Riga cost of living

Hi there,

I'm new to the forum but looking into exactly same thing so can share few observations.

Jurmala is more expensive that probably any other area in Latvia. But you can get there from Riga in around 20 minutes train ride at cost of approx 2 euro each way. I'm sure there are monthly tickets too which would guarantee bigger savings.

I'm looking into 5 rooms (3 bedrooms) houses for rent and prices vary from around 800 to 2000 euro. My target is around 1300 euro and there seems to be a lot of options in Babite region which is half way between Riga and Jurmala.

Weekly food cost can also vary depending on how active lifestyle you lead but I would say that 100-150 per week should be enough to cover most standard needs.

Take a look at city24.lv and ss.lv/en - both have English interface making it quite easy to use and understand.

Regards

Thank you for your reply.

Wow it seems like house prices are really quite high compared to what I was expecting. Sounds like the above mentioned wage might end up being not enough to survive. Do you know anything about arriving to the country with children, and what the situation is with local schools? Do most expats tend to live in Riga itself or in the suburbs?

Prices I quoted might be a bit extreme due to the area I was concentrating on. There are cheaper accommodations available so don't be put off by that. I'm sure you can rent an apartment for half that cost on outskirts of Riga - take a look at the sites I mentioned. This will allow you to get an idea on rental pricing as it will vary massively depending on location and needs.

I didn't make a move yet so can't really comment on your other question. My child is UK citizen but as mother is Latvian so we managed to get his Personal Code and few other admin bits sorted. There are some international schools in Riga area available but fees are quite high so brace yourself.

People live here on much less than 2000 so I'm quite confident it will a long way.