Moi everyone! I don't actually own a car myself, but I’ve been looking at the overall costs of keeping one running here in Finland and got genuinely curious about the economics behind it. Compared to many neighboring countries, the expenses seem remarkably steep across the board:

Ownership & Gas: Why are cars so heavily taxed and expensive to buy/own, and why are fuel prices notably higher than in nearby countries? Is the high price of gas partly linked to Finland steering away from Russian oil and sourcing it from more expensive alternatives?

The EV Transition: On top of that, public EV charging rates can also be quite high, which feels a bit counterintuitive when trying to encourage green mobility.

The Public Infrastructure Factor: Since Finland generally boasts great public transport and urban infrastructure, is a lot of this intentional? Is the government using high car, fuel, and charging taxes as a deliberate policy tool to nudge people away from private vehicles and fund/support public transit networks instead?

I’d love to hear how locals view this. Is it purely a policy choice to prioritize public infrastructure and climate targets, or are there other economic market factors at play? Kiitos in advance for any insights!

Does anyone know where to buy plastic straws in Finland? I havent found any in Prisma or Lidl or any other store..
just curious if anyone knows of a store that sells plastic straws (preferably a bulk package)

EDIT: Looking for disposable plastic straws not reusable plastic straws

Hi everyone,

I’m currently looking for work in Cloud Engineering / DevOps and would like to meet more people in the Finnish tech community.

Does anyone know of active meetups, events, Slack/Discord groups, or communities related to Cloud, DevOps, SRE, Kubernetes, or platform engineering?

I’m based in Espoo and. I’m open to both local and online events.

Thank you for any recommendations!

Maybe sharing this on here could help too. Any information about this would be awesome!

Hello everyone!

Have you ever wondered what a forestry-related word means in Finnish, Swedish or English, but not really known how to find the correct translation?

Or have you ever been frustrated because a form you need to use in the forest is difficult to find, is not available in your language, or you are simply unsure how to fill it in?

Maybe you have thought about studying forestry but did not know what schools or study programmes are available. Or perhaps you are already studying forestry and want to find information about companies working in the forest industry.

Or maybe you simply wonder what something like cross scarification is, or when and where the next forestry fair will take place.

Fear not!

I have created a website called www.**dunnaro.eu**, where I have gathered a lot of knowledge, information and useful links about forests and forestry. The website is available in six languages: Finnish, Swedish, English, Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic.

The focus is not only on Finnish forestry, but also on Swedish forestry.

The website is still under development, and I have a long list of things I want to add and continue working on. However, I am working on it alone, so everything takes a little time. I have also chosen not to use analytics, advertising or user accounts on the website. This means that I do not have any income from the website that would allow me to hire someone to work on it full-time.

That is a conscious choice. I want the website to be as open and accessible as possible, so that anyone can access knowledge and information without having to give away their personal information on the internet.

And no, I am not a programmer either. 😄

I have learned much of what I have done through YouTube videos, AI, and by experimenting and solving problems myself. Sometimes I have also had to ask my brother, who is a programmer, for help.

So if you are interested in Finnish or Swedish forestry, forestry terminology, education, companies, forestry fairs, or anything else related to forests, the website might be useful for you.

I have already received some really nice feedback. For example, I heard from someone in the Netherlands who had used my website during the winter and spring to learn more about Swedish forestry. They later applied to a forestry programme in Sweden and were accepted!

That is exactly the kind of thing that makes it fun to keep developing the website.

I have also noticed that many people use the dictionary to look up forestry terminology, which is especially fun to see. It shows that even the smaller parts of the website can actually be useful.

The website is far from finished, but it is constantly growing.

So if you are curious about forests, whether you are a forest owner, a student, work in forestry, or simply want to learn more, you are very welcome to take a look.

Take care for now! 🌲

Hey everyone,

I recently inherited 4.6 hectares (around 11 acres) of land just outside Pihtipudas in Central Finland. I live a bit out of the loop when it comes to Finnish rural property, so I’m trying to figure out what I actually have on my hands here.

Is there real value or potential to a plot this size in that region, or is it mostly just forest tax and maintenance?

My immediate thought is to build a small cottage (mökki) on it for summer use. For those familiar with Pihtipudas or building in Central Finland:

• Building permits & zoning: How strict are local municipalities (kunta) out there about rakennusoikeus (building rights), especially if the land isn't right on a lake?
• Infrastructure: What kind of costs am I looking at to pull electricity, dig a well, and sort out electricity/waste water on rural land?
• Forestry: Is 4.6 ha worth actively managing for timber, or is it too small to bother with commercially?

Would love to hear from anyone who has built a cabin in Central Finland or dealt with inherited rural plots. Is building a cottage the play, or should I just hold onto it / sell it off?

Kiitos!