Espoo

[ChubbyPoacher]

Mrs Poacher and I are thinking of buying a little homestead in Espoo.
Neither of us know Espoo that well, being either foreign or a country bumpkin.

I was hoping someone could give me some advice on which bits are not too great, so we can avoid them.
By not great I mean 'dodgy'. (That should clear that up)

We're not in the Westend price-range, so we'll have to settle for somewhere a bit less upmarket.
We're also both under 30, and therefore not looking for a quiet retreat to whither away in.

Anyway, Espoolaiset and informed muut: which parts should we stay away from?

Thanks in advance.

[sinikettu]

Dont think there is anywhere in Espoo that I would clasify as "dodgy" not any more that is..
Matinkylä used to have that label but it has been considerably improved and has some quite nice areas now.

I would suggest that you look in the NE corner of Espoo..
I was in Lintuvaara area last week end ..Just a bit north of the big shops/railway at Leppavara.
But nice and rural.
http://kartta.hel.fi/opas/
A Map..use "Hae" to search for Lintuvaara

[Hank W.]

Well, except the student housing & city rentals ghetto in Espoon Keskus gets a few wild parties occasionally... and theres that one bit in Haukilahti... but then again it depends on your definition of "dodgy"... Foxy lives in an area they shoot at people in the taxi rank across his house and he gets police pursuits into his yard, but on the whole I wouldn't call his neighbourhood that "dodgy"...

[EP]

which parts should we stay away from?

None. I have lived in different parts of Espoo for 30+ years and I have no complaints.

not looking for a quiet retreat to whither away in.

That might be a problem. Because many parts of Espoo are just like that. Quiet and peaceful. You might also check places like Laaksolahti, Pihlajarinne, Lippajärvi...

[ChubbyPoacher]

Thanks for the help guys.
Seems like it's the land of milk and honey out west.

EP - you're right of course, Espoo is very much residential and peaceful, but I remember visiting the 'centre' of Soukka a couple of years back and it looked a bit grim. Might just have been all the grey concrete though..

We'll have to appreciate to the more leafy atmos after mostly living in centralish Helsinki.
I guess I want to have my cake and be able nip into Kamppi to eat it.

ps. What is the point of Kaunianen?

[EP]

ps. What is the point of Kaunianen?

It is gold tooth coast removed from the coast.

[Hank W.]

Well, before jebus rode in on the dinosaurs there were dragons and hobgoblins in the forests. So around 1906 after the train station was built some enterpreneurs bought farmland and split it up into lots to build a "villa" area where the "better people" of Helsinki could take refuge... there were a number of such areas like Leppävaara and Kulosaari... even Puistola and Haaga were "countryside" back then. So anyhow the Espoo hickdom... or rural county wasn't too keen of having a population centre so they let it fend for itself so in time Kaunianen became its own town and eventually a county. Of course in modern times its hard to imagine... But heres for example Mannerheimintie where the Rock&Roll McDonals is in Töölö around 108/57

And heres Mannerheimintie 3 smiths statue area...

[ChubbyPoacher]

Great photo, I used to live about fifty metres away from that McNasty's.
Do you know where I can find more photos like that of Olde Helsinki?

[Hank W.]

http://www.hel.fi/wps/portal/Kaupunginm ... panoraamat
http://www.uusisuomi.fi/kotimaa/6121-ta ... elsingista
http://albumit.lasipalatsi.fi/suomi/
http://taivaanalla.lasipalatsi.fi/

[Mook]

ps. What is the point of Kaunianen?

it has the lowest council tax rate in finland, so you save something like 1%

[Rosamunda]

but I remember visiting the 'centre' of Soukka a couple of years back and it looked a bit grim. Might just have been all the grey concrete though..

I think you hit the nail on the head. Lots of grim baby-boom concrete in Soukka and some in bits of Matinkyla still and also Kivenlahti and Espoonkeskus. Olari was like that too but has mostly been remontti-ed and improved. And even the worst bits all have leafy areas or even the odd beach. If you come from the suburbs of Paris (I worked in one of the worst parts of Evry for many years) then the whole of Espoo is close to wonderful.

So it really depends whether you want an apartment or a house with a garden or something in between like a rivitalo. If you want a house then you need to look in the smaller "villages" and keep away from the (relatively) high-rise bits (like Soukka, Matinkyla, Kivenlahti, Olari, Espoonkeskus, Leppavaara).

Then you need to decide how you want to get into town. From down here where I am (Friisilä) there is Länsiväylä which goes straight into Ruoholahti and thus the metro (and who knows, maybe, one day, the metro will get to Matinkylä). There are also many, many buses. So getting into W.Helsinki, Kamppi, and the centre is easy, very easy. BUT, getting around Helsinki or into the northern and eastern bits of town is painful. Keha I is not fun during rush hour. OTOH, if you live near to the Turunvaylä, you can drive straight into Munkkiniemi / Pitäjänmäki etc or get the train (eg from Espoonkeskus, Kilo, Leppavaara etc).

So you need to think about access into town.

Tapiola is getting better all the time, there are plans to extend the city centre and there are some leafy bits and it is VERY close to the city centre. And it will also be on the metro line (whenever).

Avoid houses with flat roofs and poor drainage. And check with the town-planners in Espoo if you don't want to be close to (a) the metro line (it might not be underground) (b) the Ring II extension (c) the new sewage works etc etc.. Most of the plans are in the public domain, on their webpages or at the library.

[easily-lost]

ps. What is the point of Kaunianen?

It looks like heaven after the rain! And people are very friendly and smiling all the time, maybe because they are aged and speaking Swedish?!

[MagicJ]

Surely you've told Mrs P. that you 'll be looking for a Tapiola penthouse flat with excellent views?





















Honk Honk!

[ChubbyPoacher]

Thanks again for the info guys, especially penelope.
I work in Kamppi, so the lansiväylä option is probably best.

Magic - I'm working on it. I'm gonna surprise her with two tickets to watch Honka reserves on her birthday and take it from there. Can't fail.

[raamv]

Follow Penny's advice on the housing places to avoid.
Other places to avoid would be kaitaa ( Industrial and old houses).
and on buying a house or an apt., its always important to put a number to the amount..as when you start your house hunting/apt hunting, the desires of the house gets you and you ll be stuck with a hefty mortgage if your carnal desires get the better out of the financial means!!
and make sure that a bank ll give you enuff without needing a guarantor or extra guarantee from insurance companies etc etc
The areas around länsivayla in Espoo have houses built around 10-20 years ago are are priced from 250K€ onwards for a 80-100 sqm house (generally).
You can also try sundsberg ( Lots of new families, and close to the masala station(1.5KM) and Länsivayla ( for driving and using the bus) houses are relatively new (<5 yrs) but priced close to 300K. similarly Saunalahti is like Sundsberg without the train ( and sometimes the bus) connections.. and prices are tad higher..
Kauklahti is new and has only bus connections on the Länsivayla side but has train connections and bus connections on the northern side (Lots of new construction and new houses etc). If you work in Kamppi, Try around the länsivayla area or the Train route.