Winter clothes

How to? Read other's experiences. Find useful advice on shipping, immigration, residence permits, visas and more.
Post Reply
fritzandpotato
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2016 8:07 am

Winter clothes

Post by fritzandpotato » Fri Apr 15, 2016 8:18 am

Hey there,

I'm moving to Vantaa next month. I'm currently in Northern California, but grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. For those of you unfamiliar, temperatures there generally range from 40°-110°+ F (4-43°+ C). Needless to say, even in the dead of winter, a hoodie can at times be excessive. I have no knowledge whatsoever of winter clothes, though my to-be husband has taught me much in the ways of wool socks and underclothes. Unfortunately for me, my SO doesn't get nearly as cold as I do and is a bit unhelpful when asked about coats and whatnot. Does anybody have any suggestions for brands, types of coats, websites/stores to purchase from? I understand good quality items will be pricey, but I'd like not to break the bank on a jacket. Thanks for the help!



Winter clothes

Sponsor:

Finland Forum Ad-O-Matic
 

Upphew
Posts: 10748
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2008 10:55 pm
Location: Lappeenranta

Re: Winter clothes

Post by Upphew » Fri Apr 15, 2016 12:28 pm

fritzandpotato wrote:Hey there,

I'm moving to Vantaa next month. I'm currently in Northern California, but grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. For those of you unfamiliar, temperatures there generally range from 40°-110°+ F (4-43°+ C). Needless to say, even in the dead of winter, a hoodie can at times be excessive. I have no knowledge whatsoever of winter clothes, though my to-be husband has taught me much in the ways of wool socks and underclothes. Unfortunately for me, my SO doesn't get nearly as cold as I do and is a bit unhelpful when asked about coats and whatnot. Does anybody have any suggestions for brands, types of coats, websites/stores to purchase from? I understand good quality items will be pricey, but I'd like not to break the bank on a jacket. Thanks for the help!
Next month the temperatures will be in range that is familiar to you. If you want to get something for the next winter while you are still there... I'd look at offers from The North Face and Canada Goose.

http://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/seasons-in-finland
http://google.com http://translate.google.com http://urbandictionary.com
Visa is for visiting, Residence Permit for residing.

fritzandpotato
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2016 8:07 am

Re: Winter clothes

Post by fritzandpotato » Fri Apr 15, 2016 3:44 pm

I'm aware that the temperatures next month will be okay. I'm looking to prepare for November and on. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

User avatar
Pursuivant
Posts: 15089
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2004 11:51 am
Location: Bath & Wells

Re: Winter clothes

Post by Pursuivant » Fri Apr 15, 2016 8:56 pm

Ask someone living in Mount Shasta. :lol:
"By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes."

biscayne
Posts: 632
Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2008 11:43 pm

Re: Winter clothes

Post by biscayne » Mon Apr 18, 2016 4:32 pm

So..........you are moving from Northern California (a very lovely place....) to Vantaa. All I can say is good luck with that. The rest you will find out yourself.

And to business: you are moving to south Finland. You may have ideas of -20c all winter in your head, along with frolicking in the snow etc. The reality is that in this area you MAY get very low temperatures, but usually for a short period of time. The reality is more that you will be living in annoying slush for a few months. It goes a bit like this: snow falls, -5 or 6c, all lovely and fresh, then the temperature rises in a day or two, it all melts and you trudge through slush. Then, the temperature goes down, the slush freezes over, you walk on frozen slush. Or, it may snow again, in which case you walk on snow on top of frozen slush. Then, it melts again, so more slush. Basically, winter in Finland is a long period of mess.

Clothes: make sure all your trousers are washable ones, because there will be mud and slush up the back of them for sure. If you use leather boots, remember you have a window of about 48 hours to clean the snow-stains off them, otherwise the salt sets the stain and you cannot get it out. So your black leather boots will be speckled with salt stains. I lived in Slovenia before I came here, winters were Alpine, cold, snowy, but quite short. I had loads of winter gear, but ended up not using most of it because in Finland there is a lot of rain in the winter too, so you need warmth in a hard shell, try Woolrich, Canada Goose, Parajumpers, something like that. But to be honest it just was not that cold this year and layering underneath a hardshell waterproof (Didriksons make goods ones, you will see a lot of Finns wearing them) would be just as efficient. My main tip is if you are the type whose hands get cold, mine do, mittens are much better than gloves. I paid 100e for a fur lined leather pair and it was worth it, cos my hands do get frozen.

Winter itself is not a problem in Finland, for me anyway. The problem is that it just goes on too long. It is still cold enough for hats, gloves, heavy coat. It just seems to never end here. It's like bloody Game of Thrones or something.

smundoag
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2016 9:53 pm

Re: Winter clothes

Post by smundoag » Thu Apr 21, 2016 5:57 am

Living in Vantaa...this year has been my first winter here...it is exactly as you described...
I would prefer -10C for a long period rather than those -5/+5....nasty slush!
Agree...very long winter that seems it never ends...however, worst thing was darkness on November and December...
I remember we had just one week during January when it was really cold -30/-20...

TeppoKroatialainen
Posts: 88
Joined: Fri May 08, 2015 1:59 am

Re: Winter clothes

Post by TeppoKroatialainen » Thu Apr 21, 2016 8:58 pm

I came from Mediterranean country to Helsinki and when I saw the price of Canadian goose parka prices i thought i wild die in the winter :) because i though that is the price for warm jacket -about 800 euros.

But its not necessary to pay that much, I bought in Stadium their store brand for 100 euros jacket and it pushed me through the winter :) (-27 C coldest)

So my point is that you should not worrie about the clothing BEFORE you move here, because probably where you live there is not such clothing in the stores. Like in my country I don't know where could I buy down (feathers) jacket or thick wollen socks, and here there is at least one in almost every clothing store/brand.

And if you come in a month its spring so don't worry and you will have the next autumn to get used to the climate and realize what kind of clothing you need.

So my message, pack light, don't carry much clothing, your Arizona clothes mostly will not be so usefull here and proper clothes for Finland you propably can't find easy over there.

Plus wearing finnsih brands you will fit in better :wink:

twiggydoll
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Apr 22, 2016 5:51 am

Re: Winter clothes

Post by twiggydoll » Fri Apr 22, 2016 7:43 am

Experienced my first Finnish winter this past winter, in both Kouvola and Northern Karelia. It got to -30 in NK, and I only had my ordinary clothes that I brought along, and was then given a leather jacket, leather gloves and a hat, bought a scarf. While it was most definitely cold, it wasn't intolerably so despite not having the most expensive gear. Probably wouldn't stay out for any longer than necessary though. Had to start pinning my pants to my socks as the exposed muscle made me get cramps very quickly. Also doubled down on them, which helped.

Just get yourself some gloves, a scarf, hat, and a relatively warm jacket and you'll be fine until you can afford to invest in something better. Don't have to spend a fortune, just have a look around when you get there and see what you can find. Check out local craft stores, in my experience they sell good quality knitwear for reasonable prices.


Post Reply