Category:

Life

Introducing the Finn

by Kimmo May 9, 2019

written by Kimmo

Hello I’m Kimmo

Yes that’s me standing all naturally on top of a rooftop. And that’s Helsinki in the background. You might have recognised it from the iconic white church. No? Well there’s probably many other things you don’t know about the city. I will try to be your local guide and voice in this blog as we show Audrey the best things in Helsinki. Oh and Finland. We have a pretty peculiar little country. Let’s see how our LA girl finds things here. This should be fun!

Culture shock expected

Little did I know what kind of an adventure I was jumping into when I wandered off on my own at Burning Man. Almost three years later and we’re still enjoying the ride and ready to start a new chapter in our lives here in Helsinki.

I’ve tried to prepare Audrey for the culture shock she’s going to experience here, well in advanced. After our first year together, I even got her the book 101 Very Finnish Problems which was written by a British expat. It’s actually a fairly accurate description of our culture, except that NO, you don’t have to go to a sauna naked with my family! If you’re interested in some witty insights from Finland you should give it a read.

Books, wine, and..

I thought I’d also share something personal about myself so you can get to know me too. I tend to start obsessing about things when I get into something. It was Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for a decade. For the past few years it has been books and wine. Oh and the latest thing is… chess. Yes chess. Nerd alert!

May 9, 2019 1 comment

Woke Up In Helsinki

by Rambo April 21, 2019

written by Rambo

Introducing Rambo

Hey dudes and dudettes, my name is Rambo. For the last 10 years, I’ve been the main man in my Mom’s life, but a couple years ago, another dude finally swept her off her feet. And I really dig him but it bummed me out that he could never stay for very long. But that’s finally changing!

My first plane ride

Took my first plane ride ever. Not sure why we weren’t in first class, but I’ll let that one slide, Mom. Finnair was cool enough to give us our own row so I got to sprawl out on the floor and Mom gave me some sleeping pills (aka Benadryl) so I pretty much knocked out the entire time and when I woke up, we were in another continent! I’ve never even left the state of California. When we arrived, boy was I happy to see my dude, Kimmo, I think I even peed a little. He hasn’t been home in a couple months, but now we’ll never have to be apart again. Ok, that sounded sappy, but he gives me the best walks and doesn’t know how to say “NO”.

Expat needs homies and recommendations

So, I guess I live in Helsinki now. My paws really don’t dig snow, so I’m going to need to find some good snow boots, maybe even a dope puffer jacket. If any of you fellow dawgs got any recommendations, that would be totally sweet! I’m going to need the 411 on all the good dog parks and where to get my grub and wardrobe at. Are there any Facebook groups out there for expat dogs or dating apps? It might finally be time for me to settle down and stop sleeping in my Mom’s room (ok fine, I still sleep in her bed).

My LA life

Anyway, I’ll be scouring Helsinki for all the best dog spots so watch out for my reviews and takes on the city. For my homies back in LA, I miss you and I’ll keep you posted about the bitches here in case you want to come visit. You know I make the best wingman. For my new Finnish dawgs, I’ll give you a peek into my life in LA as well in case you’re curious. Later for now bros!

Me and Mom taking a stroll in our new neighborhood, Jätkäsaari. I was still a bit jetlagged.

April 21, 2019 2 comments

Helsinki Life Los Angeles

LA Moves to Helsinki

by Audrey March 20, 2019

written by Audrey

Okay maybe not all of Los Angeles is moving to Helsinki, but at least this girl who was born in LA and lived there her entire life is, along with her pup, Rambo. My name is Audrey by the way. To my Americans reading this, without looking at a map, do you know where Finland is? Did you know that Finland is part of Europe? No? Well neither did I!

The land of Helsinki, Finland

Let me start by giving you some context into the size of Finland. Land wise, the country of Finland is 338,145 sq km which is about the size of California (403,882 sq km). California though, has a massive population of 39.5 million within that land. Finland’s entire population is 5.5 million, not much bigger than Los Angeles, which has about 4 million people. Helsinki, which is the capital and where I’m moving to, has about 600,000. Last year there were 250,000 people just at Coachella. So what I’m saying is, there’s tons of available land in Finland, come on over!

I’ve always dreamed of living in Europe, but this wasn’t exactly what I imagined. So, why would I move to a country I’ve barely heard of?

The story begins at Burning Man

Well back in 2016, I met a Finn at Burning Man. At first it started off as rendezvous in different countries. One great thing about cross-continental long distance relationships is that you get to have dates all around the world. Somewhere along the way though it became serious, so we both started looking for jobs in each other’s countries. On Valentine’s Day this year, my Finn (Kimmo) proposed to me, but I’ll save that story for another time. During that same week Kimmo was visiting me in LA, I got a job offer from a tech company in Helsinki. The stars aligned for us that week and that’s why I’m packing up and heading to the North Pole… I mean Finland.

Introducing LAxHEL

This blog is going to be about my journey moving to Finland and the fascinating differences between living in LA and Helsinki. You’ll probably also occasionally hear from my fiancé, Kimmo, and my French Bulldog, Rambo, who is making the move with me. We hear a lot about what it’s like living in major cities like London, Paris, and Rome, but you rarely hear much about Helsinki… maybe except for the occasional article that Finland is the happiest country in the world and Trump saying they don’t have forest fires like California because they rake their leaves. Yup that’s our President, which also makes it a good time to leave the U.S.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to record my experiences and give the world a glimpse into Helsinki from an outsider perspective, as well as give Finns an insider look into LA. I’d also love for this blog to be interactive and collaborative. That means I’ll welcome any tips from Finns and for my LA people to keep me updated on all things Los Angeles. So let’s find out if Finland really is the happiest country in the world. I sure hope it is!

March 20, 2019 4 comments