Courtesy of Vitor Urbano
This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Vitor Urbano, a freelancer who moved from London to Latvia. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I moved from Sintra, Portugal, to London in 2011. I took a leap of faith and moved on a whim, making a living working in pubs.
I worked as a bartender in a Heathrow restaurant when I met my girlfriend. We met, got to talking, and the rest is history.
Now, we live a peaceful life together in Latvia, and I love it.
In 2018, after discovering my girlfriend was pregnant, we decided to leave London behind before the baby was born.
London isn't for everybody. The first few years are amazing. There are always things happening, and you can get anything you want. After living in London for years, we were tired and overworked.
When we discovered we were expecting, that was the last straw. We wanted to move somewhere quiet and more intimate.
There were two obvious choices of where to live: Portugal or Latvia, where my girlfriend is from.
By the time we chose to move, I'd transitioned out of bar work and worked remotely as a tech journalist and reviewer. I could work from anywhere without a visa as a freelancer in the EU.
We decided on Latvia because it would be easier for her to find a job after maternity leave in her native language rather than learning Portuguese. A flat was also slightly cheaper in her hometown of Saldus than in Portugal.
Salaries in Latvia are lower than in London, so if you're working for a Latvian company, the cost of living is comparable. Across the board, things are more expensive in London, but the remuneration is way higher than in Latvia.
The biggest difference is in real estate and cars, which cost less here than in London. We own our home, so we no longer pay rent, but day-to-day items like groceries are about the same.
Monthly, we spend between 500 and 600 euros at the supermarket, 50 to 60 euros on electricity, 60 to 80 euros on gasoline for our car, and 35 euros on the internet and television.
I don't miss London on a daily basis, but on a few occasions, I'm a little nostalgic about the big metropolis and its wide availability of events.
When I got to Latvia, my biggest shock was the difference in Amazon. Once I left bartending, I worked as an Amazon delivery guy in London and at my tech job. We don't have next-day Amazon delivery here — we don't even have free Amazon delivery.
The UK is a massive hub of cultural variety, where you can get great quality food from virtually any cuisine. Latvia's food scene has a lot more cultural roots.
In London, you can get to anything quickly and have unlimited options for restaurants, shops, supermarkets, cinemas, and shopping centers. In Latvia, especially in Saldus, that's not the case. We have access to all the essentials but not luxuries like a shopping center, cinema, or unlimited restaurant choice.
Along with the difficulties came positives. Some think Eastern European cultures are cold and unwelcoming, but my experience was not like that. Everyone was welcoming for the most part, and it made my transition easier.
My wife has relatives nearby, and I made new friends. I learned a little Latvian, and my friends speak English.
I grew up surrounded by nature. My childhood was very nature-oriented, with mountains, forests, and many green places to go. When I moved to the UK, it was harder to have easy access to lakes, rivers, and even beaches. In Saldus, you're surrounded by nature.
You also experience all four seasons here. It does get really cold in the winter, but the infrastructure is well-prepared for the cold. I'm colder in Portugal in February than in Latvia in January when the temperature is below zero because houses aren't built for cold in Portugal, but they are in Latvia.
Latvia is a lot calmer than the UK. The pace of life is slower, and people seem to be in less of a rush and less stressed out.
It's also safer and easier to raise a kid here. For the price of one sports activity in the UK, I can enroll my child in five different sports a week in Latvia.
If you feel called somewhere, just go. Many people think, plan, or dream, but few have the guts to jump.
I don't have to stress about giving my child the best life possible. I will probably be here for the long run and don't regret moving to Latvia.
