3 ms·

what potential you are talking about? I am from there and there is absolutely nothing. no human capital, no resources, no political willingness (only huge corru

what potential you are talking about? I am from there and there is absolutely nothing. no human capital, no resources, no political willingness (only huge corruption). the only viable business was to be a sort-of-kind-of-middleman between EU and Russia and thats also gone. most young people left for greener pastures towards EU. go visit all of these places and please wander outside the tourist area, and better yet, rent a car a travel through countries (they are small, a road trip through baltic states will take you less than a week). after that tell me more about this "tremendous potential".

AndroTux 3y ago
I moved from Germany to Estonia because in Germany, there really is no political willingness to support entrepreneurship, startups or the internet in general. If you’re not a big car company, you’re not going to be happy in Germany as a company owner. As a founder, I am much happier in Estonia. Life is much simpler when you don’t have to jump through twenty hoops because of some stupid political decision for every action you take as a small business. While I can’t speak for all of the Baltics, Estonia truly has a lot of potential in that regard. Hell, the „IRS“ here has a support chat! Unthinkable in Germany. Sure, a lot of things need work and are still developing, especially in rural areas, and of course no country comes without issues, but Tallinn isn’t far off German cities in many areas. In some, it’s even outright better. Free public transport anyone? Being able to pay by card everywhere? Self-checkout in supermarkets? Not a thing in Germany.
- gwervc 3y ago
  > Life is much simpler when you don’t have to jump through twenty hoops because of some stupid political decision for every action you take as a small business. There is the same issue in France. I'm pretty sure it's viewed by big companies that own the government as a feature to impede concurence (however small) to arise.
blacksmith_tb 3y ago
Not the OP, but my house (in the US) has very nice triple-paned windows that were manufactured in Latvia by Intus. Estonia certainly has a cool, digitally-savvy reputation, though I gather a lot of that is closer to "these things which should be easy like getting licenses etc. are actually easy" so maybe that's partly hype. Haven't heard much about Lithuania recently, to be fair. I would be willing to believe the Baltics aren't going to change the whole world overnight, but is it really as bleak as you're suggesting?
- Yiin 3y ago
  It's really not, but we do have our share of doomers and high throughput of dezinformation campaigns from Russia, so substantial amount of public only sees the negatives. Trust issues with government is also somewhat explainable with being free country for only about 50 out of the latest 200 years.
Strom 3y ago
> no human capital Let's look at some data. Estonia ranks extremely high in math, science, and reading tests given to 15 year olds as shown by the international PISA tests. [1] In fact only a handful of Asian countries rank higher. The results are basically the same as the highest ranking state in the US - Massachusetts. > huge corruption Estonia ranks #14 in the Corruption Perceptions Index, which is really good. [2] Also, having lived in Estonia most of my life I have never encountered a situation that involves a bribe, whether explicit or implied. > most young people left for greener pastures Young people want to see the world. I personally spent years living in other countries, and a lot of my friends as well. However most of us ended up returning in our 30s. Turns out Estonia is pretty great. -- [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programme_for_International_Student_Assessment#PISA_2018_ranking_summary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programme_for_International_St... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index#2020%E2%80%932022 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index#2...
foobarian 3y ago
Estonia runs most of the corporate world, and much of the Android app ecosystem as well. Not bad!
nercury 3y ago
Perfect climate: not too hot, not too cold, no earthquakes, underground fresh water basically anywhere you dig. Fiber optics covering the entire country. Full 4G coverage, because no mountains. Soil perfect for growing food. Lots of country still covered in natural forests, when compared to other EU nations. The problem is not corruption, the problem is this self-loathing victim mindset. I am also from there and I am sick of it. If you don't like it, go away somewhere where the are no problems and no corruption.

AndroTux 3y ago

I moved from Germany to Estonia because in Germany, there really is no political willingness to support entrepreneurship, startups or the internet in general. If you’re not a big car company, you’re not going to be happy in Germany as a company owner. As a founder, I am much happier in Estonia. Life is much simpler when you don’t have to jump through twenty hoops because of some stupid political decision for every action you take as a small business. While I can’t speak for all of the Baltics, Estonia truly has a lot of potential in that regard. Hell, the „IRS“ here has a support chat! Unthinkable in Germany. Sure, a lot of things need work and are still developing, especially in rural areas, and of course no country comes without issues, but Tallinn isn’t far off German cities in many areas. In some, it’s even outright better. Free public transport anyone? Being able to pay by card everywhere? Self-checkout in supermarkets? Not a thing in Germany.

gwervc 3y ago
> Life is much simpler when you don’t have to jump through twenty hoops because of some stupid political decision for every action you take as a small business. There is the same issue in France. I'm pretty sure it's viewed by big companies that own the government as a feature to impede concurence (however small) to arise.

blacksmith_tb 3y ago

Not the OP, but my house (in the US) has very nice triple-paned windows that were manufactured in Latvia by Intus. Estonia certainly has a cool, digitally-savvy reputation, though I gather a lot of that is closer to "these things which should be easy like getting licenses etc. are actually easy" so maybe that's partly hype. Haven't heard much about Lithuania recently, to be fair. I would be willing to believe the Baltics aren't going to change the whole world overnight, but is it really as bleak as you're suggesting?

Yiin 3y ago
It's really not, but we do have our share of doomers and high throughput of dezinformation campaigns from Russia, so substantial amount of public only sees the negatives. Trust issues with government is also somewhat explainable with being free country for only about 50 out of the latest 200 years.

Strom 3y ago

> no human capital Let's look at some data. Estonia ranks extremely high in math, science, and reading tests given to 15 year olds as shown by the international PISA tests. [1] In fact only a handful of Asian countries rank higher. The results are basically the same as the highest ranking state in the US - Massachusetts. > huge corruption Estonia ranks #14 in the Corruption Perceptions Index, which is really good. [2] Also, having lived in Estonia most of my life I have never encountered a situation that involves a bribe, whether explicit or implied. > most young people left for greener pastures Young people want to see the world. I personally spent years living in other countries, and a lot of my friends as well. However most of us ended up returning in our 30s. Turns out Estonia is pretty great. -- [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programme_for_International_Student_Assessment#PISA_2018_ranking_summary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programme_for_International_St... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index#2020%E2%80%932022 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index#2...

foobarian 3y ago

Estonia runs most of the corporate world, and much of the Android app ecosystem as well. Not bad!

nercury 3y ago

Perfect climate: not too hot, not too cold, no earthquakes, underground fresh water basically anywhere you dig. Fiber optics covering the entire country. Full 4G coverage, because no mountains. Soil perfect for growing food. Lots of country still covered in natural forests, when compared to other EU nations. The problem is not corruption, the problem is this self-loathing victim mindset. I am also from there and I am sick of it. If you don't like it, go away somewhere where the are no problems and no corruption.