Dear Readers, Dear Steemers
This is the first of a few posts about a fictive family living in Vilnius, the capital. They'll face day to day situations and we'll check how they can live in this country, manage to make ends meet and also have optimistic perspectives about the future of the country.
This first post will be drawing the context of the country.
We often refer to Lithuania as the country with the oldest indo european language, which for 50 years in 16th century managed to be the largest european territory (from the Baltic Sea till the Black Sea).
This country is nowadays a bit larger than Belgium and specializes in lasers, BPO centers ...
However, while politicians and pro(ud) Lithuanians can't spot having orgasms on how the country is nice and full of opportunities, the majority of the population thinks differently.
In order to present as well as possible the trends in Lithuania, few numbers need to be mentioned straight away.
1/ Population : 2,9 millions inhabitants (decreasing trend as for Latvia and Estonia).
2/ Education : More than 80% of the students ending up with a master degree are speaking at least 3 languages
3/ Minimum Wage : 380 euro since 2016/07
4/ Retirement : Each case is specific but having been a specialist for 35 years+ in surgery in public hospital will lead you to a tremendous retirement pension of 400-->500 euro a month. For those who've been working as car fixers , they can expect 250-->300 euro a month.
5/ Benzine : 1,07 euro per liter / 0,99 euro per liter of Diesel
6/ Rice : average price is similar to western Europe and so is it for dairy products.
7/Garments : As Lithuania is a small country with a small population and a VAT rate of 21%, we end up paying everything a bit more expensive than people living in UK, Spain, Germany ...
8/ Housing : In cities with opportunities (Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipeda...) you can start renting a decent flat starting from 300 euro per month. Willing to live as a family ? Make sure you can with your partner spend at least 600 euro + charges for housing.
9/ Healthcare : Are you sick ? Take an appointment with your family doctor. They'll not charge you anything, but they may have to refer to a specialist and such a second appointment can take a lot of time. Going to pharmacy is a significant cost, or you've to be lucky enough to have a disease which is covered ...
Our story will start with a young Lithuanian student (Skaiste - 19yo) who's coming to Vilnius from the countryside. Families ressources are limited but what the parents can do, they do.
She moved to the capital in August to make sure getting a flat with roommates not too far from the town center.
Her roommate is Ugne, and comes from the same town as Skaiste. her family has a bit more earnings and can assist her more than Skaiste's.
Full of hopes, expecting a great future, they'll be at the center of this short novel sequenced in 50 posts.
XxX Hecenoch