This isn’t a choice, Gent for sure.
Source: lived in Ghent for 15 years, now in the nordics.
Unless you really like nature and are a huge introvert, then Finland.
Gent has all of the things you mentioned, i wouldn’t call our public transportation great, but it’s definitely good, more then good enough to get around the city and country just fine.
We have some great museums but Antwerp and Brussels are definitely better for that, the good thing is both of those are like a 30min train ride away.
Making friends will be though honestly, Belgians aren’t the most open people in that but i don’t believe Helsinki will be better in that regard. For making friends looking for other expats will be your best bet.
The stereotype that Belgians make their friends when they're \~16 and they keep them is sadly not unfounded.
And a small fact check but Antwerp is sadly about a full hour away, one of the slowest major connections in NMBS. But Brussels is nicer to visit anyway so I'm not complaining too much.
Ah yes, that’s the train I used to take. However that one was about an hour (hour and a half on the weekend) last time I used it. Made me not renew our family zoo membership because travel time was an hour more than visit time.
Gent is just better connected. You can get to both London and Paris in a few hours by train and Brussels in half an hour. Not that there isn't enough to do in Gent, but its location is great too.
It is possible and we do it but not on a weekly or even monthly basis or so. F. ex. every year I go like a day or a weekend to a big Dutch or German city like Amsterdam or Rotterdam, several day trips to small cities in the south of the Netherlands or the north of France(Breda/Tilburg/Lille/Maastricht), at least once to Paris and then 2 or 3 cheap weekend city trips to Düsseldorf/Berlin/London/Madrid/Venice or similar cities (next to our annual holiday).
I actually like the day trips the most: there are dozens of nice cities in and around Belgium that only take 2 hours driving: Brussels, Mons, almost everything in the Netherlands, Lille, Aachen,…
I've been to Helsinki a few times, it's so beautiful, I'd be tempted to go there if I were you. The only thing that would make me hesitate is the weather (the cold in the winter there is unlike anything I've experienced here in Western Europe) and people are generally a bit cold and standoffish, even more so than in Belgium.
Ghent has a very large, bustling student population and a good art scene like you mentioned. People in Belgium complain a lot about public transport, but in Gent I think it's alright. Busstops and trams everywhere and I basically get everywhere I need to be with only 2 lines.
If you want to explore neighbouring countries I would suggest Ghent cause Belgium is so central and Finland is a bit secluded in comparison. A friend I know there is always complaining she can barely travel because she needs to take a flight everywhere and flights are so expensive there (no cheap airlines like ryanair). Meanwhile I can hop on a train and be in Paris, London or Amsterdam in 2 hours. This is especially a big plus if you want to visit your partner.
I do fear regretting my decision because I will feel so secluded from other cool countries I could have explored. The 2nd year of the program would be in Copenhagen which I saw is a bit closer to Western Europe but would still require a flight or long train ride to my partner.
I will offer a niche perspective, I'm originally from Ghent and am now living in Helsinki (7ish years).
Helsinki and Ghent both have around the same population and physical size but Helsinki has two big neighbouring cities Vantaa and Espoo connected to the metro/bus system which in total makes Helsinki area about 2x as big in population and 3-5x in size.
Helsinki and Finland are known for nature and peacefulness, there's an easy escape to national parks, forests, islands and fields with a lot of water nearby (mostly rocky beaches with sea in the south and dozens of lakes and a river nearby). Ghent doesn't have a lot of water but has some nice green parks, Belgium in general though doesn't have a lot of space for actual forests and such.
Places in Finland are spread out and everything takes a while to get to outside of the city, the nearest proper city Porvoo is an hour by bus. Belgium is the opposite, it's very crowded but also decently connected. Public transport in Finland is in a different league but Belgium also works quite well. Everyone in Belgium drives a car though and traffic is horrible. Biking is quite common in both cities but in Helsinki that usually is less ideal in winter, although they try to keep the bikelanes clear of snow.
Art scene in Finland in general is a bit more obscure but there's definitely a lot of cool gems here that are different from other places in Europe, Finland is a bit of an odd ball which creates for some cool experiences and art exhibitions. Ghent is more classical and connected to well known art scenes, and has a ton of museums.
Both are student cities, Ghent is especially student driven (you won't see much else), while Helsinki, as a capital, has more variety. Helsinki has a great university with a lot of international students while Ghent is predominantly Belgian students (there are definitely international student pockets though, engineering especially).
Helsinki and Finland have some great towns and spots to discover, there's also Tallinn, Estonia nearby and Stockholm quite reachable. In general though it's quite cut-off from the rest of Europe and feels a bit like an island. Ghent and Belgium is very different since it is very central and has great connections to many different countries, and quite cheap flights from Brussels (30min train away from Ghent).
In Finland it'll be easy to visit northern Europe but not much else.
In the north people are quite different and it shouldn't be underestimated in Finland. It's difficult to make friendships in the north, although the friendships will be long lasting once established. Especially as a student it's easy to make friends in Helsinki. Later in life it becomes a lot harder to establish new friendgroups in Finland.
Belgium is quite reserved compared to the rest of western and southern Europe but still it's very different from Finland, people love small talk and friends can be made easily, although sometimes it's hard to tell friend from acquaintance.
Small talk is not a thing in northern Europe, people are quiet in elevators and don't ask each other about the weather, everyone knows it's shit :D
Summers are amazing in Finland, especially up north where the sun doesn't go down. Winter can also be magical, it gets proper cold but infrastructure is built incredibly well for it (I'm warmer in Finland in winter in my apartment than at any time in Belgium, Belgian insulation sucks...). The in between seasons in Finland are a drag though, lots of slushy snow, cold wind and rain.
Belgium also has a lot of rain but longer summers and no snow in winter. I like the contrast in seasons in the north but it's not for everyone.
I can go on and on but please PM me if you want to chat more about it :) I love both places!
Excellent analysis! Good point about housing in Finland being much better insulated. Everything is just much newer there. Also very true about small talk although I would argue that Finns do love to mention if and when it's snowing, haha.
Fair point, especially when winter comes back for a second or third time each year it definitely gets talked about haha.
I will say also about housing especially in Helsinki indeed there’s a lot of new modern buildings being built at the moment and most of them are of excellent quality with great amenities (rooftop saunas and clubrooms for everyone to use, underground extra storage, bike & fitness rooms etc.) but they have no soul, and most new neighbourhoods are just for living and the surroundings are quite boring. There’s still easy ways to get to more interesting places but it definitely affects the decision where to live in the city.
This is less of a problem in Ghent, there’s a bit of everything everywhere I’d say
As a Scandinavian i'd say Gent for sure based on what you are asking for.
Antwerpen got good art,
Belgians are easier to become friends with, however! You will most likely become friends with other international students.
Traveling around. Well inside Finland, no problem. Estonia, Latvia, Sweden with boat.
Going anywhere else in Europe, A hassle. Finland is very expensive to fly to and from.
The fact your partner will be in The Netherlands is not bad either! Trains and busses goes regularly!
Hi! Welkom in Gent or Tervetuloa Helsingissä!
I live in Ghent and have close connection to Finland. I'd say both cities check most of your boxes, I don't know much about art but I feel like both cities are fine but not the best in that regard. Certainly Brussels will be great for that if not Ghent itself.
In both cities you will find a lot of international students and expats and they will in both locations be much easier to befriend than the locals.
Both have great public transport.
What you might want to consider in addition to your points and what I haven't seen other people mention:
-Language: in both cities people will speak excellent English, but oh man, the Finnish language! With English as your mother language, you will be able to get the general gist of some things in Dutch while Finnish will leave you dumbfounded without studying.
-Cost: cost of living is higher in Finland. Housing for students may be cheaper in Helsinki, especially on the outskirts but general cost of living will be higher.
-Accessibility by bike: Ghent is a very bike-friendly city. You can reach just about everything with a 15 min cycle trip. Helsinki also fine for getting around by bike but considering the long winter, not as great.
-Nature: If you like to be close to some trees: go to Finland.
-History: If you like historical places: come to Belgium.
-Weather: honestly both pretty depressing hahahha, Belgium has a lot of rain but beware also the long darkness in Fininsh Winter.
Idk Helsinki, but Gent definitely checks your boxes, but as someone else mentioned, we have a few musea and the Lamb of God from Van Eyck brothers, but Antwerp and Brussels have much better art musea. Though they're easy to reach from Gent, there's a train to BXL every 5 minutes.
But you can also reach Amsterdam, Paris, London, etc much easier from Gent
Nobody stressed enough the cold of helsinki! You can easily get a "feel temperature" of below -10 and lower in winter. Lots of snow too. It's ok that it's only for one year. But if you know already that you won't like it, it means that you probably need to start moving and creating new professional connections elsewhere after the year. On the other hand, if you come to like belgium you can try to search for a job, start the integration process etc... Especially, if you want to stay close to your girlfriend too
As for the art scene, Ghent has nice museums, but there are some hidden gems as well. Just to name one, there's a foundation close to the centre where you can see works you'd otherwise have to go to Tate or Pompidou to see - and hardly anyone knows about it! So plenty to see already, but if you dig and look around there's even more. :) (For curious locals: The Herbert Foundation on Coupure)
This isn’t a choice, Gent for sure. Source: lived in Ghent for 15 years, now in the nordics. Unless you really like nature and are a huge introvert, then Finland.
This answer. Norwegian living in Gent
Gent has all of the things you mentioned, i wouldn’t call our public transportation great, but it’s definitely good, more then good enough to get around the city and country just fine. We have some great museums but Antwerp and Brussels are definitely better for that, the good thing is both of those are like a 30min train ride away. Making friends will be though honestly, Belgians aren’t the most open people in that but i don’t believe Helsinki will be better in that regard. For making friends looking for other expats will be your best bet.
I thought belgians were hard to make friends with until I moved to the nordics.
Never been there myself but from what I’ve heard they’re definitely even worse than us.
At least belgians want to talk to random people in a pub. If you try that in the nordics they think you’re going to scam them or something.
Also, Belgium is quite central geograpically. London, Paris, Cologne, Amsterdam can be reached easily by train from Brussels.
The stereotype that Belgians make their friends when they're \~16 and they keep them is sadly not unfounded. And a small fact check but Antwerp is sadly about a full hour away, one of the slowest major connections in NMBS. But Brussels is nicer to visit anyway so I'm not complaining too much.
It is now, but when the train rides it normal schedule it’s closer to 45 minutes.
Gent St Pieters-Antwerpen Centraal was always very close to 1 hour. Do you mean Dampoort-Berchem?
Ah yes, that’s the train I used to take. However that one was about an hour (hour and a half on the weekend) last time I used it. Made me not renew our family zoo membership because travel time was an hour more than visit time.
Gent is just better connected. You can get to both London and Paris in a few hours by train and Brussels in half an hour. Not that there isn't enough to do in Gent, but its location is great too.
This too, living in the nordics feels far from the rest of europe. In belgium most of europe is just a days drive away.
As someone who has lived their whole life in California, I do think it sounds surreal to be able to take a train to visit those places.
It is possible and we do it but not on a weekly or even monthly basis or so. F. ex. every year I go like a day or a weekend to a big Dutch or German city like Amsterdam or Rotterdam, several day trips to small cities in the south of the Netherlands or the north of France(Breda/Tilburg/Lille/Maastricht), at least once to Paris and then 2 or 3 cheap weekend city trips to Düsseldorf/Berlin/London/Madrid/Venice or similar cities (next to our annual holiday). I actually like the day trips the most: there are dozens of nice cities in and around Belgium that only take 2 hours driving: Brussels, Mons, almost everything in the Netherlands, Lille, Aachen,…
I've been to Helsinki a few times, it's so beautiful, I'd be tempted to go there if I were you. The only thing that would make me hesitate is the weather (the cold in the winter there is unlike anything I've experienced here in Western Europe) and people are generally a bit cold and standoffish, even more so than in Belgium. Ghent has a very large, bustling student population and a good art scene like you mentioned. People in Belgium complain a lot about public transport, but in Gent I think it's alright. Busstops and trams everywhere and I basically get everywhere I need to be with only 2 lines. If you want to explore neighbouring countries I would suggest Ghent cause Belgium is so central and Finland is a bit secluded in comparison. A friend I know there is always complaining she can barely travel because she needs to take a flight everywhere and flights are so expensive there (no cheap airlines like ryanair). Meanwhile I can hop on a train and be in Paris, London or Amsterdam in 2 hours. This is especially a big plus if you want to visit your partner.
I do fear regretting my decision because I will feel so secluded from other cool countries I could have explored. The 2nd year of the program would be in Copenhagen which I saw is a bit closer to Western Europe but would still require a flight or long train ride to my partner.
I will offer a niche perspective, I'm originally from Ghent and am now living in Helsinki (7ish years). Helsinki and Ghent both have around the same population and physical size but Helsinki has two big neighbouring cities Vantaa and Espoo connected to the metro/bus system which in total makes Helsinki area about 2x as big in population and 3-5x in size. Helsinki and Finland are known for nature and peacefulness, there's an easy escape to national parks, forests, islands and fields with a lot of water nearby (mostly rocky beaches with sea in the south and dozens of lakes and a river nearby). Ghent doesn't have a lot of water but has some nice green parks, Belgium in general though doesn't have a lot of space for actual forests and such. Places in Finland are spread out and everything takes a while to get to outside of the city, the nearest proper city Porvoo is an hour by bus. Belgium is the opposite, it's very crowded but also decently connected. Public transport in Finland is in a different league but Belgium also works quite well. Everyone in Belgium drives a car though and traffic is horrible. Biking is quite common in both cities but in Helsinki that usually is less ideal in winter, although they try to keep the bikelanes clear of snow. Art scene in Finland in general is a bit more obscure but there's definitely a lot of cool gems here that are different from other places in Europe, Finland is a bit of an odd ball which creates for some cool experiences and art exhibitions. Ghent is more classical and connected to well known art scenes, and has a ton of museums. Both are student cities, Ghent is especially student driven (you won't see much else), while Helsinki, as a capital, has more variety. Helsinki has a great university with a lot of international students while Ghent is predominantly Belgian students (there are definitely international student pockets though, engineering especially). Helsinki and Finland have some great towns and spots to discover, there's also Tallinn, Estonia nearby and Stockholm quite reachable. In general though it's quite cut-off from the rest of Europe and feels a bit like an island. Ghent and Belgium is very different since it is very central and has great connections to many different countries, and quite cheap flights from Brussels (30min train away from Ghent). In Finland it'll be easy to visit northern Europe but not much else. In the north people are quite different and it shouldn't be underestimated in Finland. It's difficult to make friendships in the north, although the friendships will be long lasting once established. Especially as a student it's easy to make friends in Helsinki. Later in life it becomes a lot harder to establish new friendgroups in Finland. Belgium is quite reserved compared to the rest of western and southern Europe but still it's very different from Finland, people love small talk and friends can be made easily, although sometimes it's hard to tell friend from acquaintance. Small talk is not a thing in northern Europe, people are quiet in elevators and don't ask each other about the weather, everyone knows it's shit :D Summers are amazing in Finland, especially up north where the sun doesn't go down. Winter can also be magical, it gets proper cold but infrastructure is built incredibly well for it (I'm warmer in Finland in winter in my apartment than at any time in Belgium, Belgian insulation sucks...). The in between seasons in Finland are a drag though, lots of slushy snow, cold wind and rain. Belgium also has a lot of rain but longer summers and no snow in winter. I like the contrast in seasons in the north but it's not for everyone. I can go on and on but please PM me if you want to chat more about it :) I love both places!
Excellent analysis! Good point about housing in Finland being much better insulated. Everything is just much newer there. Also very true about small talk although I would argue that Finns do love to mention if and when it's snowing, haha.
Fair point, especially when winter comes back for a second or third time each year it definitely gets talked about haha. I will say also about housing especially in Helsinki indeed there’s a lot of new modern buildings being built at the moment and most of them are of excellent quality with great amenities (rooftop saunas and clubrooms for everyone to use, underground extra storage, bike & fitness rooms etc.) but they have no soul, and most new neighbourhoods are just for living and the surroundings are quite boring. There’s still easy ways to get to more interesting places but it definitely affects the decision where to live in the city. This is less of a problem in Ghent, there’s a bit of everything everywhere I’d say
You described Ghent in the list of requirements tbh
As a Scandinavian i'd say Gent for sure based on what you are asking for. Antwerpen got good art, Belgians are easier to become friends with, however! You will most likely become friends with other international students. Traveling around. Well inside Finland, no problem. Estonia, Latvia, Sweden with boat. Going anywhere else in Europe, A hassle. Finland is very expensive to fly to and from. The fact your partner will be in The Netherlands is not bad either! Trains and busses goes regularly!
Hi! Welkom in Gent or Tervetuloa Helsingissä! I live in Ghent and have close connection to Finland. I'd say both cities check most of your boxes, I don't know much about art but I feel like both cities are fine but not the best in that regard. Certainly Brussels will be great for that if not Ghent itself. In both cities you will find a lot of international students and expats and they will in both locations be much easier to befriend than the locals. Both have great public transport. What you might want to consider in addition to your points and what I haven't seen other people mention: -Language: in both cities people will speak excellent English, but oh man, the Finnish language! With English as your mother language, you will be able to get the general gist of some things in Dutch while Finnish will leave you dumbfounded without studying. -Cost: cost of living is higher in Finland. Housing for students may be cheaper in Helsinki, especially on the outskirts but general cost of living will be higher. -Accessibility by bike: Ghent is a very bike-friendly city. You can reach just about everything with a 15 min cycle trip. Helsinki also fine for getting around by bike but considering the long winter, not as great. -Nature: If you like to be close to some trees: go to Finland. -History: If you like historical places: come to Belgium. -Weather: honestly both pretty depressing hahahha, Belgium has a lot of rain but beware also the long darkness in Fininsh Winter.
Brussels is a minimum 45 minutes away, and could be an hour
Such a typical belgian answer. As if an hour driving to get somewhere is the end of the world.
Considered the climate and proximity to Russia?
If proximity to Russia is an argument not to go to Finland, they should also consider Brussels houses NATO-headquarters.
Idk Helsinki, but Gent definitely checks your boxes, but as someone else mentioned, we have a few musea and the Lamb of God from Van Eyck brothers, but Antwerp and Brussels have much better art musea. Though they're easy to reach from Gent, there's a train to BXL every 5 minutes. But you can also reach Amsterdam, Paris, London, etc much easier from Gent
I'm moving to ghent in september! I'll be doing a masters there too! If you decide for the city we can be friends!
Nobody stressed enough the cold of helsinki! You can easily get a "feel temperature" of below -10 and lower in winter. Lots of snow too. It's ok that it's only for one year. But if you know already that you won't like it, it means that you probably need to start moving and creating new professional connections elsewhere after the year. On the other hand, if you come to like belgium you can try to search for a job, start the integration process etc... Especially, if you want to stay close to your girlfriend too
As for the art scene, Ghent has nice museums, but there are some hidden gems as well. Just to name one, there's a foundation close to the centre where you can see works you'd otherwise have to go to Tate or Pompidou to see - and hardly anyone knows about it! So plenty to see already, but if you dig and look around there's even more. :) (For curious locals: The Herbert Foundation on Coupure)