I am interested in hearing from anyone who has moved from the UK. If it helps here is a little bit of back ground from my family and I.
I am married to a Finn and we have three young children (under the age of 4, we have twins). I am currently a serving police officer with over 18 years of experience. It has been a while coming but we have decided to sell up and move back to my wife's home town. We are looking to move within the area of Salo, on the Turku side. We have family in that area and Sauvo. My wife will return to work and my intention is to study and retrain. I was an electrician before I became a copper and have tried to keep my hand in.
I would love to hear from anyone that has made the move. The good and bad experiences and what you would have done differently. I can assure you neither of us are 'looking through rose tinted glasses'. We are very practical, well the wife is. We know things will be tough, especially the long winters. However having visited the country for the last eight years ' not just as a tourist', I have a reasonable idea of the way of life and this is what has pulled us to moving.
Constructive advice would be appreciated..
Moving from the UK
Re: Moving from the UK
Being a typical Englishman I have not had the motivation to learn (we just shout at foreigners),until now. We speak Finnish at home with the kids and the time spent on the train to work, is my study time. Beats listening to the usual loud music, blasting from some juveniles headphones, three seats away. The plan was to move in 2 years (enough time to sort out finances). However, we are now pushing that fore ward and hoping next year.
I am not so concerned about the isolation, as I am a bit of a loner as well. Also having three children keeps you busy. We have family in area
I guess what I will find difficult is the initial transition. Leaving the police does not worry me but only having that specific skill set and trying to find work, does worry me.
How do people cope and are there any ex-pat groups in Salo or Turku??
I am not so concerned about the isolation, as I am a bit of a loner as well. Also having three children keeps you busy. We have family in area
I guess what I will find difficult is the initial transition. Leaving the police does not worry me but only having that specific skill set and trying to find work, does worry me.
How do people cope and are there any ex-pat groups in Salo or Turku??
Re: Moving from the UK
Be aware that there are strict regulations for electricians (exam in Finnish and a practice period under a certified electrician).I was an electrician before I became a copper and have tried to keep my hand in.
Re: Moving from the UK
I am British married to a Finn and we also had three children when we moved here though we weren't coming directly from the UK, we had been living in France and Hungary before coming here.
I think your timing is good because your children will be able to start school in Finnish with virtually no language problems. My 3 boys were older than your children when we arrived 5-9 yrs old in 2001) and we hadn't been using Finnish at home (French, English and a little Swedish) so schooling was pretty much a nightmare and in retrospect we didn't always make the right choices. Things are OK now and I'm glad we came and glad we stuck it out but I don't have only fond memories of the past 13 years, far from it.
Sounds to me that you have a good idea of what you're up against. I think an intensive Finnish course would be a good start. And planning to study is a great way to find out about Finnish society and to activate your network. Salo is quite a dynamic town that is trying to bounce back after Nokia shut down its production of mobile phones there. It still attracts businesses and there are plenty of foreigners who live there (Microsoft is maintaining its R&D facility there).
Good luck
I think your timing is good because your children will be able to start school in Finnish with virtually no language problems. My 3 boys were older than your children when we arrived 5-9 yrs old in 2001) and we hadn't been using Finnish at home (French, English and a little Swedish) so schooling was pretty much a nightmare and in retrospect we didn't always make the right choices. Things are OK now and I'm glad we came and glad we stuck it out but I don't have only fond memories of the past 13 years, far from it.
Sounds to me that you have a good idea of what you're up against. I think an intensive Finnish course would be a good start. And planning to study is a great way to find out about Finnish society and to activate your network. Salo is quite a dynamic town that is trying to bounce back after Nokia shut down its production of mobile phones there. It still attracts businesses and there are plenty of foreigners who live there (Microsoft is maintaining its R&D facility there).
Good luck
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GermanInHelsinki
- Posts: 155
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2014 9:34 am
Re: Moving from the UK
The timing might be good for the children, but it is of course bad economically.
The Finnish economy is already shrinking for years in the current EU crisis, and any serious sanctions against Russia will of course have an effect similar to the huge crisis in Finland after the collapse of the USSR - Russia is of course the biggest trade partner and the biggest source of foreign tourists for Finland.
The situation in Turku is slightly better, in Salo "trying to bounce back" is of course an euphemism for a 16% unemployment rate.
The Finnish economy is already shrinking for years in the current EU crisis, and any serious sanctions against Russia will of course have an effect similar to the huge crisis in Finland after the collapse of the USSR - Russia is of course the biggest trade partner and the biggest source of foreign tourists for Finland.
The situation in Turku is slightly better, in Salo "trying to bounce back" is of course an euphemism for a 16% unemployment rate.
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GermanInHelsinki
- Posts: 155
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2014 9:34 am
Re: Moving from the UK
You should of course check whether or not your education as electrician is recognized in Finland.
Even with a recognized education you would of course still be a 40+ year old person with bad Finnish skills trying to find a job in an area with high unemployment.
Also keep in mind that public-sector jobs require speaking both Finnish and Swedish.
Realistically, you will go from nearly 20 years of being a well-respected police officer to several years of queuing at the unemployment office. Several years of unemployment is a normal experience for a foreigner who moves with a Finnish spouse to Finland.
You can of course move to Finland, you just shouldn't be looking through rose tinted glasses by taking for granted that you will be able to find a job in Finland within a few years.
Even with a recognized education you would of course still be a 40+ year old person with bad Finnish skills trying to find a job in an area with high unemployment.
Also keep in mind that public-sector jobs require speaking both Finnish and Swedish.
Realistically, you will go from nearly 20 years of being a well-respected police officer to several years of queuing at the unemployment office. Several years of unemployment is a normal experience for a foreigner who moves with a Finnish spouse to Finland.
You can of course move to Finland, you just shouldn't be looking through rose tinted glasses by taking for granted that you will be able to find a job in Finland within a few years.
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Pursuivant
- Posts: 15089
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2004 11:51 am
- Location: Bath & Wells
Re: Moving from the UK
I don't know if it is the right move to sell, if you decide after it all Finlandspotting isn't for you, getting back onto the property ladder in the UK will be... interesting. Of course theres all those cheap mansions of the ex-nokia engineers on sale, but you can always move to Stoke.
Finlandspotting:
Choose clean nature.Choose safe environment.Choose free education.
Choose a f*n big country with a f*n small population,
Choose taxes the size of a yearly income elsewhere,
old cars, half a year of darkness and a meter of snow.
Choose no sleep, high alcohol content and no mental therapy.
Choose fixed union salaries. Choose a rented shoebox for a family of five.
Choose no friends. Choose black jeans and matching combat boots.
Choose an axe for your cottage in a range of f*n forged steel blades.
Choose a Finnish partner and wondering why the f* you’re logged on Finland Forum on a Sunday morning.
Choose sitting in a classroom listening at mind-numbing, spirit-crushing Finnish grammar,
craving f* foreign food into your mouth.
Choose leaving at the end of it all, selling your last piece of furniture at a loss to some miserable newcomer,
nothing more than an embarrassment to the rose-tinted-glasses-wearing,
f*d up losers spawned by Ryanair to get over to their Nordic Welfare Paradise.
Choose your future.
Choose Finland.
"By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes."
Something wicked this way comes."
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Pursuivant
- Posts: 15089
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2004 11:51 am
- Location: Bath & Wells
Re: Moving from the UK
Saxon wasn't living in Nowheremäki, you need to be able to find Imatra on map in school. 
"By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes."
Something wicked this way comes."
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Pursuivant
- Posts: 15089
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2004 11:51 am
- Location: Bath & Wells
Re: Moving from the UK
We could start a short story:
"Nowheremäki" is a small village that you need to have google maps on high resolution to find half a dozen houses on windy gravel roads. Theres more people from Nowheremäki living in Skellefteå who went to work at the ball-bearing factory than in Finland. The village is one described in the 70's "nobodys left except an old granny and a tuberculotic cat". The only industry in 100km radius is a papermill sold to China already in the 90's now housing a "workshop" turning out wooden knobs. The main employer is the county, the social office has a staff of 20 distributing government subsidies to keep people voting for Kepu. The biggest source of government income is the highway motel housing "displaced underage refugee children" who also support the local taxi who takes them the 200 km to the nearest city on Friday nights to the 24-yrs age limit night clubs. The greatest aspiration of anyone from the village is to move, except for the few blokes waiting for the farm, and that one simple lad in the back room who worries the sheep, but we don't talk about him anyways. In the town school theres those who study hard, go to Helsinki and then catch an airplane and move further. Especially the girls. The boys are more interested in tinkering with cars and trying to impress the only girls left in the village, and beat strangers up if they try come close. Now a village girl returns with a trophy husband...
It is -24 on a lukewarm November evening. The powdery snow squeaks under the feet and bellows in the air. A ratcheting diesel Mercedes pulls up to the Niemi farmhouse, and two people tumble out with their meagre belongings. The bare-headed figure tumbles with two suitcasees in sneakers which bottoms have frozen stiff, while the etherally gaiting figure with blond curls emanating from under a wool cap makes it to the door. Suddenly in the pitch black mayhem starts, the porch light comes on, the door opens, and a rabid howling monster rushes through the snow aiming for the girls throat...
After licking the girl's face the small sausage dog decides to share its attention with the blinded male, whose compromised balance doesn't need another factor, like needle-sharp teeth tugging at the pants leg, and he flips right down on his arse onto a very frozen ground with a yelp.
/- Is himself drunk?/ (guttural nonsense, also known as Finnish) asks an older woman who has appeared in the door, commanding the exited door in.
/- Well Hello to you mom too / says the blonde figure.
/- Father yours would have wanted to the wedding/ continues the older woman shuffling the people in with a broom whisking the snow away.
/- It wasn't a real wedding, we just needed to get him the visa/ the girl goes rolling her eyes.
All this time, the bleary-eyed American male with a seriously sore bum has meekly followed in and flashes his grin.
"Hello, my name is Sean, pleased to meet you"
"Helou" says the woman gripping his hand into a vice and Sean is sure he hears cracking sounds.
/- Does it speak any human language?/ she quips to the girl
/-MOM!/
"Nowheremäki" is a small village that you need to have google maps on high resolution to find half a dozen houses on windy gravel roads. Theres more people from Nowheremäki living in Skellefteå who went to work at the ball-bearing factory than in Finland. The village is one described in the 70's "nobodys left except an old granny and a tuberculotic cat". The only industry in 100km radius is a papermill sold to China already in the 90's now housing a "workshop" turning out wooden knobs. The main employer is the county, the social office has a staff of 20 distributing government subsidies to keep people voting for Kepu. The biggest source of government income is the highway motel housing "displaced underage refugee children" who also support the local taxi who takes them the 200 km to the nearest city on Friday nights to the 24-yrs age limit night clubs. The greatest aspiration of anyone from the village is to move, except for the few blokes waiting for the farm, and that one simple lad in the back room who worries the sheep, but we don't talk about him anyways. In the town school theres those who study hard, go to Helsinki and then catch an airplane and move further. Especially the girls. The boys are more interested in tinkering with cars and trying to impress the only girls left in the village, and beat strangers up if they try come close. Now a village girl returns with a trophy husband...
It is -24 on a lukewarm November evening. The powdery snow squeaks under the feet and bellows in the air. A ratcheting diesel Mercedes pulls up to the Niemi farmhouse, and two people tumble out with their meagre belongings. The bare-headed figure tumbles with two suitcasees in sneakers which bottoms have frozen stiff, while the etherally gaiting figure with blond curls emanating from under a wool cap makes it to the door. Suddenly in the pitch black mayhem starts, the porch light comes on, the door opens, and a rabid howling monster rushes through the snow aiming for the girls throat...
After licking the girl's face the small sausage dog decides to share its attention with the blinded male, whose compromised balance doesn't need another factor, like needle-sharp teeth tugging at the pants leg, and he flips right down on his arse onto a very frozen ground with a yelp.
/- Is himself drunk?/ (guttural nonsense, also known as Finnish) asks an older woman who has appeared in the door, commanding the exited door in.
/- Well Hello to you mom too / says the blonde figure.
/- Father yours would have wanted to the wedding/ continues the older woman shuffling the people in with a broom whisking the snow away.
/- It wasn't a real wedding, we just needed to get him the visa/ the girl goes rolling her eyes.
All this time, the bleary-eyed American male with a seriously sore bum has meekly followed in and flashes his grin.
"Hello, my name is Sean, pleased to meet you"
"Helou" says the woman gripping his hand into a vice and Sean is sure he hears cracking sounds.
/- Does it speak any human language?/ she quips to the girl
/-MOM!/
"By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes."
Something wicked this way comes."
Re: Moving from the UK
Not sure I completely agree. I know many, many Brits here (and they are not all teachers) and MOST of them are what I would call "successfully integrated" (or at least as integrated as they might ever wish to betummansininen wrote: Most of the Brits don't seem to successfully integrate. A few do, but the success stories mainly seem to be people who fail to find regular full-time work even after several years, and finally manage to build their own business using unique skills.
).I would agree though that many immigrants find success through entrepreneurship... I think the stats are there (somewhere) to prove it. But there is nought wrong in being self-employed, believe me. I would definitely encourage the OP to consider setting himself up in business as soon as he has the necessary licence eg to trade as a skilled electrician.
Re: Moving from the UK
We should have Finnish-only section here for you. Do you think I ended up registering here to tease furriners?tummansininen wrote:Ah, you probably know more of them than I do... there is a familiar theme to the ones I have known, they all seem to work for themselves but usually their Finnish is really poor even years after they arrive, and they have no real interest in learning. Maybe I'm guilty of applying the te-office definition of integration meaning learning Finnish, rather than whether they seem settled here. I still suck at the language after five years here despite the certificates saying I can speak it. Buahaha, the idea is ridiculous when basic conversation leaves me stumbling like an idiot.
I did register to read pub and to see if I could write half as well as I could read English
http://google.com http://translate.google.com http://urbandictionary.com
Visa is for visiting, Residence Permit for residing.
Visa is for visiting, Residence Permit for residing.
Re: Moving from the UK
Me tootummansininen wrote:Ah, you probably know more of them than I do... there is a familiar theme to the ones I have known, they all seem to work for themselves but usually their Finnish is really poor even years after they arrive, and they have no real interest in learning. Maybe I'm guilty of applying the te-office definition of integration meaning learning Finnish, rather than whether they seem settled here. I still suck at the language after five years here despite the certificates saying I can speak it. Buahaha, the idea is ridiculous when basic conversation leaves me stumbling like an idiot.
I can understand enough to watch the News on TV and answer simple questions, follow topics in school meetings etc but I have no motivation (yet) to learn idiomatic, conversational Finnish, there are so many other things I would rather be doing!!! The day I decide to go for citizenship - I'll probably be heading for Swedish classes! But I do know quite a few Brits (and quite a few French people too) who speak Finnish rather well: way, way better than I do.Re: Moving from the UK
Like gym cards and memberships? They always work for me. For a month.tummansininen wrote:But I paid for a conversation class next month to try and force myself to improve a bit, hopefully the thought of not wanting to waste my money will make me turn up each day.
http://google.com http://translate.google.com http://urbandictionary.com
Visa is for visiting, Residence Permit for residing.
Visa is for visiting, Residence Permit for residing.
Re: Moving from the UK
We are also retiring (early) to Finland to be closer to our son and family. The main issue for us is do we remain UK residents or do we move to Finland permanently?
The UK Government is proposing to stop UK citizens living outside the UK from claiming their personal allowance which is £9,440 for the year 2013/2014 and £10,000 for 2014/2015. This means that if we opt to cease to be UK residents (but continue to be UK citizens), then we will pay tax on ALL our income (including rentals, state and other pensions).
UK citizens living in the UK, will continue to receive the full personal allowance before paying any tax.
Being on limited incomes (as most pensioners are), this can have a dramatic effect on UK citizens living outside the UK. You can read about this at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/pers ... plans.html.
The proposal "Restricting non-residents’ entitlement to the UK personal allowance" is in the consultation process and you can register your opinion at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultat ... -allowance
I have never experienced any difficulty obtain medical help in Finland myself. As long as they carry their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). The UK (for the moment at least) is a member of the EU and therefore we should be treated the same as a Finnish citizen living in Finland.
The UK Government is proposing to stop UK citizens living outside the UK from claiming their personal allowance which is £9,440 for the year 2013/2014 and £10,000 for 2014/2015. This means that if we opt to cease to be UK residents (but continue to be UK citizens), then we will pay tax on ALL our income (including rentals, state and other pensions).
UK citizens living in the UK, will continue to receive the full personal allowance before paying any tax.
Being on limited incomes (as most pensioners are), this can have a dramatic effect on UK citizens living outside the UK. You can read about this at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/pers ... plans.html.
The proposal "Restricting non-residents’ entitlement to the UK personal allowance" is in the consultation process and you can register your opinion at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultat ... -allowance
I have never experienced any difficulty obtain medical help in Finland myself. As long as they carry their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). The UK (for the moment at least) is a member of the EU and therefore we should be treated the same as a Finnish citizen living in Finland.
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GermanInHelsinki
- Posts: 155
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2014 9:34 am
Re: Moving from the UK
You should of course read the article properly.
It would of course not matter for you unless you worked for the UK government.
As a resident of Finland all your income will of course be subject to Finnish taxes, and for rental income or other pensions the taxes you already paid in the UK can of course be deducted from your tax bill in Finland.
It would of course not matter for you unless you worked for the UK government.
As a resident of Finland all your income will of course be subject to Finnish taxes, and for rental income or other pensions the taxes you already paid in the UK can of course be deducted from your tax bill in Finland.