I'm from the UK, but spent some time in Baltics. In the UK, "free" wifi generally isn't free and mobile internet is expensive and pretty crap. Someone will in

I'm from the UK, but spent some time in Baltics. In the UK, "free" wifi generally isn't free and mobile internet is expensive and pretty crap. Someone will inevitably tell me that I'm complaining about first-world problems, but countries stereotyped as "poor" and "former soviet" make the UK look stone-age with regard to internet access. In the Baltics, easily-available internet means kids can access Wikipedia, KhanAcademy, etc. They can get exposure to other cultures despite their geographical isolation. Most of my mathematical and programming education came from the internet, not classrooms - despite the UK's "world class" education system. Older people have more involvement in their local community due to better communication with the community. This also gives them better representation nationally, as I witnessed in the form of a farmer's strike/protest in Tallinn a few weeks ago - where people from remote little villages and towns all around the country descended on parliament. On a more selfish note, a person in a "poor" area who can freelance via the internet and earn "western" fees can live like a king off very little work, and some of that money will presumably find its way into their local community.