawn by these profession alternatives. In a survey of 1,300 foreign college students at present learning in Vilnius, 42% said they see their life after graduation in Vilnius.
The streets of Vilnius at night time.
Craig Hastings | Moment | Getty Images
“I began as an intern, then I moved to guide, and now I’m in a senior place,” mentioned Schmitz. “Because it is a small market right here, you are uncovered to extra alternatives, and it helps you develop.”
Visa processing instances decreased from eight months to only one, and there is even an arrival allowance of three,444 euros (round $3,764) awarded to foreigners who work in occupations the country needs. According to Work in Lithuania, round 400 allowances have been granted.
A wholesome life-style
Indonesian nationwide, Misha Johanna, in Lithuania.
Source: Misha Johanna
“My firm right here actually encourages folks to take all of their trip. That’s very completely different from the working tradition in Indonesia the place I’m from,” mentioned Johanna, who’s from Jakarta.
Like Schmitz, she got here to Vilnius for education, her alternative influenced by her want to be together with her Lithuanian boyfriend, whom she had met in Bali, she mentioned.
Indonesians have a tendency to be extra relaxed about work than Lithuanians, Johanna added. But in Indonesia, she feels bosses are much less probably to approve trip depart, that means workers have a tendency to make up causes, normally involving household, to cover their holidays, she mentioned.
“I haven’t got to try this right here,” mentioned Johanna, who works nights from her residence in Vilnius as a supervisor for the advertising and marketing knowledge platform Whatagraph. It leaves her days free for her side hustle as an actor, she mentioned. Johanna has appeared in commercials for Burger King, the supply app Just Eat, and most lately, a marketing campaign for Work In Lithuania.
The air high quality in Vilnius is best than in her hometown of Jakarta, Indonesia, mentioned Misha Johanna.
Aleh Varanishcha | Istock | Getty Images
“The air right here is exceptionally good. In Jakarta, you can’t breathe whenever you step outdoors,” mentioned Johanna. “Vilnius can be very walkable, and that is one other factor I am unable to actually do again in my nation, as a result of roads there are not made for pedestrians.”
Laura Guarino moved to Vilnius from Italy in 2021, additionally by a research overseas program. She mentioned she was joyful to say goodbye to the site visitors and crowds of Naples, swapping them for a 10-minute commute to her workplace.
“I simply fell in love with the city,” mentioned Guarino, who works as a enterprise improvement supervisor for Teltonika Telematics.
“Napoli is so crowded, there are simply buildings in every single place and a lot site visitors — it’s totally annoying,” she mentioned.
“Vilnius has such a great vibe and is so stress-free, so I simply don’t desire to depart,” she mentioned. “I additionally like swimming within the lakes and going for hikes within the countryside.”
Ups and downs
Guarino, Schmitz and Johanna all really feel it has been straightforward to slot in, as most locals are proficient in English, though all of them mentioned they’ve taken courses to be taught Lithuanian too.
Culturally, they’ve had to modify to a extra reserved, structured method, which is at odds with the open, emotional and extremely conversational attributes of Indonesian, Brazilian and Italian cultures.
Laura Guarino moved to Vilnius from Italy in 2021.
Source: Laura Guarino
Vilnius, nevertheless, is just not a budget city it as soon as was. Guarino and Johanna say the price of lease, payments and groceries aren’t cheaper than they are again house.
The three foreign workers are adjusting to lengthy, harsh, Lithuanian winters too. Johanna has embraced the native custom of “ekete” — a sauna session adopted by a dip in an icy lake, which she describes as “an out-of-body expertise.” Schmitz, in the meantime, has taken up the winter sport of curling, competing on the Lithuanian nationwide championships.
Brazilian Ricardo Schmitz participating within the sport of curling.
Source: Ricardo Schmitz
And Guarino has her coping mechanisms for winter, which she admits can get robust.
“I simply want to take my vitamin D, and ensure I journey again to Napoli for Christmas, and I’m going to be tremendous,” she mentioned.