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ibasiram
Joined: 24 Mar 2003
Posts: 107
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 Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 9:08 am Post subject: The Latvian Economy |
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Hi there,
just wondering what the situation is like in Latvia. I was thinking of going up there but heard that the economy is in a right mess and that it's possibly affecting student numbers.
Anyone up there? How is the economy now?
Cheers,
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kazachka
Joined: 19 Nov 2004
Posts: 220
Location: Moscow and Alaska
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 9:48 am Post subject: |
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The economy is down there as it is in most places now. There were riots in the streets in Riga in Jan. Latvia really doesn't have much for natural resources. The local currency, the lat, is really high though for some reason. I was just in Riga for the marathon a couple weeks ago and can say that the economy hasn't affected the prize money for the top 3 finishers  I actually deliberately head up there in the spring/ summer for various events that pay in euro. Prize $ in the marathon this yr was close to double over last yr making the trip well worth it. I will say this, the air is much cleaner in Riga and you can actually breathe:) PLus the city itself is clean. If it rains, you don't get mud and *beep* all over the back of your pants like you do in Moscow. I'd be curious to hear if anyone is teaching up there and their opinions on the market. Riga is not a big city, so my guess is that it would be harder to round up decent paying private students, but I may be wrong.
I have also been told that real estate has crashed in Latvia as well,so it's a buyer's market. |
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maruss
Joined: 18 Mar 2003
Posts: 1145
Location: Cyprus
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| Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:27 pm Post subject: Latvia..... |
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Kazachka is absolutely right-it's a nice country and a million times cleaner and healthier than Moscow but unfortunately their economy is in very deep trouble right now so I personally would not risk going there to work for the forseeable future.
There is an Irish guy who posts as Johnnie Boy from time to time and he has a lot of experience of Riga so he is probably the best person to ask for an update.I also correspond with a Latvian girl there who wrote last week that the economic situation is 'terrible' and she is trying to survive by working two or three jobs per day,saying she is desperate to go abroad like so many other people are there....Don't even mention the E.U. to most Latvians!! |
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varbuut
Joined: 07 Feb 2010
Posts: 11
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| Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 2:21 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm a Latvian wannabee ELT teacher and I can assure that getting private students wouldn't be too easy right now. Although English classes are still in need (partly because locals are preparing to leave for work abroad, sadly), local teachers usually offer better rates and even with that courses are more popular anyway. So if you're offered a fixed contract with a school - just fine, but coming here hoping to find local students does sound a bit risky to me, although local international staff might have better insights. |
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corij
Joined: 03 Dec 2009
Posts: 26
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| Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 12:23 pm Post subject: |
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| varbuut wrote: |
| I'm a Latvian wannabee ELT teacher and I can assure that getting private students wouldn't be too easy right now. Although English classes are still in need (partly because locals are preparing to leave for work abroad, sadly), local teachers usually offer better rates and even with that courses are more popular anyway. So if you're offered a fixed contract with a school - just fine, but coming here hoping to find local students does sound a bit risky to me, although local international staff might have better insights. |
is there any english language schools in Latvia to your knowledge? iv been i Lithuania a few times,never seen any language schools myself . |
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jonniboy
Joined: 18 Jun 2006
Posts: 751
Location: Panama City, Panama
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| Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 1:15 pm Post subject: Re: Latvia..... |
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| maruss wrote: |
| There is an Irish guy who posts as Johnnie Boy from time to time and he has a lot of experience of Riga so he is probably the best person to ask for an update. |
It's because of all that experience that I'm not sure if I'm really the best person to ask! I've been here since Autumn 2005 which is a lifetime in the Latvian ESL scene. Most native speakers are gone after the first year, the odd one lasts a second year but beyond that it's rare to find native speakers who've been here a while. The hardy few almost always have local partners.
As I've been here so long I have local contacts which give me a heads up so I'm not sure how it would be for a newbie. My first two years here were a struggle. First year (2005/6) I averaged about 500 euro a month, second year not much better. It was only the third year where I made enough to do me over the Summer lull and only the last two years where I've actually started saving.
As for privates, this is the first year that I haven't had to advertise. I've got them all through word of mouth and there are enough people willing to pay the going rate to make it worthwhile. I charge 10 lats (~14 euro) per clock hour or 10 lats per academic hour if I sense they can afford it. I also work for language centres which pay me less (8/9 per clock hour) but are more stable.
Many of the privates are people planning to move abroad who need IELTS or Business English. There are very, very few kiddie classes, which makes a welcome change from markets like Spain or Italy. I honestly haven't noticed any drop off in privates. Yes there's competition from local teachers giving lessons for silly prices (4 euro / 60 minutes) but there's also a decent segment of the market prepared to pay more for classes with experienced natives.
With the economic situation I've been really going overboard maxing out the hours: 36-38 clock hours has been usual of late. As a result I've been able to clear 2000 euro a month, which is okay for this region but obviously not comparable to Asian or Middle Eastern hotspots. For a newbie working in language schools and topping up with privates, I wouldn't expect much more than 1000 euro a month.
Personally I would advise going down the language centre route and branching out from there. Many of my privates are friends of people I've taught in language schools.
You could try going it alone but it would be very high risk and you'd need significant savings. My friend came here and started out on his own and it was a struggle for him first year as he had 8-10 hours of privates some weeks. He has about 20-25 now @10-16 lats per clock hour but it took him 3 years to achieve that.
Private schools, well there are lists on places like www.zl.lv Change to English at the top right and search for English under products. Some of the companies listed e.g. Mightywords, no longer exist but you could try some of them.
A google for "anglu valodas centrs" will also give some. http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4ADBF_en-GBLV278LV280&q=anglu+valodas+centrs |
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kazachka
Joined: 19 Nov 2004
Posts: 220
Location: Moscow and Alaska
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| Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 10:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Just came back from some time in Latvia(winning another marathon and a nice paycheck to boot among other things). I've been considering Riga and there is money to be made teaching privately in Jurmala. I have a friend who is an English teacher(Latvian) and she said 15Ls /academic hr is the starting rate for a good private teacher in Riga. THe lat is worth about 2$. Cost of living is lower, but groceries cost nearly the same as Moscow. Smaller towns like Daugavpils pay much less. 5Ls /acad hr is about average. If you buy real estate in Latvia, you can apply for residency. Another friend of mine in Riga was telling me they recently passed this law allowing it. Of course w/ either a passport or residency your life will be easier. Income tax is high though at 39%(30% tax 9%social tax). Latvia usually does not allow dual citizenship w/ a few exceptions...oh ....say for athletes I'm heading back up in 3 weeks this time for the marathon in Valmiera. I'm using these marathons A. to supplement my income B. to use as training runs for the 100k World Championships in Nov. Care to guess which country asked me to run on their National Team? |
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expatella_girl
Joined: 31 Oct 2004
Posts: 248
Location: somewhere out there
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| Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 2:32 am Post subject: |
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Ok, I'll bite..... 
Which country asked you to run on their national team? |
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kazachka
Joined: 19 Nov 2004
Posts: 220
Location: Moscow and Alaska
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| Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 8:36 am Post subject: |
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| The one mentioned above:D |
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corij
Joined: 03 Dec 2009
Posts: 26
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| Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 8:14 pm Post subject: |
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| kazachka wrote: |
| The one mentioned above:D |
roughly how many run in the marathons there? i have only ever ran in one(london) , but id be interested to hear your experience of the ones in that part of the world .
good luck in Valmiera ! |
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jonniboy
Joined: 18 Jun 2006
Posts: 751
Location: Panama City, Panama
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| Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 1:00 pm Post subject: |
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| kazachka wrote: |
| I have a friend who is an English teacher(Latvian) and she said 15Ls /academic hr is the starting rate for a good private teacher in Riga. |
She's wrong. 15 lats per acad hour isn't doable in Riga: 10 is the max that people will pay and most will sniff at paying more than 10 per clock hour. Anyone hoping to get clients paying 15 per academic hour/20 per clock hour is in for a serious disappointment, especially if they have no local contacts/local reputation. |
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Sashadroogie
Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Posts: 11061
Location: Moskva, The Workers' Paradise
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| Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 3:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Sorry to change the direction of the thread a little, but was Latvia, or any of the Baltic Republics, ever a member of the CIS? I don't think so, but may be wrong. |
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expatella_girl
Joined: 31 Oct 2004
Posts: 248
Location: somewhere out there
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| Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 6:46 am Post subject: |
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| I think none of the Baltics were ever CIS. |
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Sashadroogie
Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Posts: 11061
Location: Moskva, The Workers' Paradise
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| Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 10:46 am Post subject: |
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| That's what I thought. So why are they all lumped into the CIS board? |
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kazachka
Joined: 19 Nov 2004
Posts: 220
Location: Moscow and Alaska
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| Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:33 am Post subject: |
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| corij wrote: |
| kazachka wrote: |
| The one mentioned above:D |
roughly how many run in the marathons there? i have only ever ran in one(london) , but id be interested to hear your experience of the ones in that part of the world .
good luck in Valmiera ! |
Thx!
Riga broke 10,000 this yr! It's the biggest running event in the Baltics
Organization is super even in the smaller events in Estonia and in Latvia.
I personally would never recommend running a Russian marathon. Organization sucks at best and tings are badly put on and unprofessional. |
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