Unrealistic plans

Dessi_Milo · Post by **Dessi_Milo** » Tue Sep 19, 2017 3:47 pm

I have a friend from Portugal, who I met in London 1 year ago. We both live there. Already from the beginning she was in love with Norway and was practicing Norwegian. She was more than sure she wanted to move there; but now, a month ago, she decided that Finland was a better option. And yesterday she told me she has given her notice from her job, and planning to move to Finland in the end of October.
I have tried to explain to her many times that the Nordic countries does not work like London (I'm from Sweden myself). She doesn't want to listen to me. She is convinced that she can go to Helsinki without any knowledge of finnish, hardly any money (she thinks she has enough but it won't last more than maybe 2-3 weeks) and no contacts.
I don't want to see her fail, but she will, because she has no real plan. She believes it is like when people come to London for work; staying in a hostel until you have bank account, NIN and phone number. And after a week in the country you even have a job. It would have been amazing if every country were like UK but unfortunatly they are not. And my friend does not understand that. What should I do? I am a little worried. I was thinking maybe you guys know the right thing to say.
Thanks

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Mizu1993 · Post by **Mizu1993** » Tue Sep 19, 2017 8:36 pm

She can go to Helsinki without any knowledge of finnish, it is possible. I know a lot of people who live in Finland, have a job and don't speak finnish and get good money. About the rest... of course we don't know how much money she has, but if she can get a job in Finland, she actually has good chances to live here.

theelephantmum · Post by **theelephantmum** » Tue Sep 19, 2017 10:35 pm

Yeah, she'll most likely miserably fail, but honestly I don't think there's anything you can say. She'll learn the hard truth by herself. Try to convince her to keep money for a return flight.

Finland is like a big "small town". You need both language and contacts to find a job. And definitely you need those to find a job in 3 weeks. For god's sake, they don't even give the residence and the necessary documents in three weeks! And good luck with finding a cheap hostel.

You're right to worry but your friend is not a child, it's not your job to do or say anything.

rinso · Post by **rinso** » Wed Sep 20, 2017 7:26 am

Dessi_Milo wrote:I have a friend from Portugal, who I met in London 1 year ago. We both live there. Already from the beginning she was in love with Norway and was practicing Norwegian. She was more than sure she wanted to move there; but now, a month ago, she decided that Finland was a better option. And yesterday she told me she has given her notice from her job, and planning to move to Finland in the end of October.
I have tried to explain to her many times that the Nordic countries does not work like London (I'm from Sweden myself). She doesn't want to listen to me. She is convinced that she can go to Helsinki without any knowledge of finnish, hardly any money (she thinks she has enough but it won't last more than maybe 2-3 weeks) and no contacts.
I don't want to see her fail, but she will, because she has no real plan. She believes it is like when people come to London for work; staying in a hostel until you have bank account, NIN and phone number. And after a week in the country you even have a job. It would have been amazing if every country were like UK but unfortunatly they are not. And my friend does not understand that. What should I do? I am a little worried. I was thinking maybe you guys know the right thing to say.
Thanks

You're spot on with your analysis. Unless she gets really really lucky she will fail.
But please keep us posted with her results, it would be a warning for other adventurers.

mdn · Post by **mdn** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:11 pm

Dessi_Milo wrote:What should I do?

It is useless to say something to her, as people do not listen to something what they do not like.
Anyway "the end of October" - it is really a good time to go to Finland (with winter day time). You can say to her that she will not see a sun during next half of a year.

Yes, and hopefully it will be Helsinki (capital region), as in other cities it will be even worse (with work and with sun).

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:21 pm

mdn wrote:Yes, and hopefully it will be Helsinki (capital region), as in other cities it will be even worse (with work and with sun).

Other places might have snow though.

Piet · Post by **Piet** » Tue Sep 26, 2017 10:52 pm

Upphew wrote:
mdn wrote:Yes, and hopefully it will be Helsinki (capital region), as in other cities it will be even worse (with work and with sun).
Other places might have snow though.

and reindeers with red noses

Tiwaz · Post by **Tiwaz** » Wed Sep 27, 2017 8:46 pm

Mizu1993 wrote:She can go to Helsinki without any knowledge of finnish, it is possible. I know a lot of people who live in Finland, have a job and don't speak finnish and get good money. About the rest... of course we don't know how much money she has, but if she can get a job in Finland, she actually has good chances to live here.

Oh? A lot of people?
How come then you have hordes of unemployed foreigners in Finland?
Statistically very, very few groups are able to reach same unemployment percent as natives.

And most of those "no habla"-foreigners who do have job are in low end jobs with very low salary.

Oombongo · Post by **Oombongo** » Thu Sep 28, 2017 11:17 am

You can't do much except learn to say "I told you so" in about 50+ languages.

Let her fail. Hopefully her worst case scenario plan is not getting knocked up by a local

I can't wait to hear about her adventures starting from this plan to ultimate "result".

sky2 · Post by **sky2** » Mon Oct 02, 2017 10:52 am

Dessi_Milo wrote:She believes it is like when people come to London for work; staying in a hostel until you have bank account, NIN and phone number. And after a week in the country you even have a job.
Thanks

Is it that easy there?

Querfeldein · Post by **Querfeldein** » Wed Oct 04, 2017 10:04 pm

I would say it depends - in London, it is still a competitive job market, but there are also lots of opportunities. The big difference, I assume, is that your friend speaks English. I would try to illustrate that point. What kind of job is she doing at the moment, and could she do that in London without speaking English?

I believe her chances, even in Helsinki, are really slim, but then again, what is the worst case scenario? She might try it here for a few weeks - there is a very small, but non-zero chance she will like it, meet the right people, and find a job that pays for rent and food. More likely that she won't, but then, she seems like someone who would fall on her feet, and maybe go back to London or another place. After giving her all the advice you can, I guess the best you can do is wish her good luck.

Dessi_Milo · Post by **Dessi_Milo** » Sun Oct 08, 2017 7:16 am

Is it that easy there?[/quote]

It took me 9 days to get a job after I arrived to London. I know people who got a job after 5-7 days, but also people who were more picky and didn't get a job until a month later
Which ever; it is very easy getting a (low paid but good enough) job in London. Not like any other countries I know, anyway.

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