Living in Helsinki with your family: Hannah’s insider tips on happiness
Finland has topped the world happiness rankings for nine years running. But what does that actually feel like when you live in the country’s capital? Hannah Lewis, an Australian who moved to Helsinki, shares the quiet, everyday moments that make life here genuinely different.
When I was moving to Helsinki with my husband and young baby, I had so many questions: Will I make friends? Will I be able to juggle full time work and motherhood? Will I survive the Finnish winters as someone who has never owned a winter jacket before? Will I be happy? Thankfully, the answer to all of these questions is – yes! I learned that happiness isn’t about smiling at strangers and giving them high fives when walking down the street. It is about safety, peacefulness and support. In Finland happiness isn’t hanging out for fun on the weekends. It is about small everyday moments that amount to something big – contentment. Here are some tips for how to have a happy family life in Helsinki as a foreigner.
Nature in everyday life, not just for weekends
In many cities, nature is something you schedule or yearn to connect to. You wait for the weekend, you drive somewhere, or you wait to enjoy it on vacation. In Helsinki, it is everywhere. This isn’t an accident – Helsinki is one of Europe’s most sustainable cities with green spaces everywhere. I live in the centre of the city and my morning walks are around Töölönlahti surrounded by trees where I often spot hares and foxes. In the summer my family can swim at one of the many beaches after work and in winter we can go to a local ski field to enjoy the snow before dinner. Nature here is convenient to get to and abundant.
at your doorstep
Everyday nature
A city that actually supports families
Becoming a parent for the first (or second) time can feel daunting. In Helsinki, it felt different. The city and the society seem to have made a collective decision that raising children is something worth supporting — practically, financially, and culturally.
Childcare is affordable and doesn’t require parents to choose their kids over their careers. Schools are free, and genuinely good. Parental leave is generous and, most importantly, isn’t taboo to take for mothers or fathers.
Helsinki is family-friendly in so many other ways too. There are clear playgrounds in every neighborhood, free art lessons, free public transport, modern libraries with whole areas dedicated to kids. Kids aren’t seen as a nuisance here, they are treated like valued members of society.
Working in a country that respects rest
I used to feel guilty about taking holidays longer than a week, I often worked overtime, ate lunch at my desk and I was actually considered someone who had great work/life balance compared to others.
Work life balance in Finland is different. Holidays, breaks and rest are seen as a human right. This can be seen daily in workplaces when sick days aren’t seen as a weakness, where lunch breaks are a habit not as aspiration, and where the month of July is a nation-wide sacred ceremony in switching off.
My happiness has improved so much since I have taken on the Finnish mindset of rest not being something you earn, but something you need. I am still driven and hard working, but when I am working in Finland I can show up better because I have given my mind and body the rest it needs.
Culture that belongs to everyone
One of the things that surprised me most when I arrived was how accessible Helsinki’s cultural life is. Having moved from a city where taking the family out to see sport or visit an exhibition was cost prohibitive for many, it was so refreshing to see culture democratised in Finland. My family and I make the most of this. Some family friendly activities in Helsinki we have enjoyed lately have included admiring Van Gogh and doing a free art workshop at the Ateneum, seeing a free music performance at the Musiikkitalo and learning more about Karelian culture at Oodi library.
Culture here isn’t a luxury for the few, it is for everyone to enjoy and contribute to.
The quiet freedom of feeling safe
This is the one that’s hardest to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced its absence. Is Helsinki a safe city? Absolutely. Safety is one of those things you only fully appreciate when you have lived without it. Happiness is easier for me to feel when I feel safe. Living in Helsinki this shows up in many ways – walking alone in the dark and not fearing for my life, getting naked in the sauna with strangers and not fearing judgement and being in crowds with my kids without feeling hyper vigilant.
Helsinki is a city that I feel like I move freely through because it is safe to do so here.
If you’re curious to learn more about what life is like as an international family in Helsinki, you can read more about living and working in Helsinki here: