Thinking about moving here? Read - "Culture Shock! Fin

Kemars · Post by **Kemars** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 10:36 am

note from admin: split from original topic

if those of you that have already moved here, but are still interested in the book, they should purchase it from AMAZON.CO.UK as to avoid the taxes placed on new books that are brought from an NON-EU country. I got tagged by CUSTOMS when i purchased some books from amazon.com and didnt realize that I would get taxed on them (bought like 10 books)...well, I learned my lesson and now by only from .co.uk

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/red ... 58685928/0

you figure, if you live in Finland and within the EU, why pay any more taxes than you have too.

**Sponsor:**

Richard · Post by **Richard** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 10:40 am

I agree it's a very interesting book. Ulla even enjoyed reading it.

It was however not totally on the mark all the time,
probably due to the fact she has never lived here,
and secondly most of her finnish cultural experience
is gained from numerous business trips to koupio, so
maybe a bit biased to that one area.

Phil · Post by **Phil** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 10:50 am

Kemars wrote: you figure, if you live in Finland and within the EU, why pay any more taxes than you have too.

I've done a lot of ordering from both Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, here are my thoughts....

- You can order stuff up to 124 euros including shipping/hanldingfrom non-EU countries (like through amazon.com) and NOT have to pay ANY taxes on it whatsoever. If your package does go over 124 euros, you pay something like 12% tax on it.

- Amazon.com is almost ALWAYS cheaper than Amazon.co.uk (even with shipping fees included), plus you don't have to pay any VAT.

- Amazon.com has longer shipping times unless you pay the expensive international shipping fees (around $32 for a small package)

So if you plan to make an order that's less than 124 euros and don't mind that it will take 11-18 days.....order it through Amazon.com and save a significant amoung of money. Even with the added shipping fees it's still cheaper than amazon.co.uk

If you need a book in a weeks time and/or it's over 124 euros....order it through amazon.co.uk

...but I always check both sites first before I place my order, and I almost always go through amazon.com

laika · Post by **laika** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 1:04 pm

A good place to search for books is "AddAll Book Search and Price Comparison" at http://www3.addall.com/.

You can set criteria for currency and shipping which is very handy because if you're ordering to Finland it'll only show bookstores that will ship to Finland plus it shows the price with shipping costs.
Normally you can find books for much, much less than from Amazon (whichever Amazon..).

If you want to order from Amazon and want fast delivery, it's also worth to check the French & German Amazons.. prices between the three European Amazons vary..

French amazon: http://www.amazon.fr/
German Amazon: http://www.amazon.de/

cordially,
Laura

zedkoman · Post by **zedkoman** » Thu Jul 24, 2003 7:17 am

hello everyone-

I had a quick question about studying in Finland. When I was there, I only got to see Helsinki and Oulu, but I never went to Varkaus, which I think is in the lakes district. I am thinking about studying there. Can anyone tell me about that town and if they recommend spending 4 years there earning a degree? I want to be in an 'authentic/small' Finnish region, ideal for learning the language and familiarizing one self to the culture. helsinki is too cosmopolitan by finnish standards, right?

Cheers
zedkoman

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Thu Jul 24, 2003 8:01 am

zedkoman wrote: I want to be in an 'authentic/small' Finnish region, ideal for learning the language and familiarizing one self to the culture.

"Authentic, small"

Your precence may not be noted in the local paper on the front page, rather on the gossip column, but you'll probably be dubbed the "official county foreigner" and grandmothers will take little children to take a peek at you if you have two heads...

Yes, Helsinki is too cosmopolitan, you can even get marmite here. I'd say Varkaus is ideal for your masoch.... err... cultural ambitions.

- hey, I'm biased, I'm a city boy, and the nearest "city" to Finland is prolly St.Pete & Stockholm if you ask the Finns...

If you want a second opinion Gavin studied forestry, if not in Varkaus some other hick town up yonder in the woods. He can tell you about the dangers of getting too culturally acquainted with Finland

Phil · Post by **Phil** » Thu Jul 24, 2003 9:17 am

zedkoman wrote:hello everyone-

I had a quick question about studying in Finland. When I was there, I only got to see Helsinki and Oulu, but I never went to Varkaus, which I think is in the lakes district. I am thinking about studying there. Can anyone tell me about that town and if they recommend spending 4 years there earning a degree? I want to be in an 'authentic/small' Finnish region, ideal for learning the language and familiarizing one self to the culture. helsinki is too cosmopolitan by finnish standards, right?

Cheers
zedkoman

Whoa! Varkaus is TINY!! My fiance is from the nearby town of Pieksamaki which looks like New York City compared to Varkaus.

Jyvaskyla is a very nice, and relatively large city and only about one hour from Varkaus.

But the surrounding areas of Varkaus (the lakelands like you said) are absolutely beautiful, the most beautiful part of Finland IMO.

"Here a lake, there a lake, everywhere a lake lake."

zedkoman · Post by **zedkoman** » Fri Jul 25, 2003 6:58 pm

It has been my experience that the kindest, most decent Finns, are the ones that live in the country, away from the gold and glitter of Helsinki. I mean, they are authentic in that they live a life below and away from people that live along the coast. I especially think the nicest set of Finns have to be the Laestadians, but that is my own personal opinion. Maybe there is a large Finnish town that is authentically Finnish, like Iisalmi or Kajaani, right? I don't want to study in a hamlet, thats for sure.

Lakes are cool. The more the better. When I was living in Vantaa, all we had was Kuusijarvi, and that place was packed in summer with all the riffraff from Koivukyla and Tikkurila. But if Varkaus has tons of lakes, that is great. [/quote]

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Fri Jul 25, 2003 9:58 pm

zedkoman - Dances with Amish wrote:When I was living in Vantaa, all we had was Kuusijarvi, and that place was packed in summer with all the riffraff from Koivukyla and Tikkurila.

Yeah, Varkaus won't have any city boys, you can have the hickdom all to yourself, mooseshagger...

...guess who lived where...

... I agree on koivukylä though

WebDesEyen · Post by **WebDesEyen** » Fri Jul 25, 2003 11:28 pm

i ordered the book (the cheapest one was amazon france, resulting in me now getting spammed in french and i don't have a clue on how to turn it off again), and it should be here within a week...
i'll come back with my findings...

Irina · Post by **Irina** » Sat Jul 26, 2003 11:53 pm

Zedkoman,

The place in Finland I have experienced the most is Joensuu...it is quite close to Varkaus. All places in or near the Saimaa basin are really beautiful...I'm a person who really needs to be near the lakes and forests-a proper forest Finn me

I've been told on good authority that Joensuu also has a good university. It's just cityish enough for you not to miss the city life and also countryish enough if, like me you need to escape and be within nature.

I was thinking about studying in Finland after I finish uni in England...but I don't think i'll ever live in Helsinki, I know this sounds weird but Helsinki kind of freaks me out a bit, even though I was born there and I currently live in the middle of England, talk about claustrophobic

I'm sorry that I can't be more specific about Varkaus, but if there's a good uni there and if Joensuu is anything to go by then i'm sure it'll be a great place to study and get to know the Finnish culture.

Niall Shaky · Post by **Niall Shaky** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 10:34 am

My girlfriend is from Varkaus and I've been there 4-5 times over the last year or so.

Phil is actually wrong. Varkaus has a larger population than Pieksämäki (23,000 versus 13,000).

The countryside is really, really beautiful. You'll be able to swim and sail on thousands of lakes during the summer and ski to your heart's content in the winter. There is a cinema and a couple of bars, one of which seems to be half decent.

It takes about 5 hours by bus/train from Helsinki. If you have a car I'm told you could do it in 3 hours in good weather.

But if you live in the wrong part of town you'll be able to smell the Stora Enso paper mill all year round. The mill is enormous and the major employer in the area. They also print newspapers on-site for distribution all over Finland. It's actually quite amazing. Trees go in to the complex at one end, Ilta Sanomat and Hesari come out the other.

Being part of the Savo region, the people have the stereotype (amongst other finns) of being talkative and friendly, if slightly untrustworthy ("kiero savolainen").

Although I don't mind visiting occasionally there is no way in a million years you could convince me to live there. I'd rather eat my own head.

Good luck!

Kemars · Post by **Kemars** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 10:44 am

Niall Shaky wrote: to smell the Stora Enso paper mill all year round

Ahh, the smell of MONEY!!!

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 12:11 pm

Niall Shaky wrote:Being part of the Savo region, the people have the stereotype (amongst other finns) of being talkative and friendly, if slightly untrustworthy ("kiero savolainen").

Who else would name their cities "Whipping hill" and "Larceny"... well, at least we don't have "Maksalampi" or something like Kidneypond

Niall Shaky · Post by **Niall Shaky** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 1:52 pm

Olen kotoisin Maksaallaasta! Sami Hyypiän joukkue!

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