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You’re well stocked with canned goods. You’ve been binge-watching all the survivalist shows and movies you can get your hands on.
You’re ready for a zombie apocalypse, right?
Think again, The key to surviving a Plague of Z isn't in your pantry or on Netflix—it's geographical. Instead of hiding out in your home city, get your (in all honesty) scared, ill-prepared self to Riga—the city’s your safest bet in the Baltics!
Today's world is undeniably volatile; a hoard of brain-eating zombies turning up in your neighbourhood no longer seems outside the realm of possibility. Once you realize that, yes, you’re really in a zombie apocalypse, the next thing to work out is where to survive it
The Baltic nations have a history of standing strong against invasion, from merciless Teutonic Knights to World War II occupation. Holding back a hoard of zombies would be just another page in the history books.
As The Happy Beavers, an AI content writing company based in Estonia, we were naturally intrigued to conduct our own study on the most battle-hardened Baltic cities, assessing everything from population statistics and geographic data to infrastructure and available resources. We fact-checked the results using trusted sources.
We threw the data into some tables (who doesn’t love a good table!), giving each characteristic a rating designed to sort the zombie-safe cities from the ones you’d most certainly perish in. The table includes Factors Under Consideration, Assessment Variables & Criteria that we used to draw conclusions, and a Five-Point Scale Evaluation where 1 is poor and 5 is excellent.
Top Ranked: The Best Cities for Zombie Invasion Survival
Want to know which flights you should fight with other panicked airport-goers to get on? The six Baltic metropolises safest for zombie apocalypse survival are:
A Closer Look at the Best Cities for Withstanding a Zombie Siege
Daugavpils, Kaunas, Tartu, Vilnius, Tallinn, and Riga are undeniably top-choice strongholds against the zombie threat. Let’s explore why.
Estonia
Tallinn, home to almost 400,000 people, would be a pretty good place to be during a zombie invasion.
Tallinn's old town is surrounded by medieval walls and towers, providing a time-tested layer of defence against the undead hoards. We’d like to see them try to scale those epic walls! The city borders the Gulf of Finland, the port serving as an easily accessible escape route or supply restock point.
Tartu, with far fewer people (97,117 at last count), could also work.
The University of Tartu boasts state-of-the-art medical research facilities—you’re going to need somewhere to develop that world-saving cure or zombie-specific bio-weapon. While you focus on the science, your compatriots can hunt for food and fight zombies in nearby the forests and the Emajõgi River.
Plus, Tartu is a cultural hub full of hip bars, cafes, art galleries, and dance clubs. Saving humanity from extinction is hard work; you need to have a bit of fun in your downtime.
Lithuania
Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, has over half a million people. That’s a lot of folks to collaborate with!
It's near the Neris River—an imposing barrier for zombies to traverse. The city also has a network of underground tunnels that could serve as hideouts or quick-outs. Plus, there’s a military museum you can raid for menacing and, honestly, pretty brutal historical weapons seemingly designed to fight zombies. War hammers and surprisingly strong wooden shields, anyone?
Kaunas, Lithuania’s second capital (of three), has 297,669 people and holds real promise as a sanctuary from the undead.
It's strategically surrounded by hills and rivers—namely the Nemunas and Neris—that you and your handy group of zombie fighters could tap into to build water-based defences like moats. There are tons of factories, too, which your group could use to mass-produce weapons or defensibles.
Latvia
Now, let’s take a closer look at Latvia.
Daugavpils, in southeastern Latvia, has a population of 85,286 and sits on the Daugava River.
Inhabitants can take advantage of the efficient railway system for quick evacuations or transporting supplies. After all, the undead have a hard time clinging onto the outside of speeding train carriages. You could also draw on the diplomatic skills of Daugavpils’ diverse population—communicating and coordinating with neighbouring countries is a must if you want to win World War Z. With good transport networks, substantial food and water resources, and decent hospitals, the city is well-prepared for an impending zombie invasion.
Finally, we meet our hero hideaway for an inevitable (some say) zombie invasion.
Riga, with a population of 638,784, should be your zombie apocalypse stronghold of choice in the Baltics.
What’s so special about it? Riga is located at the mouth of the Daugava River, which empties into the Gulf of Riga. It’s served the city as a natural defence barrier for centuries—there’s no reason it couldn’t keep brain-hungry, determined, but (at least from what fiction tells us) pretty clumsy zombies at bay, too.
That's not all. From Riga, you can jet off—or, let's be real, escape frantically—to pretty much anywhere you want. We're talking about nearby countries and far-off islands. You've got options: planes, buses, trains, ferries, highways … Oh, and did we mention the city has world-leading emergency services and personnel? You’ll be stitching up gashes and learning to drive a fire truck in no time!
Riga’s the capital city, so it’s certain to get more resources in an emergency. After all, it’s home to Lithuania’s central government offices and the military.
While the zombies are unlikely to run out of the brains they crave, at least in the short term, famine is a very real possibility for human survivors. Take advantage of Riga’s Daugava River for fishing and munch on endless supplies of long-lasting food like maizes zupa (a sweet soup made from rye bread), dried fruit, and spices.
While no place is 100% safe from zombies, Riga has an unrivalled mix of strategic location, strong natural and manmade defences, and practical resources that make it the best choice for zombie apocalypse survival in the Baltics.
Want to get a head start on those undead hordes? Migrate to Riga and start setting up your survivalist stronghold.
