Hello
I am a British stay at home mom with a 3 year old daughter and a new baby due in December. I am currently living in Zurich Switzerland and I have previously lived in Amsterdam and Aix en Provence so I am used to relocating abroad but always within areas with large English speaking expat communities.
My partner has recently been offered a 2 year in contract in Turku starting next year and I am keen for some advice on whether we should move to Turku or move to Espoo. In Switzerland he currently does a 1.5hr commute so we can live in Zurich which has allowed me and my daughter to easily settle in, there are several groups and activities for children held in English and lots of bilingual preschools, there are also lots of expat meet ups etc So it has been realitively easy to make friends, but it has been hard with my partner spending so much time commuting and with another child on the way it would be nice if he could work and live in the same area.
From the research I have already done there appears to be a large expat community and lots of activities for English speaking children within Espoo and Helsinki. However, I have been unable to find much information on similar clubs or groups in Turku. Obviously I appreciate that Helsinki is much larger and has a large expat community but wanted some advise on what it is like living in Turku in comparison. I appreciate that I should try and integrate more in to Finnish society, but I know the reality of how long this takes and how difficult it can be to learn a foreign language as an English speaker.
Any information that people can provide on English speaking groups, activities for children and babies and Turku in general would be grately appreciated.
Kind regards
Vicki
Turku or Helsinki?
Re: Turku or Helsinki?
Hi,
You could check out Facebook group called Finland
ies af (without the space between ies and af) and ask them. Its a group meant for foreigners (and locals in Finland).
Also, check out www.meetup.com and www.internations.org and see how many events you can find in Turku. Naturally not everyone uses these sites, but you might get a rough idea of the international community.
You could check out Facebook group called Finland
ies af (without the space between ies and af) and ask them. Its a group meant for foreigners (and locals in Finland).
Also, check out www.meetup.com and www.internations.org and see how many events you can find in Turku. Naturally not everyone uses these sites, but you might get a rough idea of the international community.
Re: Turku or Helsinki?
Have you tried https://www.facebook.com/groups/1029500543741308/ ?Vicki.And wrote: ↑Thu Oct 18, 2018 5:47 pmHello
I am a British stay at home mom with a 3 year old daughter and a new baby due in December. I am currently living in Zurich Switzerland and I have previously lived in Amsterdam and Aix en Provence so I am used to relocating abroad but always within areas with large English speaking expat communities.
My partner has recently been offered a 2 year in contract in Turku starting next year and I am keen for some advice on whether we should move to Turku or move to Espoo. In Switzerland he currently does a 1.5hr commute so we can live in Zurich which has allowed me and my daughter to easily settle in, there are several groups and activities for children held in English and lots of bilingual preschools, there are also lots of expat meet ups etc So it has been realitively easy to make friends, but it has been hard with my partner spending so much time commuting and with another child on the way it would be nice if he could work and live in the same area.
From the research I have already done there appears to be a large expat community and lots of activities for English speaking children within Espoo and Helsinki. However, I have been unable to find much information on similar clubs or groups in Turku. Obviously I appreciate that Helsinki is much larger and has a large expat community but wanted some advise on what it is like living in Turku in comparison. I appreciate that I should try and integrate more in to Finnish society, but I know the reality of how long this takes and how difficult it can be to learn a foreign language as an English speaker.
Any information that people can provide on English speaking groups, activities for children and babies and Turku in general would be grately appreciated.
Kind regards
Vicki
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Visa is for visiting, Residence Permit for residing.
Visa is for visiting, Residence Permit for residing.