Living in Lahti

swimmingwendy · Post by **swimmingwendy** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 2:09 pm

Hi to anyone interested in reading this...
recently moved to beautiful Lahti and wondering what things I can do here to keep me socially sane... I've been doing lots of walking in the woods, taking photos, drawing, skyping friends back in Australia, reading, watching dvds, cooking and cleaning my friends apartment... hmmm very exciting and now I'm thinking of buying a mountain bike... Would like to join walking/cycling group... does anyone know if they have either of these things here....
I've just read second edition of finding a job in Finland.. well I haven't ventured that option yet... but will need to shortly if I want to stay here for any extended period of time.... I do hold EU passport thanks to my british heritage.. so can I assume that I don't need any special visa if I want to look into finding a job here? Anyway looking forward to hearing from someone....

**Sponsor:**

interleukin · Post by **interleukin** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 2:27 pm

Having a UK passport means that you can stay here as you wish and look for a job. No visa required. But you are just a tourist, if you want to be registered as a resident (needed for any kind of social security etc) you need an excuse (Finnish spouse, job, study). Maybe you have one of those excuses already, if not you will need to fix that (get married, get a job or find a study place) if you want to stop being a tourist.

swimmingwendy · Post by **swimmingwendy** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 2:50 pm

Thanks for the info.. however I'm a little bit confused.. as I'm not planning on getting married or studying, are you saying that if I wanted to stay here (not as a tourist) I have to register to find a job or do I have to have a job lined up already?
How long can I stay here if I don't have a job, is it until my money runs out, or is there a designated time period?

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 3:13 pm

swimmingwendy wrote:How long can I stay here if I don't have a job, is it until my money runs out, or is there a designated time period?

http://www.migri.fi/netcomm/content.asp ... anguage=EN
You won't get thrown out or anything, you just don't have the social safety net (thus the requirement for health insurance in that link). So in a nutshell you can stay as long as you have money to stay.

interleukin · Post by **interleukin** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 3:15 pm

As an EU citizen you can stay as long as you want really. You are supposed to register yourself within 30 days, but you can in theory stay as long as you want. BUT then you keep being a tourist and you soon see that it is easy to be a tourist only. Example: You stay in Finland for a year as a tourist. You get sick, and realise that you are not covered by the health care system as you are only a tourist. You find out that you are also not covered by the UK system any more as you have not been residing there for a year. Big problems unless you pay for a private insurance policy.
As a non-resident you do not have the magical id number (or if you do, it is flagged as temporary in the computer), and life in Finland is very hard without the magic number. Things like getting bank accounts, internet connections, gsm phone, anything like that are very complicated without that number.
Basically, you have the same rights as a tourist.

So if you can afford to live as a tourist in Finland, and are aware that you might loose some residence-based rights in Australia/UK, then you have time to look for a job.
Just be aware that it can be a long process to find a job, depending on your skills and profession of course.

Good luck!

Bubba Elvis XIV · Post by **Bubba Elvis XIV** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 3:30 pm

swimmingwendy wrote: Would like to join walking/cycling group... does anyone know if they have either of these things here....

Yes, of course they do...I don't know of any specific groups (names and contacts etc) but yeps they have them. I know there's MTB ones in Turku. I am sure there will be ones in Lahti. There's some pretty serious bike folk on this forum so hopefully they'll answer or give you some bike forum pages.

As for walking...yeah, but same again.

swimmingwendy · Post by **swimmingwendy** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 3:55 pm

Upphew wrote:
swimmingwendy wrote:How long can I stay here if I don't have a job, is it until my money runs out, or is there a designated time period?
http://www.migri.fi/netcomm/content.asp ... anguage=EN
You won't get thrown out or anything, you just don't have the social safety net (thus the requirement for health insurance in that link). So in a nutshell you can stay as long as you have money to stay.

Thanks for the link.. I'll check it out. At moment I'm covered with "travel insurance" and luckily can afford to be a "tourist" for a little bit longer... but I guess I have to make a decision about seriously staying..

inkku · Post by **inkku** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 5:06 pm

sports clubs in lahti
http://www.lahti.fi/www/cms.nsf/pages/A ... 7000241079

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