Previously I'd mentioned that we were moving from Edinburgh to Newcastle, such that my wife could accept a position in a training-program, and become a more specialized (medical) doctor.
Now the inevitable update: We're still moving, but we're no longer moving to Newcastle, instead we're moving to Helsinki, Finland.
Me? I care very little about where I end up. I love Edinburgh, I always have, and I never expected to leave here, but once the decision was made that we needed to be elsewhere the actual destination does/didn't matter too much to me.
Sure Newcastle is the home of Newcastle Brown Ale, and has the kind of proper-Northern accents I both love and miss but Finland has Leipäjuusto, Saunas, and lovely people.
Given the alternative - My wife moves to Finland, and I do not - Moving to Helsinki is a no-brainer.
I'm working on the assumption that I can keep my job and work more-remotely. If that turns out not to be the case that'll be a real shame given the way the past two years have worked out.
So .. 60 days or so left in the UK. Fun.
Tags: helsinki, newcastle, travel 4 comments
Make sure you can work remotely. You do not want to be looking for work in Finland as a foreigner, although IT may be a more forgiving sector. As a Scot, you might find dark grey winters not so unusual but bear in mind that adapting to life in Finland can be very challenging for foreigners. Learn the language (Finnish, even if your wife's first language is Swedish) and never give up. Book your "summer" holiday for December/January. Keep an open mind but be prepared. I am a linguist, had a job (able to work remotely), had experience of living in other foreign countries and loved my Finnish girlfriend but it didn't work out for me. Anyway, best of luck ;-)