The south-central city of Tampere is seen as the most attractive residential destination in Finland, according to a poll published by Yle on Monday. Thirty-seven percent of Finns surveyed said they'd consider moving there.
Two other southern cities trailed Tampere in the survey: Turku and Jyväskylä. Twenty-eight percent of respondents say they could see themselves moving to Turku, the former capital.
The study was carried out by Taloustutkimus, which polled nearly 3,500 Finns aged 15 and over.
Taloustutkimus research director Outi Salonen says that Tampere has topped the biennial survey since at least 2010. The city has widened its lead over Turku since the previous poll.
Tampere also racked up the best score for overall impression as a place to live. It was followed by Turku, Helsinki, Jyväskylä and Kuopio. Tampere has also always dominated this category, says Salonen. She notes that it earns praise for its lakeside location and opportunities for studying and recreation.
Most satisfied residents in Kauniainen, Pirkkala
Meanwhile another survey out Monday suggests that residents of Kauniainen are most satisfied with their hometown, followed by people in Pirkkala, adjacent to Tampere.
Kauniainen, a small wealthy enclave surrounded by Espoo, edged out Pirkkala by two points in the annual poll carried out by EPSI Rating.
The pan-Nordic firm interviewed just over 10,000 adults in Finland by phone in 2017. Only the results of 62 municipalities were published, as there was insufficient data for the other 249.
Overall, residents’ satisfaction with their municipalities rose by nearly two index points since the previous survey. The biggest improvements in resident satisfaction were in Jakobstad (Pietarsaari) and Kauhava in Ostrobothnia and Kajaani in the east.
Kudos for Kuopio and Helsinki, too
While denizens of Pirkkala remain satisfied, neighbouring Tampere fell to second spot after three years with the highest satisfaction rating among the five biggest cities (Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa and Oulu). Helsinki outstripped Tampere, while Oulu rose above the average rating. Only Vantaa fell below the national average.
Nabbing the highest rating among the 20 biggest cities was Kuopio in the east with 76.6 points. Helsinki was second at 75.8, nudging past Turku at 75.5. Next up were Seinäjoki, Tampere and Jyväskylä.
Least satisfied on that list are people in Kotka, Lahti, Hämeenlinna and Kouvola.
Thirty-eight percent of respondents said they would be ready to recommend their municipality. The highest score was again in Kauniainen, where 86 percent said so – far above second-place Pirkkala, where 70 percent said they’d recommend their town as a place to live. The lowest ratings on this question came from Kemi and Kauhajoki, where only 13 percent said they were prepared to recommend their municipalities.