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I don't think Finland is doing poorly economically. Looking at the OECD stats its unemployment rate is about the same as that of the other Nordics, and lower than some of them in fact. I'd say you should expect economic conditions to be about the same in all four of the Nordic cities, with the main differences being in cost of living.
We are doing poorly, but that's because the post-WWII baby boomers are retiring en masse and the global economy is quite tough. Doesn't affect a skilled individual, though. Or that we would go down Greece.
Sweden has created a lot of jobs, but due to very high immigration, the gains hasn't lead to lower unemployment. Finlands even higher unemployment is due to the economy being in a terrible shape.
Sorry, I looked wrong. For some reason I was seeing around 6.5% for Finland in Sept. 2015 but now I just checked again and it's 9.5%.
Some more info about Rotterdam. Basically Rotterdam is not a nordic city so quite different from the other four, although Dutch society is in many ways not that different from Denmark and Sweden.
-Friendly and accepting of foreigner
Rotterdam has lots of immigrants. It has a different vibe compared to Amsterdam. It is a working class city, but it has an international orientation too because of the harbour and many large companies. Excellent art and museums too, and great architecture and skyline.
-"best" weather....i hate rain but i know they are all rainy cities..
Dutch weather...ahem. Copenhagen is comparable. Oslo, Stockholm and especially Helsinki are MUCH colder in winter and have more snowfall. Stockholm and Helsinki are less rainy. Spring is pleasant in Rotterdam and summer can be everything, from rainy and cold to surprisingly hot sometimes.
-best city as a getaway to the rest of Europe and the world, meaning cheapest airfare and best connectivity
Rotterdam has great connectivity. It has an own airport with some connections, Amsterdam Airport is only 30 mins away and Eindhoven Airport (Ryanair) is also only an hour or so. Thalys to Brussels and Paris and lots of other rail connections. Excellent road connections too.
-best economy...job prospect
Depends. Dutch economy has shortages in high-end technical jobs but in other fields the prospects are not that great. The more high-end technical and specialized background you have, the better the prospect is.
-Best to get by in English....My classes are thought in English and will use it also to communicate until i learn the language
No problem. 100% coverage.
-excluding housing which is cheapest (lest sales takes, state income taxes etc etc) for example if i was to buy a 55 inch tv where would it be cheaper or a car
Housing is expensive in NL, but also in the Nordic countries. Within NL, Rotterdam is relatively cheap. In most other things Rotterdam and NL is generally (much) cheaper than the nordic countries. Only fuel is expensive.
"Rotterdam is a dump" ouch, that hurts but it's partly true though, sadly. I've lived there for a long time.
BUT if you know where to go/live, Rotterdam can also be a lot of fun. Of all the cities you mention this is the most affordable. Rents are very low compared to other "world" cities, the wages are good and there's a lot of work.
There are a lot of music and arts festivals from spring to fall, lots of terraces in the summer and some of the biggest music concerts in the country are there in the Ahoy and the Kuip stadion.
As said, a lot of the city is a dump. But if you stay away from Spangen, Het Oude Noorden and basically all of Rotterdam Zuid (south side) you'll be fine.
Rotterdam was actually just a few weeks ago, rated number 5 of best cities to go by Lonely Planet. Now i find it a bit exagerated, but still that must count for something
Why do you care about job prospects, are you planning to stay in the country aftwerwards. That changes the calculation.
Helsinki: Economy is doing terrible at the moment, and I think you may struggle to get to know people. Helsinki is not exactly an international city.
Stockholm: A good choice if you are provided student dorms. It is probably the most beautiful city in Scandinavia. However, it is not a great place to live, because there is massive shortage of rent properties, which doesn't just mean it is just expensive, but getting a rental contract is harder than getting a job. Buying an apartment is also difficult, because the house prices has increased by 15% each year, and has gotten extremly unaffordable. Right now the job market is OK, but the budget deficits has kept increasing every year, and I don't think they can return to a surplus without a recession.
Oslo: Quite Expensive, but tuition is free in some universities. Economy is not doing too well at the moment, but if oil prices increase again, then Norway will do better. Has no rental housing shortage, but rent is very high for dorm rooms.
Copenhagen: A lot cheaper than Oslo, but is not as pretty as Stockholm (has a lot of problems with grafitti and garbage). But the economy in Denmark is doing allright at the moment, and it will probably improve in the future. Also has a rental housing shortage, but not as severe as Stockholm.
Copenhagen does not have a problem with garbage. There are however plenty of grafiti in the district of Nørrebro and Nordvest, but that is basically how these two districs of the city are supposed to look like. Young and bohemian.
Yes Copenhagen does have an issue with garbage. Take a look down the subway tracks, after some event, or in a park where people bbq. If you don't notice it, then either you avoid those areas, or you are used to it.
There are however plenty of grafiti in the district of Nørrebro and Nordvest, but that is basically how these two districs of the city are supposed to look like. Young and bohemian.
Are the subway and the trains supposed to look young and bohemian too?
Yes Copenhagen does have an issue with garbage. Take a look down the subway tracks, after some event, or in a park where people bbq. If you don't notice it, then either you avoid those areas, or you are used to it.
But hey, feel free to post Google maps pictures with plenty of littering in Fredriksberg, Østerbro, Vesterbro, Christianshavn, Nyhavn, Indre by. Hell, let's even throw Nørrebro into the mix. I would start there if I were you.
Yes, obviously there is trash after an event. That's just how things work.
Not just events, as I said there is a lot of garbage after saturday bbq, or in the subway tracks. I could also mention the overflowing garbage cans in the city centre.
But the main reason I think so is due to experience. I have lived in both Copenhagen and Oslo. In Copenhagen for instance one time some garbage was dropped outside my apartment on the other side of the road. I thought some garbage people will pick it up, but in reality it was first picked by birds and after a couple of weeks the wind took most of it away.
The links from stockholm, is swedes who is angry about littering. The reason you don't see the same articles in Demark, is because they are more used to it. And I didn't really agree with the article from Norway. The newly constructed areas in Oslo are very pretty. The only legit complains was Oslo lack of bike lanes, but that is because few want to bike when Oslo is so hilly.
Also, I don't know why he thinks Denmarks garbage system is better than Oslo. My experience from Copenhagen is that we did have a lot of garbage cans, but people just threw everything in the non-assigned one. In addition some of the garbage cans were locked, and we weren't given keys. Oslo system of garbage is easy, and hence people use it. Copenhagen seems like a city with very good theoretical plans, but in practice they fall short due to vandalism, or people don't do it in the way intended.
If you want a google map example, then take a look here. It is in the city centre, grafitti is places where it obviously shouldn't be, and there is enough garbage to make the street not look too clean. https://www.google.no/maps/@55.66609...8i6656!6m1!1e1
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but it's partly true though, sadly. I've lived there for a long time.
. There are however plenty of grafiti in the district of Nørrebro and Nordvest, but that is basically how these two districs of the city are supposed to look like. Young and bohemian.
