Moving to Finland in 2013. I appreciate your help!

[GT TDI]

Hello everyone.

I am new to this forum, and i found it through google. I already did my voting in the respective topic .
I am planning to move to Finland in 2013, after i finish my master's degree in Mechanic Engineering. I expect to finish it in March, so i really want to move there as soon as i can.
I've already been in Helsinki's airport, on my way to Tallinn, and i travelled with Finnair. So far, it was the biggest airport i've been on (I just have been in a few), and by far the best looking. I still have a video and a couple of pictures i made there
My girlfriend is Estonian, and i really liked to be in Tallinn as well.. But my wish is to work in Finland, for the start of my career. But... there's a but.. Which is exactly my first question to you:

I'm a portuguese.. I know that recently there have been some bitter talks between Finnish and Portuguese people (because of European funds and politics), so i'm wondering if i'll be in a disadvantage when searching for a job in there. I have nothing against Finnish people, i found them extremely polite to me, and i know that when politicians mess up, people suffer consequences and feed up a fight between countries like action-reaction. In my university, i saw Finnish people (erasmus students) offering hugs, as a way of making peace and portuguese friends over there, which is a great gesture and shows a good character. I just don't know if employers still have some bad feelings inside them about us, so can you people give your opinion?

My second question is.. As i plan to move to Finland as soon as possible, obviously i won't be waiting for a suitable job that suits with my course. Pretty much i can grab any oportunity of job i can get there (as long as it doesn't involve snow, or i'll be like a fish swimming outside the water ..). What do you suggest i could search for, just that i could get enough money to start a living there? Could i get my first month salary in advance? are there any jobs where i can speak in English? Also, how soon should i start seaching and applying for the jobs?


Third question is about driving license. I heard that it's necessary a driving license for the winter, to practice your skills over slippery roads. In Portugal, i've taken driving license, but there were no snow tests.. Is my driving license still valid in Finland, or i have to have some complementary lessons and exams?


I hope you people can give me some guidance lights here, and i appreciate your help in advance

[Logic]

First answer: There is no impact whatsoever, there are maybe loads of Finns going to Portugal everyday to soak up the Sun.
Second answer: There are a gazillion cases like yours that have already been answered so take time to explore the forum.
Third answer: Your driver's license is valid here, there is no need for any additional lessons.

[rinso]

1 - Because you're not Finnish, you have a handicap. But being Portuguese has no additional impact.
2 - Read the forum and prepare for an uphill struggle.
3 - You don't need winter driving lessons, but taking them is a smart thing to do.

[Upphew]

3 - You don't need winter driving lessons, but taking them is a smart thing to do.

Or one can use the engineering degree and calculate some stopping distances with different frictions.

hint. the braking distance is about double for snow vs. dry asphalt. And double that for ice.

[GT TDI]

Thank you for answering so briefly.

Logic and Rinso:I was expecting some kind of handicap, for not being Finnish. And i guess that's what happens with most countries in European union. But i'm willing to try my luck in there . I'm new to the forum, so i'll take your suggestion and read it through more carefully.
I'm glad that there is no additional impact for being Portuguese. And i think it's true what Rinso said about Finnish coming here to soak up the sun Sometimes in the Summer, i see people who look very red, and then somehow i can know if they are from Nordic country, of from the UK. Though, i've seen people from Finland with very blond hair and who are more tan than i am

Upphew: I agree. It's just a matter of playing around with the friction formula (F=C*W). Assuming weight is constant and considering i drive alone, then i have to play with the different Coeficients of friction. From there i get force, and use the force formula to get acceleration. After two integrals i can calculate the distance
Though, i guess i may take some lessons about driving on ice. Despite i might know the distances, i want to react instictively to the sudden grip losses. I just had oportunity to drive over ice once, and it's not nice when you want to go around the roundabout, and the car keeps going straight. I've never driven in snow, though.

Best regards.

[wolf80]

I've already been in Helsinki's airport, on my way to Tallinn, and i travelled with Finnair. So far, it was the biggest airport i've been on (I just have been in a few), and by far the best looking. I still have a video and a couple of pictures i made there

Ok, you have never been in Finnland. Then why, why, WHYYY do you wanna come here so badly? Why exactly Finnland??? Why not first take a nice long holiday here and see if the country is for you? Because actually it's not the easiest country to emigrate to, and one with a very different culture from yours. First play the demo, then buy the game!

I'm a portuguese.. I know that recently there have been some bitter talks between Finnish and Portuguese people (because of European funds and politics), so i'm wondering if i'll be in a disadvantage when searching for a job in there. I have nothing against Finnish people, i found them extremely polite to me, and i know that when politicians mess up, people suffer consequences and feed up a fight between countries like action-reaction.

My second question is.. As i plan to move to Finland as soon as possible, obviously i won't be waiting for a suitable job that suits with my course. Pretty much i can grab any oportunity of job i can get there (as long as it doesn't involve snow, or i'll be like a fish swimming outside the water ..). What do you suggest i could search for, just that i could get enough money to start a living there? Could i get my first month salary in advance? are there any jobs where i can speak in English? Also, how soon should i start seaching and applying for the jobs?

Your only problem is that (maybe) you don't speak any Finnish. Or at least not enough Finnish to get a job. And learning Finnish takes forever. Even if you are sooo devoted etc. etc. it will take a long time to learn it, and years before you are good enough to be counted as a Finnish speaker on the job market. So that means you only have English (hopefully fluent), which narrows down your job opportunities outside of university. As you have a very specific field I would really recommend first getting a job and then moving here. Maybe during that nice long holiday we talked about. Otherwise you will be competing against hundreds, thousands of other people looking for a menial job just to stay in the country. And those aren't jobs that make you happy longterm.

Coming here is difficult even if you already have a job. Even if u are from the EU. So don't do anything rash.

[tizlit]

Hear, hear! Wolf80 gave a comprehensive answer to your questions.

Finland is not an easy country to emigrate, never mind to live here, jobs are scarce, expensive to live, etc. Mind you, the metro does run in time!
It makes me wonder how someone, having never actually lived or even visited the country, wants so desperately to move here. Desperado syndrom? What is it that attracts you in the first place, the climate ? the friendly people? Believe me, I have tried, and very hard, to integrate here for the past 3 years, and... impossible.

[Upphew]

Mind you, the metro does run in time!

And the reason for that?

[Pursuivant]

So in other words:

I'm a portuguese..

= no speak, gives problems finding a job requiring interaction...

after i finish my master's degree in Mechanic Engineering. I expect to finish it in March

= no experience, just a piece of paper = catch22 anywhere...

What do you suggest i could search for, just that i could get enough money to start a living there? are there any jobs where i can speak in English? Also, how soon should i start seaching and applying for the jobs?

Well, as you know Finland has a huge need for workers as there is no unemployment, espacially along the youths, because of the booming industry, low taxation as we are getting all this money from EU countries like Portugal that really is reviving the economy...

Could i get my first month salary in advance?

You have been to Sagres, so did the wind make a howling noise when it blew through your ears?

[GT TDI]

Hey people.

First of all, i want to thank your friendly advices, and warnings about the struggles i have to make, to integrate there.

Now talking about a few answers, look.. I don't know.. Maybe i wrote something i didn't see, so can you please point out where i told i plan to move to Finland because i have some desperate attraction for it? Because honestly i can't find where i wrote that.. But i would be glad if you could quote it in your next answer. One thing is to tell i am pleased how friendly people are, and how nice the Finnish airport looks. Another thing is to tell i want to move there because of that.

I registered in the forum, because i expected (and still expect) getting information about a place which is likely to be my future destiny, for strong reasons of personal convenience , and not because something really attracts me about it, to make me blind and go there. So far, i have some opinions, and i appreciate you for that. It helps me build my opinion about Finland, and to compare it with other possible destinies.

Pursuivant: actually i've never been to Sagres. I guess it's one of the things i may have told, but don't see.. But you know.. If you read my first post, you may somewhere see that i'm searching for any job opportunity i can find, that doesn't mean i need to have experience as a mechanic engineer. There are other jobs as well, and at this point, i'm not expecting a sea of roses. I have experience as a mechanic (even if it doesn't matter for the case), because i had my first job already, long ago. And we both know that people have to start somewhere. That's how i got my first job, without previous experience, although they demanded experience. It's kind of the chicken and egg question.
About the economy, i have to agree with your irony. It's sad when you live in a country where people struggle everyday to get around 450€ a month, and then some "smart" politicians get rich by weird ways. Then you realise that your struggle was meant to make someone's smile wider, and the economy stays the same..

[wolf80]

Could i get my first month salary in advance?

Oh yes, this line also bothers me a bit. Let's be clear, if you have no money at all, don't come here. You won't make it past the airport. You need at least some savings to be able to survive for the first months in Finland. This country is expensive. Really EXPENSIVE.

I came here with a couple of thousand Euros on the bank and a job in the pocket (salary ok to nice). Nearly all the savings are gone now. Because everything is expensive. For example it took me three months to get into health care/social security (KELA), and of course in the meantime I needed a doctor, so I had to pay. Three times. I had to rent an appartment and pay a two months deposit. And of course the first rent in advance. Furniture is also needed (nearly no furnitured appartments available), and even though I bought some items second hand that also cost me quite a bit. And then internet - I am a foreigner, so of course I cannot be trusted, so I had to pay a security deposit of 200 Euro in advance (600 for a mobile contract, so be prepared to stay prepaid). And those are only some of the bigger things. There are dozens and dozens of smaller sums. Here 30 Euro, there 50, and another 40 here. And next time you look on your bank statement you start hyperventilating and get a panic attack.

Nobody will pay you your salary in advance (for a job you don't even have and never might get). And even if - that salary is long since gone before you even have started working. You really need some savings to come here. Be realistic!!!

So, to sum things up: NO MONEY = NO FINLAND!

[wolf80]

Hey people.

First of all, i want to thank your friendly advices, and warnings about the struggles i have to make, to integrate there.

Now talking about a few answers, look.. I don't know.. Maybe i wrote something i didn't see, so can you please point out where i told i plan to move to Finland because i have some desperate attraction for it? Because honestly i can't find where i wrote that.. But i would be glad if you could quote it in your next answer. One thing is to tell i am pleased how friendly people are, and how nice the Finnish airport looks. Another thing is to tell i want to move there because of that.

I registered in the forum, because i expected (and still expect) getting information about a place which is likely to be my future destiny, for strong reasons of personal convenience , and not because something really attracts me about it, to make me blind and go there. So far, i have some opinions, and i appreciate you for that. It helps me build my opinion about Finland, and to compare it with other possible destinies.

Your title is "Moving to Finland in 2013". You are posting on a Finland forum. You state "But my wish is to work in Finland, for the start of my career." This kind of leads to the conclusion that you want to move here in 2013. You say you never saw the country (sorry, airport still doesn't count). I guess you don't speak the language. You don't seem to know alot about Finland. In my head that sums up to "wants to move to Finland in 2013 without any good reason why".

Actually, I would still like to hear the answer to that question. Why Finland?? There are so many other countries out there. Why not Great Britain? France? Lithuania? Austria? (That's where I come from, can recommend it! ) Or are you asking these questions in forums in all of these countries? If not there you might have some reason why it is Finland, and explaining that reason here will help people understand you and help you.

If answers here are a little bit rough please understand this: you are not alone. Every day there is a new post in the fasion of "Oh, I want to move to Finland, sooo badly, I don't know why, but I just want to, I don't have no money, no education, nothing to give, but please please help me!!!" That's why people here expect you to first think about what you want, what is possible, and how you can bring those two together. And get a bit annoyed if you don't provide sufficient information. Because your information helps to give answers to your questions.

So, and again, why Finland??

[Oombongo]

Actually, I would still like to hear the answer to that question. Why Finland?? There are so many other countries out there. Why not Great Britain? France? Lithuania? Austria? (That's where I come from, can recommend it! )

Because people, and specially who are not living in Finland, are duped into beliving fairy tales like these:
But we all know the reality of the situation. I really wonder what is the source of their reports.

[wolf80]

Actually, I would still like to hear the answer to that question. Why Finland?? There are so many other countries out there. Why not Great Britain? France? Lithuania? Austria? (That's where I come from, can recommend it! )

Because people, and specially who are not living in Finland, are duped into beliving fairy tales like these:
But we all know the reality of the situation. I really wonder what is the source of their reports.

But "my town", Vienna, is always in top places in the "best cities to live in" indices. (always first place in one, and third in the other of the two most important ones as far as I remember). So why not go there? I always hear people saying that they don't want to leave Vienna. But I never encounter people who want to live there even though they never have been there and actually don't know that much about the country. For me personally so many things here are worse than in my home country. Especially health care. Please don't be offended. I came to Finland because of a job.

So for me that question is not answered yet...

[time traveler]

Have you thought of Schwabisch Hall in Germany? You might want to check out the recent BBC article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19209086