Neighbours became friends 

Housing, Korttelikylä, News, Tenant story / 3.12.2024

Text: Anna-Leena Kauppila | Pictures: Tiitu Design

When Matti Heikkilä was accepted to the University of Jyväskylä in 2018, the admission letter mentioned organizing housing. Matti is from Turku and didn’t know anyone from Jyväskylä. When looking for an apartment, he considered what would be the best way of finding friends in Jyväskylä. He ended up in Kortepohja Student Village where he thought fellow students might also live. Matti got a room in a shared apartment in building J. 

”Living in a shared apartment was rewarding. Everyone should at least once live in a shared apartment because it’s a unique way of learning how to live with other people”, Matti describes. ”I also like the privacy that comes with living alone”, he adds. 

From one location to another 

Matti found friends from Kortepohja and ended up moving with them first to building B and later to Korttelikylä. ”My friends started talking me into applying for an apartment in Korttelikylä. I thought about that for a long time because I had gotten used to living in the Student Village where all Soihtu services and, for example, big groceries are near. In the end, I moved to Korttelikylä”, Matti describes his latest move. 

Moving from one Soihtu location to another was smooth. ”I got clear instructions on what to do and when. When I knew the moving date and had packed everything, it was easy to empty the apartment and clean it. After that, there was no hurry; in the new apartment, I just had to have the bed ready for the first night. 

Matti thinks he’s going to stay in Korttelikylä until the end of his studies. ”It’s not likely that I would find a better housing location during my studies. The rent is reasonable and the location perfect.” The things that Matti misses the most from the Student Village are – especially on late nights writing his master’s thesis – a 24/7 grocery store and the printer of the Learning Space. ”The common spaces of Korttelikylä are amazing but there’s no printer. On the other hand, the printers of the university are near.” 

Independence day at the common living room 

In Korttelikylä, Matti’s favourite place is the common living room, Olotila. ”In Kortepohja, we spent time at my friends’ apartments. Olotila is more spacious and it’s nice to hang out and play board games with friends and other tenants. Last year, we watched the Finnish Independence Day celebrations on TV and had a feast in Olotila.” 

Matti is the chairperson of the Tenant’s Committee in Korttelikylä. ”At the tenants’ meeting, I was chosen as vice chairperson. At the first committee meeting, the chairperson mentioned they were moving out soon, so it was decided that I should become chairperson right away.” Matti values organizing events for the tenants. ”I’m outgoing, so I enjoy organizing opportunities to meet people. It’s easy to connect with people who live in the same location when we have something fun to do. Also, when I’ve organized these events, the common spaces have started to feel more like my own in a way.”