I personally have lived in more than one TOAS location just like most of my friends. So, here are some things that are especially valuable about TOAS and that might surprise you, just like they surprised me when I learned about them.
Of course, one advantage of student housing is its affordability. TOAS has a great variety of locations and apartment types, some buildings are brand new, others have been around for very long. If you apply for housing in due time, you’ll certainly find an apartment in line with your own budget.
What is interesting though is that being a TOAS tenant comes with a lot of extras. For example, each building has its own club room. These rooms are usually equipped with a few kitchen appliances, tables, chairs or sofas and provide leisure facilities like a pool table, table football or even beamers. TOAS club rooms are perfect for birthday celebrations or association meetings and can be used by any tenant of the respective building!
TOAS club rooms are perfect for birthday celebrations or association meetings and can be used by any tenant of the respective building!
As this is Finland, there are saunas in each location which can be booked at least once per week for private use alone or with friends. Moreover, some TOAS buildings have fully equipped gyms. Even if you don’t live in one of these locations, you can easily get the access right to the TOAS gym located closest to your home. Therefore, my tip: If you live at TOAS, no need to pay for a pricy gym membership!
One of my personal favourites are the recycling rooms. Though they can’t be found in every building, those that have one make it easy for tenants to leave behind their unused items for other tenants who’ll be happy to pep up their flats with free second-hand finds. The popular exchange-student building Lapinkaari recently got a recycling room like this which will hopefully prevent the waste of many reusable commodities.
It doesn’t stop there though. Remarkably, TOAS sponsors tenant activities by granting annual allowances to its Tenant Committees. These committees (ideally there is one per building) use the money for communal activities like Christmas parties, BBQs or even common gardening (which is the case at TOAS Lukonlysti and Lukonkierikka). They may also acquire equipment for their common rooms as well as games and tools to be rented out to the tenants. Tenant committees also get a say in matters such as rent and rules at TOAS.
Lastly, TOAS occasionally offers special treats to its tenants. Särkkä Day is one of these and takes place every year in late summer. On this day, everyone living at TOAS can visit Tampere’s amusement park Särkänniemi for free for a few hours! (Make sure to book your spot via the sign-up form on TOAS’s website!)
– Tatjana
