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16th of August 2015 That is the date when I have lived a one year in Estonia in Tallinn. I moved here on my own for real for the first time, even though I have had experiences living abroad before: six weeks in Sweden and two months in Canary Islands. Still every country is a new experience and each one has their very own to-do-list. Here is a list which I hope helps you when you arrive to Tallinn for degree or exchange programme. 1. Accommodation Tallinn University offers dormitories where to live. There are three of them: G4S Dormitory, Tallinn University Dormitory and Teko Dormitory. Rooms are furnished and there are communal kitchens. Rents change by the place where you live, but overall the rent is in reasonable prices. Look over to get to know more about the dormitories. If you need to ask more about dormitories please do not wait too long, because these places get full really REALLY fast. Some people are also staying in dormitories of other schools such as Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonian Academy of Music, etc. One year ago I was not fast enough and I did not get a place in the dormitory, but there is nothing to worry about! Private room/Flat This is how I got my place. Now here is some points what you need to be clear about, for making also your future easier:

1. Get a paper contract. When you do not communicate in your own mother tongue you can get lost accidentally, so it is best to have the contract on paper where you can check things later.
2. Be clear that you can apply for an ID-card from your landlord or -lady: “Students staying in Estonia with a temporary residence permit have to register their place of residence when moving to Estonia and sign out from Population Register before leaving Estonia.”
3. Do not do a rent agreement before seeing the flat by your own eyes. It is good if you really know what you are going to pay for. When you are looking for a place take your time: by really intensive house hunting you can find a place to stay in 3 days. Trust me on this. In long term it is better to pay a bit more for living a three days in hotel before and paying for a flat that you have seen than paying for a place that you have not even seen yet.

Here are some links which help you to find your flat: , ,  and . But you can also use some grapevine and ask your local friends and use social media. In Facebook there are groups, that are used also for finding accommodation, for example “Erasmus in Tallinn University”. 2. Estonian identity card (ID-card) This. Is. Super. Important! ID-card is needed if you are going to stay in Estonia for longer than three months. You must have it in order to obtain the right of temporary residence. EU/EEA citizens must register themselves as citizens of Tallinn within three months from the date of entering Estonia and apply for the ID-card. Non-EU/EEA citizens can apply for the long-stay visa, but if you are staying in Estonia longer than six months, you can apply for the temporary residence permit for study in Estonia. Receiving this will take about two months, so when earlier you start it is a better. To get an ID-card you must:   

1. You must register as citizen of Tallinn in the Population Register Offices in Tallinn. You have to take with you: identity document and tenancy contract.
2. In one month from registering your place of residence, you must go to the Citizenship and Migration Bureau to apply for ID-card which certifies your tenancy contract. For this you have to have: the application form, your own ID document, a colored photograph sized 40x50 mm and 25 € (this is a document certifying the payment of the state fee).

About Long-stay (D) visa or the temporary residence permit for study in Estonia for non-EU/EEA citizens it is needed to apply from the nearest Estonian Embassy. If you change your address or before leaving from Estonia inform the Population Register about this. But this little card can make your life SO MUCH EASIER. And it was also good way to do something together with your new friends. I did the application and everything with them and I have to say, it was actually really fun waiting in line, wondering same questions as your fellow students. 3. GO THERE!! This was very useful for me when I arrived in Estonia: you hear a lot of practical information, meet new people and learn bunch of things about Estonia, get to know the university and surrounding area of the school. There is soooooooooooooo much information coming in couple of days so do not panic if you do not remember where is the police station, when is the Welcoming Party or where is some office. I remember how we were informed about Estonian culture and customs, how to get ID-cards, and many other things and courses and so on. Orientation days gave me comfort, even though I was not always very clear about things, it gave me a sense or idea where I should start to look for answers. During the presentations you have a change to ask questions about everyday life in Tallinn. And by all means ASK QUESTIONS. There are no unimportant or stupid questions to ask. 4. Public transportation When I arrived in Estonia I was so amazed by the public transport. It works well and is cheap and you can get everywhere in Tallinn by it. About the prices: one-way ticket for student is 1€, if you buy a public transport card for a week it will be 5 € +2€ (for the green card).  And after receiving your ID-card the public transport is for free. You can get right in front of university by tram number 1 and 3 to the direction of Kadriorg, jump off at  ����Ӱ�� Ülikool. Buses stop bit earlier or further away, but you can see Tallinn University easily. These buses are 1A, 5, 8 19, 29, 34A, 35, 38, 44, 51, 60 and 63 and the name of the stop is Uus-Sadama. 5. Estonian language I warmly recommend this to everyone! At Tallinn University they start the Estonian A1 course at the beginning of autumn and spring semester. The professors are nice and even though the Estonian language can be hard time to time it is a whole new possibility to get know Estonian culture. Besides Estonians appreciate a lot when you can say something in their language. Many times when I tried to say something in Estonian, even though I have done it really poorly, people have encouraged me to keep going. No-one has ever told me that I speak horrible Estonian. By my own personal view, it does not ever make harm if you know one language more and what could be a greater compliment towards other country to take your time to learn something by their own language. It is worth of learning. 6. YOU CAN! Those 5 steps will help you how to make Tallinn your new home and get into your everyday life over here. But here you can be so much more than just a student passing by. Just roll forward and do things differently. Go to the university a bit different route, say “Tere!” to persons you do not know and do not let anything to slow you down. This is your own change to get most of this time you have. You have courage, power and will to learn, treasure and explore this country as much as you can. Sometimes a world seems to throw on your way as much problem as it can. But you know that hard times are not forever, no matter how much it might seem like that. You can overcome difficulties and if you do not know how, there is always someone who knows how to do that. You can even amaze yourself by your own personal strength, if you give it a try. Do not always take the easiest route and you can learn something what no-one else has. You have as much power as you want. short version: come, see and conquer. TERE TULEMAST TALLINNASSE! Text by Reetta Hämäläinen ( student).