Everyday Life

Seinäjoki is a vibrant, constantly growing city of about 62000 people. It’s known for several festivals, Alvar Aalto architecture and surrounding nature. On the City of Seinäjoki pages you can find out about the local services, events and activities.

Visit Seinäjoki page has even more detailed information on what is going on, where and when and all the local attractions.

One of the main attractions and very popular with locals and foreigners alike, is the Apila Library.

Day Care

In accordance with Finnish law, all children aged between 0 to 6 years of age living in Finland are entitled to municipal day care. There is no English ones in Seinäjoki yet but the private day care centre Jump offers English language showers and uses English in other daily activities as well.

Schools

If you are moving to Finland with school-aged (7-16) children, education is compulsory for them. In Seinäjoki basic education is usually arranged in Finnish but Marttila School also offers bilingual classes which are meant for pupils interested in studying in English but also native speakers and for those students who have previously studied in English and have relocated to Seinäjoki.

The winter in the region typically lasts from November to April. Average winter temperature is usually between 0 and -10 Celsius but it’s usual to have a few colder days down to -20 -30 especially in January and February. Houses are well insulated and heated with double to triple glazing. So nothing to worry there but you might want to check how to dress for winter here: How to dress right and enjoy the winter

Keep in mind that the streets and roads can be quite slippery in winter! Thankfully, if you were to break say an arm, the Finnish health care system will look after you well.

Another thing to remember is that your car might need heating in winter, if the temperature drops under -8 and to take some extra time in the morning to scrape the ice off the car windows.

There’s a couple of big supermarket chains in Finland. The range is from massive hypermarkets (Citymarket, Prisma) to smaller corner stores. At the end of the year, a massive complex for shopping called Ideapark will also open in Seinäjoki. The city centre has smaller speciality shops and a couple of shopping centres hosting cafes, clothes and gift shops etc.

Couple of unique features when food shopping: remember to weigh and price your fruit and vegetables yourself, either buy a plastic bag or bring your own and always do your own packing (as quick as possible!).

Both big grocery store chains have their own bonus cards (Plussa and S-Etukortti). You don’t need to get one but you will always be asked at the counter and you can get special offers and discounts with them.

Bicycles: cycling or walking to work is very popular in Finland. Many people cycle all through the year. Wearing a helmet is compulsory and you must have a lamp in the front of your bike when you cycle in the dark. In winter studded tires are recommended.

Local buses: 10 local bus routes service the Seinäjoki area

http://www.komialiikenne.fi/etusivu

Trains: there’s 15 long distance trains passing Seinäjoki everyday. It only take 2 h 40 min to reach Helsinki and Tampere is 1 h 06 min away.