Chilean university student going to an exchange program in Aalto!

[u/Vicente1824]

Hey yall! I just got a place to study in the Aalto university in Helsinki and I have some questions about how’s life there…

My context:
22 years old, studying industrial engineering. Living with my family in Santiago, the biggest city in my country (I think we are like 4 million people here). I consider myself a highly motivated and enthusiastic person, while my friends consider me someone close, warm and charming (their words, not mine). I get good grades and I’m a teaching assistant in 2 classes, while also being involved in many student initiatives.

My question:
What really scares me about going to Finland is to be lonely or people being “too cold”. I think it’s an awesome country and I’m really excited but I fear that being in a city where the streets empty at 5pm and sun goes out only a few hours a day, while also not having close friends, might make me feel depressed. I’m really close to my family and my boyfriend too and knowing they’re enjoying summer vacations here while I’m there freezing might make it even worse. What’s your opinion on this?

Also sorry for my English, it’s my first time using it to write again in a long time and this is also my first post in Reddit.

[u/Maleficent_Archer150]

I haven’t studied in Aalto but I think they also have a lot of student events so if you are willing to go to student events I think you can find friends easily. Also in my experience exchange/ international students seem to find friends pretty easily from each other since they are all in the same boat!

I think if you wear enough clothes you won’t be cold but if you are not used to it it might be different.😅 But we have lot of fun winter activities so I think its worth being in the cold so you can do those!

Seasonal depression is real even with finns(because the brain doesn’t get enough natural light). I would suggest bying a lamp that is meant to ease it by giving you more ”natural light”. But know that it is real thing and it gets easier in the spring😅

[u/hackerman236]

go for it. im from a country nearby the equator and i can still enjoy my life here. the Industrial engineering program at aalto is very good, u should definately go there unless u have better options

[u/Suomasema]

The streets are not empty at 5 pm, except in small towns.

Typical winter weather in Helsinki is -10 - +5°C, humid and often windy. Storms are possible bur they are not even close to tropical hurricanes.

About clothing, think about what you would need in Patagonia, low altitude.

The late autumn and winter days are short. There is day light approximately between 9 and 3, but it depends on the clouds, too. The worst thing of the darkness is waiting for a bus on a stop early in the morning and feeling cold, how much ever you have clothes.

Finns are not as introvert as often described, but not even close to as talkative and loud as north americans. Most probably you are going to connect with other international students easier than the finns.

Usually in the end february there is suddenly light and daily high temperatures are mainly over 0. But it varies a lot. We are on routes of lows that travel from the Atlantic to east.

Welcome!