Tourism, moving and studying in Finland? Ask here!

11 comments

1. Hi everyone!

   I’m looking for a headlamp for early morning running. Shall I go with a budget one (under 30€) or consider a good one (include red light, from 70€ to over 100)? And would you recommend me some, please?

   Thank you and have a nice day.

2. Terve!
   I see on a job posting under pay the word (acronym?) “KVTES”. It is my understanding that this is referring to the municipal pay scale that is set through collective bargaining, is this correct? And either way, is there a place that lists these pay scales so that I can see what the job is offering exactly?
   Kiitos!

3. Hey there!

   What’s the gateway to non-luxury nature tourism?

   It looks like mostly everything seems tailored to lavish, extravagant people that look for cristal igloos, or to be carried in litters, haha.

   What are the websites used for internal tourism, for example?

   Thanks!

4. Hello,

   My husband was contacted by a programming firm based in Helsinki with job offer that requires relocation. The salary range that is advertised is between 3000-7000€ gross / month (the final offer would come after multiple rounds of interviews so we decided to ask here before potentially wasting time). We tried multiple gross to net calculators online and all of them give us a different number. Can you recommend one that is closest to reality?

   Our current situation with payments is 1x average pay (with very generous bonuses) for me and 3.5x average pay for husband. So all in all we live a very cushy life based on standards of our home country (central EU).
   Does this pay band come even close to the same standard or would we be considerably downgrading in terms of living standard? How much would the pay need to be in order to retain the same living standard?

   I’m also currently pregnant with twins, so will obviously be unable to work untill we find childcare and probably for some time after that, since I work as a data analyst for financial institution (and would like to remain in that field because I genuinely enjoy it). From my experience these tend to be pretty conservative and require a good grasp of native language, which would be hard to realistically master while caring for two infants at the same time. So lets say I would remain unemployed for cca 1.5-2 years. Would it be possible to comfortably survive in Helsinki on a single paycheck untill I would be able to find a job in my field? Also how hard is it to find childcare / kindergarten in Finland? Are the waiting lists long or is it fairly easy to get into?

   Basically is this even worth pursuing any further or are we better off staying put?

5. Hi
   I’m a non EU citizen in a relationship with an EU partner who lives in Finland. I really wish to reunite with my partner next year but what kind of visa is suitable for me in order to live&work in Finland with my partner?

   I guess the quickest way is just get a job offer in Finland and get a work permit?

   We are not engaged/married couple and only lived couple of months before my partner relocated to Finland.

   As a non EU person, visa is always the biggest challenge for me.. thanks in advance..!

6. I live in Helsinki and have two doors into one room. I’d like one of the doorways to be removed, and sealed up. I guess it needs a frame installed, then some plaster-board/similar over the top.

   What kinda company should I be googling to do the work? I guess it’s not just “plasterer Helsinki”.

7. Hello, hope u all well
   im a student traveling to Helsinki and i need a stay for 2 days only! Im fully vaccinated, got all the documents, just traveling. Id like to meet locals, go for a walk or smth as this is my first time in Finland.
   If anyone can host me for two days, please contact me.
   Let me know if u wanna know anything about me
   Thanks!

8. Should my wife and I cancel our honeymoon at the end of the month????

   Wife and I were hoping to visit Helsinki/Finland late December/early January for a week for our honeymoon. Booked our tickets many months ago and now starting to get quite nervous about travel to Helsinki from the United States. We are both vaccinated, and receiving our boosters this week.

   I realize that getting into the country isn’t out of the question as long as we show proof of vaccination, but how strict are restaurants/bars/etc. getting on non-EU ‘vaccinated’ tourists?
   Please give us some good direction here. We’ve been really looking forward to this trip, but want to make sure that we’re doing things smart and safely. Thank you!

9. Hey everyone, I’m planning to visit Lapland from Sweden by the end of the dec-jan early, and I’m in the middle of collecting information about the transport and accommodation, is there any particular recommendation about that? Thanks in advance!

10. Is there anywhere that would be good for cross country skiing this early in the season that is still fairly close to Helsinki and reachable by public transport?

11. I have a trip planned to Lapland end of December and am fully vaccinated with paper work . In my state (Arizona) the more rural and tourist areas are less likely to enforce strict covid regulations, whereas tribal lands are often very strict.

    Is this similar in Finland? Are more urban areas more strict? I read there is a temporary stay and a national decision pending on enforcement, but without this, are there regional cultural differences that would impact my ability to go out during my trip if I’m primarily in Lapland?