{"id":29148,"date":"2020-11-02T22:51:51","date_gmt":"2020-11-02T22:51:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/?p=29148"},"modified":"2022-01-10T21:41:12","modified_gmt":"2022-01-10T21:41:12","slug":"my-first-six-months-living-in-helsinki-by-audrey-laxhel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/my-first-six-months-living-in-helsinki-by-audrey-laxhel\/","title":{"rendered":"My First Six Months Living in Helsinki by Audrey @ LaxHel"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is such a pleasure to introduce to Audrey who moved to Helsinki in 2019. LAXHEL<\/a> is a blog about her journey moving to Finland, the fascinating differences between living in LA and Helsinki, and life living abroad… and featuring her French bulldog, Rambo.\u00a0\u00a0 Audrey has over a decade of experience with doing marketing for LA-based tech companies who have an international presence. Having experience in marketing\/ content marketing (in tech) with native English skills is a very marketable skill in Finnish job market so she had no problem getting a workpermit. <\/p>\n

I also enjoyed reading Audrey’s article about Finland’s COVID-19 situation. I am so happy they have been doing so well despite of having no huge lockdowns for months and no mandatory masks (recommendation exist of course and Finns tend to be very careful by nature. We are no “kiss-kiss” nation.
\nTHE CORONA BUBBLE IN FINLAND AND DEALING WITH BEING HOMESICK<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

It has been about half a year now since I\u2019ve moved to Helsinki. It\u2019s my first time living somewhere with actual seasons, and the leaves turning is truly a beautiful thing to see during the autumn. Although I get super homesick and I miss the LA weather, it hasn\u2019t been as hard to adjust as I had imagined. But then again, winter hasn\u2019t come yet, so ask me again in a couple of months.<\/p>\n

I think a few reasons why it hasn\u2019t been terribly hard to adjust is because the architecture of Helsinki is really modern, it\u2019s a small city that\u2019s easy to get to know, everything works well, the quality of life here is really high, and most people speak English, so it doesn\u2019t feel like such a foreign country. But don\u2019t get me wrong, it hasn\u2019t been a walk in the park either. I miss my friends and family immensely and it took some time to make my own friends here. Also, just because people speak English, doesn\u2019t mean anything is written or spoken in English. So let\u2019s just say I have to rely on copying movements in gym classes and my grocery runs take extremely long, since I\u2019m constantly using the Google translate app camera function. By the way, Google translate for Finnish \u2013 60% of the time, it works every time.<\/p>\n

But in all seriousness, I feel so lucky to have the chance to live in another country and continent, actually. I\u2019m learning so much and just trying to soak it all in and appreciate every new experience and learning. All I\u2019ve ever known is my LA and Orange County bubble. The rest of the world is doing things differently but here\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned about Helsinki so far\u2026<\/p>\n

Top 10 Reasons I Enjoy Living in Helsinki<\/h3>\n
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      1. Free Healthcare<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Basic healthcare is free, and even covers dental work. Most companies also provide additional private healthcare insurance at no cost to the employee. If health is wealth, then I\u2019m set for life here.<\/li>\n
      2. Free Education<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Meanwhile, I\u2019m still paying for my grad school loan while Finns can get their PhD for FREE 99!<\/li>\n
      3. So Damn Safe<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 People even leave their \u20ac1000+ Bugaboo strollers outside WITH the baby inside, because apparently the cold air is good for babies and can often help them sleep. But more importantly, people don\u2019t fear their children getting kidnapped. I couldn\u2019t even walk home alone from school, which was only a few blocks away. Here you see elementary school kids on public transportation alone, it\u2019s wild! Oh wait, I guess that\u2019s the opposite of wild.<\/li>\n
      4. Public Transportation<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Speaking of public transportation, there is no need to have a car in Helsinki. The public transportation here consists of trams, subways (called the Metro here), and busses. It costs \u20ac60\/month for an unlimited pass, which my work paid for. So basically my transportation costs are \u20ac0, except the occasional Uber, taxi, or electric scooter. In LA with a car payment, gas, auto insurance, and tons of Ubers whenever I was having drinks, I\u2019m sure I easily spent $1000\/month just on transportation alone!<\/li>\n
      5. 5 Weeks of Holiday<\/strong>\u00a0(vacation) \u2013 It\u2019s the law to get five weeks of vacation in Finland, no matter what company you work for. In California, an employer is\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em>required to provide paid-time-off under California vacation law, although most companies provide at least 2 weeks as a job benefit. 2 weeks sounds like a joke to me now. No wonder Americans are so stressed and get burnt out easily.<\/li>\n
      6. Work Life Balance & Benefits<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The generous vacation speaks to this, but in addition, I don\u2019t often see Finns work overtime. At the company I worked for, they paid for my cell phone which can be used for personal use as well, but it wasn\u2019t mandatory to answer any work related emails or calls outside of work hours. Most companies also provide a lunch card, where they cover 25% of your lunch (up to \u20ac10.50) which encourages employees to go out for lunch, especially with colleagues. Lastly, most companies also provide a sports and culture benefit of up to \u20ac400\/year, which can be used for gym memberships, movie tickets, concerts, etc. So far I\u2019ve used mine for an annual museum pass (\u20ac60), rock climbing, and pilates classes.<\/li>\n
      7. People are Smart\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Everyone knows at least two languages. And the water cooler talk here is rarely about TV, the latest fashion trends, or celebrity gossip. Instead they\u2019re about things like the \u201cThird Industrial Revolution\u201d. Sometimes I feel like Finns are more in tune with what\u2019s going on politically in the US than the average American.<\/li>\n
      8. The Library is Cool<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Finland is the most literate country in the world and publishes more books per capita than any other country, except Iceland. On average, every Finn buys 4 books and borrows a dozen from the library each year. So, yup it\u2019s definitely cool to read and hang out at the library. I\u2019ve started reading way more and have read about 1-2 books per month since I moved here. Also, how could you not want to hang out at\u00a0Oodi,<\/a>\u00a0our central library? Besides the beautiful architecture of the building, this library holds concerts, has music studios and instruments that you can book, an urban workshop for the DIYers like me (soldering station, laser cutter, and sewing machines included) and even digital gaming rooms. It was also voted as\u00a02019 World\u2019s Best New Library.<\/a><\/li>\n
      9. Nature & Foraging\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Finland has a concept called \u2018Everyman\u2019s right\u2019.<\/em>\u00a0It allows everyone to roam freely in nature, eat, and pick berries and mushrooms anywhere in forests.\u00a0Our fridge always has a supply of homemade berry juice, berry jelly, frozen berries & chanterelle mushrooms from Kimmo\u2019s family forest. Also, you can camp out overnight in a tent, vehicle, or boat, as long as this causes no damage or disturbance to the landowner.<\/li>\n
      10. Island Hopping<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 I love that Finland is like one big forest surrounded by the Baltic Sea. Our apartment is along a canal, and I walk Rambo by the ocean every day. There\u2019s something so calming about just staring into the waters and feeling that ocean breeze. Finland\u00a0has over 180,000 lakes and almost as\u00a0many islands! I can take a 10 minute ferry or cross a bridge and be on a new island. There\u2019s even a Dog Island for Rambo and a Zoo on an island. It\u2019s such a nice way to get out of the city, hike in a forest, have a picnic, and even go foraging!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n