Brit wanting to move to Finland, advice please :)

lbrownluke · Post by **lbrownluke** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 5:37 pm

23 years old, my girlfriend in Finnish, living in Oulu, and I've been seriously thinking about moving to live with her.

My career background isn't the best, but i dont let it knock me back! I used to work in the leisure industry, but now i work as an IT junior, a service desk engineer for a software company.

I understand a lot from older posts etc that Language is a must, and its definitely something I will crack on with! I'm very interested in learning new languages, and Finnish interests me alot. And yes, I know its hard, but I'm up to the challenge!

My plan would be to save as much as I could, visit the country as much in the next year / 2 year and gain better Finnish speaking skills before the big leap. Obviously accommodation would be with her, it's just the job side of things
which will require more thought. I am really open to most things, although IT is where my interests lie. I know only knowing english would hold me back, and perhaps lack of experience. But how hard is it to find entry level jobs? Particularly in the Oulu area? Also knowing alot about computers and IT would give me a slight direction to head in, but would be more than willing to branch out! Also Ski resorts? Do they hire foreigners throughout the seasons?

Any suggestions or little advice you can offer would be most appreciated!

Kind regards

**Sponsor:**

Kutittaa · Post by **Kutittaa** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 1:33 am

1. You will not learn Finnish from visiting here and trying to learn. You will be too busy drinking, partying and enjoying the country. Even if you do spend the entire time here studying you will not learn shít. To learn, you must live here, permanently. So get that out of your head. Oh and your 'girlfriend' will not teach you anything. Don't pressure the poor girl.

2. You have no chance in hell in getting a job 'as an I.T. junior' with or without Finnish/Qualifications. You have more competition than just about anyone else and you don't know a shred of Finnish = No one wants you. If you want to live here pick another career.

3. There are no jobs here for I.T. in Oulu. Pick another career AND another area.

4. It is impossible to find entry level jobs without Finnish.

5. Would you hire someone to your Ski resort in England if they didn't speak English? No.. stop asking stupid questions. But nice try.

6. Saving is good. Saving more, is even better. Save as much as you can. Come for a Holiday, find out if this is the place for you, or if you are in way over your head. Smash your hopes and dreams and your expectations and actually learn about the place that you want to live in so badly, before you make an irrational decision.

7. Your career background is non-existent. Finns don't care about your 'past entry-level job history'. Get a masters degree and then someone will look at you. But without 2 of them, they probably won't talk to you.

8. If you are in any way offended by my post, then this isn't the country for you. Try Sweden ---> http://www.runawaybrit.com/2011/03/20/w ... e-to-live/

9. No really, try Sweden. More jobs, social security pays more, your wife can relocate, learning Swedish is 1,000,000 times easier than Finnish, Swedish sounds cooler than Finnish, Sweden is the 'greenest place on earth' (oh well it used to be, darn those Nords!!), I also hear that Swedish girls are super easy, so if your girlfriend leaves you, you'll have no problem finding company. Whereas, in Finland people might think bad of you.

10. Do you have any other reason for wanting to come here, apart from the fact that your girlfriend lives here and isn't stupid enough to move to England to live with you?

rinso · Post by **rinso** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 7:36 am

Another charming post from Kutittaa.

But unfortunately for you he has a point.
- Since Oulu strongly feels the effects of the Nokia decline IT jobs without masters and experience are unreachable there.
- Learning Finnish takes many years and only if you're immersed in it all the time, not just for a short holiday.
- There are no ski resorts in Oulu and without Finnish and or excellent experience as a ski instructor you have little chance elsewhere.

and I've been seriously thinking about moving to live with her.

Are you sure she feels the same?
If you are meant to be together both partners would work hard to make it happen.

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 11:38 am

Also Ski resorts? Do they hire foreigners throughout the seasons?

Yeah, especially for midsummer mosquito season, you won't believe the hordes of masochists sitting on a grassy knoll blackened with bloodsucking gnats.

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 11:42 am

Question is, what stops the Oulu girl from moving to Wank-on-Chav or which ever market town you hail from? She would by all probability have the language in hand.

lbrownluke · Post by **lbrownluke** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 7:53 pm

If you are in any way offended by my post

Even if you do spend the entire time here studying you will not learn shít

gain better Finnish speaking skills

My Finnish at the moment is of a basic level, i can understand spoken Finnish if said slowly and clearly. But like I said, i don't tend to be fluent before I go, just to improve.

Oh and your 'girlfriend' will not teach you anything. Don't pressure the poor girl.

I can see from this you know quite a lot about her. Well, It was her idea..not mine.

You have no chance in hell in getting a job 'as an I.T. junior'

Not once did I say i wanted an IT job in Finland, it goes without saying you need qualifications (which I have). I simply stated i was looking for A job.

Your career background is non-existent. Finns don't care about your 'past entry-level job history'

Again, good assumption,...that was more about myself in my current state for this forum, rather than a job application.

Would you hire someone to your Ski resort in England if they didn't speak English? No.. stop asking stupid questions

First, England has no ski resorts, so stop making stupid statements. Second, Nobody said anything about being a ski instructor or anything. She (girlfriend) lives close to Oulu, but also family close to Ruka. It was merely a option if they hired anyone for any reason.

Try Sweden

I've been to Sweden, also been to Finland many times. I've made up my mind thanks.

I also hear that Swedish girls are super easy, so if your girlfriend leaves you, you'll have no problem finding company. Whereas, in Finland people might think bad of you.

Didn't come here for relationship advice..

I guess it's your job to prove to the world there are assholes everywhere you go Kutittaa, oh and before you come back with "well its the truth," there are certain ways you can word things and communicate with people, and come across. But not to worry, I appreciate you taking the time to read and construct a reply, even if you do sound like a stuck up pretentious douchebag

<3

Wank-on-Chav or which ever market town you hail from?

Good one... I'd hate to tell you the stereotypes we have for you

what stops the Oulu girl from moving

Nothing, nothing is set in stone, everything is an option. Obviously i wouldn't base my final decision on what anons say on a forum

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 8:36 pm

First, England has no ski resorts

Tell that to Yad Moss.

Kutittaa · Post by **Kutittaa** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:05 pm

lbrownluke wrote:My Finnish at the moment is of a basic level, i can understand spoken Finnish if said slowly and clearly. But like I said, i don't tend to be fluent before I go, just to improve.

Bullshít. I doubt you could understand jack if you walked into any workplace or even a doctors office for that matter. Humility is important, realising you're way in over your head and accepting that you're in for the fight of your life, is also important. No nonsense.

Oh and your 'girlfriend' will not teach you anything. Don't pressure the poor girl.
I can see from this you know quite a lot about her. Well, It was her idea..not mine.

Everyone is too busy to teach you Finnish and put up with your mistakes when 99.9% of the answer to everything is "Sorry, I know it makes no sense at all but that is just the way it is!!" You will be taught one thing, and then another that goes against absolutely everything you were just taught. But that is the way that it goes. The only real way to learn Finnish is to be Finnish and to have had it injected into you as a child. Do you have any idea how stupid expats look when they try to communicate in Finnish? Maybe to other expats, and natives (that will give them the time of day) they are understandable. Maybe your girlfriend thinks you're 'talented' but no one else cares. You'll learn that if you want to live here. You'll also learn that you don't learn as quickly as you think you do and that what you thought you knew, suddenly is wrong and has been all along. You're going to be dying when they force you to learn 1-10 because you'll be able to say it standing on your head with a mouth full of marbles. But then you're going to die again when they start teaching you 'sijamuodot' or 'poikkeuksia' because you won't understand a thing, they don't make mathematical sense like what much of 'German' does. Learning Finnish is like driving a car, you think you'll be good at it, but there are no cheats. There are no short-cuts. The only thing you can do is sit back, try your best and fail and look stupid over and over again.

Take this from a guy who has actually done the courses and actually knows a thing or two.. most of the rest of the forum (who were lucky/unlucky enough to get into the classes) will probably agree with me.
Basic level Finnish... being able to understand if someone speaks slowly. *Scoff* no one in Finland speaks slowly.. and no one will try and speak slowly for you so you understand in Finnish.

Even if you do finish the courses there's still työharjoittelu to complete afterwards. You've been in your safe environment in class learning with a bunch of newbs. Now you're going to be thrown out into the public for some months, forced to deal with angry old Finnish men and if your Finnish doesn't sound perfect, and if your tone isn't perfect. You're @#$%. They'll yell at you, they'll make funny faces, then EVERYONE will make funny faces. You'll scream and claim 'racism' or workplace abuse or whatever. You're going to love it mate. It's one thing to learn in a safe class with all of your homies <3 but I'd like to be there when 70% of the people you try and talk to go 'WTF??!' and when you try and fall back on English they go 'WTFF?????????!!' and simply walk over to one of your superiors to ask them the same question and have it done in 3 seconds.

You have no chance in hell in getting a job 'as an I.T. junior'
Not once did I say i wanted an IT job in Finland, it goes without saying you need qualifications (which I have). I simply stated i was looking for A job.

You did mention (I.T.) though, and I just wanted to make sure to crush your hopes and/or ideas of wasting time in trying to get a job in I.T. before you went about wasting your time trying. Everyone is looking for a job, get in line.

Your career background is non-existent. Finns don't care about your 'past entry-level job history'
Again, good assumption,...that was more about myself in my current state for this forum, rather than a job application.

Again, Bullshít. Your career background is non-existent. You have no masters, which means you have no quals'. Get that through your chav-head.

Would you hire someone to your Ski resort in England if they didn't speak English? No.. stop asking stupid questions
First, England has no ski resorts, so stop making stupid statements. Second, Nobody said anything about being a ski instructor or anything. She (girlfriend) lives close to Oulu, but also family close to Ruka. It was merely a option if they hired anyone for any reason.

Really? Even I know that it actually has a few:
http://skicentral.com/england.html

But that isn't the point, the point is that you understand where I am coming from. Would you hire someone, for any job in England if they couldn't speak English? No. So don't make this a debate about semantics, or 'circumstance' when it isn't about either. Dumbass.

Try Sweden
I've been to Sweden, also been to Finland many times. I've made up my mind thanks.

Good for you. Yet you don't seem to know much about living here... hmmmmmmmm.

I also hear that Swedish girls are super easy, so if your girlfriend leaves you, you'll have no problem finding company. Whereas, in Finland people might think bad of you.
Didn't come here for relationship advice..

Don't care. It comes free with every douchebaggy thread from the OP. Muahahaha

I guess it's your job to prove to the world there are assholes everywhere you go Kutittaa, oh and before you come back with "well its the truth," there are certain ways you can word things and communicate with people, and come across. But not to worry, I appreciate you taking the time to read and construct a reply, even if you do sound like a stuck up pretentious douchebag <3

<33 Thanks so much babe. No really buddy, if you can't take a bit of criticism without getting all red-faced then you have a serious problem, not with your character. But with wanting to move here.

Wank-on-Chav or which ever market town you hail from?
Good one... I'd hate to tell you the stereotypes we have for you

So why are you moving here then? By the way, Persuivant lives in England.

what stops the Oulu girl from moving
Nothing, nothing is set in stone, everything is an option. Obviously i wouldn't base my final decision on what anons say on a forum

Your candidacy for residency here just dropped 100 points.

Why would you bother asking help from a bunch of 'anons' then? You came here for advice, and you were given a bunch of pretty good things to think about.

I hope you do make it here. Your girlfriend better be 'game' to help you, you're going to need it. Because you're going to need to hold her hand. My advice, is that you pick a big town like Helsinki where many people speak English so you have something to fall back on. Good luck and try not to take things too seriously over the internet.

Kutittaa · Post by **Kutittaa** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:20 pm

5 minutes later and I have a huge feeling of nostalgia.. from the moment I got here, to this moment. I love you Finland. And I also hate you Finland.

lbrownluke · Post by **lbrownluke** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:59 pm

I saw a wall of text and realised its from you, and then noticed your a scummy one sided biost convict mug. All the same! So to be fair, your opinion means nowt to me. I took !"#¤% from convicts for 9 months, more than enough

As for the language, i would love to prove you wrong :p and i love your "ive done it, therefore no one else can." How do you know i cant speak the language? Riding on asumption.

As for getting by in a foreign country. I lived in cambodia for 4 months. Vietnam for 4 months and china for 3. And i can guarentee the barriers are far higher ;p

I hope i make it too, but you will never know if u dont give it a crack ey!

But to be honest. I dont know why im telling you this. I wish you all the best dude, no hard feeligs, thanks for your time, guidance and love. Maybe see you around sometime! And dont worry, i dont take anything seriously.

P.s you should join the anons....see you on the chan bro <3

Oh and newb? Cute

Ross1983 · Post by **Ross1983** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:32 pm

Your best bet is finding a cleaning job to start with,

I have a trade and I secured a job before I got here, I would highly recomend you do the same. Also a plan B job is a must, SOL has two places in Oulu contact the two place individually one does snow cleaning in the winter "that would be a good start & contact them directly aswell as doing the online forms with all the cleaning companys.

Kutittaa · Post by **Kutittaa** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:52 am

Kutittaa wrote:
lbrownluke wrote:I saw a wall of text and realised its from you, and then noticed your a scummy one sided biost convict mug. All the same! So to be fair, your opinion means nowt to me. I took !"#¤% from convicts for 9 months, more than enough
As for the language, i would love to prove you wrong :p and i love your "ive done it, therefore no one else can." How do you know i cant speak the language? Riding on asumption.
As for getting by in a foreign country. I lived in cambodia for 4 months. Vietnam for 4 months and china for 3. And i can guarentee the barriers are far higher ;p
I hope i make it too, but you will never know if u dont give it a crack ey!
But to be honest. I dont know why im telling you this. I wish you all the best dude, no hard feeligs, thanks for your time, guidance and love. Maybe see you around sometime! And dont worry, i dont take anything seriously.
P.s you should join the anons....see you on the chan bro <3
Oh and newb? Cute

I underlined your spelling mistakes, and didn't even bother highlighting all the punctuation mistakes. It was so obvious that you're immature just from reading your initial post. Better to set you straight for your own good I guess.

*Sigh* this is what I am talking about... you know "No hard feelings" goes both ways right? If you aren't taking me seriously, I'd love to see your response to something that you are taking seriously.

To be honest I want people to succeed at coming here, I just don't want them to humiliate themselves in the process. Why else would I bother writing such long replies? Even if it only takes me 60-something seconds... We've had hundreds of people come through the forums here, get a fresh taste of reality, prepared and ready they battle on and then next thing you know they're here and loving it. Moving to another country isn't a small step. I doubt that you have ever been here, I doubt that you have ever been to Sweden and I doubt just about everything else you say...

'The chans' oh god... I doubt you remember a single word of 'Chinese', let alone the fact that I bet you never even went there. I'm sure mummy and daddy took very good care of you while they worked hard overseas. You're pissed off and embarrassed because I caught you out in a fleeting instant, crushed your ego and smacked you around the head with a bit of reality. Now go back to the chans, troll some children and make yourself feel good again. The reality is we bounce so many people like you right out of here... just watch out that your girlfriend doesn't bounce you out of Finland, they tend to do that. Stick around, you'll see. Pursuivant and umpteen others will agree.

And we both know that you read everything. Suck it.

Kutittaa · Post by **Kutittaa** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:59 am

-Double post-

lbrownluke · Post by **lbrownluke** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 2:18 am

Cool story bro (: keep dishing out reality! Clearly your stacking it, Some of us need a dose
/thread

Kutittaa · Post by **Kutittaa** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 2:32 am

I knew you'd be back.. and I was right.

/thread

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