One of the ways Talent Call Turku was different from other talent contests was that we invited the whole family. While Southwest Finland has a big shortage of workers, it also offers great benefits to for families. Finland has the best education system and one of the best health services in the world as well as great maternity and paternity leave for parents. In Southwest Finland, we pride ourselves on the proximity to nature, most of which is accessible by public transportation. For international workers, one of the key factors to fully settling into their new home country is the comfort of spouse and children. Studies have found that if a spouse is unhappy, the international worker is less likely to stay long enough to make a meaningful impact.
For the second straight year, the United Nations ranked Finland as the “Happiest Country in the World.” While our most famous comedian Ismo wonders which Finnish people they spoke with, we tried to make sure we showed the Talent Call winners why they would be very happy here. We will also share some more of their comments related to this subject.
The way the UN determined “happiness” was through a series of survey questions that mostly related to quality of life. Some questions asked if Finns were happy with their healthcare system, the trustworthiness of their government or if they have friends and family that they could rely on in times of need.
Audrey and Ryan: (The visit) surpassed our expectations. (It was a) beautiful city to live and work in, we were impressed with the education system and work life balance. We also loved the handicrafts and creativity that is unique to Turku.
Andrius – I like that kids here are allowed to spend a lot of time outside and playing and there is always lots of space for them.
