Need some informations about life in helsinki for family

Hello papillon75.

Welcome to Expat.com!

Conerning the accommodation, you can try to post an advert in the housing in Helsinki section. It might help.

I hope other members will be able to give you some useful informations.

Thank you,
Auréliw

Papillon, your budget is truly low for a family of four. Have you considered the option of both of you working? 

The districts in the northern and eastern parts of Helsinki are mostly less expensive, the ones with the "high" postal codes (00810, 00970 etc.)  I doubt that there are furnished flats there, though. Maybe it's better to rent an unfurnished flat and buy furniture at a flea market? Connections to the city center and Johanneksen kirkko are generally good.

www.vuokraovi.com has an English-language version of its rental ads. Just click the Union Jack on the front page.

As for skiing, there is a cross-country ski "station" in the district of Paloheinä, Helsinki. You can rent skis there and they will be glad to give advice. Actually, you can go skiing anywhere in Helsinki Central Park, which runs through the city like a wedge. It has good lighting and tracks that are maintained. You can buy used skis, shoes and ski poles.

If you want to ski downhill, there are ski resorts near Helsinki (Kalpalinna), so you can do a day-trip.

City Hall arranges lots of activities for children that are not expensive: http://www.hel.fi/hki/helsinki/en/Servi … dolescents

So does the Church: http://www.helsinginseurakunnat.fi/yhte … erhot.html

The less-expensive retail chains are perhaps Siwa, Alepa, Valintatalo and Lidl. But any grocery will have special offers. UFF sells inexpensive used clothes.

You can drink tap water in Helsinki, so you don't have to buy it at a store. That will save you some money.

Hei
The last post is correct - that budget is very tight
You could also try 'Robin Hood' which sells pretty much everything except strangely milk?
Nothing is really 'cheap', where are you coming from?
Helsinki is a big(ish- global comparison) city but like all of Finland winter is cold and snow is everywhere :-), but the country does not stop for it. 
You can ice skate of course, and visit places.
In the summer there are swimming beaches on both sea and lakes, they are every where.
I would recommend you bring DVD's for the kids - they are not cheap to buy here, and language may be an issue

Good luck

thanks to both of  you  for your advices... i come from France but have been living in Asia where life cost nothing !!!

Will your kids go to school here or are you home schooling? If they both speak English - there are very good public schools (free of charge, even books and bus tickets are provided) with an English stream. So they will find friends and you will not worry about keeping them busy. Open spaces are available in a not so expensive area at: Maunula primary school (year 1-6). The area is not fancy but safe. http://www.hel.fi/hki/mauna/fi/In+English

That is a very good idea! Or, if they don't speak English, put them in a French-language school

http://www.helsinki.fi/fi/index/koulutu … anska.html

That way, your wife can work too, even if it's just washing windows or whatever. I don't know the situation in your family, but on the face of it, a double income is the solution to all your problems.

And you will enjoy your stay so much better and see more of Finland. You can go to the opera, dine in nice restaurants...

Because Finland is a developed, industrial country. Everything operates based on written contracts and the rule of law. An apartment is a big investment for the owner and they want to make sure they rent to good people, hence the background check. They have plenty of applicants to choose from.

Stop expecting Finland to be anything like Asia. As a well-traveled person you know that things are done differently in different parts of the world.

If my memory serves me right, renting in Paris was even more difficult.

Being the capital, there is a chronic shortage of housing in Helsinki. Also, this time of year is the worst possible, because all the new students from other towns are coming to Helsinki to study and looking for a small apartment before the beginning of the academic year.

I would suggest you forget about VVO. They have long waiting times, except maybe for bigger apartments further away. Celine caters to upper segment clients, and their apartments are expensive. Vuokraturva guarantees the landlord rent for the first year even if the tenant defaults, so yeah, they will want to meet you first.

Now, about your email. Frankly, it sounds like a scam. I understand you don't want to tell everybody on this website where you work, but why not tell a prospective landlord? Giving the name of your employer would establish some credibility and trust. They could check that you are who you say and that you have a job. Give more information about yourself and your family!

In this emergency situation, there are two things you can do.

1) There are furnished apartments by Forenom, among others, that are rented by the week. Of course, they are more expensive. But you could then go to showings in person and find something more suitable. Or try the camping area for short-term housing http://www.rastilacamping.fi/index.php? … =8&lang=en

2) Instead of trying to find a small apartment in Helsinki, which is what everybody else is doing, why not look for a bigger apartment further away? Have you tried the outskirts of Helsinki? How about the cities of Espoo or Vantaa, right next to Helsinki with good connections? Lots of people commute to work from there. Or the town of Riihimäki along the railroad? Wouldn't you be more comfortable in a 2-bedroom apartment? Finnish landlords want you to commit for at least a year, so you are stuck with the place you choose.

All Finnish apartments have at least a fridge, a stove and a sink in the kitchen, whether they are rented furnished or not.

My previous message was in response to Papillon's question why is everything so hard in Finland compared to Asia.

thank you for your answer

And of course i 'm giving much more details about my life to the rental agency : but not in a forum.

I think 'Citizens 1' reply is a little harsh - although Finnish
society is very forthright. 

He is right in saying that Finland is no Asia - in fact you need to expect something VERY different.  They are like two different worlds. I also think you need to look beyond Helsinki - costs are just too big on a tight budget..

If it helps I think Paris has a much faster pace to it, and it is so huge compared to Helsinki

Anyway, the best of luck with your move

thanks Ducatis...

ducatis wrote:

Anyway, the best of luck with your move

Okay, I can hardly believe myself that I am doing this, but I ran a quick search on Vuokraovi and right away found this in Riihimäki:

http://www.vuokraovi.com/vuokraovi/kohd … 1281924286

The ad says that it's a 4-room apartment but that the owner wants to reserve one bedroom as storage for his things. The apartment seems to be reasonably close to the train station. The rent is low, 600 euros(!), because in the summer of 2013, work will begin in the building to renovate the plumbing. I suggest you contact them right away, before someone else does.

Lol... thank you ... i am going to check right away

citizen1 wrote:

Okay, I can hardly believe myself that I am doing this ...

impossible to reach forenom 00358201983420
always busy !!

You have had a lot information already but cheaper rents are lower when you go a bit away from center Helsinki, like Veikkola, Vantaa etc. Still the buses ant public transportation is quite good.

So, Papillon, did things work out for you?

I finally found a place but from September 8th ... meanwhile I'm living in an empty appartment until 29 August.

So between August 29 and September 8, colleagues offer me shelter BUT it bothers me enormously as I am with my 2 kids.

For these 10 days, I prefer to find an empty place (dont want to share) but i found the cheapest hotel is xxx ... with a family room at 110 euros per night ... (1100 euros for 10 nights!)
So I will have to accept going to sleep with my colleagues.

if you hear of a place in helsinki center where I could spend the night with my kids for 10 days and max 300 euros ... I'm all ears (showers and meals will be on my workplace because there is everything... except  beds!)

thank you

I know i am dreaming... but it doesnt cost anything to ask

Papillon, maybe you could share with us the story of how did you eventually find accommodation? To help others in your situation. What did you need to do?

Well for those 10 days i had to accept my colleagues 's help...
Now i am finally in the small appartment that i found through a website. My finnish colleague helped me by contacting the agency and translating for me.
I' ll write soon to let you know all what i had to do  in order to work (police immigration, social security number, taxe office ...) That's an other story (after searching for a place to stay) that i have to share...

papillon75 wrote:

impossible to reach forenom 00358201983420
always busy !!

I cant explain to you in details but avoid and forget Forenom!! They are the worst unreliable accommodation service provider in Finland, in Nordic.

For a family of 4(incl 2 kids), what would be the average expenses in Espoo? Any specific area where many indians live?

@hprasadh, I invite you to start a new thread on Helsinki forum for better visibility.

Harmonie.