Spring in Helsinki

This week has been so busy that I didn't even notice when the seasons changed. I have been technically working full-time and at the same time done my best not to fall behind at school. Yesterday I felt that I am gonna get a burnout LITERALLY since I was still wearing my winter jacket in the burning sun, so I decided to take Wednesday completely off and just to be with myself in peace.


 

Spring has always brought out the strongest emotions in me with its brightest sun and freshest smells where everything in the nature just screams out "change". This season makes me feel hopeful and energetic on one side, but at the same time nostalgic since all the past springs start to remind themselves. As a small kid spring indicated the arriving summer with strawberries and swimming, as a teenager spring meant that the stupid school is soon over and all the adventures can start (which they hardly did). In high school spring got a bit of a negative connotation with the constant exam stress, but the last three springs in my life have been purely awesome. There has been moving to Finland-spring, moving to live alone-spring and moving in with somebody-spring. And all those major changes have been so surprisingly easy and careless because the whole city around you is waking up from the long winter.  Helsinki is simply glowing!

Therefore, I decided to list ten things why I love Helsinki (and the whole Finland).

1. It is international

Of course compared to Estonia, every country is international. But Helsinki metropolitan area has really many foreigners which adds a lot of groove to the city. In addition, almost every Finn speaks English.

2. Personal space

I enjoy the privacy Helsinki offers, since there is no need to be scared of small talks with strangers or crowded places if you don't feel like it. Finns are generally very shy and keep to themselves. I have even heard one Vietnamese boy say that he came to Finland to become more civilized.

3. Free education

It is heaven here education-wise. In addition, Finland offers very good supports and apartments for students so that they could fully focus on their studies.

4.  Good salaries

Although the tax system is progressive, the pay is still good. There are also very strong labor unions and laws to protect employees, so the employers can't screw anyone over.
5. Well-being society Everything is good in Finland. There is no homeless people, no stray animals and very little crime -  it's a safe-safe bubble to live in, especially for raising your kids.

6. Friendly service

This is the biggest difference I notice when I visit Estonia. Of course, wages in Estonia wouldn't make anyone smile, but Finnish customer service is top notch in my opinion. Except in public healthcare, they're quite rude.

7. Great public transport

Getting from A to B is very easy and all the buses, trains and metros are always on time. There is absolutely no need to own a car. And don't you dare to argue back.

8. Lots of animal lovers

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” (Mahatma Gandhi). Therefore, Finnish people are great, especially since they rescue stray animals also from Estonia, Russia, Bulgaria etc.

9. Beautiful architecture

I heard somewhere that there are limitations that prohibit high buildings in Helsinki, therefore, the city looks very unique. Also, Helsinki is very clean and ecological.

10. Beautiful nature

The nature part is something I definitely want to discover more before moving abroad. But I have seen photos!