DREAMING OF FINLAND!!!! Can I hear real life experiences!!??

davethesnakesabo · Post by **davethesnakesabo** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 1:16 pm

Hi to one and all,,,, this post is basically about myself and my wife currently looking for a place to emigrate in a few years,, and having been to Finland 5 times we absolutely love the place,,, and seriously thinking about moving over there!!

Im not living in cloud cukoo land as every country has its problems and its darker sides,,,, but life in the UK is not for us, due to the materialistic and self centred ways of life, and have felt this a lot less in Finland!! We also have a big problem in the UK with basic society, kind of falling apart at the seams,, and also LITTLE USA feeling about the place!! Dont get me wrong, we are both happy, in love, have great friends and family, but feel there is somewhere better to live!!

Neither of us like the summer that much and blazing sun, so that is not an issue! I want to know what its like in Finland to live in, as visiting and living are very different things!!

SO,,,,,,, any views and experiences of Finnish or expats are very very welcome,,, we start a course in 2 months to learn the language, hoping that if we did decide to emigrate to Finland, we would be able to have a half decent grasp of the language!!!

Cheers

Dave

**Sponsor:**

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 1:31 pm

OK, you hit the nail in the head with learning the language being essential.
What kind of work do you expect to find, where and how do you expect to live? Just sort of scoping as if you're expecting to feed your horse peanut butter, or if you are from Moss Side and think Jakomäki is luxury apartments....

And of course the question - why Finland? Friends, relatives, just plain madness?

sinikettu · Post by **sinikettu** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 1:51 pm

I had to check...

Interests: Horror flicks, HEAVY METAL!!!

Lordi Lordi...is it you..

No cant be he does not have the other interests.

Interests: Buddhism, Football, Jogging, Reading, Cooking,

Finland you either love or hate..
If you love it...then unlike the human variety it is is very permanent love...
When I go back to the UK for a visit I very quickly become "home sick" for Finland...I slurp a few pints of English beer and it tends to dilute the longing for Lapin Kulta

...and mammi...

But as you say..UK has got itself badly screwed up in the last 15 years and "out of it" is the best place to be.
But as Hank says..there are practical problems...Employment is the main one...this is coupled to the fact that almost all decent jobs demand Finnish.

EP · Post by EP » Thu Aug 17, 2006 4:55 pm

Neither of us like the summer that much and blazing sun, so that is not an issue!

Hmmm, two months without a drop of rain, most days blazing sun. Temperature at highest +33C. Lawns parched brown. Smaller trees dead. Summer 2006 in Finland.

Meri-Tuuli · Post by **Meri-Tuuli** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:30 pm

Hey there,

Yeah I live in the UK, and I don't like it much at all. I'm half Finnish and half British (don't ask which half is which!)

UK is pretty dreadful at the moment, I feel at least. Everything is soo expensive, dirty, crowded, expensive, crowded, unsafe.

Finland is a breath of fresh air to be honest.

And anyway before Finns gripe about how expensive Finland, well, its not as expensive as Britain. Seriously. Trust me. Particulary houses here in the UK are just soooo expensive. And to all the Finns who moan about Finland, well, try living in the UK when you don't own a house, have a modest income, and see how it compares to the equivalent in Finland.

Anyway. Finland is a nicer place to live than the UK.

Hmmm, you might have to get used to the Finnish culture. I suggest you mingle with the language school place in Manchester. Is it one of those ones on a saturday/sunday morning run by Finn guild and frequented by Finnish women and their British husbands and offspring???

cressers · Post by **cressers** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:37 pm

the main thing is to find a job, not sure what you do, but most tech or project management jobs dont require finnish, the larger and more multinational the company, the less you need it.

Moving to finland, THEN looking for work is tough.

If you have work, its a great place!!

kalmisto · Post by **kalmisto** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 10:59 pm

davethesnakesabo

Stuart McNaughton tells about his life in Finland :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2557589.stm

It may not be a good idea to move to Finland if you do not have a job waiting for you. It is usually very difficult to find a job in Finland if you do not speak the language. It can be much easier of course if you are a specialist of some kind. Unemployment can be very frustrating!

davethesnakesabo · Post by **davethesnakesabo** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 3:21 pm

Hank W. wrote:OK, you hit the nail in the head with learning the language being essential.
What kind of work do you expect to find, where and how do you expect to live? Just sort of scoping as if you're expecting to feed your horse peanut butter, or if you are from Moss Side and think Jakomäki is luxury apartments.... And of course the question - why Finland? Friends, relatives, just plain madness?

Not from Moss Side,, from Sale,, its really Cheshire border middle class yawn-a-thon area!! Im a professional in the financial sector and qualified to give advice on mortgage and insurance products,, whilst my wife is a fully qualified Dental Technician so we are confident of our skills and a demand for them!! Finland, been over 5 times now, love it, feels good, and sometimes, you gotta go with what you feel!!!!

davethesnakesabo · Post by **davethesnakesabo** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 3:25 pm

Meri-Tuuli wrote:Hey there,

Yeah I live in the UK, and I don't like it much at all. I'm half Finnish and half British (don't ask which half is which!)

UK is pretty dreadful at the moment, I feel at least. Everything is soo expensive, dirty, crowded, expensive, crowded, unsafe.

Finland is a breath of fresh air to be honest.

And anyway before Finns gripe about how expensive Finland, well, its not as expensive as Britain. Seriously. Trust me. Particulary houses here in the UK are just soooo expensive. And to all the Finns who moan about Finland, well, try living in the UK when you don't own a house, have a modest income, and see how it compares to the equivalent in Finland.

Anyway. Finland is a nicer place to live than the UK.

Hmmm, you might have to get used to the Finnish culture. I suggest you mingle with the language school place in Manchester. Is it one of those ones on a saturday/sunday morning run by Finn guild and frequented by Finnish women and their British husbands and offspring???

ANY IDEA OF HOW I CAN CONTACT THIS SCHOOL!!!?!?!??!

Would be very very helpful!!!!!!!

davethesnakesabo · Post by **davethesnakesabo** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 3:33 pm

sinikettu wrote:I had to check...

Interests: Horror flicks, HEAVY METAL!!!

Lordi Lordi...is it you..

No cant be he does not have the other interests.

Interests: Buddhism, Football, Jogging, Reading, Cooking,

Finland you either love or hate..
If you love it...then unlike the human variety it is is very permanent love...
When I go back to the UK for a visit I very quickly become "home sick" for Finland...I slurp a few pints of English beer and it tends to dilute the longing for Lapin Kulta ...and mammi... But as you say..UK has got itself badly screwed up in the last 15 years and "out of it" is the best place to be.
But as Hank says..there are practical problems...Employment is the main one...this is coupled to the fact that almost all decent jobs demand Finnish.

I hear what you are saying without a doubt,, to be honest though,, many people from abroad come to Britain and go to London, or another city, when tourists should be visiting Cornwall, Norfolk, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Wales, Anglesey, Scilly Iles, some parts of North Lancashire, Cumbria, and many parts of Scotland is inspiring!!

I have some gripe with society at the mo, but equally balanced is the fact Ive lived in Cornwall for 4 years, and lived in South Africa for 5, I enjoy new experiences, and love Finland,,, and would DEFO get work first, NO JOB NO GO!!!

BACK UP PLAN,,,,, place called Mossley in Lancs,,, check it out, BEAUTIFUL PLACE, at the foot of the Pennines, out of the rat race and good place to bring up kids!!!!!!

Our house is worth £180,000, we bought it for £78,000, and paid off £11,000, so we could pretty much live off one wage as our Finish mortgage would not be much!! From what I have seen a place in the suburbs of Helsinki for us would be around 160,000 euros!!!??

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 4:53 pm

davethesnakesabo wrote:Im a professional in the financial sector and qualified to give advice on mortgage and insurance products,, whilst my wife is a fully qualified Dental Technician so we are confident of our skills and a demand for them!!

No mutta hyvä, sitten vaan katsot työkkärin sivuilta pankkineuvojan ja hammasteknikon vapaita paikkoja.

polamook · Post by **polamook** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 5:18 pm

No mutta hyvä, sitten vaan katsot työkkärin sivuilta pankkineuvojan ja hammasteknikon vapaita paikkoja.

Heh. Sarkasmi, tuo ehtymätön suomalainen luonnonvara.

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 5:19 pm

No mut, miehellä on luottamus taitoihinsa ja niiden kysyntään.

Londonchris · Post by **Londonchris** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 10:38 pm

Hank,give the guy a break.
We all know Finnish is a !"#¤% to learn ,so don`t put him off.
Well short of decent dental people (unlesss mention private£$£$),
Err, your house is up north and 180k is fine ,not as much as our southern house but then you prob got cheaper pints.
Anyways,depends where you want to be and how far from the cornershop.
Sure you`ll get sorted with a little bit of hard work.
Getting sorted out here does take a while and a lot of nerves ,but once done ...well relax and be happy with a nice peaceful land full of happy drunks and lots of trees. and lakes.

davethesnakesabo · Post by **davethesnakesabo** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:04 pm

Londonchris wrote:Hank,give the guy a break.
We all know Finnish is a !"#¤% to learn ,so don`t put him off.
Well short of decent dental people (unlesss mention private£$£$),
Err, your house is up north and 180k is fine ,not as much as our southern house but then you prob got cheaper pints.
Anyways,depends where you want to be and how far from the cornershop.
Sure you`ll get sorted with a little bit of hard work.
Getting sorted out here does take a while and a lot of nerves ,but once done ...well relax and be happy with a nice peaceful land full of happy drunks and lots of trees. and lakes.

Cheers my southern cheeky chappie!! Aye, our houses up north are not worth as much as the southern homes without a doubt, but with the equity and value should give us a good grip in the Finnish market!! As for the peeps sending me Finnish responses,,, GIVE ME A BREAK,, I can get by in French and German but in the Uk we have no real educational opportunity to learn Finnish!!!!!!!! But we're both post grads and have a brain, we'll sort it out, difficult language but by no means impossible!!!

Peace and chicken grease!!!

Good news on the job front, my qualifications are recognised in Finland and as for my wife,,, she would be RIGHT IN THERE for a job,, already had 3 responses to enquiries and they arnt even bothered about not knowing Finnish!! BUT in respect, we wont be going anywhere until we learnt the lingo, only fair if you ask me!!!!

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