Although I recognize that compared to other parts of the globe, the place where I live could be considered boring, young Lithuanians would not leave their country. There are so many opportunities, and optimism is so high in Lithuania that this country ranks first in a report measuring the happiness of young people worldwide.
Lithuania has been designated this year as the best country for those under 30, according to the World Happiness Report. The Generation Z and millennial youth in Lithuania rated themselves at 7.76 out of a maximum of 10 on the happiness scale, well above those in the UK and the US, ranking 32nd and 62nd, as shown in a report published in The Guardian.
For comparison, Romania ranks 8th, with a score of 7.28, slightly behind Finland (7.30) but ahead of the Netherlands (9th), Czech Republic (10th), Austria (12th), Switzerland (13th), Croatia (14th), Sweden (18th), and Norway (20th).
The report is a warning signal regarding the well-being of young people in the West, while also attesting that if you are 20 years old, Lithuania is the perfect place to live.
An example is Simona Jurkuvenaite, a 23-year-old who just received 21,000 euros from the government to make her debut film focusing on Lithuanian youth. "It's a great place. It's amazing that you can get such opportunities here," she says about the country's capital, Vilnius.
"Actually, I like it here. Yes, there are issues, but there are issues everywhere," says her friend, Gantas Bendikas. At 23, she is pleased that she will graduate without debt and, she says, is not worried about finding a job. "It feels, at least in Vilnius, that we have a good life compared to other European countries," says Gantas.
Vilnius, "the G-spot of Europe"
Lithuanian youth acknowledge that they do not live in the most attractive place in the world. Jurkuvenaite says it "can be a bit boring," and Bendikas wants to see other countries before settling here.
The Vilnius tourism office jokes about the city being known as "the G-spot of Europe" because "no one knows where it is" - a 2019 survey showed that only 5% of Britons knew the name and approximate location of the city.
However, considering the widespread debts of British students and the cost of living on the island, including the housing crisis in this country, being able to afford a coffee and a pastry that doesn't cost as much as an hour of work on minimum wage is a convincing advantage that surpasses the boredom complained about by young people in the Baltic country.
The Lithuania where Jurkuvenaite and Bendikas live is very different from the country where their parents' generation grew up. The GDP of the former Soviet country has almost quadrupled since the fall of the USSR. The developing tech sector includes "unicorn" companies Vinted and Nord Security among exports, and last year average gross earnings increased by 12.6%.
University studies are free for most students, and 57% of the population has higher education (the European average is 43%).
The Only Concern of Lithuanian Youth
The war in Ukraine now threatens the stability that Lithuania has worked so hard for over the past 43 years. Young people are marked by anxiety and wonder what would happen if "this conflict takes a wrong turn."
"We grew up with this fear inside us that everything we have here could be taken away in an instant. It seems that people abroad forget that there is a war in Ukraine, and that is worrying," says Karolina Motiejūnaitė, a 23-year-old working in marketing.
Perhaps Ukraine fatigue has gripped parts of the West, but for Lithuanians, the threat from Russia is significant. "One day you're at home watching 'Love Is Blind,' and the next day the government tells you to pack an emergency bag," summarizes the situation Karolis Pilypas (30 years old), a photographer, after the Lithuanian Ministry of the Interior launched a campaign in February last year advising citizens to be prepared for disasters. "Anxiety is pretty much everywhere," agrees Kavtaradzė.
Lithuania also faces another major issue: a high suicide rate. In 2020, it was the highest in the EU, with 21.3 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
"For older people, mental health is still a taboo subject. My mother, for example, still doesn't believe that mental health is an issue in Lithuania," says Cinny (19 years old), a philosophy student.
Kairys believes it is a legacy from the Soviet era. "I think it's partly something related to the reality of the Soviet Union, where mental health services were used for political reasons, to shut down political dissidents."
A Privilege Previous Generations Could Only Dream Of
Jolita Vaitkutė, a 28-year-old artist, considers herself lucky to live in Lithuania. "When I talk to friends from other places - Paris, Tokyo, London - I realize how lucky I am to have my own workspace." "I chose to be here because I like it here. I don't have to do a job I don't want to do, and I don't have to work in an office," she said.
The rent for studios set up in the former Lukiskes prison, which were used for filming the Netflix series "Stranger Things," ranges from 100 to 500 euros per month. Rents are generally low in Lithuania compared to other European states, although between 2010 and 2022 they increased here by 144%, the second-largest jump in the EU after Estonia.
However, according to director Marija Kavtaradzė, it is still possible to build the career you want in Vilnius. "I would say that every person who works well can live well here," believes the 33-year-old who is now launching her second feature film.
Kavtaradzė is well aware of the life of post-Soviet Lithuanian youth. Her 2014 short film, "I'm Twenty Something," perfectly captures the agonizing experience of having so many doors open in front of you but not knowing which one to choose. It is a privilege, she says, that the generation of her parents could only dream of.
"What makes us unique is that we have seen the country changing very quickly. In my generation, we all grew up the same way, economically speaking - for example, I don't have friends who were rich in childhood. So, I think that, in a way, this also gives us the mentality that we can do anything," she explains.
Antanas Kairys, a psychology professor at the Faculty of Philosophy at Vilnius University, considers the political situation to be one of the main reasons for the well-being of young people.
"Young people in Lithuania have a lot of opportunities now," he says. After independence, the change is drastic - both in terms of the economic situation and daily life. "I think one of the reasons why young people are doing so well in this report is that they did not experience the reality of the Soviet Union. They only know this from the stories of their parents and grandparents," explains Kairys.
Lukas Saženis (29 years old) works in IT and is happy: "Maybe not the happiest, but I think I am relatively happy. I feel like we are moving towards something. We are not standing still."
His words perfectly explain the happiness of an entire generation.
T.D.