I’ve got the chance of a job in Helsinki – probably for a couple of years. Anyone lived/worked there?

I once considered a job there. All I know is that Moomin Land amusement park is nearby

Molgrips is your man he had an IT job there… I on the other hand visited him there and it was utterly lovely (but I come from a similar climate). You must like snow and Winter and remember that Spring takes longer to come. We fantasize about moving there. 🙂

Scandinavian women, what more reason do you need ??

A lot of my family live there. I think it’s a nice city, quite a bit of culture, nature and decent shopping all in fairly close proximity. If you know where to go, the food is good too. Public transport etc. is all good. The winters are cold and dark, but the summers long and warm and the Finns typically have a good attitude regarding holiday allowance. Some Finnish people can be hard to get to know and appear quite rude, but once you are closer they are a lot of fun.

Check out the stats on Finland in theequalitytrust.org and it looks like a very civilised country.

I lived there for 15 months. It’s lovely really, I’d still be there if I could.

Finland is basically forest with lots of lakes, and a few towns scattered around like islands. Which is brill. The city itself is pretty small and cosy in terms of the centre, but with a lot of suburbs sprawling outwards. Atmos is lovely though. Very friendly and open. Finns have a reputation for being tight lipped which they are somewhat, but not in a grumpy way. You get good service in shops, things are generally tidy and decent and there are plenty of good places to eat and drink. The suburbs range from 1920s tenement blocks to 60s concrete flats which I thought was awful at first, but then I found out they are owned and occupied by all sorts of people and really quite pleasant. Like planners intended concrete blocks of flats to be here rather than how they ended up.

The countryside is where it’s at for me though. It’s all just forests and lakes, but the forests are just so, the lakes are just so, and it’s all fantastically beautiful. For my leaving do we hired a sauna cottage by the lake and spent the evening in and out of the sauna and freezing lake, and barbecuing fish on the fire. Brilliant way to spend an evening 🙂

Biking is good – just outside Helsinki (so 30 mins ride from the centre) is Nuuksio national park. Not at all hilly but very lumpy so you’re riding on fire-roads and singletrack with sharp ups and downs and roots. I loved it 🙂 There’s also a smattering of slick rock and very narrow shore (for walkers) to spice things up. On a hot summer’s day, riding out to the woods, stripping down to your lycra and jumping in a clear perfect lake is just ace. And best of all, no-one thinks you’re weird for doing stuff like that. Being outdoors in all weathers doing this or that is normal for Finns.

Summer is pretty short really, and temperatures are lower than here. Winter is excellent though. Lovely and cold, crisp, guaranteed snow, and you can get out the skis and XC ski all over the place. You can even get out from the city centre to the national park all on groomed XC trails. There’s not much DH though but there are a couple of runs maybe 100m long ish. Basically like an outdoor snowdome 🙂 I loved it. And people are still out and about doing stuff, skiing, walking, having barbecues in the woods. They provide barbecue huts for you in the national parks, where you can cook and sit around a fire, and they even provide firewood chopped and ready 🙂

Spring and autumn are a bit of a drag tho. Takes a long time for the temperatures to gradually climb towards warmth, likewise it takes a while for the temps to get cold enough for the fun to begin.

I’ve got a load of pics at home, can’t post them here tho 🙂

Thanks everyone esp Molgrips, it sounds great. I have had a couple of business trips over there but both in the summer. It seemed great and i get on well with the Finns that i currently work with. The saunas are amazing………. Right just need to get the CV sorted!

i’m looking at PhDs in Helsinki too (Otaniemi to be prescise). My gf is finnish and lives there. If you need a personal tour or introductions give me a bell. I’m looking at moving there too next summer.

Lovely people, very friendly and very proud of Finland. What field are you working/ hoping to work in?

Rich

Get me a job whilst you’re there!

I can give you a few pointers on rides too 🙂

And we’ll come and visit! 😉 🙂

That does all look great – i would hope to be working in Environmental Forestry – no shortage of trees!

Buy this … The Lahti L35 and Husqvarna M40 Pistols.

Finns love their weapons.

… or just arm yourself with whatever guns or pistols you can get as it is a fashion there to arm. 😆

UPM?

Great place and I agree with all that is said above. Support Jokerit you wont go far wrong.

Helsinki doesn’t get as cold as further north, but winter will still shock you, it gets really cold. Do the ferry to Stockholm a few times if you want serious drinking. Nip to Tallin for your alcohol.

Trams are great and cycling paths/roads are everywhere. Prepare to become a Sauna fanatic

Hyva as they say in Suomi

Amazed you wont be in Joensuu if you are doing forrestry.

I didn’t find the cold a big deal. It was lovely. The coldest it got when I was there was -23 or so for about a week but on a fabulously sunny day it was an experience. Otherwise it was usually -5 ish or -10 ish. Perfectly manageable, and you adjust.

The winter darkness wasn’t a big deal for me either. Sun comes up around 9.30 and goes down at 3.30 at the solstice or thereabouts, but dusk lasts a long longer so it’s not that different from the UK on a dull day. The midsummer light at 11.30pm was a novelty, and full on warm bright sunshine at 10.30pm even more so, but the best thing was lots of light up until say 9-9.30pm or later for a good three months. I used to lounge about all day, do some shopping, watch movies, eat, THEN go riding and still not need lights 🙂

Oh and I’d definitely drive over if I were going again. I thought about it but sold my car in the end before going. Regretted it, because cars were way way expensive to buy there. Public transport is excellent but like all systems it’s mainly for town communications. If you want to explore the countryside properly cars are always best. I’d have got a lot more exploring done with a car.

Molgrips has stated most things correctly except that trails start few minutes from city centre (the Central park), the areas with more backcountry type of thing (Nuuksio et al) start about 30-45minutes drive from city. There are few active MTB clubs in area too and besides myself there seems to be other folk from Helsinki are here on STW as well, riding tips certainly available when needed.

Apartments and houses are fairly expensive for such a small city and in addition new and old apartment houses there are plenty of semi-detached houses and some houses in the suburbs. Many foreign people choose to buy and sell even if stay is only few years as the rents are getting high.
Climate is tolerable, I work at place where most people are foreign and it’s mostly the darkness which is getting on peoples nerves. Personally I wish it was colder, these southern winters are not good for skiing… 🙁

Where are you from mmannerr?

Currently working in Helsinki, living in a nearby suburbs, roots a bit further in the north…

I never got to visit the North 🙁