Hello everyone. This does seen like a vey friendly board. My name is Ollie and I'm moving to Finland from the UK hopefully at the end of March next year. I'm hope this gives me enough time to learn the basics of the Finnish language. I'm reading a good book at the moment called "Finnish for Foreigners", it seems to be going fairly well and i do like the fact that Finnish is completely phonetic. In that respectic it's much easier than English i think, but i have not yet reach the hard stuff... gulp...
Basically I want to move to Espoo / Helsinki to be with my girlfriend who i met in Australia. The thing is that although i'm glad to be moving there i don;t want to be dependant on her and her friends for a social life. I was wondering how easy people found it to create a social life there when all you know is the basics of the finnish language? I know nearly all of the younger generation speak english but even so it is slightly daunting.
Another brief question is are there any web designers out there like me who could give me any advice on finding work in that field. At the moment i freelance anyway internationally so i'm not really that concerned about getting a finnish job per say but i think i would prefer it.
Jumping in socially...
Thanks for replying. I;ve visited finalnd many times now and now there are lots of foreign voices around. It's just one of the biggest steps for me leaving my freinds behind, however i suppose with ryan air being so cheap and all i don;t really have an excuse not making regular trips back home do i?
Thats great to hear you are moving to Finland! Its good that your job allows you to do this too, sorry i can't give u any more info on that area though.
As Karen said, it will probably be quite easy for you to meet foreigners in Helsinki and find some friends that way. But of course its always nice to have some local friends too, almost necessary if you really want to be a part of the culture. You will probably meet some finns through your girlfriend and might even make your "own" friends that way, but if not there are lots of ways to meet people- join some clubs or take up a sport. Its true that it can take a little while in Finland because people are quite shy at first and sometimes nervous to speak english, but they say once u have made friends with a finn you are a friends for life. And they are not always so shy, I met many outgoing finns too who were really interested in getting to know someone who was not finnish
Then again I am female, and i have heard people say its a bit easy for girls than for guys, but i dont know if this is true or just their opinion. In any case i think it depends more on how much effort you are willing to put in to getting to know people than anything else. It can be tiring some days but in the end its worth it!!! I made many wonderful finnish friends i am still close with independant of my finnish boyfriend at the time and i hope u will have the same good fortune!
I wish the best of luck and hope this forum can help you make the move that little bit more smooth...
As Karen said, it will probably be quite easy for you to meet foreigners in Helsinki and find some friends that way. But of course its always nice to have some local friends too, almost necessary if you really want to be a part of the culture. You will probably meet some finns through your girlfriend and might even make your "own" friends that way, but if not there are lots of ways to meet people- join some clubs or take up a sport. Its true that it can take a little while in Finland because people are quite shy at first and sometimes nervous to speak english, but they say once u have made friends with a finn you are a friends for life. And they are not always so shy, I met many outgoing finns too who were really interested in getting to know someone who was not finnish
Then again I am female, and i have heard people say its a bit easy for girls than for guys, but i dont know if this is true or just their opinion. In any case i think it depends more on how much effort you are willing to put in to getting to know people than anything else. It can be tiring some days but in the end its worth it!!! I made many wonderful finnish friends i am still close with independant of my finnish boyfriend at the time and i hope u will have the same good fortune!I wish the best of luck and hope this forum can help you make the move that little bit more smooth...
Re: Jumping in socially...
It's maybe not the best of times for finding a job in this field here right now, but it's not the worst either, as many companies have now gained strength again and are hiring new people. If you have a good portfolio, a diverse set of skills and 4-5 years of experience, finding a job won't be too hard in the Helsinki area, and you'll do well with just English. For instance, check out these agencies:buggedcom wrote: Another brief question is are there any web designers out there like me who could give me any advice on finding work in that field. At the moment i freelance anyway internationally so i'm not really that concerned about getting a finnish job per say but i think i would prefer it.
Satama Interactive - http://www.satama.com/
Nitro - http://www.nitro.fi/index.php?f=brief&m=5
Frantic Media - http://www.frantic.com/
Welcome to Finland,
Anytime you want to go out for a drink with some friendly faces just post a time & a place on the board
I found when I came here that the best way to meet friends was to join one of the evening classes learning to speak Finnish. Two evenings a week with 30 people all in the same boat as you. I made friends there which are still going strong 4 years later.
I also don't want to dishearten you but you are probably looking at closer to 5 years before you can hold a conversation in Finnish.. There's a big big gap between learning textbook Finnish and understanding the Finnish in common usage especially in the Helsinki area. Further north it gets much easier but down here its tricky..
Anyway good luck and Tervetuloa.
Steve
Anytime you want to go out for a drink with some friendly faces just post a time & a place on the board
I found when I came here that the best way to meet friends was to join one of the evening classes learning to speak Finnish. Two evenings a week with 30 people all in the same boat as you. I made friends there which are still going strong 4 years later.
I also don't want to dishearten you but you are probably looking at closer to 5 years before you can hold a conversation in Finnish.. There's a big big gap between learning textbook Finnish and understanding the Finnish in common usage especially in the Helsinki area. Further north it gets much easier but down here its tricky..
Anyway good luck and Tervetuloa.
Steve
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littlefrank
- Posts: 3584
- Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2004 11:51 am
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>>>per say<<
Actually, 'per se'.
I don't speak Finnish, but all my friends are Finnish, so it's no problem with social life. But be certain you can cope with Finnish winters, they're long, dark, and bl**dy freezing. Imagine living in Aberdeen for the winter period and if you don't think you could cope with that, you certainly won't cope with Finnish winters.
Actually, 'per se'.
I don't speak Finnish, but all my friends are Finnish, so it's no problem with social life. But be certain you can cope with Finnish winters, they're long, dark, and bl**dy freezing. Imagine living in Aberdeen for the winter period and if you don't think you could cope with that, you certainly won't cope with Finnish winters.
"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."
- Popular Mechanics, 1949
- Popular Mechanics, 1949
