u/Independent_Air_9673

I built a board game corner in my rental apartment using IKEA METOD wall cabinets. I used one 40×37×80 cm cabinet and two 40×37×60 cm ones, plus UTRUSTA glass shelves (40×37 cm). The wall is 260 cm high. I had to leave a gap in the middle because of a light switch, and another gap at the top because of the curtain rail.

The wall is concrete, so I borrowed a drill from the library to get everything mounted. I added round corner protectors so my child doesn’t get hurt on the sharp corners.

I like that I can rearrange the shelves easily when I get new games. I bought VARIERA black cover caps to fill the unused drill holes, but I haven’t used them yet since I keep moving the shelves around.

https://preview.redd.it/vgi7nz4o6p1h1.jpg?width=3468&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5813d27e8588d628681fb22c492e6536ca681498

I’ve now lived in Finland for almost 11 years and completed my master’s degree here about seven years ago. Fortunately, I didn’t pay tuition fees because I’m an EU citizen. At the time, the university’s marketing strongly suggested that a Finnish degree would open doors, but that hasn’t been the case for me or for most people I studied with.

During my degree, I genuinely tried to integrate. I took 16 Finnish courses and 1 Swedish course alongside my studies while working part‑time, and after graduating I completed 2 more Finnish courses. This was only possible because I had some financial support from my ex, and I’m aware that many people don’t have that. I can only imagine how challenging this must be for non‑EU students who also have to pay tuition fees.

After graduating, I applied for hundreds of jobs. I eventually found work, but I haven’t had much career development. My most recent job is actually a step down from my previous one in both salary and responsibilities. I accepted it because I needed stability, but the reality of the role has been quite different from the description. The job is entirely in Finnish, and even though I’ve reached around B2/C1 level, I’m often spoken to in a slightly patronising way or assumed to be capable only of very simple tasks. Basic office chores like printing are treated as if they are naturally my responsibility. When I’ve tried to raise this politely, the response has been defensive. It has left me feeling underestimated.

Working in Finnish every day has also made me more aware of how some native Finns talk about immigrants. Not everyone, of course, but often enough that it shapes the atmosphere. There’s a strong expectation that immigrants should do all the adapting, while workplaces rarely meet us halfway. Sometimes the expectations feel unrealistic. Who is going to learn a new language, or even two, just to work as an assistant, especially when they’re already highly educated?

What I find especially difficult is the constant public discussion about attracting international students and international talent. My own experience, and the experiences of many people I studied with, don’t match that narrative. Most of my study mates have either left Finland, retrained completely, or are underemployed or unemployed. It sometimes feels like the real goal is to fill labour shortages rather than support people into careers that match their skills. That approach is not only unsustainable but also a waste of the educational resources.

I’ve been told many times to stay positive, but that can be hard. I’m trying to think realistically about the future. I can’t leave Finland because my ex and my child live here, so I’m considering what might be possible long‑term. At this point, I’m starting to feel that retraining into a different field might be the most practical option once my current contract ends.

I use both Vinted and Tori for buying and selling second‑hand items, and I’ve ended up comparing them quite a lot. I moved most of my selling to Vinted for practical reasons, but both platforms have strengths and weaknesses. I’m curious how other people in Finland feel about the two.

Here are the main differences I’ve noticed, based on my own experiences:

Pickup vs postage

• On Tori, no‑shows were a constant issue for me, especially with 'Give away for free' listings. ToriDiili doesn’t seem to be available for “Give away for free” items. Vinted being almost entirely postage‑based makes selling more predictable. Some items nobody wanted on Tori even for free sold quickly on Vinted for a small price.
• On Tori, It would also be useful if sellers could order messages when many people contact about the same item.
• ToriDiili seemes to be used less now because the cheapest small‑parcel option was removed. High postage costs on Tori push buyers toward pickup, which increases the risk of no‑shows.
• Vinted's service fee aka buyer protection usually seems more reasonable than Tori's service fee. It would be helpful if both platforms more clearly showed how postage and service fees are calculated.
• Free‑shipping campaigns exist on Vinted but the duration isn’t clearly stated. Tori sometimes offers up to –50% shipping discounts for certain categories, and these campaigns always have a clearly defined time frame.
• Tori used to require choosing the ToriDiili pickup point manually every time, but it now it seems to remember the last used pickup point.

Search and notifications

• Tori allows location‑based searches. Vinted doesn’t.
• Tori has strong saved‑search tools and notifications. On Vinted, saved searches sit in the search bar dropdown and are easy to forget.
• Tori groups results by day and shows which listings you’ve already opened. Vinted doesn’t.
• Vinted has image search. Tori doesn’t.
• Vinted listings appear in many languages, which can help or hinder depending on the keywords.
• Irrelevant products sometimes appear in search results on Vinted, possibly due to ads.

Categories, selection and listing management

• Vinted’s selection can feel overwhelming. Tori’s is more limited.
• Tori allows favourites to be organised into folders but Vinted doesn't. It would be helpful to be able move multiple favourites at once between folders on Tori.
• Tori seems better for large items since Vinted doesn’t offer shipping for them.
• Vinted listings never expire, which is convenient but easy to forget. Tori forces you to renew listings, which takes time but reminds you to update them.
• Vinted forces gender selection for clothing. Tori allows neutral or blank.
• Both platforms would benefit from letting sellers organise their listings into folders.
• It would be helpful to upload images directly from web links to listings.

Functionality

• Tori works reliably on both mobile and desktop. Vinted seems to work better on mobile than desktop.
• Vinted’s bundle system is easy and requires almost no messaging. On Tori, bundles must be arranged manually.
• On Vinted, payment is taken only after the seller accepts the offer. For ToriDiili, you pay first and then wait for acceptance.
• Tori shows item names in bank transactions. Vinted shows only 'Vinted', which makes tracking purchases slower.

Language and communication

• Tori’s interface is only in Finnish.
• Vinted has a translation feature, but replies vary.
• On Vinted, sellers sometimes don’t realise the buyer is from abroad until after confirming the order.
• Written feedback in reviews is mandatory on Vinted but optional on Tori.
• Tori review breakdowns on the website aren’t as clear as in the email notifications.
• Some of Tori’s support replies feel generic or dismissive.

Chat and message history

• A chat search function would be useful on both platforms.
• Neither platform offers chat export.