Londoner considering a move to Helsinki

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Londoner1986
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2017 11:35 pm

Londoner considering a move to Helsinki

Post by Londoner1986 » Mon Oct 30, 2017 11:47 pm

Hello,

I'm from London (as you might have guessed from the post heading!) and over the last few years, and having been to Finland several times with girlfriends / friends for various reasons have built up a good network of friends and potential for many opportunities. I've lived in London all my life but many people I know or grew up with have moved out of London, plus many of the people I speak to on a day to day basis are in Finland.It's somewhere that although i've never spent longer than a couple of weeks at a time i've always felt very relaxed and happy. Quality of life there is much clearer to see,at least for me it is.

I don't intend to live there permanently at this point as nothing lasts forever and I have no family there, but it is something I would love to do.As previously mentioned, I have many friends there and potential for building a new life. Even if it is only for a few years.

I'm i the process of learning the basics of the language to make a good impression on potential employers. I have however heard conflicting accounts on how much Finnish and English speaking person needs to know these days. Some Finns I know say I need to learn it to near fluency, some say I don't need to bother at all. Most of these people live in Helsinki. One thing I have noticed is that almost everyone working in the service industry in Finland (i.e. cafes, restaurants, airports, bars, etc) ALL speak near fluent English without fail. Also I am told larger corporations operate in mostly English.

My work experience has been a big mix. I've worked in Landscaping , construction, i've worked as a sound engineer, i've worked in record shops, bars, delicatessens, under many guises as a self employed individual - many different roles. I'm qualified in Audio engineering and have underpinning electrical qualifications (city & guilds).

So, with that in mind, and also taking into account that I would like to avoid construction and landscaping jobs in Finland if I could and go for a job where I burn less calories / make more money - would anyone here be able to offer suggestions for potential job roles for an English speaker who is wanting to move?

Any other advice regarding how I go about finding not only employment but then housing, organising healthcare and the like is hugely and genuinely appreciated.

Many thanks for anyone taking the time to read this and give advice!



Londoner considering a move to Helsinki

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

Re: Londoner considering a move to Helsinki

Post by Upphew » Tue Oct 31, 2017 9:53 am

Londoner1986 wrote:Hello,

I'm from London (as you might have guessed from the post heading!) and over the last few years, and having been to Finland several times with girlfriends / friends for various reasons have built up a good network of friends and potential for many opportunities. I've lived in London all my life but many people I know or grew up with have moved out of London, plus many of the people I speak to on a day to day basis are in Finland.It's somewhere that although i've never spent longer than a couple of weeks at a time i've always felt very relaxed and happy. Quality of life there is much clearer to see,at least for me it is.

I don't intend to live there permanently at this point as nothing lasts forever and I have no family there, but it is something I would love to do.As previously mentioned, I have many friends there and potential for building a new life. Even if it is only for a few years.

I'm i the process of learning the basics of the language to make a good impression on potential employers. I have however heard conflicting accounts on how much Finnish and English speaking person needs to know these days. Some Finns I know say I need to learn it to near fluency, some say I don't need to bother at all. Most of these people live in Helsinki. One thing I have noticed is that almost everyone working in the service industry in Finland (i.e. cafes, restaurants, airports, bars, etc) ALL speak near fluent English without fail. Also I am told larger corporations operate in mostly English.

My work experience has been a big mix. I've worked in Landscaping , construction, i've worked as a sound engineer, i've worked in record shops, bars, delicatessens, under many guises as a self employed individual - many different roles. I'm qualified in Audio engineering and have underpinning electrical qualifications (city & guilds).

So, with that in mind, and also taking into account that I would like to avoid construction and landscaping jobs in Finland if I could and go for a job where I burn less calories / make more money - would anyone here be able to offer suggestions for potential job roles for an English speaker who is wanting to move?

Any other advice regarding how I go about finding not only employment but then housing, organising healthcare and the like is hugely and genuinely appreciated.

Many thanks for anyone taking the time to read this and give advice!
Almost everyone in service industry speaks English, but not all customers do. If I pay money, I expect to use Finnish in Finland. Also pretty much all official stuff is done in Finnish or Swedish. Or rather they are done online, where there are few pages in English and crapload in Finnish. But if you work as specialist in large corporation it is likely that you won't need Finnish and customer service will speak English as you are the one with money.
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Rosamunda
Posts: 10650
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2004 12:07 am

Re: Londoner considering a move to Helsinki

Post by Rosamunda » Tue Oct 31, 2017 11:18 am

The best way to find a job is to use your network. If you have friends in Finland, use them to help you get a job.

The main sectors for English-only employment are IT (and related IT jobs), some kitchen work, berry picking/farm labourers and highly-specialised jobs in large corporations. You could also try the west coast areas such as Uusikaupunki (car manufacturing) and the shipyards where foreign labour is used.

Londoner1986
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2017 11:35 pm

Re: Londoner considering a move to Helsinki

Post by Londoner1986 » Wed Nov 01, 2017 12:26 pm

"Almost everyone in service industry speaks English, but not all customers do. If I pay money, I expect to use Finnish in Finland."
That is interesting. A Finnish friend of mine went absolutely berserk when he was asked to speak English when ordering a coffee in Helsinki! :D I can understand why people would though.

Re. the other reply - Thanks, I will look into potential IT jobs and any required education on that front.

Many thanks for your input and assistance.

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

Re: Londoner considering a move to Helsinki

Post by biscayne » Tue Nov 14, 2017 12:39 am

I can understand that - in your own country it is entirely reasonable to expect to be able to conduct your daily business in the language of that country - be it Finnish, Greek or whatever. The fact that most Finns speak English well is certainly handy for tourists etc., actually it's a prerequisite for the tourist business as few outside Finland speak Finnish. But for a Finn to be expected to use English when he/she is the customer and going about their life in Finland? That is crazy. Imagine if a local in the UK was asked by the barista or in the bank to speak Urdu, Greek etc.?? There'd be a riot.

It's strange that people who don't speak Finnish are employed in customer service roles. I was in restaurant Gron in Helsinki and the staff did not all speak Finnish either. Strange.


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