I moved to Finland for love… How might this impact my relationship?

Why I Started This Blog

I’m a psychotherapist who specializes in working with intercultural couples. Through my work, I’ve learned that these couples often face many unique stressors on top of the usual challenges that come with any relationship.

I’ve conducted a small-scale study to better understand these experiences. One of the things that emerged from that research was a clear desire from couples for something like a handbook—a guide that could help them anticipate the kinds of challenges they might encounter when moving to one partner’s home country.

More importantly, couples expressed a desire for reassurance: to know that they’re not alone, and that there’s nothing wrong with them or their relationship when these challenges arise.

Why This Blog Exists

I’ve considered writing a full handbook on the topic. For now, however, I’ve decided to start with this blog. It felt like a low-threshold, accessible way to share this information with as many people as possible.

My goal is to write about the topics that come up most often in my practice. I’ll post as regularly as I’m able, and I hope that over time this blog becomes a helpful resource for couples who may be struggling or feeling isolated in their experience.

Who These Posts Are For

These posts are written specifically for couples where one partner grew up in Finland and the other did not, and the couple has decided to move to Finland together.

I focus on Finland because this is where my professional experience comes from. However, many of the challenges I’ll discuss likely appear in some form whenever couples from different cultural backgrounds settle in one partner’s home country.