Finland or where in europe to live?

[ozil-madrid]

For people that lived in many places including Finland and they're foreigners with kids. Do you think Finland is actually the place to be or did you wish you could be somewhere else where english can be used like UK?

Or for example germany or Zurich ? Would like to hear some opinions.

Also for example stockholm seems to have much more jobs and opportunities for careers.

[esimerkki]

For people that lived in many places including Finland and they're foreigners with kids. Do you think Finland is actually the place to be or did you wish you could be somewhere else where english can be used like UK?

Or for example germany or Zurich ? Would like to hear some opinions.

Also for example stockholm seems to have much more jobs and opportunities for careers.

If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would settle down in an English-speaking country.

That being said, life in Helsinki is decent IF you are lucky enough to have a decent job.
And for your kids, the education system in Finland is very good!

[network_engineer]

If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would settle down in an English-speaking country.

I would second that ... except life in the English speaking countries seems equally messed up at the moment.

I always point to the RCA (root cause analysis): 5#!tT|/ politicians ... demigods... sorry "demidogs" ruining the world! Never mind the country.

That being said, life in Helsinki is decent IF you are lucky enough to have a decent job.

One may have better career options, and "requirement" for "native-like" language skills would not be an excuse. So, for that countries where English is the defacto official language have a clear advantage OR have open-minded people. In my opinion, the essence of language is communication. Here, the language is the default sought after competency.

And for your kids, the education system in Finland is very good!

I might personally make a distinction between an education system and a schooling system. Education system is good. Schooling, no! In fact, even the normal facilities that are touted and published is untrue. E.g. school facilities are hitting rock bottom, especially food!

[Samael]

One may have better career options, and "requirement" for "native-like" language skills would not be an excuse. So, for that countries where English is the defacto official language have a clear advantage OR have open-minded people. In my opinion, the essence of language is communication. Here, the language is the default sought after competency.

Yeah, agree. I live in Germany, working for an English-speaking company with people whose native language is mostly not English. So I neither learn proper English, nor German. For those who decided to live abroad it's always better to work in the language of the country you live in.

The only problem with UK and Ireland (I think we are talking about Europe now) I see is that there is very expensive property. Otherwise I would choose one of them. I heard there are some bad districts but still the most important thing for an expat is to live among open-minded people who do not see something bad or dangerous in your presence in their country.

[Piet]

For people that lived in many places including Finland and they're foreigners with kids. Do you think Finland is actually the place to be or did you wish you could be somewhere else where english can be used like UK?

Or for example germany or Zurich ? Would like to hear some opinions.

Also for example stockholm seems to have much more jobs and opportunities for careers.

As a foreigner having lived in multiple countries, I think your question cannot be answered that easily without more information:

Healthcare and education is important for families with children and both are affordable in Finland and reasonably ok in quality, although this is becoming a serious point of concern lately, both education and healthcare are currently severely going down the drain due to the refusal to pay the workers a decent salary, therefore creating a huge shortage of workers that actually want to work in this field.
Result: huge backlogs and diminishing service levels all over the place. Quality of skilled teachers and the amount of attention for individual students going down as well. (not even speaking about the quality of the food... that is just horrible).

On the other hand, if you are a healthcare professional, there are huge opportunities to go and set up your own care firm here, you can make serious money when executed a smart business plan. This will only increase due to a rising demand of a quickly aging population in Finland.

The language is a huge problem for any Latin, Germanic or a combination of those, derived languages native speakers that do not easily learn new languages.

You could also consider The Netherlands, English will get you everywhere, almost everyone can speak English there. For lower living costs I would suggest the North-Eastern part of The Netherlands (province of Groningen) also because it is above sea level, unlike the west. Job opportunities are however a bit less there... and traffic can be a pain..

I decided to copy your question to chatGPT and this was the result:

Finland is known for having high standards of living, excellent public services, and a good work-life balance. The country has a strong education system and is home to many innovative technology companies. The language spoken in Finland is Finnish, which is not related to English and can be difficult to learn. However, many Finns speak English, and it is commonly used in business and tourism.

The UK and Germany are also good options for English speakers. Both countries have strong economies and offer many job opportunities in various industries. English is widely spoken in both countries, which makes it easier for foreigners to live and work there. However, the cost of living in cities like London and Zurich can be quite high.

Stockholm is the capital city of Sweden and is known for its high standard of living, progressive social policies, and vibrant startup scene. English is widely spoken in Sweden, and many companies use English as their primary language. Stockholm offers many job opportunities in industries such as technology, finance, and healthcare.

Ultimately, the best place to live and work depends on individual preferences and priorities. It's important to research different countries, their cultures, job markets, and living costs before making a decision.

Good luck!

[Samael]

Ultimately, the best place to live and work depends on individual preferences and priorities. It's important to research different countries, their cultures, job markets, and living costs before making a decision.

Yeah, English is widely spoken in these countries. But this would be a really miserable life to always ask natives to switch to English. Regardless of how good natives are in English. In Germany, for instance, when I asked natives to speak to me in English, just a few glances from some locals were enough for me to realize that I no longer wanted to humiliate myself in front of them. And I started learning the language so as not to depend on anyone.

This is exactly the reason why I will never move to Finland, despite all my love for this country - because I know I'll never learn the language of this country (due to my age, the complexity of the language and perhaps some laziness).

[Kayden8245]

If given the right countries to live in Europe, I would highly recommend Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark and so on. Because these places are quite beautiful, peaceful, and the standard of living is stable. In addition, countries like the UK, Germany, France, etc. will be more suitable places to work and travel.

[Rankin]

I was quite happy in Poland before I moved here.
It is safe, the people are warm, my child had a lot of friends.
Their work live balance is better than Finland.

If I had to do it again I wouldn't have come to Finland, it's certainly peaceful, and the environment is great, but I don't think education is good, nor do I think it especially safe in most cities, and the people are 'nice', but they're not very 'kind'.

[Schmania]

I was quite happy in Poland before I moved here.
It is safe, the people are warm, my child had a lot of friends.
Their work live balance is better than Finland.

If I had to do it again I wouldn't have come to Finland, it's certainly peaceful, and the environment is great, but I don't think education is good, nor do I think it especially safe in most cities, and the people are 'nice', but they're not very 'kind'.

This last phrase breaks my heart (for being very true)
Also, Poland is really a great place!

[riku2]

the people are 'nice', but they're not very 'kind'

Comparing Finland to the UK I find that Finns are not polite or warm to strangers. In the UK passers by in the street, other shoppers in the supermarket or people gardening in their front lawn will talk to you with some polite chit chat. When we had a car crash in the UK people from the nearby pub came out and bought chairs for us to sit in while we waited for the recovery truck and what worried them most is that we didn't want a cup of tea.

But this is something you just have to accept is different in Finland. People keep themselves to themselves. If you want peace and quiet then it's a nice place. People leave their bikes unlocked when they go into a shop - you don't have people with portable angle grinders trying to steal mopeds and motorbikes.