Introduction

Riga, Latvia is a developed and wonderous place to see in eastern Europe; specifically the northern Baltic regions of Europe, with Russia to the east, Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the southwest and Belarus to the south. Latvia has a population of 1.91 million as of 2020, which makes this a relatively small population country, but not less in grandeur or stature. With euro as its currency, and a massive GDP of 63.49 billion USD as of 2020. The language of Latvia is called Lettish, spoken by 1.75 million native speakers. It is a part of the European Union as declared on 18 November 1918.

Property Prices

Property prices in Latvia both to rent and buy are by far the cheapest in Europe. This might suggest that the country is poor, but from the GDP we can see they have a significant income. You might also assume that the prices are low to reflect the poor quality of buildings; well think again because the properties are modern, developed and absolutely amazing. You can expect a five bedroom quiet, countryside mansion with tons of space in the garden for €400,000 – €500,000, whereas in the UK you would expect to pay millions, and for little in return. It should also be noted that this country has a high cleanliness, the streets are spotless, the nature beauty unaffected and even Riga itself still hasn’t been corrupted by the pollution that has affected most of developed Europe.

These factors make the country and specifically the fast growing region of Riga a perfect place to invest in some property. Property in Riga averages $1,500-$1,800 per square meter. You can expect a 4% annual rental yield in your property in Riga, if investing in the old town you can also expect the 4% annual yield on your rental. The box below shows an example: (fig 1)

Rent Per Month	Edit	Range
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre	457.19 €	300.00-700.00
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre	335.00 €	250.00-500.00
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre	820.32 €	550.00-1,500.00
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre	530.00 €

Average income is around €1,300 euros a month.

On the other hand you can get an apartment for as little as €40,000 which is why it is such a cheap country to invest in. There is nothing wrong with the properties, I’ve seen then inside and out and can attest to their modern standards, both houses and apartments. Coupled with the income averages, and cost of living in general, it is a cheap place to have a property to live or to rent out. What’s more if you want to gain residency you should buy a property worth €250,000 and stay in it at least 5 years at which point you can resell it. That is £211,225.00,considering how much you can get for your money – 5 bedroom properties with huge space- this is extremely cheap. I recommend you look into this further if you are interested. You can of course buy a cheaper property to let out and stay there whenever you want.

Holiday Destination – Riga Old Town

I am not going to talk about the Kurmala area of Latvia, which is a coastal region with beaches and hotels, a resort town. This is because you can probably go there and find it to be the same as most other resort places. Instead, I will discuss the Riga old town full of medieval goodness. It is by far one of the most interesting places – full of development and investment opportunities, and brilliant buildings, sites to see and things to do. Depending on how long you want to go, it might be worth planning your trips in advance to discover what you will do. I would say 4/5 nights may be enough to see everything in the days, or not. Depends how you feel about this.

Saint Peter’s Church – just one example of the amazing churches here in the old town.

House of the Blackheads

Riga Cathedral – the biggest in the Baltics

Choices of cafes and restaurants!

The Three Brothers Buildings

Riga Castle

Riga Central Markets(Old Town Markets) – houses in large Zeppelin hangars from the world wars! The largest market in Europe!

Latvian National Opera House – I’m sure you can spend a night here.

A shot of some old buildings added. Seems like quite the serene place.

Travel to the Country

You can travel by air or train. There is no hard or fast rule. You could even get a coach if you wanted. Flights from the UK are cheap and you could managed a round trip for around £50-£100. I found flights-one way – for as low as £45. Check out this round trip I just found:

Travel time by plane is quick too and can be 2 hours 30 minutes. I wouldn’t recommend a flight with a stop, because it is so much nuisance at the airport.

Conclusion

I was hoping to spark some interest in this country as a travel destination, specifically to highlight the old town. It’s a must visit destination I think and an under rated country. As I mentioned the investment opportunity is there too. This has to be the second cheapest country to visit after Bulgaria.

Thank you for reading, please like and comment if you enjoyed or reblog.