Oulu Neighbourhood Rated Finland's Best Place to Live
Karjasilta is characterised by modest detached homes from the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Image: YLE
The modest neighbourhood of Karjasilta, near the centre of the northern city of Oulu, has been voted the best place to live in Finland.
More than 6,500 people voted in a three-stage online survey between June and mid-November. It was arranged by a housing portal backed by the largest real estate companies.
Karjasilta won more than 23 percent of the vote, followed by the Koivuhaka area of Kokkola and Lutakko in Jyväskylä.
Karjasilta, home to some 2,800 people, is mostly made up of well-preserved simple wooden houses originally built to resettle veterans after World War Two. The district has had an active residential association for nearly 60 years.
Results of the final round of voting
(Oct 2-Nov 15, 2009)
* 23.4% Karjasilta, Oulu
* 21.4% Koivuhaka, Kokkola
* 17.3% Lutakko, Jyväskylä
* 15.0% Sundsberg, Kirkkonummi
* 13.8% Tammela, Tampere
* 9.1% Arabianranta, Helsinki
Jokakoti.fi, YLE