Meet Tamara who moved from Germany to Finland a few months ago and joined as our Administrative Specialist. Today, in an interview, she shares all about her relocation process, including some tips!

In this article we will discuss Tamara’s experience with:

Tamara, our Administrative Specialist

Hi Tamara, thanks for taking the time to share your story with us today! 

> Introduction

Let’s start with the basics, where are you from, what do you do at ResQ Club and how long have you been part of the team?

I’m from Germany and I’m ResQ Club’s Administrative Specialist. I work behind the scenes of the office. I started in February 2022.

Which came first, the decision to move to Finland or the job?

It literally happened at the same time! When the decision had just been taken, this job post kind of fell from the sky! It was a perfect coincidence. We had considered moving here, because my spouse was about to start a PhD in Helsinki, so I began looking at offers on the local job market. But ResQ Club’s job post came before I had even really started.

Have you been to Finland before moving here?

Yes, I had been to southern Finland multiple times, mostly on summer holidays and to visit my spouse’s family and our friends while we still lived in Germany. In the summer of 2021, when we started looking for an apartment, we stayed for one month for both remote work and holiday. That was the longest time I had stayed in the country before moving here.

Why did you decide to relocate to Finland? How was the decision making process for you?

My spouse’s PhD was one reason but I was also looking for a change myself. I had worked in Luxembourg for 14 years and felt like it was time to move on. Since my teenage years I had dreamt of living in Finland some day… and with a Finnish spouse, I had the best reason to make my dream come true.Spoiler alert: in one sentence, how has your experience living in Finland been so far?

I have really enjoyed it a lot and I think that the universe is conspiring in our favor. Everything is very well falling into place for us.

> Finnish culture

Is there anything that surprised you in Finland?

Before moving here, I had already gotten a good glimpse of the country and its people, so there weren’t that many surprises. Every now and then, when entering a room with strangers, I find myself surprised for a split-second that nobody looks at you or says hi like we usually do in Germany. And then I remember: oh yeah, this is Finland.

What is life in Finland like? Is it what you expected it to be?

I really enjoy it and I really enjoy having a lot more time now because my commute is so short (I used to commute 2-3 hours a day due to bad public transport connections and usually congested highways). I enjoy the sea and nature, but I’m still struggling with the wind, especially in the mornings on my bike! Vastatuuli - headwind - is an important word in my Finnish vocabulary nowadays.

I love that I found ResQ Club as it gives me a new sense of meaning and impact at work. So far, my experience of living in Finland is a combination of having a fulfilled work life, being happy at home and having more free-time. I am intrigued how the upcoming winter will be as this will be my very first full winter season ever!

What are the differences between visiting Finland and actually living here?

Feeling more at home. I really enjoyed being here already when I just visited, but now I am able to spread my routes and become a real local and that is really nice. Still today, I sometimes have to pinch myself to realize that I live in H.E.L.S.I.N.K.I.! My teenage self would probably go totally crazy about that!

How is the working culture in Finland different from what you are used to? How do you adjust to it?

I worked in a very different, more corporate environment before moving here, so being in a startup is really new for me. The very first time I entered the office here and took off my shoes, it was a big surprise*… but I really love it. My sock selection has gotten way more colorful ever since. I also love the relaxed approach and autonomous way of arranging your day (working remotely or at the office), as this wasn’t so flexible at my previous jobs, although it loosened up when the pandemic happened. I also really appreciate the multicultural environment at ResQ Club which I knew from my time in Luxembourg and was hoping to find in Finland. And one other thing that I like is that in general the Finnish attitude is: ask a question, get an answer.

I also really enjoy having a pet around the office once in a while, and that goes very well with the startup culture.

*In Finland it’s really uncommon to keep your shoes on inside your home, hence many companies also choose to leave shoes at the door at the office.

Are you learning Finnish ? How?

Yes. I took a basic course back in Luxembourg and have just started another one. At the same time, I find it important to just speak the language and not worry too much about the grammar and my colleagues are really supportive with that. At home, we try to have Finnish and German days with my spouse every now and then, so that I won’t forget my mother tongue either. And I’m learning Spanish with Duolingo and a colleague here and am making our (so far) only French colleague speak French with me to keep that alive too.

> Tips to settle in

How are you building your connections here? (Friends and professional network)

I have been trying to reactivate my hobbies (singing and street photography) and I am also aiming to meet other expats. I have been following a telegram group and they organize weekly meetups. I have not been too active yet because there has been a lot going on lately… but it’s on the agenda.

Any tips for exploring your new surroundings? Favorite place to be in nature, go for a drink or eat?

Thanks to ResQ Club I have found a lot of nice restaurants already that I would recommend for lunch or even dinner (Gran Delicato (and their delicious Imám), Bar Favela or sushi from Hanami are some of my favorites). The list of places to try is really long actually. From my time as a teenage HIM fan, I remember reading that Ville Valo used to like hanging out at Bar Loose. No idea if that is still true… but I’ll check that bar out soon, just to be sure.

One of the first ad-ons I got for myself when I got here is the Museokortti*, and I have been to a lot of museums already. I also really like having the sea so close by. Cycling to work along the coastline every day is something I never would have imagined before.

*The Museokorrti (Museum card) is the shared museum entrance ticket of the Finnish Museums Association granting access to over 300 museums, exhibitions and events throughout Finland.

> Tamara’s role at ResQ Club

What do you do in your role? Is it similar to what you did before joining ResQ Club?

I work in the background taking care of all sorts of office practicalities to make the office run smoothly. It’s not too far from what I used to do before, but the range of tasks that I take care of here is a lot more diverse. Many things are new to me (like taking care of our hardware stock) and I’m learning a lot on the job.

How did you ensure ResQ Club would be a good fit for you before accepting the role?

I looked up a lot of interviews and videos on ResQ Club’s social media channels to see how they communicate, learn more about their values, etc..

How was your onboarding at ResQ Club?

That was really smooth and well organized, dedicated sessions to various important topics, onboarding assignments and learning along the way after that. Luckily, no question is too stupid to be asked here and my colleagues have always been really helpful.

> Finding a job in Finland

How long did it take you to find the job at ResQ Club? How was your recruitment process?

The first time that I heard about ResQ Club was in 2020 when we thought about moving to Finland for the first time. Then Covid-19 hit and we called off the plan, but l knew ResQ Club would be a dream employer for me because of its values and direct impact on the environment as well as the amazing Code of Conduct! I signed up to their job notifications alerts, just in case, and when I was about to start looking for a job a year later, the job ad for the Administrative Specialist landed in my inbox…and I applied. It took about 3 weeks between my application and getting the call that I got the job. I was so over the moon that day!

The overall hiring process was very well organized, the communication was clear and I definitely enjoyed my 3 sit downs with the team as they immediately gave me a good vibe. I also enjoyed the so-called “hygiene check” in my last interview where I got to meet someone from another team for an informal chat, just to see what kind of people I would be working with on a company level. I thought it was a really good idea as a final check, both for me as a candidate but also for the company.

What was your experience looking for a job? Any tips? Where did you find this job?

I sent about 3 other applications, just to test the waters, but at the time I applied I did not know yet when I would be moving for real. I was specifically looking for jobs in companies with a sustainable background, a future oriented outlook. In 2020 I had found a list of startups in sustainability, I went through them one by one, researched their missions and values and that’s where ResQ Club stood out.

> Finding housing in Finland

What was your experience looking for a place to live? Any tips?

My spouse mostly took care of this because of having lived in Helsinki before. We picked a central location to save on commuting time, that was our biggest requirement. We searched on basic websites like vuokraovi.com, oikotie.com, etc... and were also in touch with a real estate agent who helped us. But we ended up finding a flat on our own through one of the websites.

Did you ship your belongings or did you sell everything and buy new?

We did both, we sold a lot of things to make it fit into one truck and also our new flat in Finland (which is a lot smaller than the previous flat we had in Germany). We also prefer buying furniture second-hand rather than new ones. Better for the environment and we like giving something a new life that someone else didn’t want anymore.

What was your experience relocating? Any tips?

I came from Germany, so lots of logistics were involved. For some time, we had 2 flats in 2 countries, as my spouse was already in Helsinki while I took care of closing the previous chapter back in Germany. I was lucky to live with a friend in Germany for the last 3 months before moving to Finland. During that time, I only had two luggages… such a liberating feeling!

The logistics of the actual move to Finland were easy because everything fell into place timing-wise. My family was of great help and drove a loaded truck from Germany to Finland by taking a ferry from Travemünde to Helsinki, and friends helped us load and unload the truck.

Pro Tip: It was tricky to find transportation for our furniture because you can’t rent a truck in one country and drop it off in another, so we did a round-trip with the truck and brought it back to Germany.

How long before starting at ResQ Club did you arrive in Finland? Do you recommend the same time frame to others?

I came at the beginning of January and started my new job about a month later. That gave me enough time to get to know the city, my neighborhood, and wander around. It was a very good time frame, I would have even taken a bit more time if I had not found the job at ResQ Club so soon. But it was sufficient to find shops, the post office, and some nice cafés.

> Administrative logistics

What was your experience with all the administrative paperwork? Any tips?

It was pretty smooth in my case. It is just important to keep in mind to book a meeting at Migri (Finnish Immigration Service) early enough because there is a long waiting list. Overall, I had a good experience with the Finnish authorities and my registration of right of residence as an EU citizen was handled in a very reasonable time frame and things were pretty clear. My first step was to fill a form on EnterFinland (online service of the Finnish Immigration Service) and that kicked off the process. The different institutions I went to always told me what was the next step. It was very smooth.

> Conclusion

Looking back, what advice would you give to your ‘before moving to Finland’ self ?