Articles about moving to different countries are quite popular on Habré. I collected information about moving to the capital of Estonia - Tallinn. Today we’ll talk about whether it’s easy for a developer to find vacancies with the possibility of relocation, how much you can earn and what to expect from life in northern Europe.
Tallinn: a developed startup ecosystem
Despite the fact that the population of all of Estonia is approximately 1,3 million people, and about 425 thousand live in the capital, there is a real boom in the development of the IT sector and technology start-ups. To date, four Estonia-related startups have achieved unicorn status – their exceeded $1 billion. This list includes Skype projects, the Playtech gambling platform, the Bolt taxi and transport rental service, and the TransferWise money transfer system.
In total, there are about 550 start-ups in Estonia, and the total investment in them over the past year € 328 million
Quality and cost of living in Tallinn
The country and its capital show good results in terms of living standards. According to the analytical company Mercer, the Estonian capital is one of the top 87 cities in terms of living standards. Tallinn took 167th place in the ranking. For comparison, Moscow was only in 173th place, and St. Petersburg took XNUMXrd place.
Also, by site Numbeo, the cost of living in Tallinn is lower than in Moscow and many other European capitals (Berlin, Vienna, etc.). So the prices for renting real estate in Tallinn, on average, are more than 27% lower than in Moscow. You will have to pay 21% less at the restaurant, and the prices of consumer goods are 45% lower!
Another plus of Tallinn is that Estonia is a member of the European Union and the Schengen zone, from which you can easily and inexpensively get to anywhere in Europe.
Air ticket from Tallinn to London can be found for $60-80
Work in Estonia: how to find how much you can earn
Today, the profession of a developer is one of the most sought after in Estonia, as hundreds of local IT companies are severely understaffed.
Jobs for programmers in Tallinn
As for wages, Estonia is also part of the euro area. In many ways, this is why they pay more here than in the EU countries that have retained their currency, like Hungary... €3,5-5 thousand per month before taxes, but there are companies that pay significantly higher - for example, the same Estonian unicorns.
At the same time, even the salary of an entry-level developer for Estonia will be very good. Average earnings in the country in the second quarter of 2019 1419 euros before taxes - the country is still on the outskirts of Europe and is not among the richest.
Let's talk about which sites you can look for a job in the IT sector of the country. The list is strongly influenced by the fact that a significant part of the companies in the industry are start-ups:
- – the popular site for startups also has a section with vacancies, where they can be filtered, including by country.
- - here periodically post vacancies for developers with the possibility of relocation.
- – a decent number of vacancies can be found on Glassdoor.
It is quite popular with Estonian companies and LinkedIn, so having a well-designed profile on this social network increases the chances of finding a job. It is not uncommon for recruiters from Estonian companies to write to strong developers and invite them for an interview.
In addition, the “startup” approach to hiring involves non-standard search opportunities – for example, all kinds of hackathons and competitions organized by companies from Estonia are not uncommon.
As a result of such competitions, you can often also receive a Job Offer. For example, right now – the prize fund is 350 thousand rubles, and the best programmers will be able to pass an interview and get an offer with the possibility of relocation in just one day.
Documents and arrangement after moving
The process of moving to work in Estonia is described in sufficient detail on the Internet, so we will limit ourselves to the main points. First of all, you will need a work permit for relocation - it is issued by the employer, and there is an accelerated procedure for startups.
So after passing the interviews and receiving an offer, permission is issued very quickly - it can be obtained within a day. So the main waiting time will be spent on obtaining a visa to enter the country.
After entering and obtaining a residence permit, you will be able to experience the beauty of the Estonian e-government. A huge number of services in the country can be obtained online - even prescriptions issued by a doctor are tied to an ID and can be viewed online. All this is very convenient.
Another plus of Estonia, which is especially striking to those who move from megacities, is its compactness. Almost anywhere in Tallinn can be reached in 15-20 minutes, often on foot. Even the airport is very close to the city.
Communication and entertainment
The presence of a huge number of international companies in Estonia has led to the arrival of many expats in the country. In some areas of the city, you can hear English more often - this language is quite enough for communication and a normal life. Russian-speaking people are also quite comfortable here - in recent years, Estonian companies have been actively transporting developers from the countries of the former USSR, so finding people with a similar mentality will not be a problem.
A well-developed startup ecosystem is good because of the presence of a large number of professional meetups and parties - in terms of their number, small Tallinn will not yield to huge Moscow.
In addition, the Estonian capital is quite conveniently located - therefore, world stars often give concerts here as part of world tours. For example, here is the poster for the Rammstein concert, which will take place in 2020:
Of course, there are also things that in a small country will need to get used to - for example, IKEA appeared in Estonia quite recently, and before that, furniture had to be bought in other places. The saturation of cultural life is also generally lower than in Moscow or St. Petersburg - in a city of 425 people, there simply cannot be, for example, as many theaters as in a metropolis.
Total
Estonia is a small, quiet European country. Ordinary life here is not seething like in a metropolis, local residents for the most part do not earn very much.
But for engineers today, this is a very good place. A huge amount of work, powerful IT companies, many with a billion-dollar capitalization, decent salaries, an active party and rich opportunities for networking and career development, as well as one of the most advanced electronic states in the world - living here is pleasant and comfortable.
Source: habr.com