Foreign freelancer in Finland :)
Thread poster: anulka
anulka
anulka  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 07:18
German to Polish
+ ...
Aug 18, 2006

Hi all!

I am Polish and I currently live in Munich. I've been thinking of changing my place of residence for a while and after I spent my summer holiday in Finland, I fell for Helsinki so much that I started considering moving there.

Anyways, I have a few questions to foreigners who already did that. What are the most important things to do before I go to Finland and after, what are the average costs of l
... See more
Hi all!

I am Polish and I currently live in Munich. I've been thinking of changing my place of residence for a while and after I spent my summer holiday in Finland, I fell for Helsinki so much that I started considering moving there.

Anyways, I have a few questions to foreigners who already did that. What are the most important things to do before I go to Finland and after, what are the average costs of living in Helsinki, prices of flats and tax rules applying to freelancers?
Maybe there is someone out there that could actually compare the situation of freelancers in Finland to the one in Germany? Thank you for your help!
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Heinrich Pesch
Heinrich Pesch  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 07:18
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
Warum? Aug 19, 2006

Die Lebenshaltungskosten in Helsinki sind sicher höher als in München. Normalerweise ziehen Leute nach Finnland aus familiären Gründen, wie ich damals 1975.
Als EU-Bürger hast du geschäftlich die gleichen Rechte in Finnland wie in Polen oder Deutschland.
Falls du aber normale Lohnarbeit suchst, musst du erst Finnisch oder wenigstens Schwedisch, am besten beides lernen. Aber als Freelancer kannst du ja arbeiten, wo es dir am besten gefällt.
Statt in Helsinki wirst du wah
... See more
Die Lebenshaltungskosten in Helsinki sind sicher höher als in München. Normalerweise ziehen Leute nach Finnland aus familiären Gründen, wie ich damals 1975.
Als EU-Bürger hast du geschäftlich die gleichen Rechte in Finnland wie in Polen oder Deutschland.
Falls du aber normale Lohnarbeit suchst, musst du erst Finnisch oder wenigstens Schwedisch, am besten beides lernen. Aber als Freelancer kannst du ja arbeiten, wo es dir am besten gefällt.
Statt in Helsinki wirst du wahrscheinlich in einer der Nachbarstädte wohnen, wo die Wohnungen billiger sind. Mietwohnungen sind hier relativ selten, denn Finnen wohnen meistens in Eigenheimen.
Falls du schon viele Stammkunden hast, wirst du in Finnland schon zurechtkommen. Aber finanziell hättest du es in Polen oder Estland leichter (Besteuerung, Kosten).

Viele Grüße

Heinrich
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anulka
anulka  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 07:18
German to Polish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Danke! Aug 19, 2006

Vielen Dank für deine Antwort! Natürlich hätte ich es finanziell bestimmt leichter in Polen, aber mir gefällt es eben in Finnland (die Menschen, ihre Lebenseinstellung, die Natur, usw.) und das ist der einzige Grund, warum ich umziehen möchte.

 
Ralf Lemster
Ralf Lemster  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 06:18
English to German
+ ...
English, please Aug 19, 2006

Heinrich, Ania,
I have no problem if you would like to continue in German, but in that case, I will move the topic to the German forum. For the benefit of all others reading this forum, please adhere to English as the standard forum language.

Thanks for your understanding.

Best regards,
Ralf


 
anulka
anulka  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 07:18
German to Polish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Sorry and once again in English :) Aug 19, 2006

Ralf Lemster wrote:

Heinrich, Ania,
I have no problem if you would like to continue in German, but in that case, I will move the topic to the German forum. For the benefit of all others reading this forum, please adhere to English as the standard forum language.

Thanks for your understanding.

Best regards,
Ralf

Sorry, Ralf, I'm not a frequent forum user here on Proz and I was not aware of the rules *embarrassed* Well now I am and I'll comply.

And here is my reply to Heinrich in English:

Thank you for your reply! It would be certainly easier to live in Poland from financial point of view, but I just like Finland (people, their lifestyle, nature etc.) and this is the only reason why I would like to move there.


 
Ralf Lemster
Ralf Lemster  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 06:18
English to German
+ ...
Thanks, Ania... Aug 19, 2006

...I appreciate it!

Best, Ralf


 
Natalia Elo
Natalia Elo  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 06:18
English to Russian
+ ...
Please contact me, Ania Aug 19, 2006

Hi Ania,

I also live in Munich and I think I might be able to help you with the information. I did it the other way round, after almost ten years in Finland I moved to Germany.

Here are few useful links for a start.
http://www.kela.fi/in/internet/english.nsf
... See more
Hi Ania,

I also live in Munich and I think I might be able to help you with the information. I did it the other way round, after almost ten years in Finland I moved to Germany.

Here are few useful links for a start.
http://www.kela.fi/in/internet/english.nsf

http://uvi.fi/netcomm/Default.asp?language=EN

http://mol.fi/mol/en/02_working/05_foreigners/index.jsp

If you still have some questions, give me a call, let's have a coffee and we'll see if I could help you.

Heinrich, I don't think that Munich is much cheaper than Helsinki.

Finland is a wonderful country, as well as Germany

Best regards
Natalia


[Edited at 2006-08-19 15:07]
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anulka
anulka  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 07:18
German to Polish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks, Natalia! Aug 19, 2006

Natalia Elo wrote:

Hi Ania,

I also live in Munich and I think I might be able to help you with the information. I did it the other way round, after almost ten years in Finland I moved to Germany.

Here are few useful links for a start.
http://www.kela.fi/in/internet/english.nsf

http://uvi.fi/netcomm/Default.asp?language=EN

http://mol.fi/mol/en/02_working/05_foreigners/index.jsp

If you still have some questions, give me a call, let's have a coffee and we'll see if I could help you.

Heinrich, I don't think that Munich is much cheaper than Helsinki.

Finland is a wonderful country, as well as Germany

Best regards
Natalia


[Edited at 2006-08-19 15:07]


Thank you very much, Natalia, for the useful links and your help, I will gladly contact you after I go through them, so we can meet up in Munich then, since the weather is just perfect right now!

And, of course, I totally agree, both Finland and Germany are great countries.


 
Heinrich Pesch
Heinrich Pesch  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 07:18
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
Again me Aug 20, 2006

My wife's relatives are living in Germany, and so I know that the rent is much cheaper in cities of the size of Helsinki and so is the food and drink. Even Lidl is cheaper in Germany than in Finland.
For freelances there is no problem, but if you seek normal jobs you must know at least one of the official languages in Finland.
At least one should spend one winter in Finland before considering moving here on a permanent basis.

Here one link with the prices of 1-room appa
... See more
My wife's relatives are living in Germany, and so I know that the rent is much cheaper in cities of the size of Helsinki and so is the food and drink. Even Lidl is cheaper in Germany than in Finland.
For freelances there is no problem, but if you seek normal jobs you must know at least one of the official languages in Finland.
At least one should spend one winter in Finland before considering moving here on a permanent basis.

Here one link with the prices of 1-room appartments in Helsinki:
http://www.oikotie.fi/aptsearch_forrent?target=rentable&rootCompanyId=-1&mainNavi=apartments&subNavi=apartments_forrent&aptType=5&rooms=1&minRent=&maxRent=&minArea=&maxArea=&Area3=1&locationFreeText=Helsinki

Especially for self-employed EU-citizens:
http://www.uvi.fi/netcomm/content.asp?path=8,2473,2501&language=EN

Regards
Heinrich

[Bearbeitet am 2006-08-20 08:25]

[Bearbeitet am 2006-08-20 08:31]
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anulka
anulka  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 07:18
German to Polish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Munich is different :) Aug 20, 2006

Heinrich Pesch wrote:

My wife's relatives are living in Germany, and so I know that the rent is much cheaper in cities of the size of Helsinki and so is the food and drink. Even Lidl is cheaper in Germany than in Finland.
For freelances there is no problem, but if you seek normal jobs you must know at least one of the official languages in Finland.
At least one should spend one winter in Finland before considering moving here on a permanent basis.

Here one link with the prices of 1-room appartments in Helsinki:
http://www.oikotie.fi/aptsearch_forrent?target=rentable&rootCompanyId=-1&mainNavi=apartments&subNavi=apartments_forrent&aptType=5&rooms=1&minRent=&maxRent=&minArea=&maxArea=&Area3=1&locationFreeText=Helsinki

Especially for self-employed EU-citizens:
http://www.uvi.fi/netcomm/content.asp?path=8,2473,2501&language=EN

Regards
Heinrich

[Bearbeitet am 2006-08-20 08:25]

[Bearbeitet am 2006-08-20 08:31]

Thank you for the links, Heinrich! I noticed that food is indeed slightly cheaper in Germany, however the rents in Munich are way higher than in any other part of Germany, even Hamburg or Cologne, or Berlin for that matter. Munich prices are insanely high and therefore very similar to those in Helsinki, if not the same.

I agree about the winter in Finland though, I'm about to go there in November for a few days, which as I heard, is for real Finland lovers. I like harsh winter though, so I should survive. Thank you for your hints!


 
Heinrich Pesch
Heinrich Pesch  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 07:18
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
Harsh winters? Aug 20, 2006

Dear Ania,
please keep in mind that this year's summer was rather exceptional nice for tourists. And if you like winter sports, a place like Tampere would be a better choice. Helsinki is rather wet, dark and foggy most of the winter, only every second winter we have enough snow for skiing nowadays.
But I do not want to put you off, better see for yourself. I would rather move to the north if only my wife were not bound professionally to Helsinki.
You have one advantage: your na
... See more
Dear Ania,
please keep in mind that this year's summer was rather exceptional nice for tourists. And if you like winter sports, a place like Tampere would be a better choice. Helsinki is rather wet, dark and foggy most of the winter, only every second winter we have enough snow for skiing nowadays.
But I do not want to put you off, better see for yourself. I would rather move to the north if only my wife were not bound professionally to Helsinki.
You have one advantage: your name, Ania, sounds Finnish, and also Grajek is easy to pronounce for Finns!

Regards
Heinrich
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anulka
anulka  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 07:18
German to Polish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Tampere and Oulu are great places as well! Aug 20, 2006

Heinrich Pesch wrote:

Dear Ania,
please keep in mind that this year's summer was rather exceptional nice for tourists. And if you like winter sports, a place like Tampere would be a better choice. Helsinki is rather wet, dark and foggy most of the winter, only every second winter we have enough snow for skiing nowadays.
But I do not want to put you off, better see for yourself. I would rather move to the north if only my wife were not bound professionally to Helsinki.
You have one advantage: your name, Ania, sounds Finnish, and also Grajek is easy to pronounce for Finns!

Regards
Heinrich

I agree, summer was really surprisingly great and DRY, so I didn't even meet any of the famous mosquitoes up north (so called Lapland Air Force ).

I liked Tampere a lot and also Oulu, a lovely place with thousands of bicycles and so many beer terraces that reminded me of Munich right away. So maybe I will consider those two places as well.

As far as my name goes, yes, you're right, I am lucky indeed. Finns pronounce my last name correctly - I noticed that in Finnish language you pronounce everything as you write it, so probably that's why. And Germans always make funny language combinations out of my last name (like "Grashek" for instance). And it's very simple anyway, especially if you compare it to typical polish last names.

I think Finns must have real difficulties to pronounce your name if they didn't learn German before.

Best regards
Ania


 


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