Cambridge girl looking for advice on moving to Finland

stroopwaffle · Post by **stroopwaffle** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 11:32 am

I am a (fairly) young free and single girl looking for some advice. I have been offered a chance to go and stay with a Finnish friend I met at University. She lives in Helsinki. I am excited at the idea but am worried too about the move and change in culture.
I have lived in a small town in Cambridgeshire, England for all my life and not travelled much so am a bit worried about going to a different country. A quick google search led me to this site and it looks like you offer plenty of advice on here.
I would like to work over there to support myself but I am worried that I might struggle as I do not speak Finnish. Are there jobs for English speakers in Helsinki? I am thinking of general office work. Will I need a work permit?
Of course I would love to learn the language eventually. Is it difficult?
As you can probably tell I am still in the very early stages of planning this and just looking for some general tips.
All advice will be gratefully received.

**Sponsor:**

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 1:55 pm

You can come and stay freely (basically as a tourist) for up to three months. If you find a job, you can start without applying for any permits. Without a job you're unlikely to be registered as a resident here (so you're just a tourist). Chances of finding a job are pretty slim as you don't speak the language and don't indicate you have any noteworthy professional qualifications.

rinso · Post by **rinso** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 1:58 pm

I would like to work over there to support myself but I am worried that I might struggle as I do not speak Finnish. Are there jobs for English speakers in Helsinki?

It will indeed be very difficult. It also depends on your education. If you're not a specialist in a niche market you better have a plan B.

Of course I would love to learn the language eventually. Is it difficult?

It depends on your motivation and your skills in learning a language.
But you should calculate at least a couple of years before you can speak it at a usable level.

cors187 · Post by **cors187** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 2:15 pm

but am worried too about the move and change in culture.

It doesnt jump out at you if thats your worry

Flossy1978 · Post by **Flossy1978** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 2:33 pm

To be honest I am not too sure coming here at this time is a good thing to do. Visit as a tourist, yes, it will be fun, but to live and work, no. Things really aren't that great here right now and don't seem to be getting any better lately. I don't mean to put a damper on your spirit of coming here.

Unemployment keeps rising right now and it's very hard for even highly educated Fins to find jobs. For instance Nokia is about to let go of just over another 200 workers, after having just let go of a whole lot earlier. Itella another huge company also did a mass layoff of employees almost a year go. Sanomat the newspaper/magazine empire are about to let go of people as well.

People I know, Fins, educated and been working for 20 years are having difficult times finding jobs after being laid off.

So, if you can't speak Finnish, the likelyhood of you finding a job, especially in an office is probably just about nil. You might get some cleaning job, but I've heard even SOL, one cleaning company will only take Finnish speakers now and only offer part time employment. Or maybe some other low paying job through a friend.

Finnish is a really difficult language to learn. You've got to have the language bug to be able to master it. And it will take you years, if you can. I don't care what anyone says. You can't just go to lessons and suddenly start learning it. I truly believe you've got to have good linguistic abilities to master it. Just like some people are good at maths, others good at art etc.

I did read online today that there are suppose to be a lot of good jobs for the coming summer. Perhaps you could spend time here in summer doing a summer job if your friend will help you get one? You don't always have to speak Finnish to do things like pick strawberries and whatnot. And you'd have time to organise stuff before coming. Then get to experience our lovely summers. Well, usually lovely summers LOL. Sometimes just wet summers like England. But I think in general our summers are much nicer than British ones LOL.

Do your research really hard if you want to come here. Don't burn your bridges back home. Or make anything final back home like giving up your job until you really do know what you are doing and what you are going to do here.

Good luck and welcome to Finland if you do end up here

stroopwaffle · Post by **stroopwaffle** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 2:47 pm

I have 2:1 in business finance and economics from the University of East Anglia and have been taking an online ACCA course to try and work towards professional qualifications. So you are right that I have no professional qualifications yet but I am on my way there. I realise without a language I will be down the lower end of the payscale but I never even thought about picking strawberries!
I would say that I was a quick learner and used to enjoy learning and speaking French which I took to A level in school so I have a bit of experience of learning new languages. I was thinking of trying to get work because my friend will be out working during the day and it would bring in some extra spending money. If this proves tricky maybe I will take the time to explore the sights of Finland. I am really excited to see how different it is. My friends here think it can’t be that much different as I am only moving from Fenland to Finland! Lol

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 3:16 pm

I have lived in a small town in Cambridgeshire, England for all my life and not travelled much so am a bit worried about going to a different country.

Oh? I thought with your experience of scary places like Ramsey, you'd not worry much. I'd be more worried there than I would be in a foreign country

Ok, so regarding your plan, they don't drink tea in Finland, so the role of the office lady can more or less be forgotten... depends though what else you can do if there is a niche you might fit in. The job situation as stated is pretty bleak.

And yes, you do need the language for any hopes of finding a job unless you are in a niche where they have other considerations. If you can pop by St.Ives I could give some Finnish lessons... Or cultural lessons as well - you can come over, I'll be silent for 2 hours, and thats the introduction to Finnish social life

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 3:38 pm

stroopwaffle wrote:I am a (fairly) young free and single girl looking for some advice.

Pursuivant wrote:If you can pop by St.Ives I could give some Finnish lessons... Or cultural lessons as well - you can come over, I'll be silent for 2 hours, and thats the introduction to Finnish social life

You dog!

Flossy1978 · Post by **Flossy1978** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 4:16 pm

French is dead easy compare to Finnish. Finnish has absolutely nothing in common with English. And Finnish has different forms, dialects, formal, informal, slang etc. But if you set your heart to it, I am sure you can at learn more than just the basics. But very few foreign adults learn proper fluent Finnish like a Fin. Doctors who are foreigners I think get by because they use formal Finnish and are bloody geniuses LOL.

You sound like an intelligent woman.

Don't know what your degrees could get you here, cause I know nothing about them. But I am just trying to make it realistic for you. Picking strawberries and other mundane low paying jobs are all you'll be about to get in the beginning. If you get something better, easily, it will be through someone you know or pure luck. Like winning the lotto.

There are already so many so over educated people here. I think this is because of the free schooling. So the playing field is a hard one to be on when getting a job, again, unless you know someone. Often that's how Fins get jobs, through friends and contacts. And now with a crappy economy which is only getting worse, it's only going to be harder for even friends to get jobs for friends, let alone strangers getting jobs.

I admire your positive attitude and willingness

I hope you'll succeed!

stroopwaffle · Post by **stroopwaffle** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 4:38 pm

So funny that Ramsey was mentioned. My uncle lives there and he has told me some stories. I really appreciate all the advice on here. It sounds like there are a few employment problems in Finland at the moment, well everywhere I guess. One of the reasons I was keen to move was due to being in the doldrums jobwise of late and I don’t really have much keeping me here right now. I have recently come out of a long term relationship and have some money set aside from the house that we sold so I might get by without working for a short period. I guess the thing to do is to go and treat it as a holiday at first and then see what opportunities might arise. I am a positive thinker and a great believer that the universe can provide for my needs.

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 4:55 pm

You dog!

... but .. but... I am the only Finn in the village

interleukin · Post by **interleukin** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 5:00 pm

there are a few employment problems in Finland at the moment

well yeah but no...

Don´t give up, but just consider your chances of getting a job where you come from without speaking a single word of English.

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 5:18 pm

2:1 in business finance and economics from the University of East Anglia

Which means a blank stare.
In Finland you have a vocational business degree, a bachelor's degree (BBA, B.Econ,) or a masters' degree (M.Econ) in business finance and economics.
So try again "I got a... "

AnnikaL · Post by **AnnikaL** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 5:48 pm

Pursuivant wrote:
You dog!
... but .. but... I am the only Finn in the village

Barely, my mother only really lives up the road

tuulen · Post by **tuulen** » Thu Feb 28, 2013 6:46 pm

stroopwaffle wrote:I am a (fairly) young free and single girl looking for some advice.

I advise that you give a call to Pursuivant, who currently is in the UK.

He is a native Finn who can set you straight about life in Finland.

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