Anna Gailīte returned to Riga after twelve years in Paris. Anna studied geography at the Sorbonne University and then completed a master’s degree at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po). She had graduated from the French Lycée in Riga, so she already knew French when she arrived in Paris, but not well enough to understand her fellow students speaking quickly and naturally. Her first year, alongside her geography studies, was spent additionally learning French vocabulary, expressions, and specialized terminology.
As part of her studies, Anna began an internship at the French Ministry for the Ecological Transition, working in its administration and also in the office of the Minister herself. After graduating, she obtained a permanent position at the ministry. Initially, Anna coordinated France’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, working on EU positions regarding international conventions on the movement of waste and hazardous substances. Later, she was responsible for issues related to the circular economy and waste reduction, both at the national and European Union levels. Anna represented the French position in the Council of the European Union alongside representatives of all the other EU member states. Four months before returning to Riga, Anna worked for the French Federation of Food Industries in connection with French environmental legislation, advising large, medium-sized, and small companies on sustainability and packaging issues.
Anna’s impressions of life in France and Paris are positive. She says:
“It is a very large country with opportunities to study and work in all kinds of fields, and to meet very different people with very diverse backgrounds and cultures. For me, the most difficult aspects of living in Paris and France were the limited access to nature and the very hot summers in a densely populated urban environment.”
In January of this year, Anna decided to return to Riga. In the evenings, from her apartment in a Paris suburb, she began sending job applications to Latvian institutions and companies where her knowledge, experience, and expertise could be useful. Anna says that during the winter and spring there were rather few vacancies in this field in Latvia, so she applied by contacting potential employers directly by email or through LinkedIn. She sent around thirty applications, clearly stating that she wanted to return and work in Latvia, tailoring each application to the specific position.
Anna received a job offer from the environmental consultancy firm ELLE, whose full name is Estonian Latvian Lithuanian Environment, and returned to live in Riga at a symbolic time — around Jāņi, Latvia’s midsummer celebration, this summer. Her work at the consultancy will involve European Union projects, public procurement by national and local governments, and advising Latvian companies, for example, on efficient waste management.
Anna is happy with her first impressions of Riga and Latvia:
“Latvia has developed a great deal over these years. Many people’s salaries have increased significantly compared with the situation in 2014, when I left to study. My friends here — people in their thirties — are planning to buy or build family homes. Despite the challenges, more and more people here are living comfortably. In France, although a large proportion of the population generally has a reasonably good standard of living, salaries have increased very little over the past ten years. It was good that, while still living in Paris, I renewed and strengthened my connections with friends and relatives in Latvia. You can see that life in Latvia is developing. And the summers! We have fantastic summers!”
To fellow Latvians considering returning home, Anna offers this advice:
“When looking for a job, don’t be shy or afraid. You have to reach out and say: here I am, and I would like to work for you. A return plan can come together very quickly, even if you have been thinking about it for years. You can return in just a few steps.”