Why we emigrated to Finland

We are often asked: Why Finland?

Funnily enough, hardly anyone asked why we were emigrating in the first place. Most people probably already knew that we'd be leaving sooner or later. After our travels - solo through South America, Canada/USA, and our joint bicycle trip through the Balkans to Turkey - we've given it a lot of thought:

Where do we want to live? And, most importantly, what do we want to do for work?

It is not the case that working and living in Switzerland is fundamentally unpleasant.

We enjoyed the Bernese Oberland just as much as our hometowns in northwestern Switzerland. Nevertheless, social pressure and the high cost of living severely limited our options.

This emigration is not a no to Switzerland – it is a yes to our further development, to new opportunities and to the life we desire.

We wanted more freedom, more flexibility in shaping our lives, and more peace and quiet. We also wanted less stress.

We're still working on it...

It was clear to us that we wouldn't find all of this in Switzerland - and certainly wouldn't be able to finance it. Then the opportunity arose to go to Finland.

Yes, this possibility had actually existed for some time, but the timing wasn't right until now. After our cycling trip was canceled due to the coronavirus, the uncertainties and measures that followed, and the many experiences we were able to gain during this time, the time was gradually ripe for a new chapter.

We knew better what we wanted – and how we wanted it.

Finland was never our goal—but it was the perfect opportunity for us. And anyone who has ever seen the place where we now live knows why.

The climate in Finland is a blessing for us, especially in summer:

The lake is right on our doorstep, and the nature is simply stunningly beautiful.

Winter may be challenging – but it is also unique.

The people are very friendly, helpful and usually make a lot of effort to communicate with us, even though our Finnish is still very limited.

We have endless space for projects, we can make fires whenever we want, collect berries and mushrooms as much as we can carry, and even make noise on Easter Sunday (because that's when all the Finns are working in the forest anyway).

Of course, there are also difficulties, stumbling blocks and other challenges – we will address these in a separate article.

Nevertheless, this time is a wonderful experience for us – an adventure that is incomparable.

In addition, Finland is one of the safest countries in the world, has excellent infrastructure, is officially considered the happiest country in the world and has a very low population density: 17 people per km².

In our district of North Karelia there are only 7 people per km².

And just to say it again:

1. Yes, we are only about 50 km as the crow flies from the Russian border.

2. And no, we are not worried.

We are really enjoying the moment in Finland and love living in the here and now.