Gareth
@ducatis
English expat in Finland
Forum
15 posts
About me
English
Lives in a place 40 mins from Helsinki
Speaks A Little Finnish - A long time ago I spoke Finnish! - Rusty.
Registration: 04 January 2012
Activity
Finnish tax and social security contributions by SpencerWatts
Hello! I've only just joined the community, was a nice thing to find :) I've moved to Finland in the last two weeks and I am trying to find out about Finnish income tax and social security contributions. My situation is a little bit complicated ...
Hi Spencer We have a 20mth old boy and one on the way.... We also looked at Hyvinkää - nice town, eventually bought in Emäsalo (Porvoo) I would be very interested to know where your Finnish class is, and how you came about it? Its tough language ... Read More
Finnish tax and social security contributions by SpencerWatts
Hello! I've only just joined the community, was a nice thing to find :) I've moved to Finland in the last two weeks and I am trying to find out about Finnish income tax and social security contributions. My situation is a little bit complicated ...
Hi i moved here permanently a month or so ago as well. Have you told HMRC that you have left the country via their declaration? Basically you should not really be paying tax under both systems. Your NI payments in the UK are only really relevant ... Read More
Need some informations about life in helsinki for family by papillon75
Hello everyone, we are a family with 2 kids and we are going to be living for only one year in Helsinki. Only one of us will be working so our budget is going to be low.(2500euros/ month) I was very excited at the begining but i am feeling some ...
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 ... Read More
Driving license in Finland by Armand
Hi all, Can a foreigner take the driving test in Finland? What are the formalities to get a drivers licence in Finland? Do you need special or extra documents being an expatriate? How much does it cost? Thank you for participating ...
I am fairly sure you will need a Finnish id You will also need to be proficient in Finnish, you wont pass the test otherwise (Swedish is probably an option) Read More
British guy recently moved to Finland! by mikey0
Hi all, I'm Mike, I recently moved to Finland with my Finnish girlfriend who I met in the UK while she was studying at university in my hometown of Worcester. I only moved here around 3 weeks ago but have visited numerous times in the past. It's a ...
Mikey Sounds a bit like my story, but I'm a little ahead of you... I have to return to UK next week, but on return from that I am here for good.... (I hope so anyway) Finnish is a tough language and it will get you down at times and there is a ... Read More
Need some informations about life in helsinki for family by papillon75
Hello everyone, we are a family with 2 kids and we are going to be living for only one year in Helsinki. Only one of us will be working so our budget is going to be low.(2500euros/ month) I was very excited at the begining but i am feeling some ...
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 ... Read More
Moving to Finland by HeatherJ
Hello! I am trying to move to Finland by the end of the year with my 4 year old. I would like some real-world advice about moving to Finland from the US. Currently, I am looking for jobs at international English schools. Any sources, help, or advice ...
Heippä You are right and it is still frustrating... I have been back in Finland for 5 weeks now - soon to return to UK :-( Not for long though :-) My wife went to the tax office yesterday in Kouvola - you would have no chance if you were not a ... Read More
Moving to Finland by HeatherJ
Hello! I am trying to move to Finland by the end of the year with my 4 year old. I would like some real-world advice about moving to Finland from the US. Currently, I am looking for jobs at international English schools. Any sources, help, or advice ...
Wow We could discuss this for hours. In the UK you are able to insist on help or a translator for most of the languages around the world! The UK has probably gone too far with this and is one of a lot of reasons as to why the country has an ... Read More
Buying property in Finland by Christine
Hi, can a foreigner buy property in Finland? If so, is it complicated? What is the process of purchasing a property in Finland? Any tips for buying property, such as a check-list of items to verify ? Thanks in advance for ...
Viewing again next week Seriously considering Sipoo Pornainen areas Because we have been looking for so long we have seen a number of price falls as well. Read More
Moving to Finland by HeatherJ
Hello! I am trying to move to Finland by the end of the year with my 4 year old. I would like some real-world advice about moving to Finland from the US. Currently, I am looking for jobs at international English schools. Any sources, help, or advice ...
A grasp of the language. This is touched on in lots of the Forums but often not given the priority it needs. In my view Finnish society, certainly its bureaucracy, does not help the English speaker. As an example 4 out of 5 of the web pages ... Read More
Getting married in Finland by Armand
Hi all, We invite all the ones who got married in Finland or who are about to get married in Finland to participate in this thread :) What are the formalities to get married in Finland? Is it the same for a couple of foreigners of for a mixed ...
I married in Finland in '02. Very straight forward, we even have two certificates one in Finnish the Other English. Just ask, and for the registrar to at least have a knowledge of English. Good luck to anyone marrying Read More
Buying property in Finland by Christine
Hi, can a foreigner buy property in Finland? If so, is it complicated? What is the process of purchasing a property in Finland? Any tips for buying property, such as a check-list of items to verify ? Thanks in advance for ...
Well we've decided to buy a flat in Kouvola area, use this as a base for house hunting and then just rent it out. We are quite familiar with this part of the world and have family locally without a 'base' to look from its just too difficult, from ... Read More
Buying property in Finland by Christine
Hi, can a foreigner buy property in Finland? If so, is it complicated? What is the process of purchasing a property in Finland? Any tips for buying property, such as a check-list of items to verify ? Thanks in advance for ...
Well we just returned from a 12 day trip intent on viewing to buy... We were hampered by ill health and some very poor weather, we have concluded that for certain properties we need the snow to lift before committing - not a problem with town/city ... Read More
Buying property in Finland by Christine
Hi, can a foreigner buy property in Finland? If so, is it complicated? What is the process of purchasing a property in Finland? Any tips for buying property, such as a check-list of items to verify ? Thanks in advance for ...
We're doing that this year- about to come out and view. I would recommend oikotie.fi as a decent web site. I am interested to know how to find bank foreclosure sales or repossessions. I would also like to know how much negotiating goes on, I ... Read More