Helsinki Friends

Embrace  |  Connect  |  Belong

 We are a non-profit organisation dedicated to fostering a strong local community, embracing both Finns and expats alike. We are working towards greater integrity and diversity and against alienation and loneliness. What started as a small gathering in Esplanadi park, has now grown to a vibrant community of few thousands, uniting people through shared interests, weekly meet-ups, and exciting events.

Join us in making Helsinki Friends an even greater journey!

Thursday Meetups

at  KRAKEN  BAR

Weekly Helsinki Friends meet-up is an event open to everyone. Come and meet new friends from around the world!

Join us and meet other Helsinki Friends, Couch-surfers, locals, national and international travellers, expats etc., together with their friends and guest to hang out, socialise, practice languages, have a drink or two or maybe even have a dinner, talk randomly to someone, hear what’s going on in the town, exchange experiences and getting new acquaintances.

About us

Who we are and what we stand for?

Vision and future of Helsinki Friends consists mainly of two parts.

The first part is to keep growing our community and become a go to place not only to meet like-minded people and make new friends but also for networking for both personal and business opportunities and also for advice and recommendations concerning life in Helsinki…

The second part is building strong partnerships with businesses in and around Helsinki. We feel that there is power in numbers and both the community and businesses benefit from such collaborations.

Stories

Read our most recent stories!

Jamie’s story (founding of HF)

Hi, my name is Jamie and I'm the founder of Helsinki Friends. I started this community three years ago and I would like to tell you how it all started.  I moved from Scotland to Finland in 2017. I got a great work opportunity but honestly I did not plan to stay...

Aravind’s Story

A bit about myself I am Aravind from India. Moved to Helsinki an year ago for work. I work as a software engineer here. Outiside work, my life is fueled by different hobbies like hiking, photography, solo travels, board games, beach volleyball. How did I find out...

Valeria’s story

How did I find out about Helsinki Friends? What kind of an impact has it had on my life? I arrived to Helsinki about a month ago for an Erasmus internship. The HR of the company I am working in here invited me to Helsinki friends and I am really grateful for that....

Paul’s story

I'm a sustainability engineer running full immersion escape experiences here in Uusimaa. I also run sustainability projects and am always looking for interesting collaborations. I've been living in Finland for 10 years but enjoy groups like this because I get to see...

Marko’s story

It's wonderful to see the initiative you're taking for the new Helsinki Friends website content! I'd be happy to share my thoughts with you. About me I've been an active member of the Couchsurfing community for over a decade, embracing the joy of hosting, surfing, and...

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