Before I got pregnant I used to love living in the U.S. College is a lot of fun, people are friendly, living is cheap. It was so easy to make friends and there was so much to do too, so many places to see. Life was pretty easygoing, no real worries in sight :) I was lucky enough to get a scholarship so I didn't even have to pay for college. I had a low paying (minimum wage), but interesting and fun job, which funded my other expenses and would look great in my resume. I was in no real hurry to return to Finland, which in my book had depressing weather, expensive living and wasn't as much fun. None of the jobs I had had in Finland had been "fun", mostly due to grumpy bosses or coworkers. And just to be sure not all my bosses or coworkers were grumpy, I had some pretty amazing ones too! But they were still not as interesting or fun as the job I had in the U.S as an archivist. I was entertaining the idea of staying in the U.S and only returning to Finland for vacations and such :)
Then I got pregnant and I realized that I was in fact a foreign person in a foreign country. Never before in my life had I felt foreign in the U.S, all my friends always treated me equally. After it was obvious I was expecting, some of my religious acquaintances (not friends) stopped talking to me, since I was not married when I got pregnant. So much for all the Christian love they had, ha. Anyways, when I got pregnant I had to start dealing with state government officials (health care, visa issues etc). In the end I lost both my insurance and my visa, and basically realized that the law was there only to protect citizens. As a foreign person and as a woman, I was on the bottom of every ladder. The local politics started to disgust me. I realized what hypocrites the Republicans really are and how in the Republican government's eyes I'd always have these two faults: I was foreign born and I was a woman. I realized that I'd never be equal in the U.S and will not hide the fact that after my experiences I greatly despise the Republican state government.
Now, all of these somewhat dramatic feelings aside :) here's one really obvious reason to move to Finland: my visa extension got denied. This was partly due to a mistake the U.S Embassy in Finland made when writing my last visa. I tried to correct the mistake right after I got the visa, but the Embassy refused to correct it and told me I can apply for correction later. I did, but got denied. It was becoming fairly obvious to me that I was not welcome in the U.S. I know it's nothing personal, I was just another foreign person unwanted in their country. If I had married my husband right there and then I would've been able to stay in the U.S, but I wanted to get married when we planned and not when we were forced to. So we moved to Finland, where my husband (then boyfriend) was welcomed and given a residence permit almost right away. Applying for his permit was so easy and cheap, everything went really well.
The second reason was purely financial. My husband was just graduating, so he was only working part time and I turned into a stay-at-home Mom after our lil man was born. I could have returned to work after six weeks of unpaid maternity leave, but the daycare at the university (where I worked) cost more than I got paid! So I had to tell my amazing boss I wasn't coming back :( And I didn't even want to, I could not have put my 6 week old baby to daycare! I wanted to be with him and see him grow, so I stayed at home. As a Finnish citizen and permanent resident, I was granted maternity allowance from Finland, so I had some sort of income too. I have to say that Finnish social security system was extremely lenient in my case, I didn't expect to get the Finnish maternity allowance, since I wasn't living there, but since I was moving back to Finland they granted me it. Since husband's chances of employment after graduation were about the same in Finland than in the U.S, we decided Finland - with it's amazing social security system, that allowed me to stay home with our precious baby - was the way to go.
The third and perhaps one of the most important one for me was that I'd finally get to spend as much time as I want with my Finnish family and friends! I had not lived in Finland for over 5 years and was so happy to be home :) If we had stayed in the U.S, it would have been impossible for me to continue my studies, but here in Finland my mom helps me a lot by baby sitting our lil man, so I can go to classes and write my thesis. Also the university day care in Finland is really cheap! I'm so much freer in Finland to do what I want thanks to my family's babysitting help :)
All in all, I admit that I'm bitter towards the state government and the immigration officials. But I love and miss my friends in the U.S dearly :( I get so sad when I get another wedding invitation and realize I can't be there for their big day. I miss the cheap living and I miss the warmer climate. But I know I'm better off living in Finland right now, and big part of it is the social security system. I also love that my husband gets more paid time off from work and gets to be with us. Husband says he would like to return to U.S eventually and that isn't something that I'm automatically opposed to, depending on the visa situation and of course at what age our lil man is (I have reservations when it comes to U.S elementary school system). United States can be great country to live, but only if you have a comfortable amount of money. Right now I'm enjoying my life in the wonderful Finland! :)
Hope everyone is having an amazing week!
40 comments:
Hyvin tutut tunnelmat, vaikka osittain syyt lähtöön meidän kohdalla oli lapsen sijaan lainat :/
No, tulevaisuus on avoin, ei sitä ikinä tiedä miten asiat kääntyy ja minne perheen tie vie... tärkeintä on että on hyvä ja turvattu olo siellä missä ikinä on :)
Meillä on hiukan päinvastainen kokemus Suomen päässä oleskeluluvan hausta. Halpahan se on ja melko nopeakin mutta jostain kumman syystä me ei voitu sitä hakea Suomesta käsin, oltiin siis naimisissa ja miehen piti palata kotiin Usaan hakemuksen käsittelyajaksi.
Hyvä kirjoitus ja ymmärrän syynne muuttaa Suomeen! Amerikka muuttuu tukalaksi paikaksi, kun rahat loppuu, viisumit menee umpeen ja vakuutus loppuu. Kyllä Suomessa on niin paljon hyvää!
Mua aina vähän hymyilyttää, kun nämä jenkit puhuvat vapaudesta. Kyllä meillä suomalaisilla on todellinen vapaus, varsinkin naisilla.
Mitä muuten sä opiskelet?
Paljon kiitoksia kaikille kommenteista, on ihana huomata, etta kirjoituksiani luetaan!
Eveliina: totta, koskaan ei voi tietaa mihin sita paatyy :) Mutta voi kun olen pitkasta aikaa onnellinen ollessani Suomessa! Aina en ole taalla niin onnellinen ollut. Ehkapa sita piti lahtea rapakon taakse toteamaan, ettei tama Suomi olekaan hullumpi paikka asua :)
jersey_girl: no ei voi, kuulostaa tosi ikavalta :( Meille kerrottiin, etta hakemus kannattaa jattaa vasta Suomessa, niin sitten saa jaada Suomeen odottelemaan. Erossa olo on kylla todella raskasta. Jos palaamme Yhdysvaltoihin, meilla on edessa varmasti sama eli mina joudun jaamaan Suomeen odottamaan viisumia, kun taas mies ja lapsi kansalaisina voivat muuttaa milloin vain.
M-K: Kiitoksia :) Yhdysvallat on hieno maa, mutta siella ei ole Suomen turvaverkkoa, mita olen nyt oppinut arvostamaan todenteolla! Ja olen taysin samaa mielta tuosta vapaudesta, en kokenut kotiaitina olevani Yhdysvalloissa ollenkaan vapaa, lahinna kotivanki. Tosin minulla ei ollut autoa, tuota amerikkalaisen vapauden yhta mittaria ;) Olin Nebraskassa U.S History/Political Science major ja sain kaikki opinnot siirrettya tanne Suomeen (iso plussa Helsingin yliopistolle!). Nyt kirjoittelen gradua Yhdysvaltain lakihistoriasta :)
Olipas mielenkiintoinen kirjoitus. Ei ihme, että on hampaankolossa viranomaisia vastaan tuollaisen kokemuksen jälkeen. Itse näen tällä hetkellä USA:ssa asumisen hyviä puolia lähinnä, vaikka taloudellisesti huoletonta ei olekaan, ja olipa hyvä saada muistutus tästäkin puolesta jälleen.
Olen M-K:n kanssa täysin samaa mieltä tästä amerikkalaisesta "vapaudesta". Tavallaan minussa myös kasvaa jatkuvasti sisu - tai sisuunnus oikeastaan - tehdä täällä töitä naisten hyväksi. Mahdoitko kuulla eilisen suuresta myrskystä vesilasissa? Demokraattistrategisti Hilary Rosen (ei Obaman palkkalistoilla) heitti, että Ann Romney ei ole oikea ihminen puhumaan amerikkalaisten naisten puolesta, koska hän ei ole elämässään tehnyt päivääkään töitä. Pystynet kuvittelemaan, mikä älämölö siitä nousi. Minua hälyssä harmittaa se, että se osa mikä tässä oli totta, jäi kokonaan kotiäitiyden sinänsä aiheellisenkin puolustamisen taakse. Ann Romney pystyi valitsemaan kotiäitiyden, eikä varmasti täytynyt miettiä jäikö bensatankin täytön jälkeen vielä rahaa viidennenkin lapsen vaippoihin. (Samassa yhteydessä ylistettiin moneen otteeseen naisen oikeutta valita, mikä tuntui triplairvokkaalta: Harva nainen voi valita kotiin jäämisen tai töihin paluun välillä; Samat ihmiset eivät halua antaa naisten valita raskauden ja ehkäisyn/ääritapauksessa abortin välillä; ja kukaan ei katso että miehillä pitäisi olla oikeus valita koti-isyyden ja työnteon välillä).
Ja ylipitkän kommenttini loppuun vielä hyviäkin uutisia: Jos Sugar teidän perhe suuntaa USA:an uudestaan, sinun pitäisi saada oleskelulupa Suomesta käsin. Prosessin nimi on muistaakseni Direct Consular Filing. Ellen ihan väärin muista, Happiness is -blogin Anni sai Green Cardinsa siten.
Kiitoksia Pilvi kommentista! Samaa mielta olen tuosta homemaker-keskustelusta, etta Romneyt nyt eivat ole mitaan average Americaneja, eivatka todennakoisesti tieda mitaan todellista perhearjesta. Kaverini linkitti taman fb:ssa ja kieltamatta alkoi taas suututtaa: https://www.gop.com/MomsDoWork/MomsDoWork.htm Minusta se on GOP joka naisten oikeuksia loukkaa, mutta GOP:han ei puhu mistaan oikeuksista, koska mita oikeuksia naiset muka tarvitsevat, GOP:n miehet tietavat paremmin, eikos niin? Tassa on lisaa linkkia Romneyn perhearvoista liittyen "vapauteen valita" ja aidinmaidonkorvikkeisiin: http://mothering.com/peggyomara/breastfeeding-2/choice-is-a-red-herrring GOP knows how to push my buttons! :)
Tuo DCF olisi tosiaan huippu, mutta jostain kuulin, ettei Helsinki enaa hoida niita vaan ne lahetetaan Yhdysvaltoihin, mika tarkoittaa pitkaa odotusaikaa :( Onneksi ei viela tarvitse miettia asiaa :)
Mitä, ei enää DCF:iä!? Ei ole todellista, en voi käsittää miksi ei niitä siellä voisi käsitellä. Pöh!
GOP ottaa kaiken irti tästä Moms Do Work -jutusta, nyt on puskuritarrat ja termosmukit jo myynnissä. Yhtä raivostuttavaa on se, että niin moni nainen menee lankaan ja luulee, että GOP on yhtään missään muodossa naisten asiaa edistämässä! Mutta kuten sanoit, GOP:n miehet tietävät paremmin, naisten on parempi jättää mielipiteiden muodostaminen heille. Kuuntelin aamulla Melissa Harris Perryä ja opin taas lisää naisen "oikeudesta valita": republikaanit on tietty kärjessä estämässä äitiysloma- ja perhevapaaoikeuksia. Ainut selitys minkä sille voin keksiä, on että heidän mielestään vain rikkaat naiset ovat niitä naisia, joille kuuluu oikeus valita. Rrrraivostuttaa!
Alas muuta sano, tuo DCF olisi ollut niin kateva!
Ja kylla, olen taysin samaa mielta, GOP:n mielesta vain rikkailla on oikeus valita. Koyhat ovat koyhia, koska eivat ole tehneet mitaan asialle eli oma vikansa vai mitenkas se menikaan...
Jep jep, tutulta kuulostaa... Mua on kohdeltu kaltoin Usassa ihan vain siksi, että vierailin siellä asuvan mieheni luona (nykyään mies Suomessa myöskin) viisumivapaudella. Ei hirveästi inspiroi enää lähteä edes lomalle kun on kokenut mm. sen, että laukut pengotaan turvamiesten toimesta läpi kauttaaltaan tai sitten viedään passi ja nautitaan kuulusteluhuoneen mukavuuksista. Viisumia odotimme mulle 3,5 vuotta, sitä koskaan saamatta. Itseasiassa, emme saaneet koskaan edes minkäänlaista päätöstä asiasta, se vain "unohdettiin"...
DCF ei ole onnistunut enää vuoden 2007 marraskuun jälkeen - tiedän hyvin, sillä käytäntö muuttui juuri pari viikkoa ennen meidän häitä, minkä takia sitten vietimmekin avioliittomme ensimmäiset 3,5 vuotta erillämme...
No voi ei Jenni :( Ei tarvitse tosiaan ihmetella, miksi asutte Suomessa! Tuo DCF-juttu on kylla mielenkiintoinen, koska viela viime kevaana (2011) taisi yksi bloggari silla Yhdysvaltoihin muuttaa miehensa luo ja sitten tuli tieto, ettei elokuusta 2011 lahtien Helsinki enaa hoida niita. Tuo Yhdysvaltain Suomen suurlahetysto on kylla hyvin "mielenkiintoinen" paikka, antavat paljon vaaraa tietoa ja sahkoposteihin vastailevat miten sattuu ja tosiaan onnistuivat sotkemaan sen minunkin viisumini. Onneksi te olette kuitenkin asettuneet hyvin tanne Suomeen :)
Tervetuloa takaisin.
Tottahan se tosiaankin on, että amerikan mantereella raha valitettavasti määrää aika paljon, itselläni on ollut toiveena joskus viellä asua amerikassa, ehkä joskus viellä päädyn sinne, saa nähdä.
Kiitoksia! Nythan meilla on taas suunnitelmissa muuttaa takaisin, mutta vain valiaikaisesti :)
Jep, kaunis paikkahan amerikka on, tuo taustakuvasi on nätti, kuvaa juuri sellaista jotenkin tyypillistä amerikkalaista taloa keskellä aavikkoa, jotenkin mystisen hienon näköinen. Tulee tuosta(tuulimyllystä?) mieleen länkkäri elokuvat.
Onnea vaan matkaan, oletteko milloin lähdössä? onko tuo amerikkaan muuttaminen miten iso paperishow? miten siellä yleisesti nuo kansalaisuuden saamiset menee? ei ilmeisesti kovin helppo prosessi?
Pidähän blogia yllä sittenkin, kun menette sinne, jään mielenkiinnolla odottamaan.
Kiitos
-Anon
Taustakuva on lansi-Nebraskasta Scottsbluffista, kaunista seutua omalla tavallaan. Meidan lahto riippuu viisumin saamisesta, joka nayttaa nyt kestavan eli emme ole muuttamassa lahiaikoina. Tarkoitus on tosiaan kirjoitella tuosta viisumisprosessista myos taalla blogissa, mutta viimeiseen neljaan kuukauteen ei ole tapahtunut mitaan :)
Despite being a college educated person, you seem to not understand that the United States has a difficult problem with illegal immigration.The impact of this is that our system of help for needy people does not work as well as, say, Finland's. Yes, Obama is trying to remedy this, but his remedy is bankrupting the country. Government budgeting agencies confirm this. Again, this is due to the impact of illegal immigration. Our system will never work as well as that of
countries who have carefully guarded borders and strict document requirements.
I've noticed that when someone starts their comment by insulting me, I've seem to have written something pretty worthwhile since it struck a nerve. So I'll take your insult as sort of a compliment.
Yes, the United States has a " difficult problem with illegal immigration." Thank you for pointing out something that to me was obvious, but perhaps isn't clear to everyone, judging by your comment. However, this entry (which was written over 1,5 years ago), is about my personal experience living in the United States as a foreign woman. And that personal experience was not in the end very pleasant. After living in the United States I learned to appreciate Finland way more, so I'm very thankful for that.
Hello
I was born and raised in the US and I must say I agree with you, Finland is a much better place to live, raise a family, where everyone is treated equally, I made the mistake and moved here to California six years ago, this really opened my eyes as to how backwords the people and political leaders of this state are and how everyone points the finger at undocumented's and law abiding educated foreigners, our leaders are the one's to blame for all the problems,while Mexican drug cartels are taking over this country and setting up grow operations on our federal lands that were set aside for tax paying citizens to enjoy, while our goverment does nothing, quite frankly I am embarassed and disapointed in what this country has turned into, Immigration is not the problem, it is the greed ,manipulation and explotation of hard working foreigner's that goes on here, California likes to initiate strict laws and don't enforce them and protect. the true criminals, the politicians from prosecution and prey on the innocent for monitary gain, I should have stayed in Maine to begin with but I'm glad I did come here to really see what is going on in this country, my wife and I have decided to leave the.US and move to Finlandor Norway, we support your views and hope you and your family are doing well. Len
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Len. Some of the things you mentioned bother me immensely as well. Hope you and your family find happiness wherever you decide to move!
Heippa! Mielenkiintoinen tarina ja osuu omalle kohdallenikin, ainakin osittain. Olemme muuttamassa avomieheni kanssa Suomeen ja mietin miten miehesi työllistyi Suomessa? Puhuuko hän ollenkaan Suomea? Oma mieheni ei puhu Suomea ja työtilanne pelottaa. Saako englantia äidinkielenään puhua helposti töitä?
-Maj
Kiitoksia kommentista, Maj! Mieheni tyollistyi parin kuukauden paasta valmistuttuaan eli suhteellisen nopeasti. Han ei osaa suomea muuta kuin muutaman sanan ja silti tosiaan loysi oman alansa toita. Omasta mielestani toiden saaminen suomesta ilman kielitaitoa on vaikeaa, muttei suinkaan mahdotonta. Riippuu pitkalti alasta eli esimerkiksi IT-alalla ei suomen kielta valttamatta tarvitse osata ollenkaan. Tervetuloa Suomeen! :)
I agree with you. I am an American that graduated with a doctorate degree and masters degree from Finland. After graduation I was broke and could not find a decent job, so I had not choice but to return to the US.
Since my return to the US, I have been upset with myself for returning to this horrible country that doesn't value education, where greed and selfish purposes prevail over doing the right thing and being considerate towards the needs of other people.
Unfortunately, it seems that I am stuck in this country, because for a foreigner that doesn't speak much Finnish, it is almost impossible to even find an entry-level job with a Finnish company.
However, I still love Finland and I would give up my US citizenship for a chance to permanently return to Finland. Finns (for the most part)respect the law, are concern about how their actions affect other people, they are very honest, they value education and nature, and value other people for who they are as a person and for their actions, not because of the bling-bling they wear. Also, they believe in true equality among people, and they are not greedy or selfish. HYVAA SUOMI !
Thank you for your comment AlexK,
I absolutely agree with you on "Finns (for the most part) respect the law, are concern about how their actions affect other people, they are very honest, they value education and nature, and value other people for who they are as a person and for their actions, not because of the bling-bling they wear. Also, they believe in true equality among people, and they are not greedy or selfish." What you wrote makes me so proud of my country :)
I've had a very hard time adjusting to the fact in the U.S it sometimes seems like rules and laws are okay to be broken, if you don't get caught. And even if you do, you just apologize and it all goes away...maybe. The same goes for selfish, mean and insulting things people say, apology clears up everything! It just doesn't in my book, especially since it appears after apologizing it's okay to try to do the same thing again. Promises are often not meant to be kept, and for a Finnish person that's a really tough thing to understand.
I know this is my problem and that if I move to back to the U.S I'm the one who has to adjust, but I still value honesty and caring, like actually caring, not just saying you care, about things.
I don't know what field you have your degree on, but you are right that sometimes it's very hard to find a job in Finland without Finnish skills. My husband managed that, because he is responsible for U.S markets in a Finnish company. I hope that you'll be able to find a solution that works best for you! Good luck and thank you again for your very nice comment, made my day!
Hei, löysin sattumalta blogisi selaillessa. Kirjoituksesi oli loistava alusta loppuun saakka! Haluaisin kuitenkin sinulta kysyä amerikkaan muutosta, sillä se on oma tavoitteeni koulun jälkeen (olen tällä hetkellä tietojenkäsittely/IT alalla AMK:ssa). Eli yleensä ottaen onko se kuinka helppoa etsiä suomesta käsin töitä amerikasta, ja kuinka pitkä/vaikea prosessi siitä syntyy kun yritys rupeaa hankkimaan sinulle green cardia. Lisäksi kannattaisiko mennä pidemmän kautta ja suorittaa Master's degree vai kokeilla jo alemman tutkinnon kanssa työnhakua. Itselläni asuu sukulaisia Yhdysvaltojen itärannikolla joilta saisin varmasti alkuun myös jotain apua. Lisäisin vielä että englanti on käytännössä toinen äidinkieleni joten sen suhteen ei pitäisi olla ongelmia.
Kiitoksia kommentistasi :) Tyoluvista en valitettavasti osaa sanoa mitaan, mutta tyopaikan haku kylla onnistuu Suomestakin kasin. Mieheni haki netin kautta tyopaikkoja ja hanet sitten kutsuttiin haastatteluun paikan paalle ja sai tyopaikan. Mutta mieheni on tosiaan amerikkalainen eli hanen ei tarvinnut huolehtia luvista. Jos et ole jo katsonut sellaista sivustoa kuin www.visajourney.com niin suosittelen ehdottomasti, siella on paljon tietoa maahanmuutosta. Onnea matkaan!
I lived in the U.S. For many years and I'm living in Finland now, unfortuneatly so!
I had a lot of life in the States, the atmosphere was great and so were the American people!
These people who have grown up in Finland are like "Little Men" narrow minded, truly the greatest
COPY CATS, IMMITATORS, talking about others being fake but c'mon!! Heh, I've never seeing anything
like that in the U.S.,never!
These people are also as many of you already know, very envious people and I believe that is what makes them
also mallicious and vindictive!
Now, there are some good things to every place but I would never recommend anyone making a move from
U.S. To Finland!
There's that lousy climate to add to that too but really the main thing are the little minded people and the atmosphere
they make why you may have your life kind of destroyed by someone else but yourself,
there are various reasons why this kind of relocation has taken place!
Dear Anonymous, I'm so sorry for your bitterness. I truly hope you'll be able to overcome it and move on with a more positive note.
The characteristics you describe are not characteristics of a nation, but instead characteristics of an individual. There are for example envious people everywhere in the world, some are perhaps better at disguising their feelings than others. I'm not sure what you meant by "Little Men" or the last paragraph, perhaps the meaning was lost in translation?
Anyways, my point is that I'm sorry for your experiences. Most of us are able to choose the people we hang out with, so I hope you will be able to find people more to your liking soon. You can't, however, generalize individual characteristics to an entire nation.
My husband and I have experienced Finland very differently from you, we have a very positive experience moving from the U.S to Finland. We now live in the U.S, but plan on returning to Finland in a few years.
There's no question about people in Fin being envious, jealose in nature, none what so ever!
It does not mean everyone of course, BUT it does mean far greater number
percentage wise, without a doubt!
I really can't go into everything I feel and see, it's increadeble!
I guess in my case I was away from here for so long without making a single trip here.
There are some real big historical issues, that it would take a lot of explaining to do
by writing it all down and uh, I mean I don't honestly even wanna say it all out loud,
but anyone especially someone not from Fin. who looks at history of Fin., may understand
why people are like "Little Men" with sort of wannabe complexes and so interested in
how other nations see and talk about Finns, funny thing being, NO ONE DOES?!
Uh........c'mon.......Bob did once and Larry couple times......HEH! Who's Bob....Larry?
But that all said, there are good people in Finland who don't bother others,
who are humble and quiet, stick to themselves,
BUT it's the high number in percentage wise who are likely to tease and harass others,
but when push comes to showe they back down and are not fighters at all, instead more like cowards!
Also, I take no pleasure in writing all this the way I just did, I'm only a messenger!
Before I ever ended up back here, I only had good thoughts about Fin while living in the U.S.
Once upon a time I had a great life in the U.S., therefore I had a positive outlook and great general
feeling about lots of things that I no longer have?!
I'm forever thankful to the American people who alwayz treated me so well........alwayz!
Again, I'm so sorry for your very apparent bitterness. Bitterness (and resentment) has a tendency to take control, and consume a person. I hope you'll be able to overcome it and move on with your life on a more positive note.
Heh! This had nothing to do with bitterness but just giving my honest opinions
that are not most likely similar with yours?!
On a positive note, I was always treated very well in the U.S. by the American people!
There is something in the U.S. that is nowhere else, The American Spirit!
The atmosphere, way of life and mostly them people who make that Spirit etc.
Anonymous,
You must have been hurt very badly by someone to come up with such an opinion of one of the most respected and well-put together countries. True, every nation has it's faults, but that doesn't mean the people are all bad. I have had my fair share of negative experiences in the U.S.(and this is coming from a native).
When you say that there is an American Spirit, I feel little of it. Gone are the days of chivalry and patriotism. You see countless homeless people on the streets, gang members stalking the neighborhoods, bikers out riding, and protesters picketing about some injustice or another. If people were content with such a country, would there still be such discourse and inner turmoil? Would the people be so dissatisfied with their government?
No, but America was built upon the ideas of the many and not the privileged few. It is a country of immigrants, intended as a place for people seeking a better life. As a result, the large influx of people has caused many problems to arise. The government has tried to fix these things, but the people have little faith in the system. The government does little to remedy their concerns...
It is possible, you experienced feelings of alienation due to being isolated from what was familiar and being thrust into what was not. In order to adapt to a new life in another country, that means at least accepting some of their customs by meeting them half-way, at the very least.
You also mentioned climate as an issue. Alaska is part of the U.S. and it gets even colder than Finland sometimes. If you're taking the mainland, Minnesota has quite the temperature fluctuations. The U.S. also suffers frequent hurricanes and tornadoes during the seasons, as well as the occasional big earthquake. If you gave me the option of living in Oklahoma or Helsinki, I'd choose Finland every time. The cold is a lot easier to predict (and deal with) than a tornado.
Just some food for thought, seeing as you yourself condemned narrow-mindedness...
Sincerely,
Ashley
May you overcome the negative experience that changed your opinion so.
p.s. Sugar, I hope you are doing well with the baby. You have my best wishes. Ciao, from California.
Thank you Ashley for your well-reasoned comment! Best wishes from Maryland!
I would love to move there so bad. Maybe one day : )
Thank you for your comment. Hope you get a chance to move someday! :)
Hyviä oivalluksia ja tietoa paluumuuttoa tai vastaavaa suunnitteleville. Itse tein toisin, raskaaksi tullessani jäin toiseen maahan (myös pohjois-amerikassa), luovuin sosiaaliturvasta ja hyvinvointi yhteiskunnan suomista vanhemmuuden eduista. Tosin en ollut niitä veroeuroillani suuremmin kerryttänytkään, että sinänsä varmaan menevät parempiin taskuihin. Usein olen kuullut, etteivät ulkomaalaiset puolisot kovin helposti ole Suomesta saaneet töitä (kieli kysynys). Lupa-asiatkin voivat ottaa aikaa ja energiaa. Täällä minulla ei ole ollut ulkomaalaisstatuksen kanssa ongelmia (tosin aina kysytään mistä olet ja mitä mieltä olet tästä maasta), toisinaan ulkomaalaisuudesta on jopa etua työmarkkinoilla. Olen samaa mieltä, että valtio ajaa aina ensin omiensa etua ja niin sen osin pitääkin mennä. Itse olen muutamassa vuodessa hankkinut toisen kansalaisuuden ja näin ollen olen samalla viivalla. Olen tyytyväinen näin. Vaikkei oma perhe ja äiti olekaan lähellä, miehen (myös sedät tädit ja serkut) perheestä on saatu tukea ja apua. Itse en kaivannut kuukausien äitiyslomaa (vaan tein töitä osa-aikaisesti kotoa käsin vauvan ollessa jo pari viikkoinen). Vieläkin työn ja äitiyden yhdistäminen tuottaa päänvaivaa, mutta homma luistaa. Totta, että koulut ja muut maksaa, mutta saan itse valita millaisen opinahjon tyttärilleni valitsen. Valinnan vapautta on, mutta se maksaa. Riskit ovat suurempia, tiedostan sen. Onneksi asenne ilmapiiri on positiivinen. Teen mielelläni kovasti töitä perheeni eteen.
Kiitoksia kommentista. Henkilokohtaisia valintojahan nama ovat, siis jos on mahdollisuus valita, toiselle sopii toinen ratkaisu kuin toiselle. Tama kirjoitus tuli tosiaan kirjoitettua melkein nelja vuotta sitten, talla hetkella asumme taas Yhdysvalloissa.
Asenne ilmapiiri riippuu kylla paljon alueesta milla asuu ja taallahan niita erilaisia alueita riittaa. Juuri tanaan katselin kun elementary school lapset tulivat kouluun osa pelkissa ohuissa huppareissa ja lampotila -8C. Paivan ainut ruoka on usein se mita koulussa saavat. Kaikilla ei ole mahdollisuutta valita ja se epatasa-arvo/epareiluus harmittaa tassa maassa edelleen kymmenen vuodenkin jalkeen.
It was most splendid to read a positive and encouraging tale of moving (or returning in your case) to Finland :).
I have been contemplating emigrating to the Land of a Thousand Lakes for some years now and, just last week, took the big step of flying over to view a house with the intention of buying :eek:.
The big, big, worry is the prospect of finding work there - for I am middle-aged and (for now) non-Finnish speaking, as well as foreign ... all being things that count against me. These are understandable barriers but it is scary to face such an uphill battle as a well educated, very experienced, engineer :chuckles:.
Why your blog was such a ray of sunshine is that I have been reading far too many stories on-line from those who are bitter or disappointed with their attempt to migrate. I have been telling myself that it is often only those with a negative experience who share it with the world via the Net and that those who move and succeed seldom have cause to put their thoughts into public words. But to read account after account of people forced to return 'home' because they ran out of money has been very disheartening and has made what should be an exciting choice, to buy a home elsewhere and take a leap of faith, into one shadowed by doubt and worry.
So thank you for brightening my spirits and I shall keep my fingers crossed that what i have planned comes to successful fruition.
Thank you for your comment, Mark. I'm glad you found my blog post uplifting! :) It's true that it is sometimes rather hard for a non-Finnish speaker to find employment in Finland. But that doesn't mean that it's impossible. I hope you'll be able to find a place to call your home in Finland and everything else falls in into place!
Hello, Myself and my two best friends along side my husband have recently decided to give some super serious thought to moving out of the US. With all of the political crap going on and me working 65 hours a week at times and still not cutting it. We have seriously considered Finland and are genuinely excited to find out more, we have a million and one questions and being that we live just an hour away from Omaha( I grew up here ) to find your blog post was amazing, we would like to know if you could conversate with us over all these overwhelming questions. IF so my email is emielee33@gmail.com
Hi EmieLee, thank you for your comment! I'll do my best to answer any of your questions, my email is sugarantelope ( at ) gmail.com
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