Hello
Application period is already over. I hope that all of you who are interested in studying at JAMK were able to apply. Now there is only entrance exam to be passed and hopefully in couple of months you will be proud of having a status of JAMK’s student.
In my last post I would like to give you some practical tips concerning moving to Jyväskylä and living here. Hope they will help you

First of all, if you travel by plane, you can come either straight to Jyväskylä (with transfer in Helsinki) or just to Helsinki. From Jyväskylä airport there is a bus coming to the city center, it costs 5€. From Helsinki Airport there are 3 options:
- taking a bus directly from the airport to Jyväskylä (timetables can be found here. Choose date and From: Helsinki-Vantaa Airport To: Jyväskylä Travel Centre). Bus departs from platform in front of Terminal 2.
- Going by bus from airport to the center of Helsinki (ticket around 5-6€) and then by train from Helsinki railway station (timetable here) to Jyväskylä.
- Going by bus (ticket 2.5€) from airport to Tikkurila (more information here) and then by train from Tikkurila to Jyväskylä.
Let’s talk about accommodation. Most people choose KOAS – Central Finland Student Housing Foundation (website). One can rent a room in an apartment with shared bathroom and kitchen (2-3 people living in the same flat, each person has own room) or decide for a single-room flat (studio). The most affordable area is Roninmäki (additionally most of the exchange students live there), but there are also many others locations of KOAS’ buildings around the city (list and more information here).
It is worthy of applying for accommodation a few months ahead before arrival, especially when coming for winter semester – just to make sure that there is still a place available (How to apply). In KOAS rental fee is paid for a whole month, no matter which day of the month you arrive. For this reason if one arrives at the end of a month, he/she may consider spending few days in temporary accommodation (fee: 4€ per night) and renting own room/flat from the beginning of the following month. One can ask his/her peer tutor for more information.
Concerning ways of travelling in Jyväskylä, as I already mentioned, most people ride bikes. For me bike is perfect when two conditions are fulfilled: no rain and temperature at least +5°C. Yet, there are many fans of cycling in every kind of weather and I really admire their willpower
You can buy a used bike for about 50-70€. There are special places for locking a bike around the city.
Another way of transportation is a bus.
ticket costs 3.20€ and is paid by cash in a bus (it’s valid for one hour, so one can even change a bus once within this time). Monthly student ticket, valid for 30 days, costs around 47€. Another option is a student 40 trip-ticket, it costs about 49€. It is a good option for people who don’t travel every day. 40 trips can be done within half of year from the moment of purchasing the ticket. When buying long-term tickets for a very first time, there is also a 3€ fee for a card charged. Trip-planner can be found here.
One issue I regret I didn’t know about before coming to Jyväskylä is that there are so many second-hand shops around the city. In these shops you can find basically everything: used pots, plates, glasses and other kitchen stuff; things for furnishing and decorating an apartment, clothes, shoes, books, games, sport equipment and many others. Most of things are in a very good condition and for really affordable price. Thus, there is basically no need for bringing anything special from home.
Regarding normal shopping, Finland has a bit different system than e.g. Poland. There are no small shops like bakeries or groceries – food is sold in hypermarkets, supermarkets (e.g. Prisma, K-citymarket), and discount supermarkets (Lidl). There are of course shopping centers and department stores too.
My last piece of advice is that when you come to Jyväskylä, buy a Finnish Sim-card. It will make your phone calls easier and cheaper. You can easily reload the card in kiosks, by Internet or in any ATM machine.
Well, that’s probably all for today. It was a pleasure writing for you! I hope that my stories made your thinking about studies at JAMK at least a bit easier
For all who applied: good luck!!
If you have any more questions, just comment the post and I will answer for sure.
Yours,
Monika
P.S. Below are the links to two videos about Jyväskylä. Enjoy! ![]()
Jyväskylä – City of Light
28 hours in Jyväskylä












