2.9/5
630 reviews
Photo by Tapio Haaja via Unsplash

Helsinki

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great

winter

noli

friendly

cold

week

studios

longer

late

public

core

check

good

fast

hotel

ferry

cafescene

Helsinki is a safe and welcoming city with excellent public transportation and friendly locals. It’s very walkable, especially during the warmer months, but the cold winters can make walking unpleasant. Visitors found the city to be surprisingly vegan-friendly, with many options available both in grocery stores and cafes, surpassing nearby Scandinavian cities in this aspect. The cafe scene is strong, and there are plenty of places to sit and work remotely.

Summer is the best time to visit, with local attractions like Suomenlinna island, Linnanmäki amusement park, and outdoor spots like Hietalahti beach. Winter can be a bit limiting outdoors due to the cold, though options like ice skating exist. The city has reliable and fast internet, and English is widely spoken in central areas, making it tourist-friendly. Hotel experiences and modern accommodations like Noli Studios were generally positive.

Prices are high—especially for alcohol and dining out—so travelers should budget accordingly. Some felt that the city doesn't offer a lot of activities year-round, particularly outside the summer season. Overall, it’s considered worth a visit, but possibly not a frequent return destination for everyone.

AI-generated summary of reviews

I've been here just under a week so it might be too early to comment on Helsinki, but so far I like it. I'd like to second what the review from 9 mths ago said: I can recommend Noli Studios, specifically the Herttoniemi one. I'll tell you more about Finland once I've been here longer.

2 years ago

Helsinki, FInland, for one week in late July 2023. Short story: I would go there again in a heartbeat. Its safe, fun, trendy. It has great public transit in the core and to the airport, and is REALLY pedestrian friendly. English is readily spoken in the downtown core. Food from local and worldwide tastes is available and I did not have a single bad meal there. Check the opening/closing times for restaurants and bars- they vary wildly (Google maps is good for this, but not infallible). Internet was fast at my Hotel (Hotel Anna). I did not use co-working spaces. Nature is close by with a ferry cruise to local islands, and Estonia is a fast 3 hour boat ride away. Everyone was friendly to me, even though I knew none of the local official languages (Finnish and Swedish). Of course, YMMV but I had a great time as a solo traveller. Check the weather chart for your time of travel.

2 years ago

I've been in Helsinki on New Year's Eve and it's been okay. There isn't lots of fireworks but in front of the main cathedral you'll find some. Cafe-scene is great and you also find lots of places to work from. The city is walkable, although I wouldn't recommend doing that in winter as it'll be freaking cold.

Surprisingly you can find lots of vegan options. No matter if you're in a super-market (I can tell you, I've never seen so many different replacement products) or in a cafe. It's way better than other Scandinavian cities such aus Lund, Copenhagen and so on.

All in all I think it's worth a visit but wouldn't stay here for longer or come back, too often.
Pros:
- great public transport
- lots of vegan options
- great cafe-scene
- suprisingly friendly people (I always heard that Finnish people are rude, but it's not true from my experience)

Cons:
- super expensive (especially alcohol and eating out)
- cold AF in winter
- not too many things to do

If you want to have a great place to stay, meet people and be able to work, I can recommend Noli Studios. I stayed in Noli Sörnäinen with my girlfriend and enjoyed the place. Also has pretty good connections to almost anywhere in Helsinki.

2 years ago

A lot more things to do there on Summer than on Winter, even though the city is beautiful both seasons. Wouldn't recommend going there in the beginning of spring or late autumn since it'd be mostly rainy and cold. On Summer I recommend just walking around the city and checking out all the architecture and drinking beer on the beach of Hietalahti or taking a ferry to Suomenlinna and having a picnic day there. Linnanmäki amusement park is also nice if you are traveling with children. On Winter I recommend you leave the city center and go to f.ex. Mustikkamaa or Central Park. There are places where you can ice skate.

6 years ago

✅ Very safe

✅ Great public transport

✅ Pedestrian friendly

✅ Friendly people

✅ Great cafe scene

✅ Lots of vegan options

✅ Fast internet

✅ Lots of fun stuff to do

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here a lot

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Great hospitals

✅ Roads are very safe

✅ Great freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ Everyone speaks English

✅ Very safe for women

✅ Very family friendly

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

❌ Very expensive

❌ Cold in winter

❌ Not many activities in off-season

❌ Cold now

❌ Gets very cold in the winter

❌ Very damp now

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Very difficult to make friends

❌ High alcohol consumption

❌ Marijuana is illegal

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May

Jun

Jul

Aug

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Feels

21-6°
freezing

16-9°
freezing

30-1°
freezing

373°
cold

5412°
cool

6418°
cool

6317°
cool

5010°
cold

468°
cold

32-0°
freezing

23-5°
freezing

Real

28-2°
freezing

23-5°
freezing

341°
very cold

415°
very cold

5412°
cool

6317°
cool

6418°
cool

6317°
cool

5211°
cool

4910°
cold

373°
very cold

29-2°
freezing

Humidity

damp
77%

nice
70%

damp
77%

damp
73%

damp
78%

nice
70%

nice
68%

damp
82%

damp
72%

damp
80%

damp
76%

nice
69%

Most common

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

Rain

rainy
57mm

dry
26mm

dry
45mm

dry
41mm

dry
47mm

dry
10mm

dry
42mm

rainy
81mm

dry
35mm

rainy
76mm

rainy
64mm

dry
43mm

Cloud

cloudy
54%

pockets
39%

pockets
38%

cloudy
51%

pockets
39%

pockets
36%

cloudy
54%

pockets
48%

cloudy
54%

pockets
49%

pockets
48%

Air quality

clean
27 US AQI

clean
34 US AQI

clean
28 US AQI

clean
32 US AQI

clean
31 US AQI

clean
34 US AQI

clean
30 US AQI

clean
25 US AQI

clean
24 US AQI

clean
29 US AQI

clean
25 US AQI

Remote workers

943 people

950 people

717 people

800 people

753 people

1,000 people

1,313 people

1,048 people

1,225 people

893 people

1,040 people

987 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Helsinki's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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35Mbps

Tallinn

Estonia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 12° 54° 13° 56°AQI 34

🚕3h

$2,968 / mo

🌇 Also went here301 people

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

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⭐️ Total score	2.9/5 (Rank #69) 630 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍14 liked it 👎1 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Good
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	🧐 Pricey: $3,758 / mo
📡 Internet	🙂 Good: 26Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Good
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥶 Too cold: 12°C54°F (feels 11°C52°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	💦 Damp: 73%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Great: 32 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Great: 29 US AQI
👌 Safety	Great
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🤝 Lack of racism*	Good
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Great
💰 Income level*	Very high: $3,612 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Good
😤 People density	🧘‍♀️ Sprawling: 2k ppl/km² (1 per 22x22m)
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Good
🏥 Hospitals	Great
😄 Happiness*	Great
🍸 Nightlife	Good
📶 Free WiFi in city	Great
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Bad
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Great
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Great
👩 Female friendly	Great
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Great
🎅 Startup Score	Okay

🌍 Continent	Europe
🚩 Country	Finland
🗓️ Average trip length	4 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	26 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌥 12°C 54°F + 💦 Damp (73%) = feels 11°C 52°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 32 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👍 29 US AQI
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🧔 Best neighborhood to stay	Vallila
🚀 Upcoming neighborhood	Itäsaaret
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	EUR 100 = USD 114
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
☕️ Best coffee place	Coffee House Asema-aukio
🚰 Tap water	👌 Yes, safe to drink
♻️ Return rate	👍13% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	630,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$43,339 / year
😤 Population density	🧘‍♀️ empty: 22x22m (484m²) per person
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 44% 👱‍♀️ 56%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 52% 👱‍♀️ 48%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 85% 👱‍♀️ 15%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Ambiguous
💻 Online electronics shop	Verkkokauppa
🏠 Apartment listings	Oikotie
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Finnair
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Flybe Nordic
🏥 Best hospital	Helsinki Private Hospital

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$3,758 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$2,316 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$5,438 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$1,554 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$2,523 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$2,349 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$1,114 / month
🏠 Median home price	$465,768
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$118 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$77 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$300 / month
🍛 Dinner	$13
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$2
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$7
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$5
👩‍🏫 International school	$7,329 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$7 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$5 / trip
💰 Estimated tax on $50,000	$12,376
💰 Estimated tax on $100,000	$34,930
💰 Estimated tax on $250,000	$110,589