Vilnius is cheap, safe, and fun — no wonder it's the world's happiness capital for Gen Z
18.09.2024 - 09:47
/ insider.com
When Lithuania topped the World Happiness Report ranking for people under 30 earlier this year, it came as a bit of a shock — even for those who live there.
"It was a surprise," said Valdas Benkuskas, the mayor of its capital, Vilnius, when Business Insider visited in August.
But, he added: "We who are living here, we know what a wonderful city it is."
Vilnius is Lithuania's most vibrant and populous municipality, a Baltic city of thousands of students, tech start-ups, and greenery. And it has increasingly looked at ways to tailor itself to younger generations.
Benkuskas, an older millennial himself, says he's on a mission to attract young professionals from abroad to come and live in Vilnius, and believes that just one visit to the city will be enough to show its appeal.
"If you spend a week or more here, you can understand that we have a lot of advantages compared with other European cities," he said.
The World Happiness Report ranks countries based on a survey conducted by Gallup, where respondents evaluate the quality of their lives.
Lithuania's under-30s rated themselves 7.76 out of 10, notably higher than their US counterparts (6.392), with locals citing factors to BI such as low rent, free education, and a vibrant nightlife.
Ignas Kazlauskas, a 28-year-old who runs a sustainable architecture firm and previously lived in the UK, told BI that Vilnius holds its own against other European capitals.
Vilnius offers a stark contrast to London's hustle and bustle, he said — less densely populated, not overwhelmed by tourists, and about half the city is made up of green spaces.
"The city is pretty laid-back, which is nice," he added, sipping a filter coffee at a trendy Old Town café where other patrons sat reading in the sun-drenched courtyard.
For a capital city, it's relatively small — about the size of Denver, which means that everything is within easy reach.
"You can basically walk across the whole center of Vilnius in half an hour," Kazlauskas said.
The city's 90-or-so lakes, ideal for kayaking, and some of the largest forests in the country are also nearby. When the weather allows, Kazlauskas pilots a hot air balloon as a hobby.
"People are definitely much happier when they can spend time outdoors and relieve the stress of work, relationships, or whatever," he said.
For decades, organized crime and a struggling economy led hundreds of thousands of Lithuanians, especially the young, to move abroad. However, many are coming back, with returning Lithuanians representing a quarter of all immigrants last year.
Tens of thousands of immigrants from outside the EU, many from Ukraine and Belarus, are also moving to a transformed Vilnius. The mayor and Lithuania's tourism board want others to follow suit.