Challenges and opportunities: An expat in Finland.
It happened to be the coldest day of the year when I first arrived in Finland with two suitcases and a nervous optimism for the start of a new life on a new continent. When moving to the other side of the planet, everything was a new beginning. It should be no surprise that there would be trials and challenges on this journey but in the same way that the long dark Finnish winter reluctantly gives way to spring, the trials and tribulations of the expat life can eventually lead to multiple opportunities and positive outcomes.
With this in mind, I decided I would share what have been three of my biggest challenges as well as the top three opportunities afforded me as an expat moving to Finland from the United States. I’ll begin with the challenges.
1. Learning the language
It is probably fitting to start with one of the biggest challenges for anyone moving to Finland, the language. The language is difficult to learn for just about anyone and as a monolingual native English speaker it feels, at times, like a language that is practically impossible to learn. I have taken multiple language courses, including a full-time intensive course that lasted an entire year. One of the challenging aspects of learning the language is the fact that written Finnish is not the same as spoken Finnish. I have spent countless hours conjugating long lists of words into columns and rows, but in real life the ability to speak to someone is actually a bit more important than passing them a grammatically correct hand-written note.
2. Finding work
A lack of language skills had led me to another challenge, finding work. With formal training as a pastry chef and chocolatier under my belt, I was at first, cautiously hopeful that it would be possible for me to help out a bakery or a café with production or recipe development, but during my first years in Finland, the unemployment office let me know in no uncertain terms that there was no work of any kind available to me without Finnish language skills. During my first few years here in Finland, I applied to countless jobs where speaking Finnish to customers was completely unnecessary yet a mandatory requirement to be considered for the position.
3. Social isolation
Moving directly to a smaller town in western Finland was not the best thing to happen to me as far as social interaction goes. To put it more bluntly, it was horrible. I could easily go months, or longer without an actual conversation with anyone outside of the confines of my home. I have been shewed out of businesses for asking a question in English, had baristas unwilling to speak to me when asking a question about my order and even experienced a bicycle salesman throw his hands in the air and run away from me yelling ”NOOOOOO!” after saying hello to him in English. I wish I were exaggerating with that one. I’m not. I don’t think of myself as someone who needs to be around people all the time to be happy, but there is point where a lack of any type of social engagement begins to feel like a heavy weight.
Fortunately, my journey does not end with a series of disappointing setbacks and dead ends. New and exciting opportunities are presenting themselves to me on a more and more frequent basis. Here are a few of the positive things that have kept me moving onward and upward in my expat journey.
1. Living near Helsinki
I now live near Helsinki where there is so much more diversity and opportunity. I have encountered many people who are quite friendly and even talkative at times. There are a growing number of great cafés where I am often greeted in English by owners and employees who speak very little Finnish, or even none at all. Sometimes I order my usual cappuccino in Finnish, Sometimes I don’t but either way, no one throws their hands in the air and runs away from me. Moving to the capital region was a giant step in the right direction that has facilitated new opportunities and interesting experiences. Helsinki is a beautiful city and I have even started to find more opportunities to utilize my skills as a pastry chef and chocolatier.
2. Free education
After years of struggling to find a steady job, I decided to apply to a University of Applied Science. Long story short, I was accepted into a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Even more amazing than my acceptance into the program was the fact that I could study tuition free. I even get paid a small amount each month just for being a student! This is an opportunity that would have never been possible if I were still living in the United States.
3. Internship at The Shortcut.
As part of my university studies, I completed an internship at a nonprofit called The Shortcut where support and free training is provided for anyone interested in learning more about the startup ecosystem here in Finland, and it all happens in English! During my internship, I got to continue pursuing my interests and acquire new skills in areas of marketing and communications. The atmosphere was friendly and inclusive, just the kind of place that would have been invaluable to me when I first started my own expat journey. I am now presented with more opportunities all the time, opportunities to learn, to grow and feel like a part of a community. Maybe the Finnish winter won’t last forever after all.
Update: After generating significant interest in this post, I decided to provide a brief update on my expat experience. Currently, I am dedicated to continuous self-improvement through ongoing learning, while actively seeking work that utilizes my education and the transferable skills I have acquired over the years. Finding meaningful work in Finland has been a challenging endeavor, which is often par for the course in the life of an expat.
Although I anticipate encountering further obstacles along the way, I am confident that each challenge presents an opportunity for growth and progress. While I haven’t yet reached my desired destination, life is a journey where the only true criterion for success is to keep moving forward.
If you’re currently experiencing the challenges and loneliness that are often a part of being an expat, I would implore you to hang on just a little longer. You never know what opportunities are just around the corner. If you need someone to talk to or seek advice from, feel free to reach out to me. I’d love to hear from you. We’re all in this together.
