From America to Finland

h-townlover · Post by **h-townlover** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 9:45 pm

i plan on moving to Finland someday, I wonder if its easy to move there. I currently live in Houston, Texas and I know that if i do move to finland the harest part for me is gonna be the weather. In the summer it gets well over 100 degrees and barely below freezing in the winter. Ive never seen snow and i don't own a heavy coat. Do you think I'd survive?

**Sponsor:**

RSH · Post by **RSH** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 11:14 am

The weather is survivable.

Do you speak Finnish?

Do you have a job?

Long term unemployment, a challenging language and imported peanut butter would kill you well before winter came along.

Oh and you would at least have to buy a coat. You might even have to wear shoes.

I am sure you're not the first Texan to move out of the underground air con shopping malls! In fact I know one here already and he makes it through each day! Good luck.

Caroline · Post by **Caroline** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 12:01 pm

Do you have Finnish relatives/an EU passport (dual citizenship) or a job offer here, or are you planning to attend university here? Without any of the above it's extremely difficult to get a residency permit. If you are in at least one of those categories though the residency won't be a problem.

The weather might be an issue. If you don't like winter, you won't be happy here. If you're not sure if you can handle winters, you could come to try it and you'd soon find out. I'm from a cold climate myself (Massachusetts), but the Finnish winters are even getting to me. It's not always the cold or the piles of snow, but rather the darkness and the length of the winter weather that makes it tough.

karen · Post by **karen** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 7:00 pm

I'm from Texas and I've been here almost 8 years. It's totally doable.

mookoo · Post by **mookoo** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 9:27 am

I'm from Kansas, which isn't too terribly different (climate wise) from Texas. If you really like the 110 degree heat and smothering humidity ... you will feel right at home in a Finnish sauna! I just made it through half of the Finnish winter with no problem. I moved here to get married to my longtime boyfriend (now husband yay), which is really quite easy to do. You don't necessarily need a job lined up before you come if you have someone who can support you for a while as you learn Finnish and get adjusted.

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Wed Apr 27, 2005 11:03 am

Move to Alaska for a year or two for a tryout. Helps with the driving.

NinaPinta · Post by **NinaPinta** » Wed Apr 27, 2005 12:30 pm

I'm from Atlanta but I'm used to the Finnish cold by now. I just miss Southern hospitality sometimes...

Learning Finnish is also totally doable if you plan to stay here for a while. But, everyone around here can manage in english so you can avoid Finnish if you want to.

jenlynnf · Post by **jenlynnf** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 1:35 am

This in in response to the woman who moved from Kansas. I am in the same boat and wanted some more information from you, if possible. I am moving June 7th to Espoo with my fiance who is Finnish. I guess I would just like some info on what to expect. I am signed up for Finnish classes at the University to start in July. Hopefully, this will be a good start.

h-townlover · Post by **h-townlover** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:42 am

Thanks for all the replys! Im currently learning finnish, and i have a job as a hairstylist. I don't know anyone in Finland and im hope to get into a libral arts college so that will be my reason for going. And for the weather...I'll just buy a really heavy coat i guess. Just wondering, I know in America, to be a hairstylist you have to have a cosmetology license for the state that you work in. Do I have to have a cosmetology licence in Finland and if so where would i get one?

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 9:06 am

I think you just need to go and rent a chair.

superiorinferior · Post by **superiorinferior** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 9:40 am

h-townlover, have you considered the fact that it is quite dark half of the year?

The cold is one thing, but the darkness may be the deal breaker.

mookoo · Post by **mookoo** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 9:50 am

superiorinferior wrote:h-townlover, have you considered the fact that it is quite dark half of the year?

The cold is one thing, but the darkness may be the deal breaker.

I thought Houston was dark all year round ... too much smog!

Mex-Olga · Post by **Mex-Olga** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 9:50 pm

Hi.. I moved from Dallas, TX to Espoo in December. I don't think it
was that bad the winter. Everywhere there's always a warm place
where you can go. It's true that it was really weird to see the sun
only from about 10 am to 3 p.m., but I really liked the sun... someone
told me that I was going to love my first winter in Finland, but I will
hate it the winter after that (hope it's not true).

Before coming here, you should buy a big coat, some scarfs, gloves,
caps, and snow boots. Bring them from the U.S. because you'll be
surprised of the prices here (everything is really expensive).

I think this country it's a great place to live, so good luck with
everything !

Olga

karen · Post by **karen** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 10:27 pm

Some of those things Olga suggested can be bought there, but I would buy boots and a coat here. I was wearing a coat I bought here and my husband bought me a wool coat from Old Navy when he was in the U.S. last winter and it's not nearly warm enough. I had to wait until warmer winter weather to wear the ON coat. Get gloves with Thinsulate or Gore-tex. A hat that covers your ears and keeps the snow out of your eyes at the same time is best. Most important is to cover your ears. Don't want them falling off during your first winter. You could buy a light waterproof coat for Spring and early summer over there. But you'd probably have to wait until winter in Texas to find one again.

I'm heading back to Texas at the end of July. Gotta go get warm before next winter. It's almost Juhannus and winter isn't far behind.

Papu · Post by **Papu** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 10:58 am

Actually, except for the weather you shouldn´t have all that many problems:

Finland is very similar to the US in many respects, certainly the most similar country to the us in Europe (I think even more so than Britain).

Finland Forum

Find information about moving to, living in and life in Finland