I have always wanted to study and live abroad. So when there was an opportunity to do it, I accepted it immediately. The next step was to find the destination. I always wanted to see Scandinavia and even though Finland was not my first choice I think it was meant to be. I love Finland, especially Tampere and enjoyed immensely studying and living there.
Frozen lake and island
Tampere is the third biggest city in Finland and is very international and full of students. In Tampere you have 3 universities and I went to the University of Applied Sciences Tampere. I believe living in Tampere and in Finland is not that different from living in Slovenia. Of course you do have special cuisine and habits, but it is not that different from other European cities.
Tampere
I went on my Erasmus exchange in the second semester, which starts on the 4th of January. So when I got there the sunrise was at 10am and the sunset was at 3pm. Also, in the first month the temperatures were quite harsh, since they went also as low as -30°C. In May days got much longer since sunrises were at 4am and sunsets at 11pm as well as the temperatures were up to 25°C. With that said I do believe the climate was one of the hardest things to get used to.
THE FACULTY
I choose the University of Applied Sciences Tampere also known as TAMK because there was a the International Business/Tourism programme offered in English and it was a perfect match for my second semester classes that I was to take at Turistica. I really liked TAMK and its professors. The classes were interesting, well, some more and others less demanding.
PLACES & ACTIVITIES
In Tampere you have a million things to do in the winter and summer time. You have ice rinks, an amusement park, beaches, space bowling, cafes, shopping malls, a small ski slope, many (student) events and trips and much more.
Hockey match
Student unions in Tampere organise many events and trips and I would strongly encourage you to participate in as many as you can. I was a part of our student union Tamko and International Exchange Erasmus Student Network ESN FINT. All of them organised many events every week from Sauna parties, Laser tags, Movie nights and other parties. They also organised cheaper trips to Lapland, Stockholm cruise, Russia trips, etc. I would recommend you to try and go to as many as possible. I went to Lapland and it was one of the best experiences while I was on exchange.
Husky sledging
ACCOMMODATION
Finding accommodation in Tampere was quite easy. University suggests a few companies that provide housing in Tampere. The cheapest and most commonly used by students is TOAS. You apply to TOAS, where you put your wishes and they will send you a proposition for your accommodation. I stayed in my own room in a shared apartment in Lukonmaki, which was 20min (10min walking+10min bus) away from the University for around 330€/month.
NIGHT LIFE
Tampere is a big, international and student city, which shows in its night life. Tampere has many bars, night clubs and anything else you might want to have a great time. Finnish people like to drink and party so the streets in Tampere on a Saturday night at 2am are busier than at 2pm. Night buses are as frequent on a Saturday night as on the weekdays, but they do have the night fee, which is extra 3€. Student parties are usually every Thursday night. If your want to get into clubs and bars you need your identity card and be 18 years old, your student card won’t be enough. Clubs have entry fees that are around 5€, but you can get party passes in student union Tamko for 3€.
TRANSPORT
Public transport in Finland and Tampere is fast and well connected. Tampere as a city has a bus network that will take you anywhere you need to go. They have good connections and time tables which will help you in your everyday life. A youth monthly bus card is 32€/month. In the first month you have to pay for the card as well, which is extra 5€, that you can get back when you return it. The only problem is that you can only get the bus card in one place in whole Tampere, which can take quite some time, but then you can get it renewed almost anywhere.
Finland has good new trains that will take you to all bigger towns in Finland. The prices are not cheap but you can get special offers and student discounts for almost all rides. Finland also has a great bus network, where certain companies offer extremely cheap bus fares to main cities like Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, etc.
COSTS
Costs of living in Finland were as expected, higher than in Slovenia. You could find some comparable prices if you went to low-cost groceries stores like Lidl, but in normal Supermarkets, the prices were high. As for eating out, you could find a few student meals in town, but it was usually fast food, like hamburgers for 6€. The cheapest option was eating at a university cafeteria, where, with the student discount, one meal was 2,60€. You could get student discounts for public transport as well, but you had to buy the student card, which was 26€ for one semester. It pays off to buy the student card if you plan on travelling around Finland while living there.
The scholarship covered my accommodation and bus card, but didn’t cover other living expenses.
I would recommend Erasmus+ or any other study exchange to everybody who ever thought of going on one. You just have to dare yourself and go, you’ll love it. I believe an exchange like this will help you grow as a person, gain new kinds of knowledge, make new friends all around the globe and make awesome memories that you will cherish forever.
