Irish in Helsinki

How to? Read other's experiences. Find useful advice on shipping, immigration, residence permits, visas and more.
Post Reply
shakenvac
Posts: 43
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 11:08 am

Irish in Helsinki

Post by shakenvac » Fri Sep 24, 2004 4:30 pm

Hello again!
I posted another topic this morning looking for advice in general, but reading back through some of the posts I noticed that there have been a few fellow Irish have made the move to Finland.
If there are any Irish lads and lassies still in Finland, who would have any advice on finding work, cultural differences, making plans to move etc, I'd be really glad of the help.
Thanks!



Irish in Helsinki

Sponsor:

Finland Forum Ad-O-Matic
 

User avatar
fionna
Posts: 96
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2003 10:51 am
Location: Helsinki
Contact:

Post by fionna » Sat Sep 25, 2004 1:24 am

I'm going mad on the helpfulness thing - I replied to the other thread you started too.

Irish are few and far between, I think about 250 in the whole country.

I moved here because I got a good job, so I can't really help that much on the job-hunting section. If you're worried about coping with winter, I've found them much less depressing than Irish winters, since at least here there's snow to make things look prettier.

Up until Spring this year, I'd been saying that Finland is really dry. It has been lashing rain since then, so I'm revising my opinion - not quite Cork standards of rain (never mind Galway and Limerick), but close.

I'm sure I could carry on for ages, but it is late and I've had a few beers and I'm boring. So I'll stop.
Image

meenfreem

Post by meenfreem » Sat Sep 25, 2004 5:58 pm

there's an irish guy wokring in Kitty O'Sheas ... helsinki downtown irish pub. He's very friendly and tends to chat easily, especially if you keep on drinking :)

shakenvac
Posts: 43
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 11:08 am

Post by shakenvac » Mon Sep 27, 2004 12:27 pm

well i dont think winters could be any worse than here in dublin, jaysus its damp, wet and windy already!
I spent 3 months in Iceland last year, starting from January, so im hoping that will help prepare me for whats in store!

I suppose im most worried about getting a job, i'm prepared to do absolutely anything, can anyone recommend what steps i should be taking in that direction between now and my move?

User avatar
jcooper
Posts: 253
Joined: Thu May 08, 2003 2:44 pm
Location: Konala, Helsinki

Post by jcooper » Mon Sep 27, 2004 1:16 pm

Hi, I'm Irish myself and to be honest at least the houses here are heated and insulated properly not like the duff stuff you get back in Ireland, so outside cold, inside warm....amazing how it never caught on in Ireland....and hey guess what shower pressure exists, so no spit and dribble from Triton. Winter is fine.

The biggest issue you'll face apart from language barriers is that of getting a job. Plenty of people both failed and succeeded on that front and planning makes a big difference. Being able to support yourself is one thing, prices here are roughly similar to Dublin, sometimes higher sometimes lower. If you search the archives, you may have read about Dermot, a dude who was umemployed in Ireland and was in the clouds as to thinking he could wander over here and get some more free money...I guess he was from Cork, that would be my excuse if I was from Cork :) Dustybin took an exception to Dermot....

But seriously, I'm assuming you're arriving here at the behest of your loved one. To make life easier, at least one of you should be working, both being unemployed will make that darkened winter seem none too inviting. So if it means your girlfriend/boyfriend going ahead, and doing some tough work while you save every penny, life will be easier.

Education here makes a big difference, with normally more technical people finding it that bit easier to get into the workforce. That said you'll find even technical people unemployed too and on that front, its quite competitive as well. Actually if you don't have any education/skills background I'd suggest in the medium term to get back into it, there are individuals past/present who have done that and well its your best option.

As for meeting fellow natives, I met I think 2 in the last year, I'm not a big fan of Irish bars abroad but I think Fiona who you posted a reply earlier was one of the few I met. In general I get by just fine, you can't watch rugby or GAA but many places show football and champions league stuff in show on terrestrial. I don't miss much and have managed to happily substitute the things that I do. Getting by here will depend on yourself, by doing some pre planning, having an open mind and developing a resilient streak you'll do just fine.

Best of luck, post when you've arrived and we can meet up
Who is this dog Franks?


Post Reply