Discovered this forum a couple weeks ago and have been just blown away by the depth of knowledge on here, so I figured I’d try to do my part share my thoughts on Riga. I’m a Latvian-Canadian, and I split my time between Latvia and Canada so I end up spending around a third of the year in Riga.
Riga seems to have a bit of a mixed reputation on this forum to say the least; some people seem to pull here really easily, others have had really unpleasant experiences. Personally, I’m of the same opinion as Roosh (Don’t Bang Latvia is excellent and should be required reading for anyone attempting game in Riga): picking up normal Latvian girls is really tough for non-Latvians guys without any social proof. Below, I’ll discuss some of the reasons this seems to be and how to attempt to overcome that hurdle, and why I think that guys looking to score in Riga should aim for Russian girls.
In my opinion, you can divide decent looking women in Riga into 3 types: scammers, normal Latvians, and normal Russians. Scammers are the (plentiful) women hanging out in clubs like Essential or on the street corners in Vecriga (Old Town) trying to lure idiotic Brits and Turks into buying them $30 shots of vodka. Now scammer girls might sleep with you, but if you are looking to pay for sex why are you on this forum? I suppose someone could try to come to Riga to try and “shore” these women, but that seems like a risky activity given these women’s often bulky Russian pimps. Also, keep in mind they do this for a living, so they are much more experienced than you. Just ignore these ladies – and that means any girls in heels that come up and start talking to you frankly.
Normal Latvian girls are completely different. Most Latvians girls (assuming we are talking about middle class Rigans) have a kinda hipstery style and wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like Essential or Babylon. These girls speak generally pretty good English and are pretty well educated. They generally live in the older, 19 and e 20 neighborhoods surrounding Riga Centrs on either side of the Daugava. Unfortunately, these women strongly prefer to date and sleep with Latvian men. There are a lot of factors for this including the xenophobia inherent in a nation occupied and still filled with invaders (Russians make up about half the population of Riga), a deep paranoia about making grammar mistakes while speaking English, a mistrust of foreign tourists after years of stag party abuse and a government campaign against sex tourism, and frankly a sort of national pride in mixing exclusively with Latvians. In no other city I’ve been to are there clubs that only let in natives like there are in Riga.
The unfortunate thing -from the perspective of you foreign gentlemen, not us Latvians![[Image: wink.gif]](https://rooshvforum.network/images/smilies/wink.gif)
- is that Latvian girls really do put out fairly easily. There is very little cultural shame in one-night stands, and in my experience inter-Latvian hookup culture greatly resembles that of Iceland (social circle game, one night stands, late partying, heavy drinking, hipster style)…Roosh alluded to this in DBL and he’s seriously spot on from someone who’s partied in both countries. So as a Latvian, Riga is a great place to party and hang out but not so much for everyone else.
How to overcome this? Well firstly, if you can join a Latvian social circle, you’ll be solid. Seriously, if you roll into Pulkvedis with a Latvian or two with even decent game and style you’ll at least get atleast a kiss and a number or two and I imagine you will pick up well if you put in the time and effort. Being with other Latvians indicates that you are “one of us” and you may actually pull better than the Latvian guys there since you are both accepted and different.
If you can’t find some Latvian wingmen/women, you have a couple options to pull some action. First, try saying you’re Latvian-American or Canadian. There are a decent number of dudes (and girls) of Latvian decent that hang around Riga. They are pretty accepted into the native Latvian social circle, if sometimes seen as odd cause they often speak with an accent and have more money than is normal. Obviously you don’t speak Latvian, but pulling the foreign Latvian card with a Latvian girl is probably your best move; say your parents didn’t value the heritage but you’ve come back to the Fatherland to reconnect with your roots…Latvian girls will really be into this. Otherwise, just try to be a cool laid back guy, make it clear that you aren’t British or a sex tourist (but I repeat myself) and that you are just blown away by the how awesome Latvia and Latvian culture are (opera, choral singing, Jugendstil architecture, natural beauty…yeah we Latvians are suckers for praise). It is important to be aware that while most Latvian girls speak quite good English, as a society we are absolutely paranoid about making grammar or pronunciation mistakes; we are obsessed with language and its considered insulting. Also, Latvians are incredibly non-talkative; we can sit with our friends in total silence for a long time and be perfectly normal. For this reason, I completely second Roosh’s observation that dancing and smiling are the best ways to build intimacy at first. Once a girl is more relaxed with you, you can move on to conversation, which again should touch on how great Latvia is.
As a side note, virtually all the “Latvian” women you’ll meet on Badoo or VKontakte will be Russians. Latvians tend to stick to their own FB-type social network called Draugiem. If you speak any Latvian, a Draugiem profile will go a long long way.
Where to pick up Latvian girls:
Pulkvedim neviens neraksta (Peldu iela 26 – Vecriga) Pulkvedis (the Colonel) is THE club for the Latvian middle class…virtually all Latvians that hit up the club will go to Pulkvedis with some regularity. Its kinda alternative (not too alternative – for that go to Depo) in keeping with the general Latvian vibe, but its also chill and just a fun place to hang out. If you’re with Latvians or can pull off the Latvian-American thing, you’ll score big here. Even if not, its probably you’re best shot, since it is the most open of the real Latvian clubs to foreigners. And hey, worst case scenario, its right down the street from Friendly Fun Franks, Riga’s most debauched hostel, so you can always try to pick up wasted Australian backpackers at 4am.
Depo (Valnu iela 32) – Somewhat edgier than Pulkvedis, more of a Kruezberg vibe, although a lot tamer and easier to get to than Andrejsala, Riga's drug-fueled island of underground pop-up clubs north of the city in a post-industrial wasteland. Good place to get some weed if that’s your thing and probably the easiest place to pick up a Latvian girl as a foreign if your vibe fits and you don’t mind girls with lots of tats and piercings.
Where to stay to pick up Latvian girls:
Not a hotel! Nothing screams sex tourist like taking a girl back to your hotel, and chances are if she’s under 30 she lives with her parents or in a university dorm/apartment. So do yourself a favor and AirBnB it and get an apartment. In my opinion, aim for a middle/upper middle class neighborhood near the Old Town; so of the best are Centrs, Jugla, Teika and across the river Agenskalns (where I live) and Tornkalns. Yeah it necessitates more of a walk or a taxi, but it will make you look like much more of part of the Latvian scene than an obviously short term Old Town rental.
Since all of the above really does sound exhausting, the only real reason to try to sleep with Latvian girls is for the challenge or because you’re really into their look. Be forewarned though, most of the super hot girls in 4 in heels you seem pounding the cobblestones are not Latvians, but Russians, and they require a totally different style. In my opinion, banging Russian girls is the only reason foreign guys should come to Riga (and when they’ve cleaned up here, Id bet a great deal it was with the Russians) The Russian girls here, while more Westernized than in say Ukraine or Russia outside Moscow, are still the sort of tanned, feminine, skirt and heel wearning sorts that seem to have disappeared from most of Europe and America (Latvian girls – and guys- rock a much more alternative, Berlin vibe) In other words, totally something you should be trying to get on! Unlike Latvian girls though, they seem to be looking much more for a relationship…maybe not a long one, but more than just a one night stand. There are exceptions obviously and should be sought after, but Russian girls should be seen as projects in my opinions, with a date or two sometimes necessary before the bang. However, they are also much much more open to foreign guys (have you seen their men???) and again are just exactly the stereotypical hot Eastern European girl you probably came to Riga to sleep with.
Where to pick up Russian girls:
La Rocca (Brivibas iela 96) – This is a giant Russian dance club on Riga’s main avenue, with an excellent ratio and some good pick up spots. The downside is that they play terrible Russian techno and it has its fair share of thick gents in leather jackets, but I mean these are Russians we’re talking about right? Suit up like you would in Moscow, there’s some serious face control. Probably the easiest place for a foreigner to get a non-scam one night scam in Riga.
Push (Terebatas iela 2) – More relaxed, less glam Russian club that plays a lot of hip hop and attracts less of the party girls and more of the ladies from the suburbs (Riga’s suburbs are heavily Russian and terrible). Your foreign status will stand out as interesting and appealing here…the biggest issue will be language barrier and obnoxious men, but the women are really quite attractive.
Where to stay to pick up Russian women:
You may work out fine with a hotel, particularly one of the nicer ones in Old Town, but if you’ll be here a while opt for an apartment, preferably one of in Old Town. Displaying value through spending money will go much farther with Russians, particularly if you plan on taking girls on dates instead of just pursuing one night stands.
Obviously these are just my thoughts and assessments as a Latvian, your experience may have been or may be very different. Definitely check our Roosh’s Don’t Bang Latvia if you’re planning on going; there are also really good write ups on Riga already on the forum. If anyone on here is planning on hitting up Riga, PM me and I’ll be happy to provide more info or wingman it if I happen to be in town.
Riga seems to have a bit of a mixed reputation on this forum to say the least; some people seem to pull here really easily, others have had really unpleasant experiences. Personally, I’m of the same opinion as Roosh (Don’t Bang Latvia is excellent and should be required reading for anyone attempting game in Riga): picking up normal Latvian girls is really tough for non-Latvians guys without any social proof. Below, I’ll discuss some of the reasons this seems to be and how to attempt to overcome that hurdle, and why I think that guys looking to score in Riga should aim for Russian girls.
In my opinion, you can divide decent looking women in Riga into 3 types: scammers, normal Latvians, and normal Russians. Scammers are the (plentiful) women hanging out in clubs like Essential or on the street corners in Vecriga (Old Town) trying to lure idiotic Brits and Turks into buying them $30 shots of vodka. Now scammer girls might sleep with you, but if you are looking to pay for sex why are you on this forum? I suppose someone could try to come to Riga to try and “shore” these women, but that seems like a risky activity given these women’s often bulky Russian pimps. Also, keep in mind they do this for a living, so they are much more experienced than you. Just ignore these ladies – and that means any girls in heels that come up and start talking to you frankly.
Normal Latvian girls are completely different. Most Latvians girls (assuming we are talking about middle class Rigans) have a kinda hipstery style and wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like Essential or Babylon. These girls speak generally pretty good English and are pretty well educated. They generally live in the older, 19 and e 20 neighborhoods surrounding Riga Centrs on either side of the Daugava. Unfortunately, these women strongly prefer to date and sleep with Latvian men. There are a lot of factors for this including the xenophobia inherent in a nation occupied and still filled with invaders (Russians make up about half the population of Riga), a deep paranoia about making grammar mistakes while speaking English, a mistrust of foreign tourists after years of stag party abuse and a government campaign against sex tourism, and frankly a sort of national pride in mixing exclusively with Latvians. In no other city I’ve been to are there clubs that only let in natives like there are in Riga.
The unfortunate thing -from the perspective of you foreign gentlemen, not us Latvians
- is that Latvian girls really do put out fairly easily. There is very little cultural shame in one-night stands, and in my experience inter-Latvian hookup culture greatly resembles that of Iceland (social circle game, one night stands, late partying, heavy drinking, hipster style)…Roosh alluded to this in DBL and he’s seriously spot on from someone who’s partied in both countries. So as a Latvian, Riga is a great place to party and hang out but not so much for everyone else.How to overcome this? Well firstly, if you can join a Latvian social circle, you’ll be solid. Seriously, if you roll into Pulkvedis with a Latvian or two with even decent game and style you’ll at least get atleast a kiss and a number or two and I imagine you will pick up well if you put in the time and effort. Being with other Latvians indicates that you are “one of us” and you may actually pull better than the Latvian guys there since you are both accepted and different.
If you can’t find some Latvian wingmen/women, you have a couple options to pull some action. First, try saying you’re Latvian-American or Canadian. There are a decent number of dudes (and girls) of Latvian decent that hang around Riga. They are pretty accepted into the native Latvian social circle, if sometimes seen as odd cause they often speak with an accent and have more money than is normal. Obviously you don’t speak Latvian, but pulling the foreign Latvian card with a Latvian girl is probably your best move; say your parents didn’t value the heritage but you’ve come back to the Fatherland to reconnect with your roots…Latvian girls will really be into this. Otherwise, just try to be a cool laid back guy, make it clear that you aren’t British or a sex tourist (but I repeat myself) and that you are just blown away by the how awesome Latvia and Latvian culture are (opera, choral singing, Jugendstil architecture, natural beauty…yeah we Latvians are suckers for praise). It is important to be aware that while most Latvian girls speak quite good English, as a society we are absolutely paranoid about making grammar or pronunciation mistakes; we are obsessed with language and its considered insulting. Also, Latvians are incredibly non-talkative; we can sit with our friends in total silence for a long time and be perfectly normal. For this reason, I completely second Roosh’s observation that dancing and smiling are the best ways to build intimacy at first. Once a girl is more relaxed with you, you can move on to conversation, which again should touch on how great Latvia is.
As a side note, virtually all the “Latvian” women you’ll meet on Badoo or VKontakte will be Russians. Latvians tend to stick to their own FB-type social network called Draugiem. If you speak any Latvian, a Draugiem profile will go a long long way.
Where to pick up Latvian girls:
Pulkvedim neviens neraksta (Peldu iela 26 – Vecriga) Pulkvedis (the Colonel) is THE club for the Latvian middle class…virtually all Latvians that hit up the club will go to Pulkvedis with some regularity. Its kinda alternative (not too alternative – for that go to Depo) in keeping with the general Latvian vibe, but its also chill and just a fun place to hang out. If you’re with Latvians or can pull off the Latvian-American thing, you’ll score big here. Even if not, its probably you’re best shot, since it is the most open of the real Latvian clubs to foreigners. And hey, worst case scenario, its right down the street from Friendly Fun Franks, Riga’s most debauched hostel, so you can always try to pick up wasted Australian backpackers at 4am.
Depo (Valnu iela 32) – Somewhat edgier than Pulkvedis, more of a Kruezberg vibe, although a lot tamer and easier to get to than Andrejsala, Riga's drug-fueled island of underground pop-up clubs north of the city in a post-industrial wasteland. Good place to get some weed if that’s your thing and probably the easiest place to pick up a Latvian girl as a foreign if your vibe fits and you don’t mind girls with lots of tats and piercings.
Where to stay to pick up Latvian girls:
Not a hotel! Nothing screams sex tourist like taking a girl back to your hotel, and chances are if she’s under 30 she lives with her parents or in a university dorm/apartment. So do yourself a favor and AirBnB it and get an apartment. In my opinion, aim for a middle/upper middle class neighborhood near the Old Town; so of the best are Centrs, Jugla, Teika and across the river Agenskalns (where I live) and Tornkalns. Yeah it necessitates more of a walk or a taxi, but it will make you look like much more of part of the Latvian scene than an obviously short term Old Town rental.
Since all of the above really does sound exhausting, the only real reason to try to sleep with Latvian girls is for the challenge or because you’re really into their look. Be forewarned though, most of the super hot girls in 4 in heels you seem pounding the cobblestones are not Latvians, but Russians, and they require a totally different style. In my opinion, banging Russian girls is the only reason foreign guys should come to Riga (and when they’ve cleaned up here, Id bet a great deal it was with the Russians) The Russian girls here, while more Westernized than in say Ukraine or Russia outside Moscow, are still the sort of tanned, feminine, skirt and heel wearning sorts that seem to have disappeared from most of Europe and America (Latvian girls – and guys- rock a much more alternative, Berlin vibe) In other words, totally something you should be trying to get on! Unlike Latvian girls though, they seem to be looking much more for a relationship…maybe not a long one, but more than just a one night stand. There are exceptions obviously and should be sought after, but Russian girls should be seen as projects in my opinions, with a date or two sometimes necessary before the bang. However, they are also much much more open to foreign guys (have you seen their men???) and again are just exactly the stereotypical hot Eastern European girl you probably came to Riga to sleep with.
Where to pick up Russian girls:
La Rocca (Brivibas iela 96) – This is a giant Russian dance club on Riga’s main avenue, with an excellent ratio and some good pick up spots. The downside is that they play terrible Russian techno and it has its fair share of thick gents in leather jackets, but I mean these are Russians we’re talking about right? Suit up like you would in Moscow, there’s some serious face control. Probably the easiest place for a foreigner to get a non-scam one night scam in Riga.
Push (Terebatas iela 2) – More relaxed, less glam Russian club that plays a lot of hip hop and attracts less of the party girls and more of the ladies from the suburbs (Riga’s suburbs are heavily Russian and terrible). Your foreign status will stand out as interesting and appealing here…the biggest issue will be language barrier and obnoxious men, but the women are really quite attractive.
Where to stay to pick up Russian women:
You may work out fine with a hotel, particularly one of the nicer ones in Old Town, but if you’ll be here a while opt for an apartment, preferably one of in Old Town. Displaying value through spending money will go much farther with Russians, particularly if you plan on taking girls on dates instead of just pursuing one night stands.
Obviously these are just my thoughts and assessments as a Latvian, your experience may have been or may be very different. Definitely check our Roosh’s Don’t Bang Latvia if you’re planning on going; there are also really good write ups on Riga already on the forum. If anyone on here is planning on hitting up Riga, PM me and I’ll be happy to provide more info or wingman it if I happen to be in town.
