The other side of the story . . . what Finland is like

Photo by Patrick on Unsplash

My last post was very positive about Finland and I mean it sincerely. But as with all things, there is another side to the story which doesn’t get as much attention but will be very important to someone wanting to relocate here. Here is my summary:

• • The Finnish language is a major roadblock to becoming integrated into the culture. Your determination must be rock solid to progress to fluency; a plucky attitude won’t be enough. You must be a rock. Finland has a lot of rocks, and a famous saying is Luja tahto vie läpi harmaan kiven. This translates to “A strong will takes you through the grey stone.” English version: Where there’s a will there’s a way. If you are learning Finnish, you need an abundance of willpower.

• • Until recently Finland was a predominantly monocultural society, and it takes time to change. Unfortunately, some Finns look unfavorably upon foreigners. But this is mostly displayed in passive behavior.

• • The job market is currently awful, even for Finns, so for foreigners without advanced degrees, only the lowest paying jobs are available; and finding and keeping those is difficult. With an advanced degree it is still difficult for a foreigner to find a job.
    
    • • Finland needs to be honest about Finland

• • The economy is a problem everywhere, but as you might expect the economy in Finland is not better than the job market.
    
    • • Finland’s Happy Little Economic Crisis

My purpose in mentioning these issues is balance. If you loved your vacation in Finland and now you want to live here, or you want to move because you heard only the positive things, I want to help you be realistic about what you will be dealing with. But I’ll repeat what I said before: You will need to be patient, because it takes time to get to know a place. But this is a place worth knowing.