A partial list of the things I’m low- to medium-grade worried about with the Finland move:
- Will the boys like it at the new nursery
- Will we meet any nice parents (realistically speaking that’s who we’ll be making friends with)
- Will Finns talk to Cal
- Will I undertake work as a part-time unpaid translator
- Will I find a big company difficult to work for after years of a lovely, easy-going small company
- Will I love it while Cal hates it
- Will Cal love it while I hate it
- Will we discover that when all the chips are down, Finland is actually just as expensive to live in
Only one major piece of the puzzle is yet to be slotted into place, which is the actual move. We have little idea what that will look like – take all our stuff? Take none of it? Go by land, sea or air? There are intra-household differences of opinion about how much of a hassle re-buying furniture would be. TBC.
I keep thinking of that lovely quote about action:
The moment one definitely commits oneself, Providence moves too. Whatever you think you can do, or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, power and grace.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The predictive power of the 5-year journal has shown itself again. The other night, I was leafing through entries from the same time in previous years and noticed that this particular week has featured stomach bugs in 2022 and 2021. Sure enough, the next morning, we had Code Green…
Oh, welcome to Finland! Small children will find the move the easiest, I guess. They will love the outdoors and the freedom you can have here. It’s harder for the grown-ups. There’s plenty of peer support for you with other ex-pats and their spouses at least in the bigger towns. There’s groups both online and real time.
Can’t give any help with the work situation but with the move I’d say bring all the emotional stuff you cannot live without, personal stuff and things that mean something to you. Cost the move by cubic metre (I know, you just have to imagine) and have a look at i.e. the IKEA website for replacements. You probably would not look at second hand items but we furnished our house entirely from second hand shops, then again we’re old : ) Finland has good quality recycling centres (Kierrätyskeskus) for furniture. One thing to consider is how you can get rid of stuff that you don’t want, not as easy as you think, even if you give it away, it’s all time consuming. Are you renting to begin with? Houses and apartments are rented unfurnished in Finland, even without washing machines often. You need at least beds and a dining table to settle in. It’s worth asking family and friends for help, too. I don’t know how long you got for all this but start now! The housing market is very sleepy at the moment, you will find bargains!
The move is coming up soon – end of this month. We’re moving to Espoo which seems to have a fairly large expat community that I’m counting on for peer support, indeed. I like the sound of a sleepy housing market! :-D
[…] list of worries about Finland had both dwindled and grown. We’ve put some more of the big rocks in place […]