Retire in Finland

I retired early and moved to Finland. These are my thoughts about the pros and cons of retiring (and moving) to Finland.
#earlyretirement #expatlife #finland #retireinfinland

[@EmiliaLR]

As a Finn, I would recommend cities like Hämeenlinna, Naantali or Porvoo, even Pori. Salo is ok too, but not sure if there's as much as some other same size cities.Tampere is the most popular big city and I live near by, so I will most likely retire there... eventually 😅 If you like to get more familiar with Finns, you need to join some hobby club. We have a club for everything (literally!) and those are mostly like close families. Finns are 100% genuine, so we are bad with casually getting to know people. We need to feel some real connection, hobby or common interest. Then it's easy to get friends here ☺I'm for example member/volunteer in at least 10 clubs...

[@laterlife2931]

@EmiliaLR what you say about joining a club is very true. I came during Covid so there was not much happening and I have not checked lately so I will do that. Thanks for your message.

[@jhonkela]

5 months long winter - you are so lucky. Living in Oulu, and this winter seems to never stop. And about the language, the smaller the city, the less the people are probably used to talk in english. It is widely taught in school since long time ago but there is a big difference learning it in school (and via TV etc) and to actually use it on everyday conversations. Moving from a small city to a bigger city to study and having dorm mates that only spoke english made a big difference in terms of being able to communicate in english fluently.

[@laterlife2931]

@jhonkela I am very intrigued by Oulu but maybe I will wait until the summer for my first visit. I was on the bus yesterday listening to people speaking Finnish and I realise it would be good for me to hear more Finnish on a regular basis. I watch English shows. I try to watch some Finnish even if I don't understand but I get bored. I just have to keep trying.

[@ingridthompson6512]

Fellow American enamored with Finland. Thank you for this information.

[@laterlife2931]

@ingridthompson6512 glad to be of service. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

[@ingridthompson6512]

@@laterlife2931 OMG. Thank you for the offer! I'm from Louisiana. So I'm sure that I'm not ready for Finnish winters. I'm thinking to come over during the Summer to confirm my feelings about Finland before I make any longer term plans. Unlike you, I'm not retired yet. So, I will have to figure out income sources. However, I don't need much and just want to be in Finland. But I would prefer a city. Sorry for the ramble. I'm happy I found your channel. 👍

[@laterlife2931]

@ingridthompson6512 I was just racking my brain trying to think of a topic for my next video. I am going to answer your message with advice you should think about. So keep an eye out for my next video. It's for you.

[@ingridthompson6512]

@@laterlife2931 Awesome and 💃

[@maariatamminen454]

You have a great attitude and in my opinion you summarise Finland's pros and cons on point! Living in a bit bigger city would offer you more social contacts, more lively enviroment for both going out to cafeterias, events and also to enjoy the nature nearby. But also in a smaller town, you might find a society or meetings of people, who arrange walking or bicycling trips to the nearby nature. If any interest in birds, I advise you to look also for a local birdwatchers club/society. With them you find and might also easily get a ride to various, interesting nature areas. And my experience is, that you don't need to be so much into bird watching in those trips..You can also just enjoy altogether the nature, the paths, the sceneries from the birdtowers - and get new nature loving friends! ❤

[@mikeh2772]

You brought up some good points, enjoy your stay in my home country. I am enjoying my stay in your home country, going on 4+ decades.

[@laterlife2931]

@mikeh2772 thanks, we never know where life will take us.

[@petereriksson7166]

In Finland it is born 1.4 child per women. My wish is that Finland will grow and stay finnish. That is the best neighbour my country can have. I would hate to see Finland having the horrible problems my country has.

[@laterlife2931]

@petereriksson7166 let's hope countries do look at how their neighbors operate and learn lessons. It's a shame to let a good lesson go to waste.

[@just42tube]

"By Finnish standards big cities" - you said. The biggest city in Europe is in Finland. Rovaniemi has an area of 8,016.75 square kilometres, thus making it the largest city in Europe by land. This city has an approximate population of 63,000. That isn't too dense on average.

[@laterlife2931]

I was referring to population. Finland has some VERY big cities.

[@just42tube]

@@laterlife2931 The less population the better the place tends to be in my books.

[@petereriksson7166]

I hope Finland close the border and increase the money to finnish people for each baby born by finnish parents.

[@just42tube]

@@petereriksson7166 Are you so concerned about the Swedish speaking Swedish people like the daughter of the Swedish prime minister studying in Helsinki that the boarders should be closed and the closer economical and social collaboration with Sweden should be prevented. Are you against many other policies the President of Finland has been publicly promoting lately?

[@just42tube]

Up in the Finnish Lapland the seasons are reversed, since winter and spring are the highest tourist seasons. To follow seasons, you need to move, if winter activities aren't your style, which seems to be the case, Southern Europe isn't miserably hot during the winter season. They are also more affordable to visit at that time. Many Finns take a winter vacation somewhere in warmer climates. But as the south gets too hot, the summers in Finland are still enjoyable. In any case summers are more green.

[@laterlife2931]

@just42tube I learned a valuable lesson this winter. I went away (California and Florida) for 3 months. This made the winter relatively short for me so I will do that going forward. My Finnish partner is from the south and doesn't like the north so that's not an option for me.

[@just42tube]

@@laterlife2931 Lapland tends to be busy during the high season, so better leave it to those who can enjoy Nordic and downhill skiing as well as other winter activities. Have tried them or is that just unthinkable? Don't you enjoy any winter activities?

[@irmelieija]

If I ever move back to Finland, I would only become a kesäsuomalainen.

[@laterlife2931]

@irmelieija I might try that myself if I wasn't restricted on how long I can be out of the country. 🤣

[@petereriksson7166]

The nordic countries are open to each other. I hope that will continue but I worry that the criminals in my country will spread to my nordic neighbours.

[@itsgoodiewoodie]

Interesting video. Well it's just a fact that our neighbouring with Russia has made this country more leftist and socialist than western Europe or especially USA. Many people think it's normal to tax for example 50% or even more from your salary. Then there are strong worker's unions and old laws, which are making labor market very inflexible. I hope in the future things go towards more fair system... This one does not reward and stricts our potential.

[@laterlife2931]

@itsgoodiewoodie I used to be more conservative in my views but I have become more liberal as I get older. I don't mind paying taxes as long as they are distributed fairly. I think unions are a good thing else workers are in too weak of a position. However, they should not allow bad workers to exploit the system. So, everything in moderation.

[@petereriksson7166]

The nordic countries are open to each other. I hope that will continue but I worry that the criminals in my country will spread to my nordic neighbours.

[@laterlife2931]

We live in complicated times. Hopefully, things will improve and not get worse.