From Ker­ala to Oulu: Embrac­ing a New Life

My fam­i­ly’s relo­ca­tion to Oulu in June 2023 for my hus­band’s job was a sur­pris­ing turn of events. Com­ing from Ker­ala in South­ern India, a world away from snow and win­ters, I nev­er imag­ined liv­ing in Fin­land, says Man­ju Krish­na.

Dis­cov­er­ing Oulu’s Charms

As we pre­pared for the move, we delved into learn­ing about Fin­land and Oulu. The abun­dance of well-pre­served nature cap­ti­vat­ed me, as did the promise of a qui­eter, less pol­lut­ed envi­ron­ment com­pared to our home coun­try. Oulu’s exten­sive net­work of bicy­cle paths was anoth­er appeal­ing aspect, a fea­ture we had­n’t seen so devel­oped else­where.

Fin­land’s rep­u­ta­tion for excel­lent edu­ca­tion was a major fac­tor in our deci­sion, espe­cial­ly with three chil­dren. We had some con­cerns about the tran­si­tion for them, but they’ve adapt­ed well and now enjoy their new life here.

Adjust­ing to the Sea­sons

Arriv­ing in the sum­mer, Oulu’s most vibrant sea­son, the city felt ener­getic and full of life. We were pre­pared for the chal­leng­ing win­ters, and while the extreme cold took some get­ting used to, life in Oulu car­ries on as usu­al.

The city does become calmer and less crowd­ed in the win­ter months.

Unex­pect­ed Delights

I’ve been pleas­ant­ly sur­prised by the deep con­nec­tion every­one here has with nature. The con­cept of forests being open to all, with abun­dant berries for any­one to pick, was a rev­e­la­tion.

The work cul­ture in Oulu, which val­ues a healthy work-life bal­ance, has also been a pos­i­tive dis­cov­ery.

A Life Trans­formed

Oulu has enhanced our lives in count­less ways. The sense of secu­ri­ty and safe­ty we feel here is unpar­al­leled. Wit­ness­ing our chil­dren walk to and from school inde­pen­dent­ly from Grade 1 has been empow­er­ing for them.

The con­trast from our pre­vi­ous busy neigh­bour­hood with its chaot­ic traf­fic is stark; Oulu’s small­er size makes get­ting around effort­less and stress-free.

Lan­guage and Inte­gra­tion

Lan­guage remains a chal­lenge. To tru­ly inte­grate, one needs to learn Finnish, and it’s known to be one of the world’s most dif­fi­cult lan­guages.

“Mak­ing more con­nec­tions is key to fur­ther improv­ing my lan­guage skills”

I’ve been par­tic­i­pat­ing in an inte­gra­tion course and, after near­ly a year, can under­stand basic con­ver­sa­tions with­out rely­ing on Google Trans­late.

It’s been a reward­ing jour­ney. Mak­ing more con­nec­tions here is key to fur­ther improv­ing my lan­guage skills.

Pro­fes­sion­al Back­ground and Aspi­ra­tions

I hold a Mas­ter’s Degree in Cor­po­rate and Busi­ness Law from India and have expe­ri­ence work­ing for a legal firm, draft­ing legal doc­u­ments and con­tracts.

Cur­rent­ly, I’m under­tak­ing intern­ship at Inter­na­tion­al House Oulu as part of my lan­guage learn­ing. I chose IH Oulu because, as an immi­grant myself, I’m eager to assist oth­ers con­sid­er­ing a move to Fin­land.

This intern­ship offers a fan­tas­tic chance to enhance my lan­guage pro­fi­cien­cy, under­stand Finnish work cul­ture, and meet new peo­ple. I’m excit­ed about this expe­ri­ence and hope to even­tu­al­ly work in a sim­i­lar envi­ron­ment.

Cher­ished Mem­o­ries and Advice

One of our most trea­sured mem­o­ries is enjoy­ing the snow and win­ter activ­i­ties as a fam­i­ly last year.

If you desire a life close to nature, in a calm and peace­ful set­ting with a great work-life bal­ance, or if you plan to study, Oulu is a fan­tas­tic choice.

How­ev­er, be pre­pared for the cold win­ters. If you enjoy snow and cold, this is the place for you. Rest assured, there’s sup­port avail­able for new­com­ers every step of the way. Inter­na­tion­al House Oulu is a prime exam­ple of the resources avail­able to immi­grants.