“It was a no-brainer for me to love this city”
—StoriesAnnie Virtanen has been living in Järvenpää with her husband and three sons for roughly ten years. She told us her story and her family’s reasons to move to Järvenpää, and why she picked the word “inclusive” when describing the city.
You moved to Finland from Malawi in 2011 and to Järvenpää a year later. What affected on your decision to move to Järvenpää?
My husband and his family have been living in Järvenpää since he was 10 years old, his family moved to Järvenpää from Karkkila. So when we decided to start a family here in Finland we decided to move from Kerava, where I was studying at Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu, to Järvenpää, where we had a support network through his family and friends. We also felt at that time, that Järvenpää seemed more of a “proper city” in some way, which helped with our decision to move. I had always loved the idea that Järvenpää is next to a big lake. The location is also really important to me. The easy access to Helsinki city center and to Helsinki Airport were a big bonus. Buying our dream house was also a realistical goal in Järvenpää, unlike if we would have moved to Helsinki, for instance. Since the beginning it was a no-brainer for me to love this city.
You are originally from Malawi and your husband from Finland. Was it always clear you wanted to live together in Finland?
Not always. Our original plan was to live in Finland for 3 years, until the end of my studies in Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu. Then the plan was to return to Malawi where I had my own travel company. Things nevertheless changed when I started excepting our first son, and the pregnancy got some dramatic events towards the end. Our son was born premature and I doubt I would be alive today if the delivery would have happened in Malawi. The level of Finnish healthcare and also the general safety played a big part on our decision to raise our family in Finland.
You work as a talent acquisition specialist in a Finnish, internationally positioned, company. Was it easy to find work in Finland?
The hardest thing about living in Finland has definitely been finding a job. There has been moments where I have just wanted to go back home, since finding a job has seemed impossible.
I used to think a lot about what was the reason I couldn’t get a job here – was it my appearance, backround or what could be the issue. But based on my experience with all the foreigners I have met here, we all seem to have encountered very similar problems and challenges, no matter what our backrounds have been.
Before covid19 I worked in Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, but was layid off due to the pandemic. Luckily I ended up finding a job in HR in a Finnish, internationally positioned company, where the working language is English. The company has a truely international working culture and we have talents from all kinds of backrounds and nationalities, both Finnish and international.
Your children go to daycare and school in Järvenpää. What is your experience regarding education and daycare here in Järvenpää?
Our children are biracial and bilingual, but we definitely wanted our kids to go to a Finnish-speaking school. There has been some cases with my oldest son, who goes to the second grade, where he has been bullied because of his skin colour, but we felt that the school took this seriously and tried their best to help him and to deal with the situation. When he was younger, the school provided him a speech therapist to help with his speech development, and this didn’t cost us anything.
In general I think there has been a lot of different great services and benefits from the city and the society that we have been able to use, but I have a feeling these services are not very well known especially among foreigners living in Finland. Maybe the main reason is that the foreigners don’t know where to look for the information, or the information is not provided in a language they’re familiar with.
Which are your favourite spots in Järvenpää? How would you describe the city?
Rantapuisto park and the beach are of course obvious. I heard that people living in Kerava or Hyrylä drive to Järvenpää particularly to visit the beach. I also enjoy that everything is really close here. We live pretty close to the JUST hospital, and also school, daycare and all the shops and services are within a close distance. I also enjoy the historical and cultural aspects of the city, you can somehow sense the history in music and art all around the city.
I think Järvenpää is diverse, historical and inclusive. Inclusive in a sense, that I have felt people being really supportive of our family, in all aspects. I haven’t personally experienced anything negative in Järvenpää, which has made me feel that I have been included in the community.
Do you have suggestions how Järvenpää could develop in the future?
As a mom with biracial kids, who has seen her own son been bullied because of his skin-colour I would love to see even more actions towards teaching children about diversity and inclusion – so that in the future the kids here in Järvenpää would see no difference between races and skin-colours. It’s hard to understand the damage discrimination does to you if you haven’t experienced it yourself.
Also, the city and its local companies could acknowledge the city’s highly-skilled citizens with foreign backrounds by providing them some professional programs or apprenticeships. This way people might be able to find jobs easier and the Finnish society would gain much needed high-skilled workforce.
Who: Annie Virtanen
Education: Master in Business Administration
Profession: Talent acquisition specialist
Family: Husband and three sons, aged 8, 5 and 2
Best in Järvenpää: Rantapuisto park and beach
Järvenpäähenkilö-stories introduces the city’s inhabitants.
Are you a new resident in Järvenpää? Check our page A mover’s guide to Järvenpää | Järvenpää (jarvenpaa.fi) to find useful and inspiring information about the city.
Annie’s story can also be found in Finnish!