Everything about Finland for foreigners

The Finnish National Icehockey team won the 2011 world championship and the celebration of this gold medal has been very much like a carneval in Helsinki. Second coach of the national hockey team Pasi Nurminen has become very famous because it seems that has partied gold medals too hard. When the winning team arrived at Helsinki Airport Pasi Nurminen fell at the red carpet.

Tomorrow evening 15.5.2011 will be a very special evening in Finland when our national ice hockey team is playing in the ice hockey world championship final agains Sweden. Every sports pub will be crowded tomorrow and if Finland wins the game there will be a huge party evening at least in the biggest cities.

If you want to go to the barber who speaks fluent english there is one excellent place to visit. The Barber Shop is owned and operated by english gentleman who serves his customers in english at Punavuori (Fredrikinkatu 19). More about The Barber Shop can be found here in the parturi helsinki -website.

1st of May (Vappu) is a very special day in Finland. Vappu is originally a workers day and it was especially important carneval for the labour unions and students but today Vappu is a national holiday that everybody celebrates somehow. This year 1st of May is Sunday and I expect that the Saturday evening will be a carneval day in every city in Finland and especially in Helsinki. On Sunday celebration will be more sophisticated and the most important place is the Kaivopuisto in southern Helsinki. If the weather is not horrible there will be many people having their picnic and enjoying the beautiful spring weather.

Helsingin Sanomat tells that w ith less than a week to go before Parliamentary elections, the conservative National Coalition Party remains Finland’s most popular. In what appears to be developing into a close race, the True Finns have fallen from second to fourth place, while the Social Democratic Party has inched past the Centre Party to the number-two spot. More information about the poll is here. http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Poll+National+Coalition+Party+the+largest+SDP+gains+True+Finns+fall+back/1135265335553

Parlamentary elections in Finland take place every fourth year. The next elections are this spring and campaigns are going on at the moment. This year elections have been very interesting because nationalist new party (Perussuomalaiset) has received significant media attention. Voting will take place April 17th 2011. The list of candidates in parlamentary elections can be found here: http://192.49.229.35/E2011/e/ehd_listat/kokomaa.htm

Previously we wrote about car rentals in Helsinki but here is one link to the blog where you can find all major car rent companies in Helsinki.

Here is one blog with restaurant reviews . It includes selection of restaurants in Helsinki.

City of Porvoo is an excellent choice for one day visit if you want to see an old smaller city and learn something about the history of Finland. Porvoo is located appr 70km east from Helsinki and by car it takes appr. 45 minutes to drive motorway. There is also a good frequent bus connection to Porvoo and by bus it takes appr. 50-60 minutes from Helsinki to Porvoo. The most popular place for visits in Porvoo is by far Old Town and the beautiful Cathedral. Cathedral of Porvoo is the third most popular church in Finland as measured in number of visitors. The Cathedral has been repaired after the fire in 2006. Porvoo is ideal for 1/2 or full day visits. You can learn more about the  City of Porvoo here .

Finland is a democracy and parliament elections are every fourth and presidental elections in every sixth year. In these elections only persons with Finnish nationality can vote. However in the city level municipal elections all persons (18 years old or more) who have permanent adress in the city or town and citizenship in some EU country, Norway or Iceland, can vote. Also citizens of other countries can vote if they have had permanent adress in the city or town for more than two years.

If you are staying in Finland for longer than typical tourist visit, you notice that many Finnihs companies offer their loyalty cards and give special prices for their frequently visiting customers. Most of them give very little benefit and their main focus is to get contact information of customers for targeted advertising. However there are some loyalty cards that many finns do have and you should consider. 1. S-Etukortti . You cannot avoid using services of S-Group in Finland because they have strong market position in retail shopping (Sokos, S-Market, Alepa), hotels (S-Hotels), restaurants (Chico's, Rosso, Coffee House, Amarillo and many others) and gas stations (ABC). Their loyalty card is called Co-op membership and you can get benefit every time you visit any S-Group company. 2. Another major player in Finland is Kesko and their loyalty card is called Plussa-card . Unfortunately their website is only in Finnish. If you have the S-Etukortti and this Plussa-card you have a

If you are working in a Finnish company and your employment is based on the Finnish legislation you will have four weeks summer holiday and one week winter holiday after few years of working. You will have the full summer holiday after one year of working and year after that you will have also the winter holiday. In addition to this there are some national holidays in Finland. For example the Independece day 6.12 and the spring festival at the first of May.

There are many rather good modestly priced average restaurants in Helsinki but only few excellent high class Restaurants. The most famous restarants where you can take business fellows and be sure you get excellent service are: G.W. Sundmans Michelin rated G.W. Sundmans is located by the sea very close to the market square. G.W. Sundmans is one of the appreciated high-end restaurants in Helsinki. Chez Dominique Chez Dominique is definitely a high-end restaurant just like G.W.Sundmans. However their dishes are sometimes more expremental. http://www.eat.fi/ is an excellent website to search for restaurants in Helsinki.

Madonna, Bono, The Rolling Stones and many other world famous stars choose Hotel Kämp when their world tour visits Helsinki. There is more about Hotel Kämp in one hotel blog .

If you are living in Finland and you want to find natural ways to meet local people and learn more about local lifestyle you may find these tips useful. 1. Use internet and Facebook Facebook is a good way to get better contact to the people you already know in Finland. Facebook will not only help you to connect with your friends but it makes you easy to see what are they interested in. By checking the new groups they join and news they comment you will quikly learn many things about the lives of your Finnish friends. In most working places it's very normal to ask friends in facebook at least those colleagues you meet reguraly at work. If you are working in a smaller organization you can ask almost everyone to be your facebook friend. 2. Be active in NPF organizations There is huge number of all kinds of non-profit organizations in Finland. If you are interested in arts, sports, charity or culture you surely find an organization to join and meet people with similar interests.

http://www.vertaa.fi/ is a useful tool if you want to compare prices of airline tickets, electronical equipments, mobile phones or some other standardised products. It is a website that gathers information from various sources and tells you where you can buy specified item at lowest price. This service works very well for the most common items like TVs, cameras and airline tickets. Unfortunately the website is in Finnish but it is very easy to use if you understand few keywords and understand locic of website search tools. For example here you can search for airline tickets: http://www.vertaa.fi/lentoliput/ Here you can search for cheapest digital cameras: http://www.vertaa.fi/digikamerat/ Here you can search for books, games etc.: http://www.vertaa.fi/viihde/

Majority of the university education in Finland is in Finnish but here are some Master's degrees that are thougth in English at Helsinki Law Master of Laws (LL.M.) Diploma Programme , Helsinki University Economics and business Administration Swedish School of Econimics, several degree programs Helsinki School of Econimis, some programs are in Engliss, see list Others Helsinki University, Master's of Art, some programs in English

Finland is not in the center of Europe but there are still some cheap airlines that offer cheap flights to Finland and from Finland to central and southern Europe. Finnair, SAS, Blue1, Lufthansa, Air France and KLM among many other well known airlines are flying to Helsinki but there are also some low cost airlines that offer cheap flights. Helsinki-London and London-Helsinki This rout is operated by EasyJet. Tampere-London and London-Tampere If you wish to travel somewhere else than Helsinki this Ryanair flight can be a good choice. Helsinki-Paris and Paris-Helsinki EasyJet flies also to Paris and back. Helsinki-Berlin and Berlin-Helsinki Air Berlin flies to Berlin and also to Düsseldorf. Helsinki-Rome and Rome-Helsinki Norwegian is opening their direct fligt to Rome this spring (2011). In addition to these routes Norwgian flies direct flights to Nice, Alicante, Malaga and Split and by EasyJet you can fly also to Edinburgh. Between the Nordic countries there are m

Here are some basic facts about foreign driving licences in Finland. Driving licences issued in another EU or EEA country entitle the holder to drive motor vehicles in Finland equivalent to those indicated on the non-Finnish licence. The driver must be at least 18 years old. Also interim licences issued in Nordic countries are valid. A person residing permanently in a country that has signed the Geneva or Vienna Road Traffic Convention and who holds a national or international driving licence or an official Finnish or Swedish translation of a national driving licence is entitled to drive motor vehicles equivalent to those indicated on the non-Finnish licence for up to a year following entry into Finland, provided that the person fulfils the Finnish age requirement to drive such vehicles. Driving licences issued in any other countries do not give automatically entitlement to drive in Finland. On application, however, the police may grant a provisional driving licence for a maximu

If you are coming to Finland with family finding an English speaking kindergarten is important. If you are coming to Helsinki there are many options but in many other cities choices are limited or nonexistent. Here are some English speaking kindergartens at Helsinki area: HSAY Kindergarten http://www.hsaykindergarten.com/ International Childcare and Education Centre http://www.play-learn.com/ Päiväkoti Youngstar http://www.ys2000.com/ Sunrise Playschool http://www.sunrisefinland.org/ Oulunkylän Englanninkielinen Päiväkoti http://www.kindergarten.fi/ Bumblebees Kindergarten http://www.bumblebeeskindergarten.com/ For other cities you can try to find information from Expat Finland .

If you are considering moving to Finland it may be difficult to useful to know something about the most popula living areas in Finland. They are presented in order of popularity and it correlates with the price:-) Eira, Kaivopuisto and Ullanlinna This is area at the southern Helsinki is a living area between the city center and the Baltic Sea. It is very nice living area and from this area you can walk to the center or take a tram. Buildings of this area are usually from the early 1900 but most of them are renovated and in good condition. This area is rather peaceful and safe place and services are good, small shops and grocery stores are very close and big department stores at city center are easy to access. Westend and Kulosaari If you want more space around you and prefer bigger houses, Westend is the best place for you. Westend is a small luxorious area by the sea few kilometres from the Helsinki center to the west. There is a bus connection from Westend to the center but a c

If you are coming to Finland to work in white collar job your employer will most likely offer company mobile phone to you. If this is not the case here are some basic facts about mobile phones and operators in Finland. Phones Most mobile phones in Finland are sold without any operator package so you just buy a phone you wish and it is not locked to any specific operator and you can choose which operator you want. Some operators offer phones at discount if you make 36 months or 24 months agreement with the operator but these are not very often attractive if you compare prices. Operators When you have bought you phone without operator package you are free to choose which operator you want and make an agreement with them. For persons without permanent address in Finland prepaid is a good alternative. Prepaids can be bought at almost any market. Saunalahti  is one of the market leaders in prepaids. In general prices of SMS and domestic calls are not high but pay attention to the inte

Car rentals For temporary car needs renting is the easiest solution. There are many rentals in capital area and other cities. The big international companies like Hertz  and Avis are at of course easy choices. However local companies like Scandia Rent  or Easyrent  can be cheaper. Also Budget rental is one of the cheaper ones. If you need car more one interesting alternative is City Car Club . For temporary use it is not cheaper than rentals but if you need car more it is cheaper than traditional rentals. City Car Club cars are available only in Helsinki.

If you come to Finland to stay for only a short time it may be a good idea to buy some things as used and when you are leaving Finland you may not want to take everything for you. Good place to buy and sell things is http://www.huuto.net/ . It's a good marketplace for example: childrens toys, clothes, sports equipments etc. bicycles or scooters furniture electronical equipments etc.

Finnish language is not easy but if you decide to take it as a challenge and want to learn it here are some places where you can start learning it: University of Helsinki - Finnish for foreigners http://www.helsinki.fi/kksc/language.services/english/suomi.html Institute of adult education in Helsinki http://www.helsinginaikuisopisto.fi/eng/courses/finnishforforeigners.php Private language school Berlitz http://www.berlitz.fi/en/learning_a_language/group_instruction/berlitz_class/

If you are looking for a job in Finland the right place depends on what kind of educational background you have. In most of the open postions at least some level of Finnish language is required but there are some areas where it is not required. Most of them are in engineering or business/finance. Monster  is a leading recruiting media in Finland. The second most significant is Oikotie . These recruiting medias have wide range of open positions in all areas. If you are looking for jobs where higher education is not required best possibilities to find work are at recruiting agencies like Addecco. Here are some companies that have strong market positions in Finland: Addecco , Poolia,   Barona , Manpower , Varamiespalvelu and Staffpoint .

Looking for an appartment If you want to rent an appartment in Finland there are two websites where you should start: Vuokraovi is a leading marketplace for rental appartments in Finland. The website frame is available in English but most of the announcement texts are in Finnish. http://www.vuokraovi.com/vuokraovi/main/main.action?locale=en&theme=theme_en & Oikotie is the marketplace of a local newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. Unfortunately it is available only in Finnish. http://asunnot.oikotie.fi/vuokrapalvelu These two places are good starting points to learn more about the market. If you want to contact real estate brokers here are few companies to start with: Celine is a company which is focused on rental appartments for foreigners. If you are coming to work in Finland and looking for furnished appartment with excellet location this is the company to contact. http://www.celine.fi/ SKV and Huoneistokeskus are biggest real estate brokers in Finland. http://www.sk

The leading newspaper is Finland is definitely Helsingin Sanomat. This is THE neswpaper in whole Finland and not just at capital area. International edition of Helsingin Sanomat is here: http://www.hs.fi/english/?cmp=tm_etu_english Yleisradio is the leading TV-broadcaster in Finland. They offer news about Finland also in English. http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news// Helsinki Times is a small international newspaper targeted to non-finnish speaking people living Finland. http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/htimes/

Writers of this block are family members of international family (Finnish-Swiss-Swedish). We don't want to make our blog as a tuirist quide but we want to give valuable hints for the foreigners staying in Finland for more than just few days. All comments are extremely welcome!