Hello All, this is my first post after a few weeks lurking
Provided all goes to plan i will be moving to Finland in the next year or two from australia. I will by then have Finnish citerzinship.
My mother and her family speak Finnish so i have grown up with it around me but know no more then a few words. I have started at a local community collage course to help me learn the language but know i wont really benefit greatly from it until i am emersed in the language.
So the question I have is where do i live when i move Finland? I had automatically decided on Helsinki however I'm getting the feeling this would not help with me learning the language. So where does a 23yo single girl move to to have some fun and still learn the language?
Thanks!
Where to live to learn the Language?
- bretti_kivi
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Thanks Hank
Some people say that moving to more rural areas helps. In and around Helsinki/Espoo/Vantaa you can exist perfectly well in English but then you can always practice your language in the capital area as well. However, you are more likely to get responses in English even if you ask in Finnish.
Some people say that moving to more rural areas helps. In and around Helsinki/Espoo/Vantaa you can exist perfectly well in English but then you can always practice your language in the capital area as well. However, you are more likely to get responses in English even if you ask in Finnish.
- Hank W.
- The Motorhead
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Well, there are + and - points to both approaches.
Learning Finnish is akin to teaching kids to swim.
- Moving to the boondox is the "throw the kid into the deep end and say: move your hands and feet" *splash* ...ok, efficient but not so nice. Helsinki area has more "swimming instruction" so to speak.
And hey, how many of you have met a "finnish buck" from the countryside that *speaks*... I mean if some families I've spent time with had someone there they'd learn in 3 weeks to say: joo joo, ei enää kahvia and ulkona sataa...
Learning Finnish is akin to teaching kids to swim.
- Moving to the boondox is the "throw the kid into the deep end and say: move your hands and feet" *splash* ...ok, efficient but not so nice. Helsinki area has more "swimming instruction" so to speak.
And hey, how many of you have met a "finnish buck" from the countryside that *speaks*... I mean if some families I've spent time with had someone there they'd learn in 3 weeks to say: joo joo, ei enää kahvia and ulkona sataa...
Cheers, Hank W.
sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.
sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.
Move to where there are a lot of Finnish courses at different times suited to your level.
If you have access to the työvoimatoimisto intensive 6-month courses, I'd go for one of them. I met a native english speaker fresh out of that course (and freshly arrived in Finland) who had a good command of Finnish and totally capable conversational skills.
Although lots of people can speak English in Helsinki, the onus is on you to speak Finnish wherever you are. Every other city has english speakers too.
If being an au pair interests you, this could be another way. I met a german girl who was an au pair for a year, and spoke finnish everyday with the other moms at the park etc. She made excellent progress without any formal classes.
Just ideas.
--Fry
If you have access to the työvoimatoimisto intensive 6-month courses, I'd go for one of them. I met a native english speaker fresh out of that course (and freshly arrived in Finland) who had a good command of Finnish and totally capable conversational skills.
Although lots of people can speak English in Helsinki, the onus is on you to speak Finnish wherever you are. Every other city has english speakers too.
If being an au pair interests you, this could be another way. I met a german girl who was an au pair for a year, and spoke finnish everyday with the other moms at the park etc. She made excellent progress without any formal classes.
Just ideas.
--Fry
Miksi leivänpaahtimissa on asetus, jolla leivän saa palaneeksi korpuksi, ettei sitä kukaan syö?
Yeah, unfortunately there is no "just because" box on the residency permit appliation when they ask for your reason for applying/moving. Actually ... they do have a place for "other". I guess you could just write that in. I am sure they would enjoy that!Kad wrote:So it come down to two options. become a nanny or shack up with a local...Which is the less of two evils???