Hello again all the English speaking readers of the blog! I'm getting close to the half way mark of my visit to Finland. I have to say that I've had a great time here so far and I haven't even seen all the friends yet so it is only going to get better. If you have read the Finnish posts, some of this might be familiar content. I hope I'm not repeating myself too much, typing these posts in different spots has been kind of confusing, hard to keep all the strings together.
This past week has been much calmer emotionally, haven't spent all my spare time online surfing for information and worrying what life in Germany would be like. I haven't really sat down to sort out my thoughts, everything happened so quickly that afterwards I just felt disappointed about us missing the opportunity but it was out of our hands so there are no ifs to worry about.
I have to say I haven't thought much about Vancouver lately, except for Jari. After the visit last year it was difficult to return to Vancouver and the situation might be the same this year. This time around I need to have some answers ready when I go back. Vancouver will be our home for the time being and I need to figure out I'm going to do there to make my everyday life better and to have something meaningful to do.
I have totally surprised myself during this visit as I would be totally ready to move back to Finland. I guess I just have to talk Jari into it...
As you already know, I've enjoyed the food a lot. I can find all my favourites at the grocery stores and new variations of them + plenty of new products. Bread is excellent here (and fresh bread is baked in stores throughout the day, yummy), so is ice cream and all the milk products in general. In comparison prices even in restaurants are not that bad compared to Vancouver and the service has been good so far.
It is easy to get around in the cities, especially in Helsinki. Vancouver has a decent public transportation system but nothing compared to Helsinki's. ...and the distances are not that long between Helsinki, Tampere and Turku that it is easy to travel between the cities by train or by bus. It's not cheap but one doesn't necessarily need a car here. At least it all works well for a tourist like me.
The general atmosphere here is much more relaxed and enjoyable. I think it is easier to be outdoorsy in Helsinki (or in other cities in Finland) than in Vancouver, nature is at your doorstep. There are lots of parks around and in many cases it is easy to find forested areas close to city centers. I'm getting older and even though I like living in downtown in Vancouver, I yearn for a quieter environment and more nature around me.
Shopping is great but the prices tend to be a little bit too high. I would love to decorate my own apartment here, I wouldn't have any problems finding lots of cool stuff. Housing prices are high though but in general most apartments are better laid out and functional.
There are two main things I'm not too crazy about: people smoke and drink too much.
This post probably doesn't make any sense... I know it but I had to get it out of my system. Thanks for reading!
This past week has been much calmer emotionally, haven't spent all my spare time online surfing for information and worrying what life in Germany would be like. I haven't really sat down to sort out my thoughts, everything happened so quickly that afterwards I just felt disappointed about us missing the opportunity but it was out of our hands so there are no ifs to worry about.
I have to say I haven't thought much about Vancouver lately, except for Jari. After the visit last year it was difficult to return to Vancouver and the situation might be the same this year. This time around I need to have some answers ready when I go back. Vancouver will be our home for the time being and I need to figure out I'm going to do there to make my everyday life better and to have something meaningful to do.
I have totally surprised myself during this visit as I would be totally ready to move back to Finland. I guess I just have to talk Jari into it...
As you already know, I've enjoyed the food a lot. I can find all my favourites at the grocery stores and new variations of them + plenty of new products. Bread is excellent here (and fresh bread is baked in stores throughout the day, yummy), so is ice cream and all the milk products in general. In comparison prices even in restaurants are not that bad compared to Vancouver and the service has been good so far.
It is easy to get around in the cities, especially in Helsinki. Vancouver has a decent public transportation system but nothing compared to Helsinki's. ...and the distances are not that long between Helsinki, Tampere and Turku that it is easy to travel between the cities by train or by bus. It's not cheap but one doesn't necessarily need a car here. At least it all works well for a tourist like me.
The general atmosphere here is much more relaxed and enjoyable. I think it is easier to be outdoorsy in Helsinki (or in other cities in Finland) than in Vancouver, nature is at your doorstep. There are lots of parks around and in many cases it is easy to find forested areas close to city centers. I'm getting older and even though I like living in downtown in Vancouver, I yearn for a quieter environment and more nature around me.
Shopping is great but the prices tend to be a little bit too high. I would love to decorate my own apartment here, I wouldn't have any problems finding lots of cool stuff. Housing prices are high though but in general most apartments are better laid out and functional.
There are two main things I'm not too crazy about: people smoke and drink too much.
This post probably doesn't make any sense... I know it but I had to get it out of my system. Thanks for reading!
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