Why should you come back to Lithuania? News

Anyone who has ever lived abroad knows that people leave their homes for all sorts of reasons: in search of better wages, comfort, for love, or simply a thirst to see the world. Everyone packs their bags with different ideas about their future, and when they arrive in the host country, they often find their plans flipped upside down. You can plan everything down to the last detail, but emigration is an experience for which you can have all the time in the world to prepare – and you will still have to survive a roller coaster ride. In the same way, all sorts of reasons push Lithuanians to return home every year. Do you know why? Because it’s better in Lithuania. Don’t believe us? Let us plead our case:

• In Lithuania, you can pop down to the nearest lake for a swim any time you want, and you won’t be considered the neighbourhood oddball.
• A variety of curd desserts, rye bread, fresh šakotis cakes and other desserts, dill-flavoured potato chips − you’re not likely to find a Lithuanian shop abroad that can offer the delicious assortment you want.
• In autumn, all of Lithuania goes mushroom picking! Mushrooming abroad can result not only in surprised stares from locals but also in hefty fines from environmental institutions.
• If you so wish, your children will be able to visit the places you cherish from your own childhood, climb the same trees, speak Lithuanian freely, and maintain close ties with their grandparents.
• Your mum’s heart-shaped waffles − just visit her and eat to your heart’s content while they’re fresh and hot.
• If you want to buy a Lithuanian book, you won’t have to order it from Lithuania or pay an exorbitant price at Lithuanian shops abroad.
• With Christmas approaching, you won’t have to negotiate your holiday vacation with your employer in advance and you won’t have to save up for expensive plane tickets. You can simply go to your parents’ home after work and spend the holidays with your family (the downside is that you might have to bring with you a bucket of potato salad for the table).
• You’ll experience all four seasons in Lithuania! That means you can celebrate Midsummer in your best summer outfits and make snow angels outside on a white Christmas.
• The upside of being a small country is that in Lithuania you can go anywhere in just a couple of hours, see your favourite local celebrity at an event, and maybe even bump into them on the street!

Any Lithuanian living abroad could easily extend this list with their own positives. But if you’re more of a pragmatic person, we can also argue the following:

• Real estate − even with rising prices, an apartment in Vilnius is, on average, three times cheaper than an apartment in London or any other western European capital.
• Parental leave is one of the longest in the world.
• One of the most reliable healthcare systems − medical services are accessible to all and you can switch family doctors at any time.
• Rapidly rising wages − average wages in Lithuania have been rising by more than 8% for four years in a row − one of the fastest in the EU. In 2021, Lithuania recorded a 12% increase in average gross wages.
• There are jobs! According to Statistics Lithuania, the shortage of both high and lower qualified workers in the market is still a relevant issue.

Or maybe you already have a great life abroad? Maybe you have your circle of friends, speak a foreign language fluently, have a family, a job you love? But if, even occasionally, longing for home gnaws at you, if your heart fills with joy and your eyes sparkle with tears of happiness when the plane lands on Lithuanian soil, today we would like to remind you that you can have a fulfilling and well-rounded life here in Lithuania too. You are always welcome − here you are needed for your experience, your knowledge, your broad outlook, and the perseverance that every Lithuanian in the world acquires.

See you soon in Lithuania!

I Choose Lithuania team