Advice me on cost of living in Helsinki, mates!

[sky42]

Hey!

I'm in a process of getting job in Helsinki
But I've never been in Finland and I don't know much about cost of living in Helsinki.

I'm a web-developer with 5 years of experience and I'm pretty good at what I do(no degree, but good portfolio and skills).
Note that I'm not asking on how to get a job - I'm asking about how much I should earn to make living.

What is the average salary? How much does it cost to rent a room or an apartment for one? Etc.
I understand that all people are different... and it's hard to get a common formula, but anyway.

I just want to know which salary is "jeez! that's pure slavery!","not much", "average", "good one" and "holy sh*t! that's my lucky day!"

[Rip]

The sticky of "Oikotie" in the beginning of housing section is old but should still contain the information needed to get idea what does it cost to rent an apartment here.

[AldenG]

Can you be more specific about "web developer?"

[rinso]

But I've never been in Finland and I don't know much about cost of living in Helsinki.

It completely depends on what you want.
- Do you want to commute or not?
- Do you need a car or not? (public transport is good)
- Do you smoke/drink? (alcohol is really expensive)
- Fine dining/partying?
It's all about the choices you make.
Students can manage with €1000,- /month (although with subsidized housing and meals)
With €2000,- pm you can manage.
And €3000,- pm looks already nice.

Since you're new to the Finnish workforce (without degree) your employer might not want to start to high before he's got more confidence in you.

[FinnGuyHelsinki]

Often there aren't different salaries for different cities/areas in Finland, food etc. costs are also pretty much the same, so the only variable is housing. Helsinki has major cities Vantaa and Espoo (and a small city of Kauniainen within Espoo) right next to it (capital region), also up to around 30-40km from Helsinki there are smaller cities/tows which also are quite popular living areas for people working in the capital region. As already stated, check Oikotie and/or http://www.etuovi.com for housing/rental prices to get an idea of those. For commuting you'll need a travel card, prices of which (for capital region and some of the surrounding areas) you can check from https://www.hsl.fi/en/tickets-and-fares . Mandatory expenses (road tax, insurance, maintenance, tires,... not including fuel or devaluation) for having a car will be more than the public transport, additionally there's the issue with parking, which depending on your situation may mean that you will still need a travel card.

I'd say 1500 euros a month (post-tax, you can calculate your tax percentage in http://prosentti.vero.fi/VPL2015/Sivut/ ... ieli=en-US ) is the minimum for a single person to live on, to afford to rent a studio apartment, a travel card, paying for food, clothing, normal household items etc., but not much more than that (i.e. little room for savings other than to prepare for the unexpected, traveling abroad, eating out,...). As already stated, the job title "web designer" can mean a multitude of things, therefore what's a "good" or "bad" salary also varies. Salaries are from under 3000 euros a month (pre-tax) upwards, depending on the job itself, its requirements and responsibilities, and of course your abilities.

[Beep_Boop]

I'm in a process of getting job in Helsinki

What does that mean? Do you have an offer or not?

What is the average salary?

For your field, TES minimum is ~ 2100. For your claimed experience, it's 2800. For your claimed value, I'd say 3000-3500. If we say 3000, that would translate to 2100 after taxes.

How much does it cost to rent a room or an apartment for one?

My room in the center (one room in an apartment with another person) costed me ~ 700 with electricity and internet.
My new place is 950 (all inclusive) for a 2-room apartment, but slightly away from the center.
I pay ~ 200 euros a week for shopping/food. Then there's 100 for the bus card.

So, with your 3k salary (2100) and my expenses (1850 fixed costs), you'd have 250 euros left.

[sky42]

Wow! So many replies! I'll go through all of them and answer with quotes.

Let's go!

The sticky of "Oikotie" in the beginning of housing section is old but should still contain the information needed to get idea what does it cost to rent an apartment here.

Thanks! That's helpful!

Can you be more specific about "web developer?"

Yes, I can, but it will look like a sheet of text, you know
And I don't want this topic to be IT-related - I want this to be useful for people from different fields.

In few words, I'm a full stack web developer - both front end(html, css, javascript, jQuery, Backbone, etc.) and back end(PHP, Ruby, Rails, etc.).

It completely depends on what you want.
- Do you want to commute or not?
- Do you need a car or not? (public transport is good)
- Do you smoke/drink? (alcohol is really expensive)
- Fine dining/partying?
It's all about the choices you make.
Students can manage with €1000,- /month (although with subsidized housing and meals)
With €2000,- pm you can manage.
And €3000,- pm looks already nice.

Since you're new to the Finnish workforce (without degree) your employer might not want to start to high before he's got more confidence in you.

1)Commute? What do you mean?
2) No, I don't drive. I prefer using public transport.
3) I don't.
4) No, I'm a computer geek that prefer to sit at home and watching sci-fi tv series when not busy with coding.

What does that mean? Do you have an offer or not?

Yes, I have an offer.

For your field, TES minimum is ~ 2100. For your claimed experience, it's 2800. For your claimed value, I'd say 3000-3500. If we say 3000, that would translate to 2100 after taxes.

That shows me that I'm being offered the minimum. Because my job contract has a trial period of 4 months with salary about 2250. Maybe it's because I don't have a degree and working experience in Finland.
So it seems to be a bit confusing offer, but maybe it worth it as a starting point.

[Beep_Boop]

with salary about 2250

That's gonna be ~ 1760 after taxes.
It's extremely difficult to project my case on you, but I can see myself barely surviving on that. With the lifestyle you described, I think you should be fine with that kind of money.

[rinso]

With the lifestyle you described, I think you should be fine with that kind of money.

I agree. If you find something in the cheaper neighborhoods. you won't have to live on macaroni and tuna and still spend money on hobbies.

[sky42]

I don't have hobbies other than riding bicycle, playing guitar and watching sci fi tv series and movies - all this I'll bring with me
And there will be +20% to salary after trial period.

[Beep_Boop]

I don't have hobbies other than riding bicycle, playing guitar and watching sci fi tv series and movies - all this I'll bring with me

Prepare to have some hobbies.. unless you want to kill yourself in the winter.

And there will be +20% to salary after trial period.

If it's not written down, don't count on it.

[sky42]

Prepare to have some hobbies.. unless you want to kill yourself in the winter.

I'm from Siberia - half-year winters, 2 months -30C to -20C... I'm still alive

If it's not written down, don't count on it.

Fortunately, it's written down, it's clearly stated in contract

[solidus85]

I think things are looking up for you. It is true, that living in Helsinki city center area is expensive, even so if you live (and pay)
everything alone.

You have a job coming, and the salary is good (with no degree). If you need help with finding an apartment, I can help you with that
and give you more info 101.