I'm a Brazilian who moved to Lithuania. I love the career opportunities and safety — but it can be hard to make friends.

• Ricardo Sergio Schmitz is a Brazilian consultant working in Vilnius, Lithuania.
• Schmitz moved to Vilnius from Portugal to teach at a university and work for Deloitte.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ricardo Sergio Schmitz, a consultant working in Vilnius, Lithuania. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I've lived in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, for three years now.

When I first moved here, it was part of an Erasmus program in which students spent six months abroad. I studied at Mykolas Romeris University in Vilnius.

The move was originally supposed to be more of a personal adventure than a professional one, but I fell in love with the university and how international the city was.

After I finished the program, I moved back to Brazil briefly before heading to the University of Lisbon for my doctorate.

I wasn't fully happy in Brazil or Portugal as I just didn't feel at home.

When Mykolas Romeris University invited me to teach there part-time, it felt like the perfect opportunity to move back to Lithuania.

I also called Deloitte's offices in Vilnius — where I had previously worked as an intern — and they wanted me back, so everything just kind of fell into place.

The city feels safe

In Brazil, I often felt unsafe, but in Vilnius, what stands out the most is the security and how safe I feel.

It's like my day gets lighter because of it, and this means more to me than the 40 or 50-degree temperature difference.

Finding a great location to live with a normal salary is also easier in Vilnius — I have an apartment in the center of the city in a great location.

I feel like my money goes further here and the quality of life seems higher for everyone.

It can be hard to make friends

In Brazil and Portugal, it's normal to become friends with people you are introduced to quickly.

I'm a very open person who is used to engaging with lots of people, but I've found it harder to approach people in Lithuania because they tend to be less talkative and willing to interact with strangers.

It's harder to make friends with the people you meet here, even if you have friends in common.

It can make it a bit complicated to form relationships at first, but I've found that when you get to know the locals, they are reliable people and great friends. You just have to break the ice.

Startup mentality

The city feels like it's growing a lot.

I can hear much more English and other foreign languages in the street — it feels like it's becoming much more of an international community.

The city has a startup mentality and a general creative mindset, which extends to the business world. All the industries here feel very integrated.

It also feels like young people have opportunities for career progression. Young professionals are coming to Lithuania because of the possibilities to grow and access better positions than they would in their home countries.

All of this makes it feel like a very young and vibrant city to live in.