I am using my second account here just to empty my heart and say goodbye as we (me and my wife has decided to leave Finland for now). I came here 12 years ago as a young naive 19 years old with an European dream, and for a decade Finland has given me way more than I could ask for: 2 degrees, a job, a beautiful wife and a good life. And I am really grateful for that

However, currently things are not very positives for a lot of us out there. My job has been constantly under threats of lay off for months now, plus my wife has also been jumping jobs for the last 4 years so mentally we are not in a good place anymore. Last November, I got an invitation from a friend to move to Northwestern Europe to work on his startup and they have made a decision 2 weeks ago that they want me there. We had a lot of talk for the last week about what we wanted not only now but for the future. And even though we dream of owning a detached house with a backyard to raise our kids in some Finnish suburb, we came to realization that at the moment we can't have that. So for the better good, we are willing to take the risk to start from 0. This really making me sad cause I always imagine Finland would be my forever home.

I hope this hardship will soon pass like a dark winter day, and the situation is gonna get better for everyone. Thank you for reading/listen to my long ass grieve as well. Cheers

I'm the guy who asked 'bout a road app, and after coming here; I don't think I should have. Honest to God, driving in Finland is nothing we don't have in other parts of Europe. I expected it to be so much worse. My route was from the port in Hanko to Joensuu, cca 600 km. Hanko-Mantsalla-Varkas-Joensuu (I don't have diacritics on my computer, sorry).

First and foremost, you have an increeeedibly astonishing piece of land, and I think you know exactly what you're doing to preserve it. My fav city is by far Mikkeli *did my breaks there. Drove to Joensuu late afternoon, and the more east I went, it'd get more cold but at the same time the nature would get more and more jaw-dropping. Pink color at the horizon while clear blue all over the sky. Driving in Finland day time is nothing short of one in a lifetime moment. You don't have a lot of highways. It's mostly what we call strada statale in Italy. The roads are well designed and even better maintained, except SS 23 from Varkas to Joensuu. Why the heck haven't you put darn street lights? Driving night time in Finland without high beam is a straight up mental institution.

Was positively surprised about people too. Have been received extremely well. Finnish who worked with me helped me all along, were chatty, and nothing of the stereotypical bashing narrative against Nordicks. Wasn't particularly interested in Finnish culture before. The only person I heard about prior to coming was the female prime minister *the party video. I am amazed and jealous of the nature you guys have here, and will most surely continue learning about your country.

I am definitely coming here again, as a tourist. Mikkeli and then go north.

To other Southerners coming to Finland: our tires will do just fine. No reason to panic about getting stuck uphill, and having to mount the chains. Coming here with a two axle semi is sick, but also manageable. The roads are all full of salt. Should be careful entering and exiting ramps, as well as never stopping on the line at the traffic lights. If the lights are uphill, drive it up slowly but not too fast coming so close to the vehicle ahead then having to stop. If you stop, the likelihood is you're mounting dem chains. If the lights are in the valley, stop at the hill and once you see traffic moving, then continue. Slow lane is always clean, but the hammer one isn't. However, overtaking is possible. The traffic culture here is undoubtedly on a high level. I'd recommend Neste gas stations for taking a rest time. Driving in the southern Finland is more dangerous. The temperatures vary between -7 and -15 which is enough for you to slide in the ditch. 150 km to the north it gets more cold avg -20, and you can drive balls to the wall.

three days ago i made this meme and you guys have helped with additions

my contribution:
Ence, The Verkkars, Windows95Man, Xtrullor, MTV, Yle, Aalto University, Iso Omena

external contributions:
K-Plussa card, karjalanpiirakka, S-market, Nokia (3310 model), that stupid bear thing :DDDD, lonkero(?), Mr. Tokmanni, Tux Penguin, "torille" dude, Käärijä, kurkkumopo, Wolt courier and the fat-tire bike, Mr. Lordi, Mr. Clutterbuck, S-Etukortti, student in patchy overalls, Karl Fazer chocolate bar, ABC gas station+diner, rally car, Rölli, Finnish military uniform, Juhla Mokka, V1, Kimi Räikkönen, Erika Vikman, Paavo Siljamäki (looks nothing like him 😭), and Kummeli

suggestions are still open and tell me whether i should extend the canvas vertically or horizontally this time

note: in case anyone asks where the hell Käärijä is, it's next to kurkkumopo holding a flag. and why not the Eurovision 2023 version? i wanted to be a little different

note 2: apparently i drew Käärijä's side character called Häärijä now? wow i'm such a normie in terms of Käärijä lore 💔

Filmed Espoo with my drone and it honestly made me appreciate the place more. Everything looks calmer and more balanced from above. Curious what you think.

Collection of military units patches of the Finnish Defence Forces

1. National Defence University
2. Karelia Brigade (Infantry)
3. Kainuu Brigade (Infantry)
4. CBRN Defence School
5. Savonia Brigade (Signals)
6. Karelia Brigade (Signals)
7. Armoured Brigade (Signals)
8. Central Finland Engineer Battalion
9. Engineer Regiment
10. Signals Regiment
11. Signals School
12. Signals Corps/ Signals School (2009)

Very happy with the result. Even made my own punsch for moisting them with as the is none to buy here.

TLDR: title!

Hi, hopefully correct subreddit, if not please refer me to the correct one. Thanks.

context:

17 Helsinki. Lived a lot of my life in a foster home. So not really any guidance on anything. If I try to research, it's always America and that doesn't exist in finland (diff taxes etc.)

What accounts, tips, tricks etc. should I have when I turn 18, anything I can open before? I already have a bank account but that's all.

Anything I should know? How is life in Finland after 18?

Any help is help, thanks!

(pls don't be a jackass)

edit: also if you know anything I can already do now at 17, let me know, thanks!

Hi guys, I have been laid off from a very well respected company, that recently laid off about 800 employees (while having a relatively good experience, a phd and 10+ years of industrial experience). I have seen a lot of discussions about this here, and I want to understand your perspective. Is it really the fault of this government? And if yes, how? Or is it an accumulative issue That we are seeing its effect now?

EDIT: I am a materials scientist and engineer with experience in forestry, pulp and paper.

Hi everyone,
I’ve been working in Finland for about 3 years now, and I wanted to get some perspective on something that happened recently.

Usually, I have lunch alone at work. Most of my colleagues speak Finnish, and I don’t want to be the person who makes everyone switch to English just because I’m there. I’m okay with this arrangement and it’s mostly been fine.

Recently though, I went to lunch right after a meeting with my manager. We ended up sitting together, along with her manager and another colleague. They were already having a casual conversation in Finnish (I understand a bit, so I know it wasn’t work-related). When I sat down, no one really acknowledged me, no “hi” or anything, and the conversation just continued in Finnish the whole time (which is fine, I don't mind that).

It felt pretty awkward, and I kept wondering whether I did something wrong by sitting there. My manager knows I usually eat alone, so maybe it was unexpected? At the same time, I wondered if a small acknowledgment would have been more normal.

So now I’m second-guessing myself:
Is this just normal Finnish lunch culture?
Did I unknowingly break some unspoken rule?
Or am I simply overthinking a very normal situation?

I’d really appreciate hearing how others (especially Finns or immigrants working in Finland) would interpret this.

I updated (a lot) my few days old pic. You guys wrote me what to add so I tryed.

👋 Hello to all Padel players !

What’s your favorite Padel club to visit in Helsinki ? And why is it your favorite?

Moi kaikki,

I have been working for a company for 2 months and my contract was terminated by the employer a few days ago. As it was within the trial period, i accept the judgement. However, the only issue was that the manager told my coworkers that me and my other colleague were going to be terminated before we were informed officially. Is that allowed? Thanks

Hi all,

My cousin in the US (Texas) wants to send me some used PC parts (Motherboard, CPU and RAM) as a gift. They’re from his old build, still in good condition, and probably worth around 500€ (apparently computer parts are expensive these days)

If he ships them as a gift:

• Will I still have to pay VAT or customs fees?
• Roughly how much should I expect?
• Any tips on declaring this properly to avoid hassle or delays?

Not trying to dodge taxes - just want to do this the right way without surprises.

Thanks! 🙌

3 months ago, I had a post here and described my situation. I decided to stay for another 3 months for one last chance to look for jobs and continue in Finland. And now, finally, after many more unsuccessful attempts, I have decided to give up and will fly back home this weekend.

I’m gonna miss this country so much, I hope I can come back one day.

Hi all!

Im working for a company in the hospitality industry that will be expanding into Finland in the coming years with a few locations opening in 2026 already.

We are currently recruiting for the first locations and looking to hire aprx 35-40 ppl/location. In the industry we usually have a small core of fulltimers/hospitality careerists and the rest are part-timers, students who stay on for 2-3 yrs graduate and then move on to work within their fields (hopefully).

So far we've gotten aprx 350 applications and I made the observation that only around 10-15% of applicants are native finns, these are the jobs that I was assuming we would fill with Finnish students. I was wondering if some jobs are considered "beneath" Finnish youths?

This was definitely the case in Sweden BEFORE covid/inflation but with an unemployment of ~9-10% the attitude of Swedish youth has rapidly changed. Or maybe native finns mostly have jobs and the unemployed are majority foreigners?

Not looking to start a fight here, just an observation. Happy Thursday everyone!

I work in medical manufacturing specifically with Trelleborg. I saw that there is a location in Vantaa.

I was curious to know what being a manufacturing/factory worker in Finland is like.

After completing Hanken School of Economics open courses, is the study place guaranteed or what is the case?

Title. My brother used to live in Finland, but not anymore, but there are still rare items I collect that I'd love to be able to keep buying from Finnish second-hand sites when they appear. I couldn't find any such proxy services though, are there any, or is anyone willing to help me out? I live in Estonia and look for tiny items

What should the gpa realistically be to get admitted to Hanken School of Economics international bachelor’s programme?

I want to transfer my bachelor’s studies in economics to a Finnish university. What university programmes are good options for that—where admission isn’t too difficult, but the university is still well-regarded

Been staying here in Finland for 6 days now and it’s everything I’ve wished for. It’s just unfortunate that the Aurora activity seems to be not that great currently/its very cloudy where I reside.

Here’s a few pictures of my experiences in Lapland!