Moving to Finland

The oldest Chewing Gum in the world has been found — it’s 5 000 years old! That finding is especially moving to Finland nationals, as this astounding record now belongs to Suomi. A piece of chewing gum, with tooth marks from the Stone Age chewer belonged to someone who used to live on the area of modern day Finland. Made from birch bark, it contains phenol, an antiseptic useful to treat infections — so maybe that person 5 000 year ago had tooth-ache and a gum infection. Apparently, chewing sugar-free gum after meals stimulates the production of saliva which does offer some protection against tooth decay.

Finland joined the EU in 1995 and is a member of the Schengen area. The capital city is Helsinki and the currency is the euro. Helsinki itself is a modern, small city, with a unique character — partly from the attractive architecture and partly as a mix of East and West.

Finland is a country of forests and lakes. In the far north, the White Nights when the sun never sets lasts up to 10 weeks in summer, and winter has the same amount of time when the sun never rises above the horizon. Finland has a modern, competitive economy and is a world leader in telecommunication equipment.

Expats

There are several sites where you can get information about expat clubs, news and communities. These three sites will give you a taste of what is available.