# Estonia Guide - the basics



## karrots (Mar 28, 2008)

Location: West of Russia, South of Finland and the Baltic Sea, North of Latvia

Biggest City: Tallinn

Official Language: Estonian (with high Russian-speaking population and younger crowd speak varying degrees of English).

Money: Estonian Kroons

Weather: Tallinn is on the sea, so pretty mild in both winter and summer comparatively. Tartu, further inland gets more snow and slightly more extreme temperatures. Winter has long hours of darkness, and summer is mostly daylight.

Ways to get here: Ferry (from Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; or Rostock, Germany), or Airplane into Tallinn. Driving from Europe is NOT recommended.

Why Estonia? 

Estonia is a very beautiful country with a long and turbulent history. The Old Town is one of my favorite places, with cobblestone streets and beautiful old buildings, lots of great handicraft shops, eateries, restaurants and museums.


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## k98_man (Jan 21, 2009)

I'm writing/in the process of publishing a book about the battle of Narwa in World War II. From what I know of Estonian culture and history, it is very interesting and a great place to live!


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## buu (Dec 9, 2018)

I'm sorry if this topic not matches with the forum, I got a job offer in Tallinn (Software Engineer) . I have no idea about the country living cost etc.. Appreciate your thoughts


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## Donnezmoi (Jan 17, 2014)

If you visit a cost of living calculator, you'll see that the COL is very reasonable, especially if you're coming from Germany. 

I live in Estonia part of every year. My take: people are quiet, even reserved, until you get to know them, which can take six months. Highly competent, especially in computer fields, which have taken off due to unique nationwide data sets. Researchers come from around the world to use these.

Lots of decent housing, but there has been a run-up in prices for buying. Mass transit is good and goes everywhere you need in cities, but not to the countryside. Gas is expensive, cars not so much. Lots of electric vehicles in Tallinn and Tartu.

Food scene is very good, especially in the two big cities. Local specialties, from apples to mushrooms, are cheap, and imported wine, cheese, etc are reasonable. Great foods from Georgia, Ukraine, etc. Hard to find: good Asian and Mexican food.

Excellent and cheap health care and dental. We have our dentistry done in Estonia because it's cheaper than with our dental plan in the USA.


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