Here is some practical information about living in Tampere:
Practical Matters Guide - All necessary information you need before arrival.
CIMO, the centre of mobility in Finland, offers a lot of information about living in Finland.
ITNET e-mail lists.
Hello new students!
I would like to inform you about the lending service of INTO (International Students club of TUT). We have kitchen items (cups, plates, cutlery etc.), as well as bedsheets, blankets and pillows for you to borrow. The service is free, but you have to pay a deposit fee (e.g. 10e for a set of kitchen items). The deposit money will be given back to you when returning the borrowed items. There´s a limited amount of stuff, so be fast!
When?
Contact Saara if you want do borrow something, there are also borrowing sessions organized during the orientation week (it's best if you use that time) and orientation sessions at the end of semester. If possible, please use those times for borrowing and returning the items
Where?
You can borrow items from behind the coat racks in the ground floor of sähkötalo (room SA105)
For more information, you can contact: saara.laitinen at tut.fi
Here you can find practical information about TUT and how things work there.
The week after go to the Student Union service desk and ask for the lost and found stuf from the event you participated.
Ask first from the place where you were or a representative of the organizer. If you lose something at TUT you can ask it from the info desk at the lobby of the building. If you lose something on a city bus you can ask for it from the TKL office in the center. If you lose something on a taxi contact the taxi service.
Usually after two weeks all valuable stuff found (>20e or clear sentimental value) is sent to the lost&found office at the main police station. 'Löytötavaratoimisto', Sorinkatu 12, open 8-16:15. Phone: 07187 45340. They will keep it for 3 months.
Also if you find something leave it to the info desk of the building/place where you found it. Or if you found it from some place and it is not clear where to give it then give it to the police. If you have lost your buscard, you can go and ask it at the TKL office.
Police has lost&found auction twice a year. They sell all collected but not picked up objects there. Usually a _lot_ of bikes, really good ones top 100 euros but in average you might get one for a cheap price. They are usually arranged during Tampere Day in the autumn and in end of April. They usually start at 12 o'clock and stuff can be looked at for 1 hour before. Have money in cash, know the Finnish numbers and be fast & loud when yelling a price. Good luck :)
http://www.intermin.fi/poliisi/home.nsf/pages/index_eng -> Lost property
Buying and selling items and renting apartments is not allowed at ITNET. There are better places, for example Haavi (TUT intranet for students):
You can add your own announcement to fleamarket and read the announcements by clicking them. Note that your name will be shown if you post a message to fleamarket.
TUT or Student Union are not responsible for the items bought, sold or rented at Haavi Fleamarket.
Check also Studia Media Fleamarket - for people with Finnish skills
Ok, so you want to buy or get rid of something - your solution is news://news.cc.tut.fi/manse.ostan-myyn It's local Usenet news-group dedicated for buying and selling.
Enter the URL to Browsers/IE's addressbar - by default on most of the Windows machines Outlook Express should start opening up with the newsgroup. You can also use other program like Mozilla Thunderbird, Operas integrated news/mailreader etc.
Ok, so it looks a bit similar as email but it's more like a collection of public bulletin boards in hierarchies for posts.. The pace of the manse.ostan-myyn -group is quite fast, people think that few days old announcements are already old and the stuff is then usually sold.. and really good stuff usually is sold in few hours, but usually the buyer makes a first contact in a day or two.
Typical subjects:
M: xxx --- Myydään (selling)
O: xxx --- Ostetaan (buying)
A: xxx --- Annetaan (giving)
V: xxx --- Vaihdetaan (change)
AV: xxx --- Annetaan Vuokralle (giving for rent)
HV: xxx --- Halutaan Vuokralle (want to rent)
Posting to server news.cc.tut.fi is possible only from tut-network and TOAS-net. You can contact the server elsewhere but only for reading.
When trying to post first time a message you need to configure account from (Outlook Express) Tools -> Accounts -> select news.cc.tut.fi -> Properties. Fill you your name and email-address. Usually it has been good to disguise your email-address a bit for protection agains spammers who harvest email addresses from newsgroups. Giving good reply-to address is currently quite safe as harvesters just download messagelist, not actual messages where you reply-to-adress would be. So anyway my disguised address would be vilre@cs.tut.fi.no.for.spam.invalid. In the body of the post I would tell to remove the extras to reply via email, give my contact details and/or ask to reply to reply-to-address.
Before sending first post to the real group try sending an test-post to a testgroup like tut.test (news://news.cc.tut.fi/tut.test) .. Test-messages are no tolerated well in wrong group, you might find you inbox full of not so positive feedback. If all goes well with your test post then you can try the actual deed of posting to manse.ostan-myyn.
And remember to give your contact information so you can be contacted..!!!
* Oh.. and post only in plain text - no HTML..
Didn't get any replys? Send a second post 4-7 days after the first one.. if still no luck then nobody wants it and/or you are just asking too much for it - try again in a month or so if you're really serious. If you get multiple offers reply to all the status of the deal - it's good customs to just send a note that the thing is already sold.
If you're buying something send an email / call to the person selling and tell them what you want to buy and how much you're willing to pay. There is no auctions - you say your price and price can go only down. When buying you can try to offer less than people are asking if you think the price is too high, a bit of haggling is allowed but once you have stated your price then you have agreed on it.
In the end buy/sell the actual thing face to face and use cash only. No mailing or banktransfers - it's for your own safety. Also check the condition of the object before you buy it. There is no quarantee between person to person trading by law so if it's broken - it's broken and yours.
Read manse.ostan-myyn thru google-groups: http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=manse.osta...
What is a newsgroup?? http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&oi=defmore&q=de...
Mozilla Thunderbird (Mail&Newsreader): http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/
Opera (Web-browser + Mail&Newsreader): http://www.opera.com/download/
Other newsgroups of interest (there is over 30000 newsgroups to select from) eunet.jokes, alt.fan.blues-brothers, alt.flame.airlines, alt.food.chocolate...
Netiquette (net etiquette) - if you start to really use news..:
http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/usenet/dont.html
http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/docproject/zen/zen-1.0_6.html
http://www.aptalaska.net/~kmorgan/nnqlinks.html
When you come to Finland and get a flat from TOAS, a connection to internet will be included in the price of the rent. Usually it will be a normal ethernet connection, so most of you can connect your laptop without any additional devices.
Those of you living in Lukonmäki or Paawola, read more from HomePNA connection.
Here's a short instruction on how to configure the Internet connection in TOAS flats:
http://verkko.tontut.fi/index_en.shtml
In case you happen to get a TOAS flat equipped only with a typical analog phone socket, you might need a HomePNA adaptor for your Internet connection This is the case for Paawola blocks A, B, C, and D, some of the Lukonmäki blocks and several others. The complete list of locations and corresponding network connections can be found from this TOAS website.
Since the students themselves are responsible for buying one, and you can get one either on the second hand market or buying it directly from one af the computer hardware shops around (Bulldog, Verkkokauppa, Triosoft). If your'e looking for one, or have one for sale - feel free to post an ad on the selling/buying forum.
Also note that if someone owns an HPNA<->Ethernet adapter (not the USB one), and it has two RJ45 ethernet ports (which is usually the case) it's possible to connect two computers to it - just remember to set up the appropriate IP addresses on both of the computers (assigned by the network administrator). All one needs is an extra UTP cable that's long enough...
INTO used to have a Home PNA service running, providing HPNA adapters for exchange students, however this service was decided to close down after TOAS announced that it will soon be replacing the HPNA connections with faster ADSL ones.
Students usually announce in the e-mail list or the forum their flight day and time so if there is someone who has approximately (more or less) the same flight time of the same day can leave together to the airport by a shared taxi. The taxi to the airport costs approximately 35€ so this can be divided over the transported passengers. Do not forget to announce your flight in the e-mail list to get an advantage of this nice service
Return your travel card to the office of Tampere City Transport, Frenckellinaukio 2 B. The office is open Mon-Fri 8:30-18:00, Sat 10:00-15:00. You will get your deposit back. If you still have some money on your card, you will get it back minus 5 euros of service fee which means if you have less than 5 euros you won't get anything back. They do not charge service fee from the deposit, so in any case you will get it back.
This is very IMPORTANT: take with you the card voucher which you received when you obtained the travel card. Otherwise, they do not take your card back!!
Here you can find general information about Finland's beautiful nature.
Finland is the country of thousands of lakes (187 888 to be exact :), and number of islands is in the same scale. Our landscape is fairly flat, with the exception of Easter- and Northern-Finland where we have high hills (=vaara). After living many years in Finland people might get bored of forests and lakes everywhere, but there are contrasts also in our nature, from the worlds largest archipelago by the amount of islands, to rough nature in Lapland. Not to mention nightless nights in summertime and dark months during winter.
Read more from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Finland.
"Aurora is a visual phenomena resulting from solar wind particles colliding with Earth's atmosphere. Auroral displays are visually awesome to witness and all the more active events appear to be always different, than the ones seen before due to vast combination of forms and colours and their combinations.".. (http://www.ursa.fi/ursa/jaostot/revontulet/frontpage.html)
There is no good way to forecast auroras so there isn't really any forecasts - just estimates. A big solar flare or explosion in the sun might cause auroras on earth, but only might. Usually the warning is received up to 2 days before. Auroras can be seen during period from end of August to mid April in Tampere level. Outside of this period it's just too light outside to see anything, like stars, on the sky. Also if sky is full of clouds nothing can be seen. In more north auroras are visible more often as smaller irregularities are strong enought to cause disturbantance in upper athmosphere.
City lights cover up the sky - if you can't see the stars then quite surely you can't see auroras. If you can see the Milkyway then you're really well away from the lights! Auroras occur usually between 21 and 01. Look towards north, if the solar storm is big enough they might be also above. Enjoy! If there isn't any to see then enjoy otherways! =)
http://spaceweb.oulu.fi/~jussila/aurora/
-Good short FAQ - READ IT. Select english from left frame.
Current situation
Current situation by every hour
[http://aurora.fmi.fi/public_service/suomi/latest_nur_sod_10.html Current situation by every 10mins]
-Graph of the disturbance in magnetic field. Check "NUR" graphs for nurmijärvi which is in southern finland. Going red => good.
http://www.foreca.com/fin/saa/main.php?c=fin&spot=Tampere
-Good and easy to understand weather prediction.
http://www.fmi.fi/saa/sadejapi_4.html
-Cloud animation, easy to predict the near future.
- Send a email to address aurorasnow-feed (a) posti.fmi.fi .
The list sends you an alert when disturbantances are larger, if over 300 go outside..
[http://aurorachasers.com/Adec/Subscribe/index_html Alertlist from aurorachasers.com]
- Offset from UT is +3 for Finland. Set Kp index to 4.0 for visible northern lights alert.
p.s. These alert lists don't have an purpose if you can't read your emails during evenings.\\ Lists annouces only then when there is something up there.
http://aurorasnow.fmi.fi/public_service/suomi/latest_asc_image.html
-Latest picture of Auroras in Sodankylä (in Lapland).
More info at wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(astronomy)
go.out.and.see.it.by.yourself.
Small description of the four Seasons in Tampere
Temperatures:
+15?C / 59?F
This is as warm as it gets in Finland, so we'll start here. People in Spain wear winter-coats and gloves. The Finns are out in the sun, getting a tan.
+10?C / 50?F
The French are trying in vain to start their central heating. The Finns plant flowers in their gardens.
+5?C / 41?F
Italian cars won't start, The Finns are cruising in cabriolets.
0?C / 32?F
Distilled water freezes. The water in Vantaa river (in Finland) gets a little thicker.
-5?C / 23?F
People in California almost freeze to death. The Finns have their final barbecue before winter.
-10?C / 14?F
The Brits start the heat in their houses. The Finns start using long sleeves.
-20?C / -4?F
The Aussies flee from Mallorca. The Finns end their Midsummer celebrations. Autumn is here.
-30?C / -22?F
People in Greece die from the cold and disappear from the face of the earth. The Finns start drying their laundry indoors.
-40?C / -40?F
Paris start cracking in the cold. The Finns stand in line at the hotdog stands.
-50?C / -58?F\\ Polar bears start evacuating the North Pole. The Finnish army postpones their winter survival training awaiting real winter weather.
-60?C / -76?F
Korvatunturi (the home for Santa Claus) freezes. The Finns rent a movie and stay indoors.
-70?C / -94?F
The false Santa moves south. The Finns get frustrated since they can't store their Kossu (Koskenkorva vodka) outdoors. The Finnish army goes out on winter survival training.
-183?C / -297.4?F
Microbes in food don't survive. The Finnish cows complain that the farmers' hands are cold.
-273?C / -459.4?F
ALL atom-based movent halts. The Finns start saying "Perkele, it's cold outside today."
-300?C / -508?F
Hell freezes over, Finland wins the Eurovision Song Contest.
.. note: 2006 Finland won the Eurovision Song Contest so therefore hell has frozen over ...
For non-EU & EEA students: Obtaining an extension of residence permit
A residence permit granted to a student is temporary by its nature. If the studies last for more than a year, the residence permit is usually granted for one year at a time. A temporary residence permit bears the letter B. The extension for permit should be applied before the end of a previous permit.
The application for an extension is submitted to the local police. Tampere District Police is located in Hataanpään valtatie 16. Applicants must go to the police station in person to prove their identity before a decision on a permit is made.
An extension of the permit requires that the student is still registered at the educational institution, is a full-time student and has completed the required courses in the institution's study programme. If the student has poor study performance, an extension of the residence permit may be denied.
Those who are now applying for an extension of a previous residence permit, please note, that there has been a major change in policy. The change applies EQUALLY to those students, that already have a temporary residence permit. Students need a valid health insurance during their stay.
REQUISITE HEALTH INSURANCE
After the date of 1.9.2007 citizens of third countries (non-EU or EEA-members) in Finland are required to have health insurance, if the period of study lasts for more than three months. The requirement is the same for degree-seeking and exchange students.
Third-country national means a person who is not a citizen of either one of the EU countries, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland. Students from Quebec, Canada are also exempt from the health insurance requirement.
Please note, that the type of health insurance depends on the duration of studies in Finland, which, in turn, affects the right to domicile in Finland. If granted a right to domicile in Finland, the requisite insurance needed is cheaper.
A student who enters Finland to study for less than two years is not usually granted the right to domicile and therefore is not entitled to municipal health care services. Consequently, the student must have private insurance which covers costs of medical treatment up to 100 000 euros.
A student who studies here at least two years is usually granted the right to domicile and is therefore entitled to municipal health care services. Consequently, the student must have private insurance which covers costs of medical treatment up to 30 000 euros (primarily pharmaceutical costs).
The family members of the student, even if granted a residence permit B, are not requested to take a health insurance by law. The new regulation applies only to those who have entered the country in purpose of studying. However it is advisable, that they have valid health insurance during their stay.
NOTE: The right to use Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) does not exclude a student from having to take out the health insurance. However, if student has a Kela card, in some cases they might be exempt of acquiring requisite health insurance. More detailed information concerning individual cases, please, visit local police station or call (07-187 45415).
REGISTRATION FOR THE DOMICILE
In order to be granted a home municipality in Finland, a student must register at the local registration office (maistraatti). Tampereen Maistraatti (Local Registration Office at Tampere) is located in Hataanpään valtatie 24. See: internetsivu.tampereopas.com/
Requirements for the right to domicile are that the student has a residence permit at least for the period of one year and the duration of studies in Finland is at least two years. (Please contact your department in order to have the document in question)
The registered information is used, amongst other things, in the organization of elections, and for taxation, health care, juridical administration and statistical purposes. For more information on registration, check registration office www.maistraatti.fi.
How does the registration happen?
1) Inform the local register office of your place of residence.
2) Bring your passport and valid residence permit with you.
3) Other official documents you will need when registering are a marriage certificate if you are married and the birth certificates of any children you might have.
4) Fill out and sign the Registration of Foreigners -form at the registry.
5) Also remember to make an official change of address notification whenever you move. It is a requirement for registration.
For more information, ask: info.tampere@maistraatti.fi
FROM WHERE TO TAKE AN INSURANCE?
In principle health insurance must be obtained prior to applying for a residence permit. However, you can submit the application for extension and supplement it later on, if you have not yet a valid insurance. It is important, that you apply for an extension before your previous permit expires.
The insurance must be valid for the duration of studies, or at least as long as the residence permit is valid. The insurance must be valid at least in Finland (or Schengen-area). For further information on insurance requirements, check Finnish Immigration Office (www.migri.fi).
At this point none of the national insurance companies in Finland offers a required cover. However international insurance companies offer a range of insurances. Below are links to some international insurance companies, which have come to our attention. Please contact them directly for further information on prices and coverage.
International Student Insurance
www.internationalstudentinsurance.com
International Health Insurance.
www.ihi.com
AON Student Insurance
www.students-insurance.eu
ACS-AMI
www.assistance-etudiants.com/en
There are many small shops and stores in Tampere, most of the located at the center. If you find an interesting one, please add it here as a child page.
Clas Ohlson sells all kinds of useful stuff that might be needed in everyday life (electrical equipment, tools & hardware, multimedia appliances, DIY products, etc.) at affordable prices. The address is Hämeenkatu 11. More information on their website: http://www.clasohlson.co.uk/Product/StartPageProducts.aspx
Tampere has the biggest roofed market hall in Scandinavia. If you cannot find something related to food in the normal markets, this is your place to go. There is over 400m of service counters and it's open from Monday to Friday. I don't want to hear anyone complaining that Finland doesn't have good bread, or meat, or cheese, or whatever. If you say this, you just can't find it!
List of most important sources for transportation in Finland.
Tampere Public Transport (TKL)
Train timetables in Finland
Bus timetables in Finland
Inter city bus connections (in Finnish)