3.38/5
455 reviews
Photo by Darya Tryfanava via Unsplash

Riga

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town

bit

terms

center

nice

good

prices

beautiful

tourists

Riga makes an interesting destination with its standout Art Nouveau architecture and charming old town, though the latter can feel overcrowded with tourists in peak summer. Outside the historic center, tourist numbers thin out and more authentic experiences can be found, especially for those who enjoy local cuisine—affordable and generally well-reviewed by visitors.

Public transportation is both cheap and reliable, making it easy to navigate the sprawling layout of the city, which feels large in area even if not densely populated. Prices overall are moderate, though recent inflation has pushed some costs to levels similar to those in Western Europe. Winters, however, can be harsh, with prolonged cold and grey skies.

Some visitors have noted a lack of vibrancy outside the tourist zones, with areas feeling quiet or empty, and reports of residents seeming reserved or unfriendly. There are also mentions of visible intoxication in parts of the city. While Riga may appeal to certain travelers, especially architecture and food enthusiasts, it may not suit those looking for a warm atmosphere or consistent liveliness.

AI-generated summary of reviews
1 year ago

The old town is quite pretty, but apart from that it is quite empty.
Lots of people are wasted amd it's a bit sad to see.
People are quite cold
Good point is that it is quite cheap
Will probably not come back

1 year ago

Lived here for 6 months and it's a very big city. Not in terms of people, but in terms of size. Public transport is cheap and reliable. The old center is nice with mostly tourist from Europe but the really good places you will find just outside it. Wintertime can be very cold and with months of cloudy days. Prices are similar to western european cities especially lately with increased high inflation in the Baltic States. Overall a good place to stay with lots of beautiful women.

1 year ago

I stayed in spring, and outside old town I didn't encounter many tourists at all. The city was beautiful. I would recommend it for foodies, most things were very tasty and the prices weren't crazy high. Overall, a nice place to visit.

3 years ago

Visited the small, cute part of RIGA's old town and the ART NOUVEAU architecture that is located a bit outside the center.
Seemed quite juvenile + full of tourists during the summer of JULY 2019. Has a bit of that ex-comunist era inside the city.

6 years ago

✅ Good public transport

✅ Tasty and affordable food

✅ Beautiful architecture

✅ Pretty safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here a lot

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Great hospitals

✅ Roads are very safe

✅ Great freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ Safe for women

✅ Family friendly

✅ LGBTQ+ friendly

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

❌ Cold winters

❌ Touristy and crowded old town

❌ Locals can feel cold or unfriendly

❌ Parts of the city feel empty or rundown

❌ Very expensive

❌ Not much to do

❌ Gets very cold in the winter

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ High alcohol consumption

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

-425°
freezing

-621°
freezing

134°
cold

541°
cold

1254°
cool

2170°
mild

2882°
warm

1966°
mild

1254°
cool

1050°
cold

337°
cold

-523°
freezing

Real (median)

-130°
freezing

-327°
freezing

439°
very cold

744°
cold

1355°
cool

2170°
mild

2678°
warm

1966°
mild

1355°
cool

1253°
cool

642°
very cold

-130°
freezing

Humidity

damp
88%

damp
86%

damp
84%

damp
75%

damp
77%

nice
75%

nice
76%

nice
81%

damp
79%

damp
81%

damp
88%

damp
87%

Most common

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

Rain

rainy
62mm

dry
16mm

dry
49mm

dry
43mm

rainy
59mm

dry
40mm

rainy
82mm

rainy
69mm

rainy
66mm

rainy
69mm

rainy
61mm

Cloud

overcast
90%

cloudy
80%

cloudy
74%

cloudy
68%

cloudy
66%

pockets
44%

pockets
47%

cloudy
70%

cloudy
71%

cloudy
74%

cloudy
86%

cloudy
85%

Air quality

okay
63 US AQI

Remote workers

1,600 people

1,477 people

1,843 people

1,680 people

2,529 people

2,867 people

3,800 people

3,189 people

2,640 people

1,412 people

1,280 people

1,985 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Current weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)

Based on Riga's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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Tartu

Estonia

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74 Mbps

Kaunas

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🌥 Feels 18° 64° 18° 64° AQI 11

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Klaipeda

Lithuania

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🌥 Feels 19° 66° 19° 66° AQI 25

✈️19min

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49 Mbps

Vilnius

Lithuania

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💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

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🌥 Feels 18° 64° 18° 64° AQI 20

✈️21min

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Tallinn

Estonia

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📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

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🌥 Feels 17° 63° 17° 63° AQI 20

✈️22min

$3,754 / mo

56 Mbps

Kaliningrad

Russia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

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🌥 Feels 17° 63° 17° 63° AQI 21

✈️27min

$2,346 / mo

10 Mbps

Helsinki

Finland

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

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🌥 Feels 18° 64° 18° 64° AQI 35

✈️29min

$4,878 / mo

61 Mbps

Espoo

Finland

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

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🌥 Feels 17° 63° 17° 63° AQI 32

✈️29min

$4,721 / mo

74 Mbps

Turku

Finland

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

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🌥 Feels 19° 66° 19° 65° AQI 82 😷

✈️32min

$4,463 / mo

74 Mbps

Minsk

Belarus

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

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🌥 Feels 18° 64° 17° 63° AQI 16

✈️32min

$2,359 / mo

17 Mbps

Stockholm

Sweden

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

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🌥 Feels 20° 68° 20° 68° AQI 9

✈️35min

$6,013 / mo

31 Mbps

Gdansk

Poland

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

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🌥 Feels 19° 66° 19° 65° AQI 24

✈️36min

$3,895 / mo

85 Mbps

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 38° 100° 31° 87° Has AC AQI 32

✈️11h

$1,643 / mo

32 Mbps

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 21° 70° 20° 68° AQI 50

✈️2h

$8,578 / mo

23 Mbps

Moscow

Russia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 19° 66° 18° 64° AQI 21

✈️1h

$2,861 / mo

9 Mbps

Tallinn

Estonia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 17° 63° 17° 63° AQI 20

✈️22min

$3,754 / mo

56 Mbps

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 19° 66° 19° 66° AQI 28

✈️1h

$5,910 / mo

32 Mbps

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 23° 73° 23° 74° AQI 18

✈️4h

$5,174 / mo

100 Mbps

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 41° 106° 34° 93° Has AC AQI 103 😷

✈️12h

$1,839 / mo

53 Mbps

Kraków

Poland

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 20° 68° 19° 67° AQI 28

✈️1h

$2,243 / mo

126 Mbps

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 30° 86° 27° 80° Has AC AQI 38

✈️3h

$7,433 / mo

38 Mbps

Paris

France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 25° 77° 25° 77° AQI 37

✈️2h

$7,543 / mo

61 Mbps

Vilnius

Lithuania

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 18° 64° 18° 64° AQI 20

✈️21min

$3,721 / mo

72 Mbps

Istanbul

Turkey

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 32° 90° 28° 83° Has AC 🥵 AQI 65 😷

✈️2h

$3,322 / mo

12 Mbps

Vilnius

Lithuania

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 18° 64° 18° 64° AQI 20

✈️21min

$3,721 / mo

🌇 Also went here229 people

Tallinn

Estonia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 17° 63° 17° 63° AQI 20

✈️22min

$3,754 / mo

🌇 Also went here288 people

Helsinki

Finland

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 18° 64° 18° 64° AQI 35

✈️29min

$4,878 / mo

🌇 Also went here222 people

Warsaw

Poland

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 17° 63° 17° 62° AQI 21

✈️45min

$3,694 / mo

🌇 Also went here195 people

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 19° 66° 19° 66° AQI 28

✈️1h

$5,910 / mo

🌇 Also went here238 people

Prague

Czechia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 18° 64° 18° 64° AQI 38

✈️1h

$3,994 / mo

🌇 Also went here263 people

Vienna

Austria

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 24° 75° 24° 75° AQI 17

✈️1h

$5,044 / mo

🌇 Also went here212 people

Budapest

Hungary

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 26° 79° 26° 78° Some AC AQI 17

✈️1h

$3,748 / mo

🌇 Also went here258 people

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 18° 64° 18° 65° AQI 26

✈️2h

$6,785 / mo

🌇 Also went here232 people

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 21° 70° 20° 68° AQI 50

✈️2h

$8,578 / mo

🌇 Also went here248 people

Paris

France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 25° 77° 25° 77° AQI 37

✈️2h

$7,543 / mo

🌇 Also went here247 people

Istanbul

Turkey

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 32° 90° 28° 83° Has AC 🥵 AQI 65 😷

✈️2h

$3,322 / mo

🌇 Also went here223 people

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 30° 86° 27° 80° Has AC AQI 38

✈️3h

$7,433 / mo

🌇 Also went here245 people

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 23° 73° 23° 74° AQI 18

✈️4h

$5,174 / mo

🌇 Also went here252 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 38° 100° 31° 87° Has AC AQI 32

✈️11h

$1,643 / mo

🌇 Also went here216 people

600 remote workers in Riga now, of which 1+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.38/5 (Rank #211) 455 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍9 liked it 👎1 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Good
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	🧐 Pricey: $3,563 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 18 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🌞 Nice: 18°C65°F (feels 19°C66°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 80%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	🥵 Very low: 4%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Great: 7 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Good: 63 US AQI
👌 Safety	Good
👩 Safe for women	Okay
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Okay
🤮 Food safety*	Good
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Resilience to climate change	Bad
💰 Income level*	Low: $1,166 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Good
😄 Happiness*	Okay
🍸 Nightlife	Bad
📶 Free WiFi in city	Okay
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Bad
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Okay
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Great
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Europe
🚩 Country	Latvia
🗓️ Average trip length	5 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	18 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌥 18°C 65°F + 😊 Comfy (80%) = feels 19°C 66°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 7 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎😷 63 US AQI
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Taxify
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	EUR 100 = USD 117
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best coworking space	StartupLatvia
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	👍11% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	550,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$13,993 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 39% 👱‍♀️ 61%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 53% 👱‍♀️ 47%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 85% 👱‍♀️ 15%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Air Baltic
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Air Baltic

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$3,563 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$2,150 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$3,833 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$1,095 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$2,009 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$2,732 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$613 / month
🏠 Median home price	$186,918
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$94 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$90 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$83 / month
🍛 Dinner	$18
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$2
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$6
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$4
👩‍🏫 International school	$18,400 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$15 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$4 / trip

Riga

600 remote workers in Riga now, of which 1+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

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