moving to finland for löve..

[nisha_n6]

Moikka !

Am a 27-year old swiss woman moving soon (January, February) to Finland, Helsinki area.
I found out that I am indeed not the only one ! Good to know.
Me and my finnish boyfriend - well, fiancée by now - have been living together three years in Switzerland till now, and will now finally move to Finland (should have moved already 1 year ago, we are masters in postponing )
First I haven't been really comfortable with the thought to move to the far north, to long and cold winters.. How can you do that ? (I have been asked that here about hundred times)
But... I have been there now about seven or eight times and have met a lot of Finns and also the city of Helsinki, which has - after a while being there - its charms. And.. my boyfriend is sick and tired of Switzerland – with a stressy job and no male Finns in his age..so: it is finally time to move !!
I have a good job here, which I will give up for learning the finnish language at the university of Helsinki (how stupid ?? - has anyone been there learning finnish?),
and then look for work (am a scientist) also at the uni or somewhere else. I really hope I can get something – sitting at home is not one of my hobbies !!

so,
wish you all good day who read this,


Nisha

[acwan]

Just my personal opinion, but I don't think any couple should move out here unless both are better off than where they were before.

In your case, I would suggest that you secure a job in Helsinki first before leaving your job in Switzerland, especially if it's a good one and if you are worried about burning your bridges in your old job (just in case you want to come back). Sure, your future husband may find it easier to adjust and while the summer days are long, it might be bearable for you as well, but 9 months of darkness/overcast weather later, if you are still looking for a job and still struggling to learn Finnish, you might be thinking twice.

[nisha_n6]

sounded maybe too negative..

no, I really want to come, have been thinking now for three years and since 1.5 years it is clear that I want to move !

I will try it here, have already few friends there and learning finnish since two years.. will start with an advanced course (I love languages: will be my fifth:)

(and job is job for me.. + finland is in my case even more advanced in my working topic..)

but thanks for your thoughts..

cheers,

nisha

[PeterF]

I have a good job here, which I will give up for learning the finnish language at the university of Helsinki (how stupid ?? - has anyone been there learning finnish?),
and then look for work (am a scientist) also at the uni or somewhere else.

Nisha

Hi...
Yep you will hear a lot of negative opinions and no doubt after you get here you will understand why....but apart from "love" there are also some good reason to move to Finland. Whether you make that move a permanent one or not..who knows at this stage...but nothing ventured nothing gained..give it a go.
So you Speak French/German/Italian and obviously English..the normal Swiss collection..to which youi intend to add Finnish.
With your German you will find Swedish a cake walk to learn and that is also useful.
Yes there are courses at the Univ of Helsinki and also other places.
But the classes may well be fully subscribed already.
Check this one out.
http://www.kulttuuri.hel.fi/caisa/koulu ... li_en.html
The language is a must have in a very high percent of job vacancies.

You are a "scientist!"... quiet a broad label care to elaborate?...

Oh by the way welcome to ..

[Alicia]

You'll survive! He can be a bread winner for a while and you can focus on studying. Finland really isn't so bad, it is clean and the people are nice (once you get to know them). Finnish is hard, but you sound intelligent. Most technical and scientific words are almost the same in all languages, so that won't be so difficult if you already know your job.

Good luck!

[nisha_n6]

You are a "scientist!"... quiet a broad label care to elaborate?...

hm.. actually it is not so easy, cause i studied geography, working now as research associate in public health.. what am I? that is the question... it is easiest to write "tutkija".

besides: thanks for the tip with the finnish classes:)

and spanish instead of italian language:) yep, a common mix..

[acwan]

sounded maybe too negative..
no, I really want to come, have been thinking now for three years and since 1.5 years it is clear that I want to move !
I will try it here, have already few friends there and learning finnish since two years.. will start with an advanced course (I love languages: will be my fifth:)
(and job is job for me.. + finland is in my case even more advanced in my working topic..)
but thanks for your thoughts..
cheers,
nisha

Well, ok, it sounds like you're pretty set on moving here then. Your initial post sounded like you didn't really want to give up your job and you were uncertain about moving here. Different strokes for different folks I guess -how much you love your SO vs. how badly you need a job vs. how adaptable you are, etc. (I still remember a Frenchman calling us "crazy" for living here. ) Nonetheless, it'll be good to come prepared with your eyes wide open. Best of luck to you in your future endeavors and with your love.

Off topic, but does it seem like a lot of Finns end up getting really homesick and wanting to return to Finland when they leave? What is it that keeps them coming back? Is it the culture, the language, the people, the food, the weather, the relative ease and comfort of living in a socialist welfare society, or what? Does it happen to women more than men? Is it more the case for Finns than for, I dunno, the French or Brits? Has there been research done on this phenomenon?

[nisha_n6]

Off topic, but does it seem like a lot of Finns end up getting really homesick and wanting to return to Finland when they leave? What is it that keeps them coming back? Is it the culture, the language, the people, the food, the weather, the relative ease and comfort of living in a socialist welfare society, or what? Does it happen to women more than men? Is it more the case for Finns than for, I dunno, the French or Brits? Has there been research done on this phenomenon?

I can only talk about my boyfriend, don't know about studies on this subject:
He thinks that it is much more boring in Switz than in Finland, in Finland you are much more alowed to be yourself- and surely also the comfort to live in a socialist welfare society, e.g. in Switz you use much more your ellbows in job and in every day life - and more hours to work !
There are almost no finnish male persons under 40 living here, I don't know about other countries..

[Hank W.]

Off topic, but does it seem like a lot of Finns end up getting really homesick and wanting to return to Finland when they leave?

My sister's returned to Finland twice; spent maybe a year max and off again. I think the homesickness wears off quickly

[Majava]

Off topic, but does it seem like a lot of Finns end up getting really homesick and wanting to return to Finland when they leave? What is it that keeps them coming back? Is it the culture, the language, the people, the food, the weather, the relative ease and comfort of living in a socialist welfare society, or what? Does it happen to women more than men? Is it more the case for Finns than for, I dunno, the French or Brits? Has there been research done on this phenomenon?

Acwan, I feel the same way. I also hear a lot about Finns that want to return home rather sooner than later. Now I've read the reasons for Nisha's boyfriend again I know for sure that they are quite insignificant things compared with what a foreigner in Finland can face. Sometimes I feel that when a Finn who has a foreign partner and absolutely only wants to be in Finland is quite selfish. I am here because I insisted upon it and I was warned so many times. The warnings of people here at . should be considered! Read as many topics as you can, they contain a lot of valuable information about day to day life. And although I myself want to still stay and try even harder, my problems with settling here are much bigger than thinking that it's boring here... Much is about having a job (and keeping it). Make that your priority!!! Once you have a job (or study place for my part) the rest will come easy!

Good luck!

[dusty_bin]

How many Swiss female persons under 40 are there in Finland?

I think you REALLY need to look closely at the reasons for moving. After all, the reasons that he WANTS to leave Switzerland are the same kind of reasons that you will NEED to leave Finland.

The word 'selfish' was used. You need to think about it!

The Finn left Finland because he wanted to. He went to a place that, for one reason or another, he wanted to be and he met you. Now he wants to make his life complete by moving back to where life is nice and cosy. But you...?

What is your part in all this?

You should not, IMHO, come here without a job that allows you to maintain your self respect, or a FIRM committment that after 'x' months, that if you have not met certain predefined goals (including work) then you will leave either with your homesick blonde, or without him!

If you do not do either of these things you will become a prisoner. Intelligent people need to have an outlet, something that maintains self respect. Without these things, then you will not be the person that the homesick blonde fell in love with and you will come to blame the homesick blonde for your plight.

[Rosamunda]

Off topic, but does it seem like a lot of Finns end up getting really homesick and wanting to return to Finland when they leave?

My sister's returned to Finland twice; spent maybe a year max and off again. I think the homesickness wears off quickly

Yeah.... I'm hoping that will happen to my husband soon.....

What are the first symptoms of homesicknesswearingoffitis ? He did come home for lunch today complaining he was cold.....

[PeterF]

What are the first symptoms of homesicknesswearingoffitis ? He did come home for lunch today complaining he was cold.....

If it keeps on with the "sun shine and showers" and the showers become considerably longer than the sun shine...just mention the magic words..."talvi renkaita pian" with the correct timing. .a couple of early frosts..you could be out of here by second week Oct.

[acwan]

From the stories I've heard, I think that part of the problem is that Finnish partners can be quite selfish and unaware (and even unsympathetic at times) to what they are putting their partners through when bringing them back to Finland because being a foreigner in Finland can be incredibly challenging even by European standards. And I don't think it's really a language issue. Rather, I attribute it to the closed society with its lack of transparency, xenophobia, and the heavily taxed, socialist system, which while it supports the weak and the needy, can really hamper the able and hard working. I wonder if it's even this bad in the other Scandinavian countries.

But what it really makes me wonder is why these Finns have such a difficult time staying away. Is it for the same reasons that foreigners find it so difficult to stay in Finland? Does the predictability, homogeneity (and perhaps the mediocrity as was mentioned in another thread?) - somehow make it much easier to be a native Finn in Finland than say in the UK or Switzerland or...?

I guess what I am incredulous about is, is it really simply the office politics and the fact that he has no Finnish friends in Switzerland that is driving Nisha's SO out of Switz. or is it the ATTRACTION of having Finnish friends and a country with a system he can relate to that is pulling him to FIN? Of course, I can't say since I am not walking in his shoes, but how insurmountable are the problems he is facing really?

[PeterF]

1: I wonder if it's even this bad in the other Scandinavian countries.

2 Is it the fact that he has no Finnish friends in Switzerland that is driving Nisha's SO out of Switz. or is it the ATTRACTION of having Finnish friends and a country with a system he can relate to that is pulling him to FIN?

1. Not in Denmark, they are almost same as Brits,.. but probably true to say..about the same as Finland in Sweden...Norway..well they are an odd lot..they dont sit on the fence .. but they would if they could find one the right colour.
2. Precisely that is the Finnish male syndrom.