Home Sweet Home

[Wasabi]

Where would YOU like to stay if you were a little family with a toddler? (in the Helsinki/Espoo/Vantaa area I mean!)

We are returning to Finland in a few months' time and are right now looking into various places to set up house. We are considering buying a house (how are the prices now given the economic recession?). This is our first time buying property so any advice is appreciated! Also open to the idea of an apartment. Would also love to hear from you about:
1. Nice areas/neighbourhoods that you think is ideal for us - close to nature with open spaces for our young one to romp.
2. Any nice house/apt on sale which you spotted in the housing ads section?
3. What about renting instead?
Thanks for taking the time to answer this and grateful for any tips and pointers!

[Pursuivant]

well the thing depends of where you work at & will you rely on public transport,as in how much and where you will commute to and with what?

you can have a nice house in the boonies, but then you need two cars and commute a lot vs. something closer to services but maybe not so nice...

I'd suggest you rent first, settle, "figure things out"... I used to have a row house with own sauna and commutes 2 hours to work, now I live in a flat with 13 minutes to work and a shopping centre across the parking lot...

[Wasabi]

Yes, that's a good point. Husband will be working in Helsinki downtown and we'll be relying on public transport. So somewhere which doesn't take him ages to get to work and back. We used to live in East Helsinki for a short while before moving abroad. It was great to be connected to the Metroline as it was very convenient. Plus excellent shops and services all within walking distance. But since having a child, we thought it might be a good change to be somewhere "less urban" and yet have all easy access to everything! (Is that possible?!)
That's why just wanted to suss out some places others think make for a nice place to settle down. Thanks Pursuivant!

[Pursuivant]

well you have to think about shopping... eventually the kid goes to kindergarten, school, hobbies.... so even now if the missus is at home with the baby with only public transport in the boonies... you seen the movie "shining" have you? Lets say "anywhere along the track" and theres also nicer areas in East Helsinki, like towards the end of the track. Of course the shopping centres are a tad seedy. Then again anything "on a main road" is convenient also. I could warmly recommend for example Pähkinärinne in West Vantaa where I live at. Theres a lake and park area, school, you can go to a store + theres a mall with almost everything a short bus drive away, and its 30 minutes downtown with a bus, or you can connect to the train.

[Wasabi]

Thanks Pursuivant! Will definitely be checking out Pahkinarinne. Yes, the main criteria apart from being close to nature is to have all the conveniences of shops, public transport and other facilities nearby. Going out to the boonies isn't us. I've been checking out some previous threads about housing in Espoo and Vantaa. Remember reading an old post about which is better to live in Helsinki/Espoo/Vantaa but couldn't locate this thread. Anyhow, thank you again!

[umit]

I'm quite new in Helsinki to make this kind of recommendations, but Lauttasaari seems to meet all your requirements. But I'm not sure about the prices. However, for a family of your size you should be expecting to pay around 1000 euro as a rent.

[raamv]

For that rent, you might as well stay in a 70-90 sq m apartment in Ruoholahti!! Metro, Tram and Bus all close by and next to Kauppakeskus K-market and a small S market..

[Pursuivant]

the quick eau de wino factor can be calculate one day in the morning go to the shopping centre, count the amount of pubs open before noon, and count the people in there

[Paul_D]

But since having a child, we thought it might be a good change to be somewhere "less urban" and yet have all easy access to everything! (Is that possible?!)

No, it's not possible, at least not for a reasonable budget (unless you can afford a 2 million euros house in Eira). There has to be compromises.

As a matter of fact, a great number of Finns share the same dream of yours :
- own house (with a real garden, not just a big plant pot, enough bedrooms for all, no walls shared with neighbours...)
- by a lake or by the sea (with own little beach, little rowing boat, sauna...)
- in the city center (no more than 10 minutes of walking distance to Kamppi, railway station, Stockmann and Sokos)

The bad news is that you are looking for what everybody is looking for. The good news is that it makes it easy to compare different ads of flats/houses: the more expensive, the more it suits your needs. So, define a budget, either for buying and renting, and check http://www.oikotie.fi Also, check the journey planner for any ad: http://aikataulut.ytv.fi/reittiopas/en/

Oh, and I have a little story. A couple of Finnish friends of my wife were living in a flat, in a slightly "urban" district of Helsinki (Lauttasaari). They got a baby, decided to move to a little house by the green-areas of Espoo. They realized after a few months (or was it a year or 2, anyway...) that living in a green-peaceful-remote neighbourhood was something they did not like, so they sold the little house and moved to a flat in Lauttasaari. The morale of the story is: even if you're a Finn, born and having lived all your life in Helsinki/Espoo/Vantaa, you may take the wrong decision about where to live in here, so you'd better experience what you think you'd like before you buy it.

IMHO, it would be wiser to be on the rent when you settle here. Lots of advantages being on the rent at first, especially if it's a place where you'd consider buying a house/flat, whether it's Leppävaara, Munkkiniemi, Vuosaari, Hermanni, Ruskeasuo, Ullanlinna, West End, Tapiola, Matinkylä, Itä-keskus, etc. Being in the place, at least in Helsinki/Espoo/Vantaa, it will help you sorting out your needs, defining a compromise.

/Paul

[Wasabi]

Thank you everyone for your extremely useful feedback.

Raamv - Ruoholahti is simply unbeatable in terms of location and access to everything! It was also recommended by another friend living in Finland. However, with a little one now in the family I feel it might be a bit too "urban" for us (at least from the few times I was there to visit someone). Would you know if there are parks and nature nearby for us to take walks etc?

Umit - I've been told Lauttasaari is lovely but rather expensive and the houses are on the older end? Haven't been there myself but will definitely add it to our list of places to check out.

Paul - Thank you for the advice and that's precisely what we'll do when we get back. Rent a place while waiting for our stuff to arrive and in the meantime go house hunting. Have just been checking out some houses on etuovi.com. Thanks for the other links - will definitely be taking a look.

BTW, can someone explain to me what is this system of renting which requires a downpayment (20,000 euros) and then a slightly lower rental each month? Sorry, not too clear of that concept and what benefits that is over just plain renting with perhaps two months' deposit at the start? Thank you for your time.

[odon]

BTW, can someone explain to me what is this system of renting which requires a downpayment (20,000 euros) and then a slightly lower rental each month? Sorry, not too clear of that concept and what benefits that is over just plain renting with perhaps two months' deposit at the start? Thank you for your time.

That is the "osaomistus" housing, i used to live in one, but the downside is u had to take first a no from the city housing, and then wait for your turn, because a lot of people also is queing up for that, try these links and look for the word osamistus
http://www.vvo.fi/
http://www.sato.fi/fi/index.jsp

i would advice you ( as a person who bought a first time house), get a rented house for a few months, then go house hunting, because you need to be here in person to have a feel or a look around,and in helsinki area, if even u are thinking about staying for 2 yrs...buy the house/ appartement and now is the time as good as any!

[EP]

hat is the "osaomistus" housing,

Or "asumisoikeus" housing. My kids live in those and last fall they got really nasty rent rises. Not so much cheaper any more than rent on "free" market.

[Wasabi]

Thank you Odon and EP.

Could you please explain what is the difference between an Omakotitalo and Erillistalo? I noticed these two appeared during my internet search on etuovi houses on Omakotitalo.

[Upphew]

Could you please explain what is the difference between an Omakotitalo and Erillistalo? I noticed these two appeared during my internet search on etuovi houses on Omakotitalo.

Omakotitalo is yours, Erillistalo owned by housing company, just like a flat.

[raamv]

Thank you everyone for your extremely useful feedback.

Raamv - Ruoholahti is simply unbeatable in terms of location and access to everything! It was also recommended by another friend living in Finland. However, with a little one now in the family I feel it might be a bit too "urban" for us (at least from the few times I was there to visit someone). Would you know if there are parks and nature nearby for us to take walks etc?

Ruoholahti, has a big park next to a small canal/back-water from the sea, is a 10 minute walk to Töölönlahti where there is even a bigger park/walking/joggin path etc..
I dont know what you mean by too urban..!!
We moved away from there westwards in search for our own house and so we are now living in a small village..