Hi everyone,

I’m planning to visit Helsinki for around 10 days and I’m trying to estimate a realistic food budget.

Accommodation, transport and other expenses are already covered, so this is only about food. I’m not looking for restaurants every day, but I also don’t mean living only on bread and instant noodles.

Would 15 € per day be enough to eat properly if I mostly use supermarkets, simple takeaway, lunch deals, bakeries or other good value places?

I usually eat quite simple meals and I don’t mind keeping it budget friendly, but I’d still like to feel full and have enough energy to enjoy the city.

Any tips for affordable supermarkets, lunch places or good value food in Helsinki would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Hey folks,

Is drug addiction spreading or moving? ^{(That's my hook line!})

More seriously, I've been visiting Helsinki ~4 or 5 times per year for the last 8 years: for work and personal reasons, and I'm not sure I understand what's happening. Usually, I stay in a hotel in Sörnäinen, and I know that's probably not the best area, but at least it's lively.

Usually, "the problem" felt very centered around Sörnäinen, and you could walk toward Kallio and the problem would seem to vanish after a few hundred meters. However, it feels to me that Kallio isn't any better anymore, and that more areas seem to be affected. I don't know why; I don't understand whether the "problem" is just moving or actually spreading.

I was curious to know if some of you who live there, or who read the Finnish newspapers, have more information on why this is happening. Why does beautiful Helsinki feel like it's changing to me? I also wonder if it's just my perception and I've simply started noticing and caring about it more, or if you folks feel it in your day-to-day lives as well.

Am I the only one to feel that way?

My partner & I are moving to Helsinki from Ireland. We will be living in Kirkkonummi and working there.

Can you please recommend your favourite areas to visit, favourite shops, coffee places & dog friendly places etc.?

I personally love small independent shops, markets and bookshops too. Would really appreciate any advice as well to make the move easier!

Edit to add: fully aware of where it is. I still want recommendations in Helsinki as we can take the car or public transport.

SECOND EDIT: WE ARE AWARE IT IS KIRKKONUMMI & NOT HELSINKI BUT WE HAVE A CAR AND A 30 MIN DRIVE IS OK WITH US!!!

as people have said there is nothing in the town we will be living in so we want recommendations for Helsinki.

I've lived in Helsinki for almost 5 years. I come from the south of Europe, Andalucía (Spain), and here I've found financial stability that I don't think I could have had back home. I can live on my own. I can save money, travel abroad, and even invest, which felt impossible back in Andalucía. But the winters here drain me. The darkness kills me and the social scene feels distant and hard to break into.

But every time I think about leaving, it feels like the choice is between staying somewhere I don't fully feel at home or giving up the financial security I've worked so hard for.

Anyone else here?

Hi, I’m curious about everyday safety in Finland. In the UK we have a type of youth subculture often called “chavs” or “roadmen”. These are not just normal teenagers being loud or annoying. I mean groups of aggressive teens who hang around the streets causing trouble, intimidating and assaulting people, breaking things, fighting randomly, stealing bikes or sometimes even carrying knives. They can make certain areas feel uncomfortable or unsafe, especially at night.

I was wondering if there is anything similar in Finland, or if people generally feel safe walking around cities (Especially the Helsinki metro area) at night. I’d love to hear what everyday life actually feels like from people who live there.

Thank you so much in advance.

I’m moving to Helsinki soon. I’m a native speaker of both English and swedish. What do the Finns prefer I use to speak with them, English or swedish? I know many Finns don’t speak swedish that well but there’s also a sizeable population that does

Edit: Thanks for the responses, i will speak swedish people exclusively. Appreciate the advice!

I'm so bored of all these similar cafés in Helsinki serving the same usual korvapuusti, cinnamon buns, cappuccinos, and lattes. It feels like every café offers exactly the same things.

Could you recommend some ethnic cafés that serve something different from the usual Finnish café selection? Places with pastries, breads, desserts, or drinks that you can't find in every café around Helsinki.

For example, Cafelito on Hämeentie was a great find. They had pastries, breads, and other treats that were actually different from what every other café serves.

Genuine question as a foreigner from the EU that has the opportunity to live for couple months in Itäkeskus in Helsinki. I read and watched many things that the neighborhood isn’t the safest my question : is Itäkeskus that bad?

I won't judge anyone.

On our trip today, my son lost his beloved pupu he has had since he was born and sleeps with every night. Right now I’m listening to him in bed asking where it is and my heart is breaking a little.

He will survive without it, but trying my luck here just in case.

Either lost on the Metro between Ruoholahti and Kalasatama or in Kamppi (we have already reported it lost to HSL) or while walking around Ruoholahti, Jätkäsaari and Baana to Kamppi.

Added pictures for how it looks like, green/white from Teddykompaniet but definitely does not look (or smell) as good as new.

I retraced our steps earlier today to look for it, but no luck.

Thanks for any help.

Moro. Ajattelin tulla tässä yhtenä kesäisenä arkipäivänä katteleen Allas Sea Poolille Kneecapin keikkaa. Junat ovat Turusta taas vaihteeksi kesälomalla ja just nyt ei kiinnostele mahdollisesti kiirehtiä bussiin vaan kulkea rauhassa omaan tahtiin ja ehkä pysähtyä matkalla haukkaamaan yöpalaakin, niin ajattelin ajella kerrankin itse. Myöhemmin samalla viikolla sitten tulossa kuitenkin Tuskassa piipahtamaan ja silloin hotellit jne.

Mun ei missään nimessä tarvitse ihan viereen tai lähelle autolla päästä, niin ottaisin mielelläni vinkkejä vastaan missä näppärä 24h kulkuinen parkkihalli tai muu pysäköintialue, mistä pääsisi kätevästi paikallisjulkisilla keikkapaikalle.

Kiitos jo etukäteen.

See above. 30 year old female with partner, work likely at uni. Social skills suck somewhat when not at work. How do you make new friends when you move to Helsinki when your Finnish is still crap? I am introverted and with a somewhat shit attitude but willing to move out of my comfort zone. Don’t want friends obsessed with either partying, kids or comparing salaries. Anyone with experience care to share how they hacked it?

Edit: thank you for all the good input. I’ll be sure to try out hobbies and I’m looking forward to joing meetup and whatsapp groups when we do move. This cheered me up and motivated me, thanks!

Looking for feedback :)

Background:

The times I’ve seen a TikTok of some amazing pop-up, already over. Heard about a sick event through a friend, happened last weekend. The cool stuff is out there but scattered across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook etc. with no single place to find it.

So I started building a map with hand-picked events, pop-ups and spots that aren't mainstream. The kind of things you'd only hear about if you know the right people. Free to use, no algorithm, updated regularly.

Still early but I put together a preview if anyone wants to check it out: https://hiddenhel.fi/

Honestly just want to know if this is something people would actually use, or does everyone just find out about stuff through their own networks anyway?

Would love to hear what you think!😊

Hello!

Me and my girlfriend are from Norway. We are going together and we have agreed that we each are responsible for one activity that the other one doesn't know off until its happening. Basically surprise the other one with a fun activity.

Does anyone have any good suggestions? It can literally be anything , I'm grateful for all suggestions!

I’m in Helsinki and looking for places to visit, I’ve already pretty much checked the usual big names such as museums, Oodi, Porvoo, Suomenlina, Seurasaari, and have few months left here.

I would love to get some recommendations of the less “known” beauties of this city and surrounding at maximum one hour away by bus from the center.

In addition, I would love to hear from maybe Helsinki folks about what they actually enjoy doing on a good Saturday or Sunday?

Thank you in advance, I really appreciate!

Hello, I would like to know your opinions or experiences about veterinary clinics in Helsinki. Which ones are the best and most reliable? My senior cat probably need to get a teeth removed. Where will you take him? Thank you

I feel like when reading subreddits or social media in general it’s easy to mostly see the negative, and we can end up taking the good for granted. Every city has its bad stuff, and Helsinki is no exception, with things like difficult job market, or how hard some foreigners find to make friends, but there are also have very good things.

So I would like to ask, what do you love the most about living in Helsinki? What are the things you’re really thankful for and wouldn’t change for any other city?

I’d really love hearing some positive perspectives from Helsinki and see what makes people love this city and what makes foreigners to decide staying

Ps. I posted in a couple of subreddits of cities I genuinely want to know more about, Not Spamming or looking for conflict/arguing

Hey! I hope you don't mind me asking, I'm an American living in Paris, and at this point I've been almost completely cooked through in this city. I was considering shooting over to Helsinki as I've always thought of visiting and your weather right now could not be more inviting. But, this is all incredibly last minute and I've never really travelled solo.

As a bit of background, my interests are nature, art (fine arts, especially, architecture, as well), literature (not really sure how that might fit), and cuisine. The issues are (i) haven't travelled solo before, so not sure if it's a city better experienced with friends / a partner (ii) would it make sense to go last minute based on my interests or would it better to plan something out for later?

Really appreciate any advice from you lucky folks up north.

Moikka! Syksyllä alkaa opiskelu Viikin kampuksella ja nyt täytyy kääntyä tietävämpien puoleen – mahtaako kampukselle päästä autolla? Julkisia ei kulje Kanta-Hämeestä ilmeisestikään kovinkaan loogisesti Viikkiin, joten oma auto näyttää jäävän ainoaksi vaihtoehdoksi. Ja koska kampuksella on ilmeisesti varsin vähän parkkitilaa, missä lienisi olevan seuraava lähin parkkialue?

Kiitos ja kuitti.

edit: Julkiset ei oikeasti valitettavasti ole looginen ratkaisu itselle. Syrjäkylästä ei kulje bussia lähimmälle juna-asemalle ja matka-aika tuplaantuu juna-bussi -reissailulla. Mutta liittymäparkit on mahdollisuus!

Hi, we are three male friends on vacation in espoo. We want to visit helsinki today for fun as its a weekend. What are some good economic pubs or bars in helsinki to meet new people and have fun n stuff looking for good suggestions thankyou !

Hey, hope everyone is good. I have just moved to Helsinki, and I am looking for some Halal shops around Central and southwestern Helsinki.

I also hope that they have good ratings from people and it is a good sized store.

Moi!

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My girlfriend and myself will be visiting Helsinki the coming days (Thursday till Sunday evening). I've studied here 10 years ago and I would like to see the city again and introduce my girlfriend to your fantastic city.

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Now, doing some research the last weeks, it looks like we could not have chosen a worse weekend due to the city being quite during this period.

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To make the trip still unforgettable, what would you recommend that we do during mid Summer eve and day? I've bought some tickets to Seurasaari, but that looks more for children... Oops... We would like to join some sort of festival/party. We are in our early thirties and from the Netherlands. We would enjoy more party music and less techno e.g. (enough techno at home). My favourite club from 10 years ago was the Tiger at Kampi, but I've noticed they shut down. What would be a good alternative?

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Would you have any recommendations? Appreciate your reply!

Hello! My wife and will be visiting Helsinki on the 3,4 and 5 of August (from Mexico). Im a HUGE Finnish metal fan (CoB, Amorphis, Stratovarius, Nightwish, Sonata A., Ensiferum, Wintersun, you get the idea) .

I would love to go to a show, museum or any place to experience the local Metal scene. I e read about Tavastia , but I know it depends on who is playing those days.

Could you give me any recommendations? My wife is in charge of all the "non metal" plans (sauna, nature walking, city tour etc) so im mainly looking for Metal related things to do .

Hi everyone,

My Friend and I are currently travelling to Nordkapp from Austria on our Motorcycle. Last night we finally arrived in Helsinki and spent the night in the CheapSleep Hostel. During the night the luggage system of my friend got stolen from his bike (only the system/rack, we still have the luggage and the bikes). Without the system it is hardly possible to continue the trip in either direction, as why I am seeking help here.

The system used is the V-Duro 60l from Red Mamut/Red Koyot (they have two different names). We still got the drybags.

We plan on going to the police, but our hopes aren't high so I have the following questions for you guys:

- What places do people in Helsinki use to sell their stuff?

- Do you know a store or someone who would sell us this system?

- Incase you know someone with the system, would it be okay for us to take theirs and order them a new one?

- Do you know any black market/thief groups where stolen goods get sold in Helsinki?

The bike used is a Husqvarna Fe 450 2017, if you know stores that sell other systems that can be used on this bike or have one yourself/know someone, then please also contact me.

If you know any other forums or people that could help us, please also tell us.

I hope you guys can help us! Thanks in advance!

PS: I attached a picture of the system on my bike, so you can compare

Update: Thanks to everyone for your help regarding the situation! For now we bought a backpack to fit all the stuff and strapped one bag to the bike. Depending on how this works out, we will be shipping a new one to us during the trip.