Moving to Finland soon...

How to? Read other's experiences. Find useful advice on shipping, immigration, residence permits, visas and more.
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Lyanne
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Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2004 10:22 pm
Location: Gibraltar

Moving to Finland soon...

Post by Lyanne » Sun Jan 18, 2004 1:56 pm

Hi all,

Im 24 years old and from Gibraltar (British) and Im planning on moving to Finland sometime this year. I have never lived abroad and would be thankful if someone could give me an idea of what I might expect. Im biligual in English/Spanish and have been working in the Company Management field for 6 years now. My boyfriend who will join me in this adventure is also British and IT Programmer.

We will take Finnish classes for sure, but how hard it is to find a job and settle down without knowledge of Finnish. Do we stand a good chance of making it there? Also, are there many british firms set up in Finland?

Many thanks for your help,

Cheers

Lyanne
:twisted:



Moving to Finland soon...

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PeterF
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Post by PeterF » Sun Jan 18, 2004 3:12 pm

hi Lyanne and welcome to ....I hope you have had time to brouse through some of the postings already on this board there are lots of tips from those of us who have been here for several years.
You ask "are there many British Companies here?"..I assume that you ask that because of the language..the answer is "yes" but they are trading in Finland with Finns so Finnish language is also often needed.
I would think that your Spanish language might be a stronger weapon put that near the top of your CV...we have less Spanish speakers here than English speakers.
But we do have a few Spanish and Mexican members.

It is a wondefull sunny Sunday here the snow is gloriously inviting so everyone is out skiing ..so be patient for more advice..the gang will be back at their PC when the sun goes down.

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deeplymauritius
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Location: Jyväskylä

Post by deeplymauritius » Mon Jan 19, 2004 10:12 pm

I too am going to be moving to Finland in the coming months. My partner is Finnish, so I have quite a good idea from her and my visit to Finland what to expect in terms of the feel of the country. However, I am a bit concerned about employment when I get there. I am learning finnish and would say that by the time we leave the UK I will be at basic conversational level but as we are moving to central Finland and not say, Helsinki or Turku etc. then employment opportunities might be hard to get without strong Finnish. So.... as lyanne said: any advice getting the first job or about Jyvaskyla/keski-suomi in general would be great.

M :wink:
The world was once so nice and shiny then Sh*t happened

PeterF
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Post by PeterF » Wed Jan 21, 2004 12:28 pm

The advice given by Gavin in his two stickies in our Job section is very relevant..Gavin is located way out in the bonducks and did live for quite a while in keski Suomi so he is talking from experience.
You are right in your guess that the further away from Helsinki the more important the language becomes also the less plentifull the opportunities..International companies tend to congrugate inside Helsinki ring three.
The next step is to start establishing "good contacts" in Finland.
In my opinion/experience about 50% of jobs get allocated via/through personal contacts and dont get put on the open market/vacancies adverts.
Poking your nose in here and posting a few times is a good start and using your Finnish In Laws and relations to keep their ears and mouths active on your behalf is also a essential weapon.

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deeplymauritius
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Location: Jyväskylä

Post by deeplymauritius » Thu Mar 04, 2004 2:13 pm

Well... our move is getting closer - the 26th to be precise - and I'm getting scared and excited in equal measures. The job hunt is going ok with a few positive leads in the field of teaching English and proofreading etc.

I am looking fwd to sharing my experiences of finding work and settling in to life in Finland in the months and (years??) to come!! :D
The world was once so nice and shiny then Sh*t happened

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eashton
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Post by eashton » Thu Mar 04, 2004 4:44 pm

deeplymauritius wrote: So.... as lyanne said: any advice getting the first job or about Jyvaskyla/keski-suomi in general would be great.
M :wink:
There used to be someone here from Jyväskylä who posted classes and whatnot. I know she hangs out on the finnish mailing list, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Finnish

Prepare for having a while before finding a job as even in helsinki where there are more foreigner friendly jobs and employers, the market is very tough since there are a lot of unemployed Finns too.

Niall Shaky
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Post by Niall Shaky » Thu Mar 04, 2004 5:36 pm

I'm curious. What brings you here if you are both British?

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Hank W.
The Motorhead
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Post by Hank W. » Thu Mar 04, 2004 5:47 pm

The cold. Some weird individuals prefer that to sunshine.
Cheers, Hank W.
sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.

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deeplymauritius
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Location: Jyväskylä

Post by deeplymauritius » Fri Mar 05, 2004 2:27 am

LOL. Thanks for the tips, I will look up the message board you mentioned.

Well.... I am coming to Finland because I happened to marry a Finn and she has been offered a research project position at the university in Jyvaskyla. I eventually would like maybe to do my PhD there also but getting a job is going to be the first priority. I've only actually been to Finland once before - when we got married - and have to say I loved it; although, that was in the middle of summer so I might be in for a bit of a shock when the cold starts creeping in next autumn/winter!!! :roll:

We have had plenty of Finnish friends whilst we have been in the UK together, so I do have a fair idea of Finnish culture etc. I have also been teaching myself Finnish for about 9 months or so now and am managing fairly successfully, though the lack of a class/school makes things quite difficult I have to say.

The job situation does worry me as I know that it is going to be really hard, what with the current unemployment rate and the language barrier. There's only so long that savings, integration money and my wife's salary are going to be able to support us. But.... I am ever the optimist and am prepared to do anything to start the ball rolling.

Strawberry picking here I come!!!!!!
The world was once so nice and shiny then Sh*t happened

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deeplymauritius
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Post by deeplymauritius » Thu Mar 11, 2004 12:42 pm

:D I just thought that I would share some positive news about my imminent move.

Having checked out th really useful info/sticky in the JOBS section, I took the direct approach and called the university in Jyvaskyla asking about work opportunities and I now have an interview arranged for some teaching and proofreading work when we get there!!

I will post of my success/failure when I know more!!

Getting quite excited about the move now, busy packing all our stuff etc. and planning a farewell party.............. :wink:
The world was once so nice and shiny then Sh*t happened

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eashton
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Post by eashton » Thu Mar 11, 2004 12:56 pm

deeplymauritius wrote: Having checked out th really useful info/sticky in the JOBS section, I took the direct approach and called the university in Jyvaskyla asking about work opportunities and I now have an interview arranged for some teaching and proofreading work when we get there!!

Nice! :) It's funny, but I'll bet there are far more job opportunities for non-Finns up there just because most furriners settle down here in Helsinki and all compete for the same jobs. I'm sure you'll find something. :)

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deeplymauritius
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Post by deeplymauritius » Sat Mar 13, 2004 9:11 pm

I just wanted to say here, having spent most of last night reading as many posts as I could about moving to Finland and Living in Finland etc. that I am really pleased that this community exists, it has been a real help :D

It seems that day by day things are getting more organised and positive about moving to Jyvaskyla - I am now signed up for a 3 week intensive spoken Finnish course at the university. I have to say that the people from the uni, especially the international occice have been soooo friendly!!

Anyway I hear the sound of dirty dishes calling me :(

laters,
Michael
The world was once so nice and shiny then Sh*t happened

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deeplymauritius
Posts: 78
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Post by deeplymauritius » Thu Apr 01, 2004 10:36 am

Well!!!!!!!!

I made it and am now in Jyväskylä, sitting in the university library tapping away at this ol' keuboard!!!

I have to say that I am quite surrealised by being here, more than I expected!

I am meeting with a potential employer at the uni this week and am attending a Finnish course at the end of the month. I'll post how I get on and pass on my experiences of Keski-Suomi life and (mis)adventures

nähdään :D
Michael
The world was once so nice and shiny then Sh*t happened

PeterF
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Post by PeterF » Thu Apr 01, 2004 11:02 am

deeplymauritius wrote:Well!!!!!!!!

I made it and am now in Jyväskylä, sitting in the university library tapping away at this ol' keuboard!!!

Inähdään :D
Michael
tervetuloa..you should have some fine views out over the lake at Jyväskylä on this fine spring morning..


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