Oulu information needed

Crypto · Post by **Crypto** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 8:55 pm

Hi all,

i´m moving to Oulu in a couple of weeks and it seems that the place i´m gonna live in is in a street called Kimmontie.

Is that a good area? I´m a bit concerned about the weather i´m gonna find there, and i hope all i need to buy is on a short walking distance form the house. Do you know if there are supermarkets near? And does it hace a good bus connection with the rest of the city?

Thanks in advance.

Crypto

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Lahja · Post by **Lahja** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 8:15 am

Welcome to Oulu! Have a look at the map service http://kartta.ouka.fi/
You can type in Kimmontie in the search box with title 'Katunimi ja osoitenumero'. You will find Kimmontie close to the university. Bus connections to the city centre are quite good. And biking roads in Oulu are excellent! Lots of students live in that area and there is a pub where international styudents gather (at least...) once a week. Also grocery stores, post office, library near by.

Jussi · Post by **Jussi** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 8:29 am

Again Welcome to Oulu, you can also check out the oulu city page, http://www.oulu.fi, if you havent already. are you going to be studying?? The area where you will be living is quite nice, and there is even a bus past your front door. enjoy oulu and PM me if you need anything.

Cheers

Jussi

Crypto · Post by **Crypto** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 9:56 pm

Hi again,

first of all, thanks Jussi and Lahta for your cheerful welcome. It´s good to know that are people in Finland as nice as you. Not that i doubted it, but you have just confirmed it

I´m gonna stay in Oulu 4 months, collaborating with a finnish company. I come from Spain, and as you can imagine I presume the weather difference can be quite shocking to me.

As you describe the area i´m gonna live in, it sounds quite well. As i´m coming alone, one of my biggest concerns is to meet new people in Oulu..it seems that i could use that international students gathering in the pub nearby...But i think that won´t be the place to meet finnish people...or am i wrong and finnish people tend to mix with foreigners?

BTW, do you know if there are any swimming pool around this place? I like swimming and it would be good to find one not too far away...

Crypto

tuga · Post by **tuga** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 2:27 pm

Hi,

Welcome to Oulu. Have a closer look those links provided above, you will find a lot of information, including on the swimming pools. There are atleast 2 swimming pools here in Oulu and one in Kempele.

tuga

Crypto wrote:Hi again,

first of all, thanks Jussi and Lahta for your cheerful welcome. It´s good to know that are people in Finland as nice as you. Not that i doubted it, but you have just confirmed it

I´m gonna stay in Oulu 4 months, collaborating with a finnish company. I come from Spain, and as you can imagine I presume the weather difference can be quite shocking to me.

As you describe the area i´m gonna live in, it sounds quite well. As i´m coming alone, one of my biggest concerns is to meet new people in Oulu..it seems that i could use that international students gathering in the pub nearby...But i think that won´t be the place to meet finnish people...or am i wrong and finnish people tend to mix with foreigners?

BTW, do you know if there are any swimming pool around this place? I like swimming and it would be good to find one not too far away...

Crypto

becca · Post by **becca** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 4:28 pm

Crypto wrote:Hi again,

BTW, do you know if there are any swimming pool around this place? I like swimming and it would be good to find one not too far away...

Crypto

There are a couple of nice swimming halls (Uimahalli) in Oulu - one in Raksila and one on Raatinsaari just south of Tuira. I haven't been to the one in Raatinsaari but Raksila is smashing.

When you get here if you contact one of us ultra-lovely Oulunites I am sure we will be happy to show you. Bring a nice warm hat for afterwards though, or your hair may freeze

B.

ps I don't know what Swimming pool etiquette in Spain is like, but Finnish swimming hall etiquette is different from the UK (the water is cleaner as well). Just a warning, as it terrified me first time I went.....

Lahja · Post by **Lahja** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 12:56 pm

If you will be working for one of the IT companies in the technology park they are likely to have sports clubs that you can attend and meet local people there. Or PM me. Also, I suggest signing up for a Finnish course. If you are into swimming you might like to try ice swimming close to city centre... The river isn't frozen yet, but wait for a couple of weeks. Both of the swimming halls are close to the city centre.

Lillukka · Post by **Lillukka** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 10:44 pm

becca wrote:ps I don't know what Swimming pool etiquette in Spain is like, but Finnish swimming hall etiquette is different from the UK (the water is cleaner as well). Just a warning, as it terrified me first time I went.....

In which way? I am a Bulgarian and there was nothing unusual about the use of the swimming pool here to me

. Okay, I wasn't that used to chatting in the sauna, as you can imagine, but that's also what I presently enjoy about the place.

IMHO, Oulu has one of the best swimming pools in the world, and for a surprisinly low price as well! A student ticket is only 1 euro, and you can enjoy the pool+sauna as long as you like. Definitely a must, irrespective of the season.

becca · Post by **becca** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:42 pm

Lillukka wrote: In which way?

UK swimming pool trip:

Walk into changing room and find a cubicle. Get changed. Wrap towel around self and go to pool. Hide towel somewhere and quickly enter the water. Swim for a bit. Get out. Grab towl and wrap around self. Go to shower. Go into cubicle in shower and wash. Wrap towel around self again. Go to another cubicle and change. Spend the next six hours with streaming eyes from the dirty-chloriney water.

In Finland (and I guess Bulgaria too) it's more like wander naked to the shower, put on suit, unashamedly walk to the pool and swim. Go to open shower and unashamedly shower naked, maybe sauna as well, also completely unperturbed by one's nakedness. Spend next six hours with eyes notably not streaming.

I exagerate slightly to mock the English, but on the whole it's true; the English are not so comfortable with being naked in the presence of others (and don't shower before going to the pool - yuck, in hindsight). I once went hostelling with an English girl friend, she had me wait outside the shower room to warn her if someone else was coming in so that she could shower safely. I think we are mostly like that, and that is why my first trip to the swimming pool - where I was surrounded by nakedness on a large scale, was particularly memorable. That and the fact that I am short sighted and can't read Finnish well at the best of times, and had no idea about where to go or what to do... I even had to ask someone where the pool was. No problems now though, Raksila is a lovely pool!

Apologies for hijacking the thread.

B.

Bob Hamilton · Post by **Bob Hamilton** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 9:21 pm

Hola, Crypto,
You might want to consider joining the Oulu International Men's Drinking Club. We have 'meetings' roughly once a month, depending on when someone feels like hosting another one. It's an amiable group (no heavy drinkers) consisting of a mix of German, Dutch, Norwegian, American, New Zealand, Canadian, Italian, etc chaps, with the odd Finn thrown in for good measure. I don't think we have a Spaniard yet, so you would help to add some new perspectives. Ability to tell jokes and debate politics or economics with a sense of humour is a helpful skillset here. Some University faculty and students occasionally show up.

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