Hi everyone, So here is my [M 26] situation.
I’m from Paris and I’ve be willing to relocate to another European country. They are many reasons, but the main one is that I can’t stand the atmosphere here in France.
I’ve travelled all around Europe to choose a new country, and there are four destinations I seriously consider, but I would need help from locals or expats to give me pro/cons for all of these countries.
So could some of you give me exemple of both positive and negative experience in these countries ? I’m only taking about events/social habits that are frequents. Not about extremely rare experience that happens with a likelyhood of 1 over 2 billions.
Thanks !
Estonia, Finland and at least Latvia:
Half year long Winters are a choice to endure on the long term while the phenomena of sunshine with snow cover is really rare. “Starry nights” have a touch of exotiqueness to it in Estonian literature, it is so not a given thing up here due to the extreme light-conditions throughout the year.
The extremities are a thing to consider up here.
Otherwise Helsinki is really nice and resembles any other big city in Europe. Tallinn already has a feeling of remoteness in comparison. Visiting home will be more expensive with the transfers from Tallinn airport. The city is really nice though. Riga is a notch warmer both in climate and in mentality, but Vilnius is even more.
Others will tell all the pros. The Baltic capitals are really chill in comparison to other European capitals and Summers can be lovely. Estonia has famously little bureaucracy and an e-state.
Finnish winter is more like 3 months
You just described every European country…
Plus will you be willing to learn and become fluent in local language? Without it you will always be 2nd class resident
I can use English first. I work in the tech sector (Data Analyst). I will then learn the local language, for sure.
Try Gdańsk too :)
See, the delusion and brainwashing couldn’t work any better 🤷🏼♀️
I’m a local in Estonia. It’s pretty nice here. Feel free to DM for more information.
Currently the winter has been crazy, tons of snow in late November with temperatures getting to -10C. This is quite unusual in November.
Estonia is pretty anti-Russian, as they have the least percentage of Russians out of all the Baltic countries. You’ll find large Ukrainian communities here.
Estonia is also quite small, so you might find yourself bored. The are always things to do, but you need to seek then out.
Estonia has also gotten quite expensive for the salary you earn. Tech gets paid well, but everything else, I’d imagine you’d struggle.
There is very little bureaucracy as everything is fine online. The online government infrastructure is amazing. Look up the e-residency program and you’ll see.
First of all, I REALLY love Estonia. But what you wrote about the percentage of Russians is just not true. Out of all Baltic countries, Lithuania has the least amount of Russians, ~5%. Estonia’s 24% is a lot in comparison.
Anything but Estonia
Can you elaborate?
Baltics is THE place to be now. Love the people, nature and pretty much everything. As a plus, there is an amazing feeling of growth here.
Finnish and Estonian are not indo-european languages, so you’ll have a much harder time learning them. And the Slavic ones are nowhere near as close to French as English is either.
Good luck to you though!
I know it’s not in the list of countries you mentioned, but have you considered Romania? As a French speaker, it will be much easier to learn the language, and the country is similar to the countries you mentioned in your list.
How is romania similar to finland?
I only have heard good opinions about Romania, and I have a personal good opinion about Romanians. However, considering that they’re not part of the Shengen area, I was scared that it would be a nightmare to get a visa.
That’s what I’m affraid of.Romania is part of the EU so staying there should not be a problem. Also, Romanian being a Latin language, will be much easier to learn for a French speaker.
Romanians come across as very friendly and down to earth and their country has changed for the better in last ten years or so. Nature wise, a very beautiful country. Affordable. That being said if you’re going to earn local wage, then salaries are low compared to Finland or Western Europe.
If you want peace and calmness the the Baltic countries and Finland are your best bet. If you want better weather and “lively” people and culture, then Romania would be more suitable.
Have you considered Reunion Island? Still part of France but tropical and amazingly beautiful but expensive.
Air France has a very large customer care center in Prague, so at the very least, you are guaranteed a job there even without speaking any Czech or having an education. They pretty much instantly hire all French people they can.
As a foreigner living in Czechia, I am quite fond of the country. It’s great. People are fun and have a dark and sarcastic sense of humor (my type), and the food and alcohol are all excellent. However, bureaucracy is nightmarish here.
I have never been to any of the other countries you have mentioned, though.
I think it depends a lot too on your career and where do you see yourself in the next few years.
I guess I can get help from my local friends.
I’ve known them for years now, so I really can trust them.Thanks for your advice !
Baltics are cheap to live but if youre earning there its going to be low too, women are hot
I have read most of your comments and it would seem that Estonia is probably perfect for you. There are literally no downsides except : cold weather, and angry Russia next door.
Malta
Estonia - good and easy bureaucracy. Good public transport. Salary is good enough for us despite the rising costs in Tallinn. But if you have a remote job, you can live in any cheaper area or out of town to save living cost, but in winter it may get very difficult since the snow will hamper your commute. Flights from here are mostly expensive, so best bet would be to get them from Riga. There’s a good expat community here, active and very into integration. Most youngens speak english.
Negative - You will still need to learn the language at least until B1. Costs are rising here and it is getting harder to Save after mandatory costs. Rents are rising because of newcomers and landlords being assholes. Oh yeah, landlords Will try to take advantage of you - have an estonian friend to help with translation.
Actually, all postive aspects you mentionned are parts of the reasons why I’d like to move to Estonia.
About negative apsect, I work in the tech sector, so I guess I’ll mainly use English at work.
However, for other aspects, it seems normal to me to learn the local language. I am the foreigner, it is my duty to learn the language of the country. (I know Estonian is very difficult, however, but I’ll try my best).About having local friends : this is my biggest fear.
So far, I have only one French friend here and another friend of mine from Brazil used to live in Tallinn aswell. Otherwise, I don’t know any local, which sacres me a lot.On the other hand, in Czechia, I have local friends in Prague and Brno, which would make me feel safer.
This is why I’m hesitating.About having local friends : this is my biggest fear.
Most struggle with finding local friends, but if you can’t make one, will expats not fill the same need? No worries, there are locals are friends of expats and immigrants, who you will interact with anyway once you start interacting with other expats. Tallinn might be harder because everyone is working and they have their own close friends developed after years of living here. But cities like Tartu and Parnu will be different because of younger crowd who are students. That’s how I made friends there who eventually moved to tallinn as i did.
Not Latvia. Extremely beautiful country, but slow economic development, low salaries, big political division, a very conservative nation. Unless you have a freelance job with a French salary, it would suck. If you really want to Live in Latvia or Lithuania, stay in the capitals, that’s where all the open minded people are.
Slow economic development compared to what? We have already improved massively in the past 30 years, you cannot just become a rich country over a night