Seamless relocation to Finland: How Praveen Kumar Mohandas navigated relocation to Finland with OP's support and proactive preparation

Relocating to a new country is never without its challenges, but for our Lead Developer Praveen Kumar Mohandas, this journey was made significantly smoother by adopting a proactive approach.

One of the main challenges initially faced was the prospect of navigating an entirely new culture, understanding legal requirements, and settling into an unfamiliar environment. He, however, was quick to realize that these challenges could be overcome through a combination of determination and support. “I would not call my relocation process challenging especially when I had professional help appointed from OP to help with the entire process”, Praveen Kumar emphasized. 

What were the main challenges you faced during the relocation process, and how did you overcome them? 

- As mentioned I would not call my relocation process challenging, especially when I had professional help appointed from OP. I did not know anyone in Finland so YouTube videos could be a good starting point to understand how Finland was different from my home country.

How did you find the process of obtaining a visa and other necessary paperwork? Were there any specific requirements or recommendations? 

- In my opinion Finnish visa process is one of the most straight forward ones especially since Finland has a fast-track process for specialist category visa. In my experience, all you need is your work permit and educational documents – visit the embassy and present your documents and pay the fees and the residence permit is home within 2-3 weeks.   

How did you navigate the housing market in Finland? Did you opt for temporary accommodation initially, or did you find a permanent place right away? 

- Housing was a little time consuming for me. I chose to opt for temporary accommodation initially, understand the places and then choose a permanent place however this is not required, and one could choose a permanent place right from the beginning. For me this process of opting for temporary housing initially helped me to navigate the housing market thoroughly and pick a very suitable place for me and my family and there was no hurry in doing this. Oikotie and Vuokraovi sites are the best places to look out for suitable housing.    

Did you face any language barriers in your daily life or at work? How important is it to learn Finnish, and did you receive any language training or support? 

- In Finland what I noticed is that almost everyone can speak in English especially more at work and my team has been extremely supportive of the fact that I do not know Finnish yet.  

Learning Finnish although not required for day-to-day work at OP, is important. In fact, this is one of the fun activities I do with my daughter where I try to teach her a few words in Finnish and we both try to learn in the process.    

Were there any cultural differences that you had to adjust to, and how did you adapt to the Finnish work culture? 

- The first cultural difference that I noticed is that the food timings are very different from what it was back home. People have lunch by 11am which is still breakfast time in India. Work culture is definitely very different to what I have been used to in India and from my experience in the US. There is less work stress here in Finland and long working hours are not a norm which is a very good aspect for anyone looking to have a work life balance and stress-free lifestyle.    

How did you manage the cost of living in Finland compared to India? Did you find any specific strategies or tips for financial planning helpful? 

- Finland is certainly very expensive compared to India and given the taxation it’s a good idea to plan ahead. While the initial setup costs could be high, the expenses normalize in about 3 months and then most people are automatically aware of the best ways to spend. My strategy is keep rent at an affordable level and then eat out less often than I did in India.   

What are some recommendations for social and recreational activities in Finland? How did you integrate into the local community and make new friends? 

- There are a lot of groups here in Finland especially local groups for sports activities, groups for spouses who came here on family ties etc. If you have kids, you automatically get to interact with other families but even if you don’t, just engaging in outdoor activities should help get to meet a lot of people and make friends. Participation is the key.  

Were there any unexpected aspects of living and working in Finland that you didn't anticipate? 

- Some of the financial aspects were unexpected for me. The taxes are certainly quite high and several costs that are generally not applicable in India are chargeable here in Finland- these things take a little bit of time to get used to.   

What advice do you have for candidates considering relocation to Finland? Are there any specific resources or websites you found useful during your transition? 

- I found YouTube to be very helpful and informative for getting an idea of how life is in Finland. Other than this some resources that were very useful to me are infofinland.fi, suomi.fi, vero.fi, kela.fi, dvv.fi. There is also a booklet given at the DVV office that is very useful for someone coming in new to Finland – it has a sequential list of steps that one needs to complete as soon as they move to Finland.   

Is there any other information or advice you would like to share with potential candidates? 

- Each country has its own pros and cons, and Finland is definitely worth the experience. If someone has an opportunity, I advise to give it a shot – the experience is definitely worth it and OP as an employer is one of the best in Finland.