This text is written by Ms. Elli Heikkilä from the Institute of Migration, Finland, and Ms. Johanna Leinonen from the University of Minnesota, USA

 

Migration flows between Finland and the USA

The immigration from the USA to Finland has been increasing during the last two decades: the number of migrants was 333 in the year 1987 and it tripled to 939 by 2008. Migration flows occur also the other way, from Finland to the USA. The number of migrants have been close to 1 000 every year in the 2000s. The migration balance between the countries has been negative in Finland for a long time and it was at its lowest, numbering -566 persons, in 2000. In 2007 the balance turned positive. Slightly more men than women have immigrated to Finland from the USA in 2008. Almost forty percent of the immigrants have been young persons in active working age between 15 and 34. Nearly sixty percent of the migrants, 546 persons, have chosen Uusimaa county as their destination. Pirkanmaa and Northern Ostrobothnia were next most attractive counties for immigrants moving from the USA in 2008.

Age structure and living area

3 907 Americans, i.e. persons who were born in the USA, lived in Finland in 2009. If we use as an indicator the citizenship, we had 2 378 persons living in Finland who were citizens of the USA in 2009. When looking more closely those who were born in the USA, almost one quarter of them were children below 15 years of age, 71 percent in working age 15–64 and every tenth were elderly people. Of the elderly, 299 persons were at least 75 years old. The Americans living in Finland have very good age structure when thinking for example Finnish labour markets and the future need for labour when baby-boom generation is retiring especially during the 2010s.

Where in Finland have Americans citizens settled? The 2009 statistics show that they live in all parts of Finland. Most of them, 1 374 persons, which is 58 percent, live in Uusimaa, 197 persons live in Pirkanmaa and 159 in Varsinais-Suomi. Central Ostrobothnia and Kainuu are at the other end of the scale with only 10 and 11 American citizens respectively.

Main activities

In the following Americans are studied according to main activity in 2004. The objects for analysis are all persons in the age group of 15–74 years who were born in the USA, spoke another language than Finnish and lived in Finland at that time. The Institute of Migration has obtained this special data from Statistics Finland. The size of the group is 1 832 persons, of which 45 percent have been employed, that is 817 persons. The ten most common professions have been teaching and education, unknown profession, technical planning, supervision and research, other expertise, clerical work, restaurant service work, public and private sector management, sales work, experts in sales and financing, and expertise and supervision in the technical sector.

A little more than 100 persons were unemployed in 2004, which gives an unemployment rate of 11 percent. The corresponding number for the whole population was 9 percent. Thus the situation of the Americans on the labour market corresponded to the general Finnish unemployment level which also applies to immigrants from other western countries. Immigrants from other countries, e.g. refugees, tend to have much higher unemployment rates. The rest of the Americans were outside the labour force (e.g. housewives and pensioners) or in the group “others”, which includes the youngest USA-born.

The number of American employed men in Finland was 525 in 2004. Their share of all employed Americans was 64 percent. The most common profession for men was teaching and education (around 25 percent), the category “unknown” ranked second (15 percent) and the third was technical planning, supervision and research (11 percent). 76 men were unemployed and many of them had secondary education or at least lowest higher education.

Teaching and education is also the most common profession for women (32 percent of all 292 employed). Unknown profession was the next (16 percent) and other professional work third (8 percent). 26 women were unemployed and most of them had at least lowest higher education or primary/unknown level of education.

All in all, 744 Americans had at least secondary education in 2004. 189 persons had upper higher education and 51 had Ph.D. -level education. The number of persons with only primary education and the group “unknown education” is largely explained by the number of young people in the group.

Why Finland?

In spring 2008 researcher Johanna Leinonen interviewed 18 Americans living in Finland and also their Finnish spouses as a part of her dissertation project on Finnish-American families. In addition to the interviews, she has by an internet-query gathered information on the American’s experiences in Finland. 95 persons had answered the survey by December 2008. Most of the interviewed and the survey-respondents live in Uusimaa.

The statistics presented above show that immigration from the USA to Finland has been on the increase since the late 1980s. However, in order to understand why Americans are moving to Finland, we need to go beyond statistics. Leinonen’s interviews and survey responses reveal that a major reason for Americans to move to Finland is love: marriage, common-law relationship, or registered partnership with a Finnish woman or man. According to Statistics Finland, 1 480 marriages were contracted between Finns and Americans between 1997 and 2006, and more than three quarters of these marriages (1 151) were between Finnish women and American men. Marriages between Finnish men and American women were much less common, with 329 such unions recorded. When considering the number of American citizens in Finland in 2009 (2 378), it appears that a good portion of Americans indeed ended up in Finland because of love and marriage.

At the same time, as with all immigration, it is difficult to isolate a single motive for the migration decision: multiple motives are usually involved. For example, some American respondents initially came to Finland to study, work, and/or search ancestral roots and intended to stay in the country only temporarily. During this stay, some met their future spouse and ended up staying in the country permanently. A couple of respondents living in a registered partnership reported that they moved to Finland because the USA immigration law does not acknowledge same-sex unions. The Finnish partner was therefore unable to move to the USA as a spouse of an USA-citizen.

Many couples had also met in the USA or in a third country and later decided to settle in and start a family in Finland. Interestingly, among the Finns that Leinonen interviewed in the USA, marriage was also the main reason for moving to the USA or staying there permanently after an initial work or study-related stay. Why did some couples then decide to move to Finland instead of staying in the USA? The reason that was most often mentioned by the respondents was children: Finland was seen as a safer place to raise them. The Finnish educational system was also praised by many. One American pointed out in a survey response: “I do enjoy the safety of the Finnish social system.  Not worrying about my children’s education, health care and overall safety is a luxury my family and friends in America have never experienced.” Many also felt that there is more time for the family in Finland as the pace of life is less hectic than in the USA.

There are of course many Americans in Finland who are not in a romantic relationship with a Finn. In these cases, the Americans had moved to Finland primarily for work or study. Quite a few had also moved because of their Finnish ancestry. As one American put it: “My paternal grandfather was Finnish and I had always wanted to visit here. The first day I came, I felt some sort of connection and totally fell in love with the country.  Now I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

Integration experiences

Most Americans whom Leinonen interviewed or who responded to the online survey felt that they had integrated in Finland well or fairly well. However, many had also had integration problems. One of the major reasons behind these problems was a perceived “coldness” of Finns: many Americans thought that Finns were reserved, unsocial, and hard to get to know – even plain unfriendly at times. Many missed Americans’ friendliness and positivity: “I find the people a bit cold, not warm and friendly like Americans which I miss dearly.” Additional reasons causing dissatisfaction among Americans were lower wage levels and higher taxes in Finland in comparison to the USA. Some also mentioned the climate of Finland, with long dark winters especially difficult to bear for many: “Honestly, as someone that came from Southern NM [New Mexico], the weather and darkness in [the] winter really can get me down. It seems each year [that] I am here [the] winter depresses me more and more.” On the other hand, one American complained that the winters in Finland have become too warm!

A major stumbling block for many Americans in Finland was learning the Finnish language. Many of the respondents had lived in Finland for years and still had only rudimentary skills in Finnish. Many lived in an almost completely English-speaking environment: they communicated in English with their family and friends and the language used at work was in many cases English. One American woman said, for example: “I have attempted to learn the language, hoping that it will make me feel more at home, but my language skills are still rudimentary after all these years, probably because it is too easy in Helsinki to speak and get by in English. And my husband’s family all use English with me.” The majority of Americans live in the capital region and many noted that it is easy to get by in Helsinki with English language. As a result, many were not motivated to learn Finnish – especially because Finns often switch to English when noticing that the immigrant is not a fluent Finnish speaker: “Ironically, my experience learning Finnish is hindered by so many Finns wanting to speak English.” Even though it seems that Americans can get by in Finland by only speaking English, many commented that not knowing the Finnish language considerably retarded their adaptation process: “The language is a big issue, it’s very difficult, and although Finns think it doesn’t matter because so many people speak English, it does matter, because the culture is Finnish, in Finnish. It’s very hard to feel like part of the culture here.” Further, integration problems sometimes detracted from motivation to learn the Finnish language: “[T]here is a vicious cycle about not feeling at home here because I don’t speak the language, and not really feeling motivated [to learn the language] because I don’t feel at home.”

Although the unemployment rate of Americans in Finland is close to that of Finns, many interviewees and survey respondents had difficulties finding a job. It was not uncommon for Americans to end up teaching English in want of work that fits their educational qualifications. According to the Americans’ experiences, Finnish employers require almost perfect Finnish language skills, which only a small portion of immigrants in Finland possesses. Thus difficulties in learning the language and finding work are interrelated. One American commented: “Finding employment as a foreigner has been nearly impossible outside of the Helsinki area.  Foreigners are still treated with distrust and suspicion - of course, by law a potential employer cannot tell you that, but he can tell you the position is no longer available, and like other foreigners, I hear it all the time, despite my degree and work qualifications.  I also hear about my lack of language skills, which is another well known excuse that foreigners hear when Finnish employers are xenophobic.”

However, many Americans also adjusted well in Finland, found employment, and learned the Finnish language. An indicator of successful integration is the desire to stay in the country, and more than half (61 percent) of the survey respondents were not planning to move away from Finland, at least not in the next five years. Things that Americans appreciated in Finland included the country’s cleanliness, its safety, nature, and social security. Many also applauded the public transportation system in Finland. For example: “I experience a high comfort level living in Finland, including personal security and safety, reliable public services, excellent public transport, availability of everything in the stores, ease of communication in English (…), and lovely natural areas captured within the city landscape.” Although many felt that it was hard to get to know Finns, some disagreed: “Despite their reputation for being unsocial, we have made many wonderful Finnish friends.” As noted above, many Americans also enjoyed the less hectic life-style in Finland: “[T]he pace of life and thus stress level is quite a relief here. I hadn’t really expected the benefits to my blood pressure.”

Americans who had lived in Finland for a long time observed that throughout the years Finland had become more international and therefore their life in Finland easier. It is interesting that most Americans did not consider themselves as immigrants (maahanmuuttajat) in Finland. Americans associated the term with having to leave one’s home country permanently under duress. Instead, Americans emphasized that they had voluntarily chosen to come to Finland that they could go back to the USA whenever they wanted, and kept in close touch with their family and friends in the USA.