当里卡多·施密茨的兄弟去立陶宛维尔纽斯探望他时，两人在午夜去散步——他说他们在巴西的家乡永远不会这样做。

“我哥哥从小就没见过雪，所以他非常兴奋。我们从午夜步行到凌晨 3 点，”施密茨告诉 CNBC Travel。

“我在任何时候都没有感到压力或担忧。对我来说，这是无价的。”

施密茨于 2018 年作为海外留学项目的交换生首次来到维尔纽斯。

在获得全职职位后，他于 2020 年回归，目前担任德勤的高级顾问以及立陶宛米科拉斯·罗梅里斯大学的金融和税法讲师。

“当我回到这里时，我有一种宾至如归的感觉，”他说。

“可预见的未来的计划是留下来。”

需要熟练工人

据当地媒体报道，立陶宛的外国人数量从 2022 年的约 145,000 人增加到 2023 年的超过 200,000 人，

施密茨是众多居住在立陶宛的外国人之一。

2018 年，半开玩笑的“维尔纽斯——欧洲的 G 点”活动登上了全球头条，而立陶宛工作组织和立陶宛投资组织等政府资助的组织则致力于吸引熟练的外国工人和投资到该国。

里卡多·施密茨。

资料来源：里卡多·施密茨

立陶宛人口仅有 280 万，缺乏本地人才来推动该国不断发展的科技和金融业。

像施密茨这样的年轻专业人士被这些职业机会所吸引。

对目前在维尔纽斯学习的 1,300 名外国学生进行的一项调查显示，42% 的人表示毕业后的生活将在维尔纽斯进行。

维尔纽斯的街道在晚上。

克雷格·黑斯廷斯 |

时刻|

盖蒂图片社

“我一开始是一名实习生，后来晋升为顾问，现在我担任高级职位，”施密茨说。

“因为这里的市场很小，所以你可以获得更多机会，这有助于你成长。”

签证处理时间从 8 个月缩短至 1 个月，甚至还向从事国家所需职业

的外国人发放 3,444 欧元（约合 3,764 美元）的入境津贴。

据 Work in Lithuania 称，已发放了约 400 份津贴。

一种健康的生活方式

Lithuania has 15 public holidays a year — the second-highest number in the European Union. Just 1% of employees work "very long" hours, well below the average of 10%, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentBetter Life Index.

The OECD also ranked the country 11th for work-life balance — ahead of Switzerland and Hungary. It's something fellow foreign worker Misha Johanna says is a real benefit of living in Vilnius.

Indonesian national, Misha Johanna, in Lithuania.

Source: Misha Johanna

"My company here really encourages people to take all of their vacation. That's very different from the working culture in Indonesia where I'm from," said Johanna, who is from Jakarta.

Like Schmitz, she came to Vilnius for schooling, her choice influenced by her desire to be with her Lithuanian boyfriend, whom she had met in Bali, she said.

Indonesians tend to be more relaxed about work than Lithuanians, Johanna added. But in Indonesia, she feels bosses are less likely to approve vacation leave, meaning workers tend to make up reasons, usually involving family, to hide their vacations, she said.

"I don't have to do that here," said Johanna, who works nights from her apartment in Vilnius as a manager for the marketing data platform Whatagraph. It leaves her days free for her side hustle as an actor, she said. Johanna has appeared in commercials for Burger King, the delivery app Just Eat, and most recently, a campaign for Work In Lithuania.

The air quality in Vilnius is better than in her hometown of Jakarta, Indonesia, said Misha Johanna.

Aleh Varanishcha | Istock | Getty Images

"The air here is exceptionally good. In Jakarta, you cannot breathe when you step outside," said Johanna. "Vilnius is also very walkable, and that's another thing I can't really do back in my country, because roads there are not made for pedestrians."

Laura Guarino moved to Vilnius from Italy in 2021, also through a study abroad program. She said she was happy to say goodbye to the traffic and crowds of Naples, swapping them for a 10-minute commute to her office.

"I just fell in love with the city," said Guarino, who works as a business development manager for Teltonika Telematics.

"Napoli is so crowded, there are just buildings everywhere and so much traffic — it's very annoying," she said.

"Vilnius has such a good vibe and is so relaxing, so I just don't want to leave," she said. "I also like swimming in the lakes and going for hikes in the countryside."

Ups and downs

Guarino, Schmitz and Johanna all feel it's been easy to fit in, as most locals are proficient in English, although they all said they've taken classes to learn Lithuanian too.

Culturally, they've had to adjust to a more reserved, structured approach, which is at odds with the open, emotional and highly conversational attributes of Indonesian, Brazilian and Italian cultures.

Laura Guarino 于 2021 年从意大利搬到维尔纽斯。

资料来源：劳拉·瓜里诺

然而，维尔纽斯不再像以前那样便宜。

瓜里诺和约翰娜

说，房租、账单和杂货费用并不比家乡便宜。

这三名外国工人也在适应立陶宛漫长而严酷的冬天。

约翰娜（Johanna）接受了当地的“ekete”传统——先蒸桑拿，然后在冰湖中畅游，她将其描述为“一种灵魂出窍的体验”。

与此同时，施密茨开始从事冬季冰壶运动，参加立陶宛全国锦标赛。

巴西人里卡多·施密茨从事冰壶运动。

资料来源：里卡多·施密茨

瓜里诺有自己的冬季应对机制，她承认冬季可能会变得艰难。

“我只需要服用维生素 D，并确保我回到那不勒斯过圣诞节，我就会没事的，”她说。

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