Our Journey to Finland — Part 1
Finland was never part of our original dream.
If you had asked my husband and me years ago where we imagined ourselves eventually settling, I don’t think either of us would have answered, “Finland.”
Canada? Maybe.
Australia? Perhaps.
The United Kingdom, the United States, or New Zealand? Those were the kinds of countries that crossed our minds.
But Finland?
Not really.
And yet, here we are.
Sometimes life doesn’t take us exactly where we planned to go. Sometimes another door opens while we are so busy knocking on a completely different one.
Looking back now, I realize that our journey to Finland did not begin when we boarded the plane.
It began many years earlier – with two young Filipinos leaving their families behind, moving to Dubai, working hard, experiencing successes and failures, saving what we could, dreaming about something better, and wondering where life would eventually take us.
We just didn’t know yet that the answer would be a small Nordic country thousands of kilometers away.
This is where our Finland story really begins.
Before Finland, There Was Dubai
In 2014, my husband and I were still a couple when we decided to leave the Philippines and move to Dubai together.
Like many Filipinos who choose to work abroad, leaving wasn’t easy.
We left behind the people who mattered most to us – our families, relatives, friends, and the familiar life we had always known.
But at that point in our lives, moving abroad felt like the right decision.
We wanted to work.
We wanted to grow.
We wanted to build something together.
And so Dubai became our home for almost ten years.
Building Our Lives and Careers in Dubai
Both my husband and I started working at an airport hotel.
That was where our working life in Dubai began.
From there, our careers gradually took different directions.
For me, it was:
Airport hotel → Group of medical companies → Pharmaceutical distributor → Another pharmaceutical company
As I was writing this post, I suddenly realized:
Wow, I actually had four employers during those ten years! 😄
My husband, on the other hand, went from the same hotel where we started to a food and beverage company.
Only two employers in almost ten years.
Not bad!
Our years in Dubai gave us many opportunities, experiences, and lessons.
But they weren’t always easy.
There were ups and downs.
There were challenges at work.
There were personal struggles.
There were financial worries.
There were disappointments, changes, and moments when we wondered what our next step should be.
Still, we kept going.
We always had this feeling that there might be another chapter waiting for us somewhere.
Dubai Was Supposed to Be Our “Stepping Stone”
Before we moved to Dubai, we already had an idea in our minds.
Dubai would be our stepping stone.
We would work there, gain experience, save money, build our careers, and eventually migrate to another country where perhaps we could settle permanently.
At that time, we were considering countries such as Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
Like many migrants, we believed these countries might offer us greater long-term stability, career opportunities, and a good environment in which to raise a family.
Of course, returning permanently to the Philippines was always an option.
The Philippines will always be home.
But at that point, we felt we still needed to continue looking for opportunities abroad.
So we tried.
And tried.
And tried again.
Dubai was once home, and it will always be part of our story.
Years of Applications and Disappointments
Over the years, we explored different possibilities.
Some applications didn’t work.
Some opportunities went nowhere.
Some plans looked promising in the beginning but eventually disappeared.
Years passed.
Life also changed.
We were no longer simply a young couple trying to figure out our future.
Eventually, we became a family of three.
And once we had our daughter, the way we thought about our future changed too.
It wasn’t only about:
Where can we earn more?
It also became:
Where would we want our child to grow up?
Where could we build a stable family life?
Where could we imagine ourselves staying for the long term?
And then, after years of looking in completely different directions, Finland appeared.
How Finland Suddenly Entered the Picture
In 2023, while we were still living and working in Dubai, I was browsing Facebook when I came across a post from a hiring agency recruiting people for opportunities in Finland.
Finland had never really been on our list.
I hadn’t spent years researching how to migrate here.
I didn’t grow up dreaming of seeing Helsinki.
I certainly wasn’t sitting in Dubai thinking:
“One day, I’m going to live in Kuhmo.” 😄
The opportunity simply appeared.
And it made us curious.
Maybe sometimes that’s how life works.
You spend years trying to open certain doors, and then another door you weren’t even looking for suddenly opens.
The question becomes:
Are you willing to walk through it?
Our First Big Concern: The Finnish Language
Our first reaction wasn’t immediately:
“Yes! Finland! Let’s go!”
We had doubts.
One of the biggest was the Finnish language.
For us to pursue the opportunity, I needed to learn Finnish.
And Finnish wasn’t exactly one of those languages we had casually studied before.
We knew English.
We had spent years working in an international environment in Dubai where English was widely used.
Suddenly, I was looking at words that seemed incredibly long and unfamiliar.
Finnish felt like an entirely different world.
And because I was pursuing work connected to healthcare, language wasn’t something I could simply ignore.
I would eventually need to communicate with patients, colleagues, families, and other healthcare professionals.
That made Finnish one of the biggest challenges standing between us and Finland.
But it also became part of the challenge I decided to accept.
We Were Ready for Something New
After almost ten years in Dubai, our lives had become familiar.
Work.
Home.
Responsibilities.
Repeat.
There was nothing necessarily wrong with that.
Dubai had given us so much.
It gave us jobs, experience, friendships, opportunities, and countless memories.
But somewhere along the way, we began feeling that perhaps it was time for something different.
We needed a new challenge.
A new environment.
Maybe even a completely new beginning.
And now we had a daughter to consider.
The decisions we made were no longer only for ourselves.
We began thinking more seriously about where she would grow up and what kind of environment we wanted around her.
That’s when Finland started becoming more than simply an opportunity I had seen on Facebook.
We began imagining an actual life here.
“Finland Is the Happiest Country, Right?”
Of course, while researching Finland, one fact appeared everywhere:
Finland is the happiest country in the world.
And yes – as of the 2026 World Happiness Report, Finland ranked first for the ninth consecutive year. The ranking is based on people’s evaluations of their own lives, so it doesn’t mean everyone in Finland walks around smiling happily all day. Still, it naturally made us curious about what makes life here work well for many people.
So we thought:
Finland is the happiest country in the world… why not give it a chance?
😄
But happiness rankings weren’t the real reason we came.
Several things about Finnish society attracted us.
What Attracted Us to Finland?
1. A Society That Supports Families
One of the things that caught our attention was Finland’s system of support for families.
Families who meet the eligibility requirements may receive benefits such as child benefit and parental allowances through Kela. Child benefit, for example, is generally available for eligible children under 17, while parental allowance supports parents during qualifying parental leave periods.
As parents, knowing that there was a structure supporting families was reassuring.
Later, when we actually began living here, we understood the system much better than we ever could have while researching it from Dubai.
2. Education and Early Childhood Education
Another important consideration was our daughter.
Finland’s early childhood education and care system is not simply babysitting while parents work. It is part of the Finnish education system and combines care, education, and teaching, with learning through play playing an important role.
Municipalities arrange early childhood education services, while pre-primary and basic education are provided free of charge.
At the time, we only knew that our daughter could attend daycare while we worked.
We didn’t yet understand how much daycare would become part of her own journey in Finland.
3. Nature Everywhere
We also learned about Finland’s forests and lakes.
But I don’t think we fully understood what that meant until we actually moved here.
In Finland, everyman’s rights – or everyone’s rights (jokaisenoikeudet) – allow people extensive access to nature, including walking in many natural areas and picking wild berries and mushrooms, as long as the rules and restrictions are respected.
Today, that connection to nature is one of the things we appreciate most about living in Kuhmo.
But back then?
We were still trying to imagine what living surrounded by forests would actually feel like.
4. Public Services and Social Security
Finland also has a broad public-service and social-security system.
Public healthcare is primarily organised by Finland’s wellbeing services counties and is heavily publicly funded, although some services can have client fees.
There are also unemployment benefits for people who meet the relevant conditions. One thing worth noting for anyone reading this today is that these systems can change: for example, from May 2026, Kela’s general social security benefit replaced the former basic unemployment allowance and labour market subsidy.
I always recommend checking Kela and other official Finnish websites.
What We Thought We Knew About Finland – and What We Learned Later
Researching another country online and actually living there are two completely different things.
There were many things we thought we understood before coming.
Then Finland taught us otherwise.
We Knew Finnish Language Was Difficult…
…but we didn’t realize how important it would become in our everyday life.
Before moving here, I thought:
Okay, I need Finnish for work.
What I didn’t fully understand was how often I would need it outside work too.
Living in a smaller town like Kuhmo has made Finnish especially important in our everyday experiences.
Shopping.
Appointments.
Daycare.
Work.
Conversations with colleagues.
Official matters.
Simple everyday interactions.
Yes, English can help in many situations, but we quickly realized that if we truly wanted to build a life here, learning Finnish wasn’t simply something to “pass.”
It was something we needed to keep developing.
And I am still learning.
We Thought Finns Were Very Reserved…
We had heard the stereotype that Finnish people were quiet, introverted, and very private.
And yes, personal space seems to be valued here.
But what we didn’t know was how many kind, helpful, friendly, and open-minded people we would meet.
Sometimes friendliness simply looks different in different cultures.
It may not always come with lots of small talk.
But kindness can appear through actions.
And we experienced plenty of that after arriving.
We Knew Our Daughter Would Go to Daycare…
But we didn’t realize how important daycare would become for her development and integration.
She wasn’t simply somewhere safe while we were working.
She was playing.
Learning.
Socializing.
Making friends.
Experiencing Finnish culture.
And, of course, learning Finnish.
At one point we realized that she was learning Finnish faster than us! 😄
Children are really something else.
Our daughter’s daycare experience became such an important part of our adjustment to life in Finland that I wrote a separate story about it. You can read more in
Our Daughter’s Daycare Journey in Finland.
While we adults are thinking about grammar rules and wondering which ending belongs to which word, children simply listen, play, speak, and somehow learn.
Watching her adapt gave us another reason to believe that perhaps Finland could truly become home for our family.
We Knew We Would Live in a Small Community…
But we didn’t know we would eventually love it.
Coming from Dubai, Kuhmo felt completely different.
Dubai had huge buildings, busy highways, malls, crowds, restaurants, and people from almost everywhere in the world.
Then suddenly:
Forests.
Lakes.
Snow.
Quiet roads.
A small town.
At first, we knew only that our future home would be far quieter than what we were accustomed to.
What we didn’t know was that this quiet little place would eventually become our second home.
A place where we would raise our family.
A place where we would make friends.
A place where our children would grow.
A place filled with memories that didn’t exist when we first saw Finland on a Facebook post.
Kuhmo a quiet little place that eventually became our second home.
We Knew Finnish Winters Were Cold…
Oh yes.
We definitely knew.
😄
But knowing something intellectually and experiencing –20°C or –30°C are very different things.
We feared the winter.
Would we survive the cold?
Would we hate the darkness?
Would we ever get used to snow everywhere?
What we didn’t realize was that winter could also be incredibly beautiful.
Fresh snow falling quietly.
Trees covered in white.
Frozen lakes.
Christmas surrounded by snow.
And eventually, after winter comes spring.
Then summer.
Then autumn.
Living here has allowed us to watch nature completely transform several times every year.
And somehow, instead of dreading every winter, we learned to appreciate what each season brings.
We Knew Finland Supported Families…
But living here helped us understand the system more realistically.
Before arriving, we heard about child benefits, parental allowances, unemployment support, healthcare, education, and other aspects of Finnish social security.
And yes, these systems exist.
But they are not simply free money handed to everyone.
Benefits have eligibility rules, individual circumstances matter, and systems change over time.
We also learned another reality:
Finland can be expensive.
Taxes can feel significant.
Rent costs money.
Food costs money.
Cars cost money.
Insurance costs money.
Everything still requires budgeting.
The idea that moving to a country with a strong welfare system automatically means financial life becomes easy isn’t realistic.
You still need to work, plan, save, and manage your money.
But for our family, when we looked at the overall picture, the positives continued to outweigh the challenges.
Our Hopes and Our Fears
Moving countries always involves uncertainty.
Even now, there are things we worry about.
What If We Lose Our Jobs?
Our jobs are an important part of the life we have built here.
Naturally, we worry sometimes:
What if one of us loses our job?
Finland does have unemployment support for eligible residents, but unemployment would still affect our family’s finances and plans.
Beyond money, work also gives us a sense of purpose.
We came here wanting to work, contribute, learn, and build our lives.
So naturally, we hope we can continue doing that.
And if one job ends someday, we hope another opportunity will open.
What If My Finnish Is Never Good Enough?
This is probably one of my biggest personal worries.
I sometimes ask myself:
What if my Finnish never becomes fluent enough?
Will I become a good sairaanhoitaja?
Will I be able to communicate confidently with patients?
Will I understand everything my colleagues are saying?
I know I can perform the nursing work itself.
But nursing isn’t only about technical skills.
Communication matters enormously.
Patients need to understand you.
You need to understand them.
You need to communicate with doctors, nurses, families, and other professionals.
Even now, there are situations when Finnish is challenging for me.
But I have also learned something:
I don’t need to know everything today.
Language takes time.
I can continue learning.
Continue listening.
Continue speaking.
Continue making mistakes.
Continue correcting them.
No rush.
No unnecessary pressure.
Just keep going.
What If Finland Doesn’t Work Out?
We also know that life is unpredictable.
Perhaps someday circumstances could change.
Maybe something happens with work.
Maybe family circumstances change.
Maybe life takes us somewhere else again.
And if Finland doesn’t work out?
We still have the Philippines.
Going home would not mean failure.
It would simply mean that another chapter had ended.
Everyone needs a backup plan.
The Philippines is our first home, and no matter how far we travel, that will never disappear.
But right now, we are hopeful that Finland can remain our home too.
Perhaps even for the rest of our lives.
Our Hopes Are Bigger Than Our Fears
Yes, we have fears.
But we also have hope.
We hope we can continue working and building our careers.
We hope that if one opportunity ends, another will come.
We hope our Finnish will continue improving year after year.
We hope our children will continue growing happily here.
We hope we will keep finding our place in Finnish society.
And we hope that Finland can remain the home where our family continues building its future.
Winter can be freezing.
Summer can sometimes feel surprisingly hot.
Finnish can feel impossible.
Taxes and expenses can make us stare at our bank account. 😄
Life here isn’t perfect.
No country is.
But we are hopeful.
And sometimes hope is enough to keep you moving forward.
What We Love About Finland: Our Life After Moving From Dubai
The Moment We Finally Said: “Let’s Do It”
Back in Dubai, the opportunity slowly became real.
It was no longer simply a Facebook post.
I completed and passed the online Finnish-language course required in our recruitment pathway.
Then I was hired by a Finnish employer.
And eventually, I signed an employment contract.
At that point, what were we supposed to say?
😄
This was an opportunity we had spent years hoping for… perhaps not in the country we originally imagined, but an opportunity nevertheless.
We didn’t know whether another one would come.
It felt like:
Take it or leave it.
So we took it.
Was it risky?
Of course.
We were leaving behind almost ten years of life in Dubai.
We had jobs.
We had routines.
We knew how things worked there.
Finland meant starting again.
A new country.
A new language.
A different climate.
A different culture.
New workplaces.
New systems.
New people.
And this time, we weren’t making the decision only as a couple.
We had our little one with us.
We were thinking about the family we wanted to continue building together.
There was no guarantee that everything would work perfectly.
But sometimes you have to decide whether staying somewhere familiar is safer – or whether taking a chance might lead you toward something better.
For us, the answer was:
Let’s do it.
And that simple decision changed our lives.
Final Thoughts
When I look back now, one thing still makes me smile:
Finland wasn’t even part of the original plan.
For years, we were looking toward Canada, Australia, the UK, the United States, New Zealand, and other possibilities.
We kept trying to decide where our future would be.
Meanwhile, Finland was nowhere on our radar.
Then one Facebook post appeared.
One opportunity became a language course.
The language course became an employment opportunity.
An opportunity became a contract.
And eventually, a contract became a plane ticket and a completely different life.
Maybe life doesn’t always unfold according to the plans we make.
Sometimes we spend years trying to reach one destination, only to discover that another path was waiting for us all along.
Do we know exactly what our future in Finland will look like?
No.
There are still uncertainties.
There are still fears.
There are still Finnish words I don’t understand. 😄
There are still things we are learning about this country and about ourselves.
But when we think about how far we’ve come – from the Philippines, to almost ten years in Dubai, and eventually to our life here in Kuhmo – we are grateful that we took the chance.
Perhaps Finland wasn’t our original dream.
But sometimes a life you never planned can slowly become a life you’re grateful to have.
And this?
This was only the beginning.
Because deciding to move was one thing.
Actually getting to Finland was a completely different story.
And that’s where Part 2 begins.
Next in the series: How We Actually Got to Finland
“Sometimes the path we never planned becomes the one that leads us exactly where we need to be.”
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” — Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)
We can make plans for our future – and there is nothing wrong with planning – but life sometimes leads us somewhere we never expected.
For years, Finland wasn’t part of ours.
Yet one unexpected opportunity eventually brought our family here.
Looking back, I can see that every chapter mattered: leaving the Philippines, building our lives in Dubai, experiencing failed plans, starting a family, learning a new language, and finally having the courage to say yes when a new door opened.
Perhaps not every closed door means we are moving backward.
Sometimes it is simply redirecting us toward another one.
We don’t know where every road will lead, but we can keep walking with faith, gratitude, and hope for whatever comes next. 🧡
Sources
- World Happiness Report 2026
- Kela — Child Benefit
- Kela — Parental Allowance
- Kela — Unemployment Benefits
- Finnish National Agency for Education — Early Childhood Education and Care
- Finnish National Agency for Education — Basic Education
- Luontoon — Everyman’s Rights
- InfoFinland — Health Services in Finland
- Moving to Finland: Why It Wasn’t Part of Our Original Plan
- Places to Visit in Kuhmo: A Summer Day at Roukonpuro Beach (Roukonpuron ranta)
- Places to Visit in Kuhmo: Discovering Local Nature and Everyday Beauty
- Places to Visit in Kuhmo: A Peaceful Afternoon by Lentiira River (Lentiiranjoki)
- Places to Visit in Kuhmo: Pajakkakoski Rapids
- Simple Blueberry Cheesecake Recipe
