Text: Henna Vanninen
Photos: Maija Koskinen
Richard laughs when he recalls how his connection with Finland began. He had walked into a Dutch bookstore looking for a Swedish language book. Someone behind the counter apologized that they had none in stock but suggested a Finnish textbook instead. “I thought they would be similar enough,” Richard says with a smile. “They definitely weren’t.”
Learning Finnish proved far more challenging than he had imagined, but it also sparked a curiosity that would shape the next twenty plus years of his life. After studying the language for a while, Richard booked a holiday in Finland almost on a whim. Searching online for a campsite, he came across Himmerki in Posio.
“I really enjoyed my holiday, and when I got back home, I felt homesick.”
Shortly afterwards, Richard became seriously ill with an infection and spent two months in the hospital. During his recovery, one thought kept him motivated. “I decided that once I got out of the hospital, I would move to Finland.”
Katja believes that dream may even have helped him recover. “I think the thought of moving here gave him strength,” she says.
Richard followed through with his decision and moved to Posio for the first time twenty years ago. The experience was very different from life in the Netherlands, where affordable housing is scarce and waiting lists can last for years.
“When I told the municipality I wanted to live here, they simply disappeared into another room and came back with a Post-it note that had an address on it.”
The apartment no longer exists, but Richard still remembers those first years fondly, despite living on a very tight budget. “At one point I was teaching computer courses and getting paid in S-market gift cards,” he laughs.
Eventually life took him back to the Netherlands, but Posio never left his mind. “For twenty years I was planning to come back. It just took a long time.”
For years, Richard had been working towards one goal: returning to Finland. But as the dream seemed increasingly out of reach, he began to imagine a different future. Before the Ukranian war, he had even considered moving to the Karelian region of Russia, where he dreamed of living close to nature. That idea led him to start learning Russian.
“The idea was a bit random,” Richard admits. “Saving enough money to move back to Finland felt so difficult that I almost gave up. I thought maybe I would build a life somewhere in Karelia instead.”
That unexpected detour changed everything. Katja was learning Dutch, while Richard was practicing Russian, and the two met through an online language exchange platform six years ago.
“It’s actually a good thing Richard gave up on Finland for a little while,” Katja says with a smile. “Otherwise, we never would have met.”
When Richard introduced himself, he proudly demonstrated one of the few Finnish phrases he knew. “He said ‘nuku hyvin,’” Katja laughs. “I honestly thought he was making the words up. It didn’t even sound like a real language.”
As their relationship grew, Katja moved to the Netherlands, where the couple decided to build a life together. But Richard never completely let go of the dream he had carried for almost two decades.
“From the very first day we met, he kept talking about Finland,” Katja says. “About the forests, the nature and how special it was to him.”
When Katja finally visited Finland for the first time, the dream became hers as well.
Katja’s first visit to Finland changed everything. “When I stepped off the plane, I immediately fell in love with the atmosphere.”
She remembers the fresh air, the midnight Sun and the surrounding nature. “I also love the food here. It feels much fresher and less processed than in the Netherlands.”
The family finally moved to Posio in February 2025.
Getting here required far more paperwork than they had anticipated. “There were so many things we didn’t realize we had to arrange,” Richard says. “Applying for a Kela card, registering everything… We definitely forgot a few things in the beginning.”
Finding a rental apartment turned out to be easier than expected thanks to one of Richard’s friends from his first years in Posio. The apartment had stood empty for over a year before they arrived. “We were afraid someone else would rent it before we could move,” Katja says. “Luckily, it waited for us.”
Their apartment was located about two and a half kilometers from the town center, and the location quickly began to feel like home. “At first I thought it might be too remote,” Katja says. “But we got used to it surprisingly quickly.”
Recently, they have made another long-time dream come true: they have bought a house of their own and have moved there this fall. “We are very happy and excited about these new changes and building a life here in Posio.”
For Richard and Katja, the biggest confirmation that they had made the right decision came through their daughter, Eefje. Before moving to Finland, they had begun to suspect that Eefje might be autistic. After settling in Posio, she was diagnosed and began receiving the support she needed.
Richard admits he was initially hesitant about enrolling her in daycare. In the end, the family decided to give it a try—and they say it has transformed their everyday life. “Eefje has special support at daycare, which is incredible,” Katja says. “I still can’t believe how amazing it is.”
She describes Finland as an ideal place for raising children, especially those with additional support needs. “For a family like ours, it really feels like a dream.”
With the help of the daycare staff, Eefje has started communicating more, and spending her days outdoors has become one of the highlights for the family. “She can run freely in the forest here,” Katja says. “That wasn’t possible where we lived before.”
Richard is equally enthusiastic. “The support for families with children is on another level here,” he says. “I’d give it twelve points out of ten.”
Richard works remotely as a software engineer. Katja, whose background is in linguistics, now focuses on content creation and enjoys documenting everyday life through videos.
Outside work, they continue learning Finnish in their own ways. Richard prefers simply listening to the language and gradually absorbing it. “We’ve noticed that people are always happy, even if we only speak a few words in Finnish,” he says.
For Richard, returning to Posio after all these years feels like completing a circle. “I feel extremely welcome here.”
Katja has found her own community through social media, connecting with local people on Instagram. She has also been surprised by the quality of services available in such a small municipality.
“In Russia, smaller places often have fewer services,” she says. “Here we are hundreds of kilometers from the capital, yet everything works so well. People are friendly, the services are excellent, and we’ve felt welcome from the very beginning.”
Looking back, it is remarkable that everything began with a language mix-up in a Dutch bookstore. A Finnish textbook accidentally found its way into Richard’s hands. Twenty years later, it led him, Katja and little Eefje to a place they are now proud to call home.
Katja shares her family’s everyday life in Posio on social media. Watch a video about their life here.
