4 ms·

I don't think that's true, at least for Helsinki. Plenty of companies here who hire non-Finnish speakers. I think there's half a dozen Indians in the office whe

by tekkk 7y ago

I don't think that's true, at least for Helsinki. Plenty of companies here who hire non-Finnish speakers. I think there's half a dozen Indians in the office where I'm working at right now. Not an issue. I think country-side can be conservative, yes, but Finland is quite progressive in many respects. In immigration there are some heated opinions but I think that's true for many countries.

tasogare 7y ago
Let’s be real 30 seconds, while it’s possible to live in a foreign country without speaking the language, it’s inconvenient to do basic daily activity (ordering at a restaurant, opening a bank account, posting a letter, etc.) when knowing jack-shit about the local language. It’s also extremely hard to form a social circle. I speak from experience. I’ve lived in a central Europe country where I cannot speak anything and it was annoying outside work; I felt like an idiot most of the time. Now I’m living in a country I can speak the language and I can interact with people, do complex things alone (moving home), and it’s way more nice to live like that.
- shusson 7y ago
  > while it’s possible to live in a foreign country without speaking the language, it’s inconvenient to do basic daily activity I think there are a few exceptions in Europe, e.g The Netherlands.
  - olegp 7y ago
    Helsinki, Finland is another such exception.
- em-bee 7y ago
  this depends on your personality, and how you make friends. i lived a year in latvia, and i had no trouble despite speaking neither latvian, nor russian. i made friends through the local linux community and other communities i was part of. i also have no problems in china. yes, some things are more difficult. eg. calling a plumber needs the help of a friend who speaks the local language. but for every day stuff, i was actually surprised how easy it is.
- stevekemp 7y ago
  There's a fair bit of truth in that, but even people who "speak no Finnish" soon learn the names of foods, how to ask for coffee/beer, and their numbers. There's just a big jump from simple things that will get you by to actual fluency.

by tekkk 7y ago

tasogare 7y ago

Let’s be real 30 seconds, while it’s possible to live in a foreign country without speaking the language, it’s inconvenient to do basic daily activity (ordering at a restaurant, opening a bank account, posting a letter, etc.) when knowing jack-shit about the local language. It’s also extremely hard to form a social circle. I speak from experience. I’ve lived in a central Europe country where I cannot speak anything and it was annoying outside work; I felt like an idiot most of the time. Now I’m living in a country I can speak the language and I can interact with people, do complex things alone (moving home), and it’s way more nice to live like that.

shusson 7y ago
> while it’s possible to live in a foreign country without speaking the language, it’s inconvenient to do basic daily activity I think there are a few exceptions in Europe, e.g The Netherlands.
- olegp 7y ago
  Helsinki, Finland is another such exception.
em-bee 7y ago
this depends on your personality, and how you make friends. i lived a year in latvia, and i had no trouble despite speaking neither latvian, nor russian. i made friends through the local linux community and other communities i was part of. i also have no problems in china. yes, some things are more difficult. eg. calling a plumber needs the help of a friend who speaks the local language. but for every day stuff, i was actually surprised how easy it is.
stevekemp 7y ago
There's a fair bit of truth in that, but even people who "speak no Finnish" soon learn the names of foods, how to ask for coffee/beer, and their numbers. There's just a big jump from simple things that will get you by to actual fluency.