Vaasa, Finland

[Julkka]

Might be moving to Vaasa soon and I have a few questions.
1.Anyone here currently living in Vaasa?
2.Are there many foreign students in Vaasa?
3.Is it a big city?
4.Any important things to know about Vaasa?

If you're applying for accomodation, it might be wise to avoid Suviboksi and Olympia-kortteli, they have a bad reputation in this town. Other places are ok.
Many students favor Palosaari, it's close to both the campus and downtown, a bit expensive though.

Thanks for the heads up man, I actually thought Olympia seemed like the best choice for me but now gonna go for Loftis. Hows that place?

I'm a lady
Loftis has not been in the crime news or discussed by Finns - I guess that's a good sign. I used to live close to Suviboksi, that one's one piece of trouble, noise, shoplifting, sometimes fights immigrants vs. locals etc etc. And Olympia block is the kind of place you better not go alone at night.

Generally, to say the truth, Vaasa is a low crime town and very student friendly. My recommendation is just to make sure your first weeks here are not spoiled by any nasty incident, like, at all.

[Julkka]

The nice thing about the Olympia apartments is that they are very close to the city center (railway station, regional bus station, supermarkets and shops) but a 30 minute walk to the university (or 10 minutes by bus). The Palosari ones are the closest to the university but far from the center.

"Bike" is the keyword anyway. With Vaasa's lousy (one bus per hour) bus traffic, it is the only solution.

[imbasit995]

I'm a lady
Loftis has not been in the crime news or discussed by Finns - I guess that's a good sign. I used to live close to Suviboksi, that one's one piece of trouble, noise, shoplifting, sometimes fights immigrants vs. locals etc etc. And Olympia block is the kind of place you better not go alone at night.

Generally, to say the truth, Vaasa is a low crime town and very student friendly. My recommendation is just to make sure your first weeks here are not spoiled by any nasty incident, like, at all.

My bad well loftis sounds like its the one then, thanks for the help.

[imbasit995]

The nice thing about the Olympia apartments is that they are very close to the city center (railway station, regional bus station, supermarkets and shops) but a 30 minute walk to the university (or 10 minutes by bus). The Palosari ones are the closest to the university but far from the center.

"Bike" is the keyword anyway. With Vaasa's lousy (one bus per hour) bus traffic, it is the only solution.

Olympia and Loftis are both 0.5 km from the city centre it says, but from what Julkka said Olympia doesn't sound good.

[Jukka Aho]

Might be moving to Vaasa soon and I have a few questions.
If you're applying for accomodation, it might be wise to avoid Suviboksi and Olympia-kortteli, they have a bad reputation in this town. Other places are ok.
Many students favor Palosaari, it's close to both the campus and downtown, a bit expensive though.

Thanks for the heads up man, I actually thought Olympia seemed like the best choice for me but now gonna go for Loftis. Hows that place?

Nah, nothing wrong with Olympia. Maybe a bit noisy sometimes on weekends but that’s student housing for you.

Olympia I is the older set of apartment buildings located on the west side of Olympiakatu. OK-ish, but laid out in a dull way.

Olympia II was developed some years later. It is located on the east side of Olympiakatu and has sort of funky architecture occupying the whole block. The whole thing is built a bit like a castle, with most the buildings forming the outer perimeter walls and some buildings located inside those walls, dividing the block into a handful of separate inner courts. You can actually walk around the whole block (along its inner perimeter) at the third-floor level as the buildings are connected by walk bridges. Most people visiting the first time think it’s a bit maze-like arrangement and it’s challenging to navigate to the right apartment if you don’t know where it’s located, exactly. There’s also a large raised, paved platform in the middle, hiding a parking hall underneath. There used to be movable basketball hoops on that platform but they were removed when one of them tipped and fell over a teenage boy who was hanging from the hoop and he got killed. :(

Some of the “Olympia” apartments belong to Pikipruukki, a housing company owned by the City. So there’s city housing on the block as well. Quite a lot of refugees and asylum seekers/holders, actually... (there’s a forest of satellite dishes on one side of the block) But while you might hear occasional noise and such, I think the “reputation” of the block is largely exaggerated. After all, VOAS (the student housing foundation) has their office in the main building of the same block. In daytime, there are lots of kids running around and playing in the middle of the block. There’s also a comprehensive (basic education) school right next to the “Olympia” block, maintaining a football field in the summer and ice rinks in the winter... both very popular with the kids.

The “Olympia” housing blocks are located in a former industrial district. The name “Olympia” comes from the Olympia brand of engines/motors which were once manufactured at the site. Those likely got their name from the Greek sanctuary by the same name, now known as the birthplace of Olympic Games.

[imbasit995]

Nah, nothing wrong with Olympia. Maybe a bit noisy sometimes on weekends but that’s student housing for you.

Olympia I is the older set of apartment buildings located on the west side of Olympiakatu. OK-ish, but laid out in a dull way.

Olympia II was developed some years later. It is located on the east side of Olympiakatu and has sort of funky architecture occupying the whole block. The whole thing is built a bit like a castle, with most the buildings forming the outer perimeter walls and some buildings located inside those walls, dividing the block into a handful of separate inner courts. You can actually walk around the whole block (along its inner perimeter) at the third-floor level as the buildings are connected by walk bridges. Most people visiting the first time think it’s a bit maze-like arrangement and it’s challenging to navigate to the right apartment if you don’t know where it’s located, exactly. There’s also a large raised, paved platform in the middle, hiding a parking hall underneath. There used to be movable basketball hoops on that platform but they were removed when one of them tipped and fell over a teenage boy who was hanging from the hoop and he got killed.

Some of the “Olympia” apartments belong to Pikipruukki, a housing company owned by the City. So there’s city housing on the block as well. Quite a lot of refugees and asylum seekers/holders, actually... But while you might hear occasional noise and such, I think the “reputation” of the block is largely exaggerated. After all, VOAS (the student housing foundation) has their office in the main building of the same block.

The “Olympia” housing blocks are located in a former industrial district. The name “Olympia” comes from the “Olympia” brand of motors which were once manufactured at the site. The motors likely got their name from the Greek sanctuary by the same name, now known as the birthplace of Olympic Games.

So which one is more lively and has more students, and which one you think I should pet as my first preference btw im gonna go to Vaasa UAS

[Jukka Aho]

So which one is more lively and has more students, and which one you think I should pet as my first preference btw im gonna go to Vaasa UAS

Student housing is student housing. The apartments (or rooms, if you choose housing with a shared common area) are quite basic. I don’t think there’s much difference whichever building you apply for. Some buildings might appear a bit more worn-out and aged... but then again, it depends on the building, and some of the older ones have been renovated.

I guess you could call Olympia II “lively”... at least there’s usually something happening on the yard(s) and on the walk bridges / balconies. But it’s hard to make comparisons to other places without actually having lived there.

If you want to live near your school, VOAS maintains a large number of student apartments in Palosaari, in numerous differently named buildings. Lots of students in there! But shopping in the larger/cheaper supermarkets and visiting downtown will become a bit more of a chore when you’re living there, so it’s a tradeoff. The “Olympia” blocks are closer to the city proper and at a very reasonable walking distance from Minimani, Lidl, and Halpa-Halli.

VOAS also has sites right in downtown. I guess that would be great to someone who loves nightlife...

[imbasit995]

Student housing is student housing. The apartments (or rooms, if you choose housing with a shared common area) are quite basic. I don’t think there’s much difference whichever building you apply for. Some buildings might appear a bit more worn-out and aged... but then again, it depends on the building, and some of the older ones have been renovated.

I guess you could call Olympia II “lively”... at least there’s usually something happening on the yard(s) and on the walk bridges / balconies. But it’s hard to make comparisons to other places without actually having lived there.

If you want to live near your school, VOAS maintains a large number of student apartments in Palosaari, in numerous differently named buildings. Lots of students in there! But shopping in the larger/cheaper supermarkets and visiting downtown will become a bit more of a chore when you’re living there, so it’s a tradeoff. The “Olympia” blocks are closer to the city proper and at a very reasonable walking distance from Minimani, Lidl, and Halpa-Halli.

VOAS also has sites right in downtown. I guess that would be great to someone who loves nightlife...

I made a mistake and thought the uni was downtown but now I realized so gonna probably chose one in Palosaari.

[Jukka Aho]

I made a mistake and thought the uni was downtown but now I realized so gonna probably chose one in Palosaari.

Depends on what you’re studying. They have two campus areas. One of them is located right in the center of the city and another one is in Palosaari. Check out this map and the explanations below it.

Note that Google Streetview is available in Vaasa. You may also want to check out Fonecta and the local map service maintained by the City (municipality) of Vaasa.

[imbasit995]

I made a mistake and thought the uni was downtown but now I realized so gonna probably chose one in Palosaari.

Depends on what you’re studying. They have two campus areas. One of them is located right in the center of the city and another one is in Palosaari. Check out this map and the explanations below it.

Note that Google Streetview is available in Vaasa. You may also want to check out Fonecta and the local map service maintained by the City (municipality) of Vaasa.

Thanks that helped, im in the Palosaari campus for sure. Btw I wanna get a new laptop should I buy one before I come or I can get a better one in Vaasa easily. Note im currently in Kenya.

[Pursuivant]

Question is, how much is your budget and what can you get with it... usually people look for online deals and order from places say Verkkokauppa.com - if you go to a store you must have too much money usually.

[imbasit995]

Question is, how much is your budget and what can you get with it... usually people look for online deals and order from places say Verkkokauppa.com - if you go to a store you must have too much money usually.

budget would probably be 400-450 euros.. for that price I could get a decent one here but Im thinking I could get one with better specs in Finland.

[Jukka Aho]

Question is, how much is your budget and what can you get with it... usually people look for online deals and order from places say Verkkokauppa.com - if you go to a store you must have too much money usually.

Yeah, ordering online from stores such as Verkkokauppa.com and Jimms is pretty much the norm... at least if you’re trying to find the best deals. Many also buy online from within the EU as there are no import duties inside the Union. (German online stores might have low enough prices it pays off even if you have to pay a bit more for shipping & delivery.)

But while in Vaasa, the OP might want to check out Multitronic (order online, fetch from their office) and Wasaware. There’s also Huuto.net for second-hand stuff. Maybe also Tori.fi.