當里卡多·施密茨的兄弟去立陶宛維爾紐斯探望他時，兩人在午夜去散步——他說他們在巴西的家鄉(xiāng)永遠不會這樣做。

“我哥哥從小就沒見過雪，所以他非常興奮。我們從午夜步行到凌晨 3 點，”施密茨告訴 CNBC Travel。

“我在任何時候都沒有感到壓力或擔憂。對我來說，這是無價的。”

施密茨于 2018 年作為海外留學項目的交換生首次來到維爾紐斯。

在獲得全職職位后，他于 2020 年回歸，目前擔任德勤的高級顧問以及立陶宛米科拉斯·羅梅里斯大學的金融和稅法講師。

“當我回到這里時，我有一種賓至如歸的感覺，”他說。

“可預(yù)見的未來的計劃是留下來。”

需要熟練工人

據(jù)當?shù)孛襟w報道，立陶宛的外國人數(shù)量從 2022 年的約 145,000 人增加到 2023 年的超過 200,000 人，

施密茨是眾多居住在立陶宛的外國人之一。

2018 年，半開玩笑的“維爾紐斯——歐洲的 G 點”活動登上了全球頭條，而立陶宛工作組織和立陶宛投資組織等政府資助的組織則致力于吸引熟練的外國工人和投資到該國。

里卡多·施密茨。

資料來源：里卡多·施密茨

立陶宛人口僅有 280 萬，缺乏本地人才來推動該國不斷發(fā)展的科技和金融業(yè)。

像施密茨這樣的年輕專業(yè)人士被這些職業(yè)機會所吸引。

對目前在維爾紐斯學習的 1,300 名外國學生進行的一項調(diào)查顯示，42% 的人表示畢業(yè)后的生活將在維爾紐斯進行。

維爾紐斯的街道在晚上。

克雷格·黑斯廷斯 |

時刻|

蓋蒂圖片社

“我一開始是一名實習生，后來晉升為顧問，現(xiàn)在我擔任高級職位，”施密茨說。

“因為這里的市場很小，所以你可以獲得更多機會，這有助于你成長。”

簽證處理時間從 8 個月縮短至 1 個月，甚至還向從事國家所需職業(yè)

的外國人發(fā)放 3,444 歐元（約合 3,764 美元）的入境津貼。

據(jù) Work in Lithuania 稱，已發(fā)放了約 400 份津貼。

一種健康的生活方式

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 年從意大利搬到維爾紐斯。

資料來源：勞拉·瓜里諾

然而，維爾紐斯不再像以前那樣便宜。

瓜里諾和約翰娜

說，房租、賬單和雜貨費用并不比家鄉(xiāng)便宜。

這三名外國工人也在適應(yīng)立陶宛漫長而嚴酷的冬天。

約翰娜（Johanna）接受了當?shù)氐摹癳kete”傳統(tǒng)——先蒸桑拿，然后在冰湖中暢游，她將其描述為“一種靈魂出竅的體驗”。

與此同時，施密茨開始從事冬季冰壺運動，參加立陶宛全國錦標賽。

巴西人里卡多·施密茨從事冰壺運動。

資料來源：里卡多·施密茨

瓜里諾有自己的冬季應(yīng)對機制，她承認冬季可能會變得艱難。

“我只需要服用維生素 D，并確保我回到那不勒斯過圣誕節(jié)，我就會沒事的，”她說。

熱點：歷史 歐洲 艾略特