Erasmus Experience in Espoo, Finland by Iveta

Why did you choose to go to Espoo, Finland?

Because it was the only one opportunity for me :D

How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

I was there 4 months and I recieved 550 euro per month. If you don't travel and buy something except food and if you have cheap accommodation, so that it would be enough. But for sure you need some extra money.

What is the student lifestyle like in Espoo?

I was there for traineeship so I wasn't in contact with students but ESN at Aalto University organises lot of events for erasmus students (trips to Lapland, near cities, than events in museums or visit of company producing chocolate... ) so I think that you still have something to do.

Would you recommend the city and the University of Espoo to other students?

I wasn't studying at the university but my friends studying there were really satisfied. They told me that professors are open minded to new ideas and students are encouraged to think in different ways. And in general, finnish educational system is very good and lot of estonian, russian students (I have met there also one full-time student from my home country) come to Espoo for full-time studies.

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What is the food like?

Food in cantines for me was sometimes really disgusting so I was cooking lunches for me. But there is delicious salmon fish with fries every Friday in Taffa cantine :D

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Espoo?

I was looking for some accommodation whole summer. Really I was writing to people offering housing for 2 months. Main problem was that I didn't want to pay them in advance and I wanted to have official agreement, than they wanted to see me that wasn't possible because I was at home... and many many problems with that. But I think that if you put a little bit effort to this, at the end you find some housing. You can be finding some offers on facebook sites for accommodation in Espoo/Helsinki but be careful because there are also some faked people offering housing. I was also looking on finnish site tori. fi and site of rental agency but you need to use translator for these sites.

How much does it cost to live in Espoo?

It really depends on your budget and habits. I needed around 580 euro per month, but I didn't have discount for students for travel card. But if you have cheap accommodation and you don't buy useless things, you are OK with money :D

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

You can enroll to some courses of basic finnish language. But almost everyone in Finland speaks English very well. So you need just English.

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Espoo from your city?

I went there by plane but from neighboring country because there are no direct flights to Finland from my country.

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Espoo?

I haven't been at any party in Espoo, only at parties organised by my friends at their place. I went to party to Helsinki twice but... It is different. You just need to go out and make your own opinion.

And for eating? Can you recommend some good restaurants in Espoo?

It is really challenging to find restaurants in Espoo. There are some restaurants in shopping centres but the prices of food there... In Helsinki I was eating in indian restaurant Saba. There is cheap pizza :D. But mainly I was cooking. It was cheaper and I could eat what I liked.

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What good cultural sites are there to visit?

I liked a lot the finnish nature center Haltia. But I was mostly walking somewhere outside... you can visit national park Nuuksio, some beaches in Espoo and also there are lots of islands for visting in Espoo and Helsinki. I was just finding on internet some places to visit and than me and my friends decided for some place and we went there.

Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Espoo in the future?

Just go there, enjoy your studies there, talk to people and take part in events. I liked that people were talking about their experiences and opinions so than I got different sides of view to some situations.