Is living cost in Finland is cheaper than UK?

prothoma13 · Post by **prothoma13** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 12:52 am

Hi there
I am thinking to move Finland in this September..As i am living in London for more than a year..i became kinda used to with this London life..I am bit worried about my shopping

..Can you guys please give me any sort of idea regarding shopping in finland,like where i can get nice clothes in reasonable price and kitchen appliances as well

Also,what about the prices..i mean which products are expensive in Finland than UK...

And which ones are cheaper in comparison to UK?

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Rip · Post by **Rip** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 7:31 am

Official truth:
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ ... 028-EN.PDF
(in 2010)
Finnish prices relative to those in UK:
Food and non alcoholic drinks: +11%
alcohol & tobacco -4%
Clothing +37%
Footwear +41%
Electricity and fuels +21%
furniture and furnishing +6%
Household appliances +6%
consumer electronics +8%
Personal transport equipment +25%
Transport services +2%
Communication -19%
Hotels & restaurants +25%

irnbru · Post by **irnbru** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 8:02 pm

Rip wrote:alcohol & tobacco -4%

Tobacco is cheaper but alcohol is far cheaper in the UK

irnbru · Post by **irnbru** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 8:04 pm

Rip wrote: Food and non alcoholic drinks: +11%

Twice the price in Finland compared to UK

irnbru · Post by **irnbru** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 8:05 pm

Rip wrote:Electricity and fuels +21%

I always feel like electricity is much cheaper in Finland

DMC · Post by **DMC** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 10:48 pm

Those figures are interesting, and useful if you are considering costs for a Finn in Finland compared to a Brit in Britain. It is slightly more complex when you consider a Brit in Finland or a Finn in Britain. In your own country you know the system and the sort of places to go to get good value, but that is much harder in a foreign environment. The result is that the newly-arrived foreigner buys things at Stockmans that they might get at a more down-market (and cheaper) establishment in the their own country. Also in your own natural habitat you might find it easier to "do a deal" rather than paying the sticker price. All this skews the figures so that for the foreigner - in either country - prices are probably higher until they know the ropes.

Deman · Post by **Deman** » Sun Aug 21, 2011 1:42 pm

irnbru wrote:
Rip wrote:Electricity and fuels +21%
I always feel like electricity is much cheaper in Finland

And petrol is much the same...

Average price in Finland today €1.552/ltr

http://polttoaine.net

Average price in GB 134.87p (€1.542/ltr)

http://www.petrolprices.com

riku2 · Post by **riku2** » Sun Aug 21, 2011 4:53 pm

As a brit living in Finland my suitcases are full with shopping bought back from each trip to the UK, and I make full use of the 64kg allowance.
Not only are the regular prices of things more expensive in finland but you will seldom see the 50% off prices that supermarkets have in the UK. During any trip there I can normally find at least one chain doing Original Source shower gel at 1/2 price for example. Various items can be quite shockingly expensive in Finland due to restrictive laws or hidden levies (asprin at 10x uk price or blank DVD's at similar mark up).
You will be somewhat saved by mail order - books, DVD's, CD's, small electronic items can be bought from play.com or amazon.co.uk, some with free (or included) delivery to Finland.
I would be more worried about the things that money cannot buy in finland, no nice country villages to vist, no nice cafes or tea rooms with a pot of tea, no mansion houses, castles or national trust places to visit. Ok there are the occasional place but you will exhaust the list in one summer here, one week if you take a whole weeks holiday.

But like the others said it depends what you are used to. If you want to buy sausage or crisps, then there are a lot in the supermarket. If you want to buy earl gray tea or lime marmelade (proper marmelade, not the stuff passing by the name of marmeladi here) then prepare to empty your wallet or make space in your suitcase.

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Sun Aug 21, 2011 5:53 pm

riku2 wrote:But like the others said it depends what you are used to. If you want to buy sausage or crisps, then there are a lot in the supermarket. If you want to buy earl gray tea or lime marmelade (proper marmelade, not the stuff passing by the name of marmeladi here) then prepare to empty your wallet or make space in your suitcase.

And that certainly is the case where ever you go: if you want to keep on living like where you came from, stay home.

vagrant · Post by **vagrant** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:49 pm

Nice price comparison
AL, presumably, Albania is EU now

? I am going to check my anti-theft system right now.

prothoma13 · Post by **prothoma13** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 7:30 pm

Thanks guys for your useful informations and suggestions regarding shopping:) ..
64 kg alowance!quite a lot..by which airliance do you usually travel?let me know@riku2
Thanks rip for your price comparison

Jukka Aho · Post by **Jukka Aho** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 7:42 pm

vagrant wrote:Nice price comparison
AL, presumably, Albania is EU now :shock: ? I am going to check my anti-theft system right now.

They’re not a member country. But they’re a “potential candidate” in the negotiations for becoming an EU member country some time in the future, just like Serbia, for instance.

Wikipedia wrote:There are five official candidate countries, Croatia, Iceland, Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are officially recognised as potential candidates.

riku2 · Post by **riku2** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 1:09 am

prothoma13 wrote:64 kg alowance!quite a lot..by which airliance do you usually travel?let me know@riku2

64kg = british airways with silver or gold executive club card. Actually 2x 32kg. And that is even in economy on 140e return tickets.

Liam1 · Post by **Liam1** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 10:00 am

Agree with all above. Especially the comment on the savings from Special offers!

Just returned from UK via France. My boot was filled with a mixture of savings and goods that are "overpriced" if you are used to the English equivalent.
Nappies (40% cheaper in UK), Heinz/HP Beans/Soups (less then half price), cereals (less than half price), Toileteries (shower gels/soaps/ deoderants/Razors/Tampons all at least half price), wine (France: half price), Pot Noodles!! (half price and recognised brands), curry/ pasta sauces etc

Would emphasize that all these were on offer but my experience is the K & S market just don't need to discount so don't that much beyond enough goods to fill an advert. Also the biggest disappointment for a Yorkshireman are the "discount" chains like Tarjoustalo / HK which think that selling at 10% below K&S makes up for the fact that they do not stock everything.

That said the real staples (potatoes, bread, egg, milk, yoghurt, cheese, baby food) are either same price or better quality so not all bad news for someone who travels enough to buy non day to day things.

One last thing - haircuts - if you are a bloke so don't care where you get it done, do so when back in UK!

simon · Post by **simon** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 10:20 am

Liam1 wrote: One last thing - haircuts - if you are a bloke so don't care where you get it done, do so when back in UK!

I cut my hair myself have done for the past 20 odd years and still a handsome bugger

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