Student Village is home for the kids as well

Community, Kylä magazine, News, Tenant story / 5.11.2021

Story: Anni Pajari, Photo: Mari Mansikkamäki

The family of Sara Ailu, who is studying to become a class teacher, consists of husband Mika and the children, Aamu and Ami. Moving to Jyväskylä on a fast schedule became topical a few years ago, when Sara found out that she had been accepted to study at the university. The younger of children was only a baby at the time, and Sara remembers feeling a bit skeptical about living in the Student Village.

“I tried to ask my friends in advance if the tenants of the Village partied 24/7. Fortunately, that scenarios did not become true.”

The kids go to daycare in Kortesuo, and for Sara, the proximity of the kindergarten is a significant facilitator of everyday life. She
is glad that her firstborn will be able to start the school in the soon-to-be-ready premises of the kindergarten-school in Kortepohja. Other services in the area also receive praise.

“It’s wonderful when everything you need is so close. It allows me to really focus only on my studies.”

Rentukka’s restaurant is also making the family’s hectic everyday life easier.

“When you have no energy to start cooking, it’s great to just walk a few meters to Rentukka’s ready-to-eat dinner table.”

Favorite places for the family’s children are the nearby beaches and the camping places of Laajavuori and Haukanniemi. It’s also fun to ride on bikes around the yard.

“It’s nice that the sauna in building A is warm every night, it’s a common everyday experience for our family.”

Sara explains that the younger students in the Village are friendly to the kids, and she feels that families are also welcome. She appreciates the fact that families are also taken into account in different events on the area. For example, Kortepohja Festival’s bouncy castle and face painting were great experiences for the little ones. The best thing about the Village, Sara thinks, is the open atmosphere and community spirit.

“There are always kids learning to bike in the yard, and it’s easy to get to know other families. You can always ask neighbors for coffee and the children to play.”

What makes the area unique is the tenants from around the world.

“As a result of a brief conversation, a neighbor later appeared at our door to offer a taste of traditional Pakistani food they had just prepared. I was thinking that this could never happen anywhere else.”

The family has been feeling at home in their apartment in building S. The small, fenced patio, which can accommodate a pool for children, as well as a barbecue, brings joy to the family.

Combining studies and family life requires planning and scheduling. Sara says she schedules her studies carefully and is a friend of well-crafted lists. Studying is her own time, which she really enjoys.

“In hindsight, I’m really happy that I applied for this school, and I’m now both a student and a mother. Studying is my own time, which I really enjoy and in the evening at home we play together with the kids. It brings a nice balance to life.”

The text has been published in Kylä-Magazine 2/2021.