amberbnurse

Thanks Irobinson5. That is what I have noticed myself from looking online and viewing other threads from this site. The fact that someone had an easier time shocked me, so naturally I wanted to know what she had done. If your sister is studying over there, would you mind if I asked you a few questions about it? Such as: Which university did she pick out of all the ones that offer the degree in English, and why? How is she maintaining her residence permit now? How is she paying for the expenses? Where does she live, as in, what type of housing? Does her university have student housing; did they help her locate an apartment or anything? How does she find the people there? Was she able to gain new friends fairly quickly? I have read that Finns will keep to themselves mostly, but if you try to encourage conversation, they are friendly. Lastly, does she intend to stay in Finland? If yes, what calls her there? Again, thanks for confirming what I thought about the difficulty and expenses. It's nice to know that someone is still there despite all the obstacles, too.

Hello, I'm not sure if any of the previous people who used this thread are still following it, but I'm going to give it a try as I have nothing to lose. I am actually hoping to live in Finland someday, working as a nurse. I am going into my first year of a four-year nursing program here in the states. I was wondering about the expenses, because I have posted questions on here before where people told me that any international program would be through-the-roof-crazy-expensive. How did you finance your situation? The woman in Finland said she was able to study the language for free as an immigrant "I was lucky, because we could afford for me to just go to language courses 6 hours a day, 5 days a week - it was free here and social services here give immigrants an integration benefit for the first 3 years as long as they are doing something (like interning or school)." As well as this you also stated that college-level wasn't a struggle to pay: "Now I don't know about Germany, but in Finland higher education is open to everyone for free and it's really, really high quality (actually consistently ranks higher than the US in education scales, I think). All you have to do is pay for your books and as long as you are progressing at a reasonable pace in school, you get a student benefit every month. It's not much, but it's enough to rent an apartment, live and eat without having to worry about money (especially if you have a husband who is working - then it is more than enough). And there's always help if you get in a financial struggle. It's not like the States at all here - no one lives on the streets and there's always help if you need it; people are taken care of here." Is this the case because you were married to a Finn, or, this is standard for all immigrants? I am very interested in any input. Finland sounds like an amazing place to live - I feel as though it holds more of the "American Dream" than America does today - it is very progressive in human rights and education. I've done a lot of research and I am confident that I could be happy living there. Learning a new language doesn't scare me, and neither does the "midnight sun". If anyone knows anything about this topic, I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for the input. When I decided to chose nursing as a major, one of the things I love about it (other than helping others in times of anxiety and stress with knowledge and a sense of calm and purpose) is the fact that nurses are needed everywhere. I am hoping of doing some work outside the country for that reason. I guess what baffles me is that, despite the ever-constant need, the process to be able to work for a different country takes about 5-7 mo, at best. I almost wish there were a set of international standards that could be agreed upon between the US and other countries, so that there was less time and more fluidity. Despite the hang-ups, I still think I will try working for other countries, after graduating and practicing their language.

Hello, My journey to become a nurse is just beginning. I am going into my first year of a 4 year BSN degree here in the US, but after I would like to work outside the country, particularly in Scandinavia or the Nordic countries in Europe. While these countries seem more inviting than, say, the UK or France, when it comes to allowing those outside the EU to work there, the standard procedures still take several months. Not to mention the language requirements, and an apparent need to go through nursing school all over again so that they can verify your credits. So what I'm wondering is this: Would it be easier to study somewhere in the EU? And would that have a similar cost to studying here, or would it be very expensive? If anyone knows anything about this sort of thing or has any advice, I would be truly grateful.