Callling Americans in Finland. How did you do it??

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moi
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Callling Americans in Finland. How did you do it??

Post by moi » Sat Aug 16, 2003 12:46 am

Hi everyone. I am brand new in here and very motivated to move to Finland from the US. I have been gathering info for about 3 years but any advice accepted.

I have a Finnish wife who can not stand living in the US so is mostly in Finland and we travel to be together when possible (even when not really possible). I plan on family unity beng the key to make the move.

Hope to hear from you!
Rich



Callling Americans in Finland. How did you do it??

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Hank W.
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Post by Hank W. » Sat Aug 16, 2003 8:41 am

How did they do it?

They took a couple uppers
they downed a couple downers
As nothing compares
To these blue and yellow purple euro bills
They've been to welfare office
Once or twice but who's countin'
As nothing compares
To these blue and yellow purple euro bills


Now the question is, what do you do when you do the things you do? Like is there an even remote possibility for you finding a job here, with or without learning the language first? The average unemployment stage for non-finnish-speakers has been say 6-13 months, for some professions seems "eternal".

The Mrs. hates living in the USA and prefers the tax paradise :shock: yay, I'll refrain extrapolating on that... OK, hating New Joisey I can understand :mrgreen: ...so where in Finland does *she* wish to live, if she's picky about urban areas? And can you find a job there?

Anyhow welcome to the group and please do ask. There's some routine questions and diatribes so going through the old messages might be beneficial to get accustomed.... we won't necessarily be telling you stuff you want to hear, but rather the cold facts. Might alleviate the culture shock.
Cheers, Hank W.
sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.

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nehia_qom
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Post by nehia_qom » Sat Aug 16, 2003 3:43 pm

A couple of question that I think is important...
Do you get bored easily?
Are you a good self-motivator?

To get a job her you need to be really self motivated and get out there and apply for every job that sparks even a remote interest. And if you can't do that I hope the answer to the first question is no.

I moved here from the states 4 moths ago and have spent the last four months being only moderately motivated and severly bored. But I am a fortunate one, I have now got a job.

Do you have any more specific questions that weren't addressed in other threads? The number of Americans in our little group seems to be multiplying if that is any incouragemnet.

Jessica

When choosing between two evils, always choose the one you haven't tried yet.
- Mae West

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Caroline
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Re: Callling Americans in Finland. How did you do it??

Post by Caroline » Sun Aug 17, 2003 7:23 pm

moi wrote:Hi everyone. I am brand new in here and very motivated to move to Finland from the US. I have been gathering info for about 3 years but any advice accepted.

I have a Finnish wife who can not stand living in the US so is mostly in Finland and we travel to be together when possible (even when not really possible). I plan on family unity beng the key to make the move.

Hope to hear from you!
Rich


Well, it's never easy to move to a foreign country. Even if you have family connections to cling to during the difficult times, there's still the language issue, culture clash, climate adjustment, job search, and nationality dichotomy (you eventually lose the sense of connection to your home country, but you never totally become a real part of your host country- even if you are naturalized). I originally came here as a single woman, then met my Finnish husband while I was living here. Adventurousness, determination, and an open mind played an enormous part in my ability to adjust here. I also don't give up when I really want something. If I didn't have those traits, I'd have given up long ago.


I'm just curious...you mention that your wife hates living in the USA. How many states has she lived in? There are 49 others to choose from besides NJ. The midwest is saturated with Scandinavian heritage. I'm a native of Massachusetts myself, and still dearly love my home state despite the fact that I am very well adjusted and settled in Finland. Isn't it so that disdaining life in the USA is a bit like disdaining life in Europe, as the EU currently has 12 member nations, with a variety of religions, values, customs, languages, lifestyles..etc. Because of your marriage to an EU national, you can have unlimited rights to live and work anywhere in the region.
Former expat in Finland, now living in New Hampshire USA.

kemppioy
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Hei

Post by kemppioy » Wed Aug 27, 2003 5:05 pm

Hei,

I have been living here for about nine months now. I have loved Finland ever since day one. Yes it is a culture shock but loving to drink beer has allowed me to adapt very well here. I find the life here is very easy compared to my life back in the states. I have many friends here and I do more here than I ever did back in Georgia. It is so easy to just take a bus,tram, metro and sit back and relax. I don't have to worry about the traffic jams or the high amount of crime in Atlanta. Finnish people might not be so friendly at first but all of my friends are more loyal than any I have in the states. It also helps to not brag so much on the states since a lot of Europeans don't feel the same way. I still love my country but I am not arrogant about it. Finland is an excellent place to live if you like the cold weather. For me, I would rather be cold than sweat like hell in that Ga. humidity. Have fun and keep optimistic about your time here.

PK

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Kemars
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Post by Kemars » Wed Aug 27, 2003 5:15 pm

My girlfriend told me that the red pill was a good pill, and now I am here. :shock:
How much wood would a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?

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neil
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Post by neil » Wed Aug 27, 2003 7:26 pm

Kemars wrote:My girlfriend told me that the red pill was a good pill, and now I am here. :shock:
Hi Moi,

Rob's right. Thats about the size of it. I am from England and we just decided to come here, sold everything, and well, here we are. Not easy but we are still alive. Up's and down's, that sort of thing. Nice and stable now. So you've been thinking for three years? Goodness me. Well, you know what they say about "he who hesitates...".

Cheers!
Neil

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jwesthues
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Post by jwesthues » Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:13 am

After grad school, I had a job offer in Finland, but we (my wife and I) were lured by US salaries. Now three years down the road, threes years of my soul sold to my former employer, and a fairly new daughter, we decided to pick up and take the plunge. Job market in 2003 is VERY different than the job market in 2000, but we figured that it was time to S*#T or get off the...

Life is short. If you have the inclination... Well, I will hold off on prescriptive opinions.

Let's just say that it is tough making the move in 2003. However, we have loved our time here so far, although job hunting may be a little discouraging. Moving here is just something we have wanted to try for about three years now. Not sure if my meandering are useful at all, but I hope they are.

Jukka

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neil
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Post by neil » Thu Aug 28, 2003 9:19 am

Well, I will hold off on prescriptive opinions.
Fair enough...I mean it in a way that might help our member to shuffle along, I mean, 3 years is a long time to be gathering information! My underlying point is that there is NEVER a good time to move country. Its always hard, always stressful because you essentially have to 'start from scratch' everytime you do it. It is not an easy thing to do. Ususally there is no paddling you can do - it is just 'in at the deep'
Neil

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Hank W.
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Post by Hank W. » Thu Aug 28, 2003 9:33 am

Just jump off the plane and yell... yell... what was that dam name again... SPLAT. Welcome to Finland :mrgreen:
Cheers, Hank W.
sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.

Ace

Post by Ace » Thu Aug 28, 2003 9:37 am

neil wrote:Ususally there is no paddling you can do - it is just 'in at the deep'
Too true man! Its just a gamble, it may work out it may not, but at least you can say you tried :wink: I made a three week visit here to try and scope the place out before I moved. That was about as much paddling as I could do, then I thought WTF, minimised my possessions, gave up my flat and hopped on the Finnair. Best move I ever made! Obviously its a bigger move from the states, (only about 1000 miles for me) but still :!: I've only met one American here that seems to regret it, she moved from Ohio to Kurkimäki though (supposedly not a great area of Helsinki).

jwesthues
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Post by jwesthues » Thu Aug 28, 2003 10:06 am

neil wrote: Fair enough...I mean it in a way that might help our member to shuffle along, I mean, 3 years is a long time to be gathering information! My underlying point is that there is NEVER a good time to move country.
Sorry, I did not mean to sound critical at all. I was actually trying to say the exact same thing. It IS difficult, whenever you decide to do it. You can always convince yourself that you are not ready, but then you will never have tried. My father says about many things in life that you simply "have to roll the dice." To complete my thought: if you have the inclination, then go for it. Hell, we shipped a car and some household goods, and brought our child without any definite job prospects.

Jukka

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Hank W.
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Post by Hank W. » Thu Aug 28, 2003 11:57 am

Yes, I've been contemplating leaving Finland because if I am going to drink myself to death I might as well do it in some more pleasant climate and with cheaper and better quality booze. Contribution to the society would be the IQ level in both countries rising significantly. *Sigh* on days like this I feel like an idiot ever moving back. Maybe I should just go and eat larks vomit... err... mom's cookings.
Cheers, Hank W.
sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.

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Deman
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Post by Deman » Wed Sep 03, 2003 7:34 pm

OK, my experience, first three tried depressed and lonely. Missing my friends and family. Pissed off as I was depending on the wife to sort out everything as I couldn't speak the lingo (it's still not too hot). Then came the summer. 1998 didn't bring a great summer but I attended the Turun Kesayliopisto to study Finnish for beginners 1. I met others that were in the same boat as me, tired, lonely and depressed. That made me free a lot better as I wasn't the only one. I made one very good friend there, a Swede. At about the same time a got a job teaching (which was extremely difficult to start with but got easier through time). Through the community of English teachers in Turku I got to know a lot more ex-pats from all over the English-speaking world. Now, 5 years later, I'm still here and enjoying what life gives me. Though the price of a pint is a bit much;-)

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mightymite
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Re: Callling Americans in Finland. How did you do it??

Post by mightymite » Sat Sep 06, 2003 2:16 pm

moi wrote:Hi everyone. I am brand new in here and very motivated to move to Finland from the US. I have been gathering info for about 3 years but any advice accepted.

I have a Finnish wife who can not stand living in the US so is mostly in Finland and we travel to be together when possible (even when not really possible). I plan on family unity beng the key to make the move.

Hope to hear from you!
Rich
Like someone who has already mentioned, I'd say just do it. (maybe we should give u a Nike t-shirt..)

Moving to a foreign country is never easy regardless of the amount of preparations. I came to Finland in June eyes wide open knowing what to expect, as I was here for a futile 6months in 2000 looking for a job. Despite that, it still hasn't been easy making friends, learning the lingo etc. But if there's determination and support from loved ones, the road ahead may feel a little less bumpy.

I hope u'll do ok.... Good luck!


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