The sunset

[Martijm]

Hello people,

I'm 20 years old and I'm studying Business Economics in the Netherlands. I really want to study in Finland from September 2016 till February 2017 at the Satakunta University of Applied Science (Pori), but there's something bothering me. There won't be a lot of sunshine during the winter. Does this affect your lifestyle? Does this make you sad or even depressed or something like that? How are you people dealing with just 6 hours of sunshine a day, because I think it will be a major disadvantage for me. The cold isn't a problem for me, but yeah I like the sunlight more than the darkness. Maybe I'm overthinking too much, so please tell me something about your experiences with this. Thank you !

Martijm

[betelgeuse]

How are you people dealing with just 6 hours of sunshine a day, because I think it will be a major disadvantage for me. The cold isn't a problem for me, but yeah I like the sunlight more than the darkness. Maybe I'm overthinking too much, so please tell me something about your experiences with this.

On most winter days you are happy to have sunshine at all.

"If residents of the Finish capital feel like it has seemed gloomy of late, they are right. Measurements by the Finnish Meteorological Institute at Helsinki-Vantaa airport show that between the beginning of December and Monday, February 18, the capital region has seen the sun for only 50 hours."

http://yle.fi/uutiset/cloudiest_winter_ ... rs/6502375

This is on average 37,5 minutes of sunshine per day. However, most days go without sun at all. Pori probably isn't that different from Helsinki. It is depressing for some people, yes.

[Karhunkoski]

You may be overly concerned. Ever year is different. This last September/October has been dry with lots of sunny days. Once the snow arrives, the short days are not a problem for most people. If you haven't lived with lots of snow before, you'll find it a wonderful experience as a student. Many people much prefer the cold crisp Nordic winter to a damp, rainy north-western European winter.

Finally, life's short. Get enrolled, pack your case and go grab a new life experience.

[ajdias]

Hello people,

Does this affect your lifestyle? Does this make you sad or even depressed or something like that? How are you people dealing with just 6 hours of sunshine a day, because I think it will be a major disadvantage for me.
Martijm

You'll hardly notice it. People doing exchanges (and btw those are the one you should be asking from, not perm residents) are having the time of their life, with so much going on, new friends, experiences, trips, etc etc etc. Besides you'll prob fly home for Christmas and will leave at the peak of winter - a couple of months before most of us are able to say "winter is over." So yeah, you'll be fine, as long as you are able to resist the chants of the Finnish sirens

Ofc, if you've got a condition that is particularly sensitive to sunlight - depression, bipolar, etc, you may want to check with a professional.

[Beep_Boop]

The effects differ depending on the person. For me, I don't care much about the sun. If losing it wouldn't cause mass extinction on earth, I'd be perfectly happy without it. There are a lot of indoors activities you can do to entertain yourself. Drinking, playing video games, spending quality time with friends/family, learning a new skill, etc. As an exchange student, you won't remember the sun at all.
Just make sure to pop your D pills and you're good.

[rinso]

Once you experienced a Finnish winter you'll probably hate the winters back home.

[Martijm]

Thank you all for your quick responses. It really helped me. I think I'll contact some other students who are currently studying in Finland and based on that I'll make my decision