The country received low ratings for career prospects and job security. A British expat remarked, “Local work opportunities for expats are poor and often discriminatory.”
In terms of making friends, expats described Finns as “not tolerant of foreigners” and “too internal.”
Several comments mentioned racism, with one Greek expat noting they faced “nepotism and highly problematic situations every single day.”
Finland placed 16th in the expat rankings in 2023, but historically, it has generally ranked from the middle to low positions.
Kathrin Chudoba, marketing manager for InterNations, explains that many people move to Finland to join a Finnish partner, which means they aren’t necessarily relocating for their own career prospects or a personal desire to live there.
“I can imagine these individuals, who may not have a clearly defined career path when they move, might be particularly affected by a recession or challenges entering the job market,” she says.
Poor job opportunities may also explain the lower incomes and financial difficulties many expats report.
“If you are dissatisfied with your financial situation or your disposable household income is insufficient for a comfortable life, you’ll likely rate various categories, such as leisure options or housing, more negatively because you can’t afford to access them,” says Chudoba.
Why don’t expats in Finland benefit from living in the world’s happiest country?
The World Happiness Report is based on questions that differ significantly from those in the Expat Insider survey.
It uses data from a poll asking respondents to envision a ladder, with the best possible life as a 10 and the worst as a 0, and then rate their own lives on that scale.
“How it achieves ‘happiest country’ status is beyond me,” commented a Brit in the expat survey.
Chudoba points out that, in contrast, the Expat Insider survey focuses on specific and “hands-on” experiences. She adds that surveying the general population versus expats results in very different outcomes.
“Expats will always compare their current location to their home country or other places they have lived,” she says. “Especially in the case of Finland, the aspects most people didn’t like were all very expat-specific reasons such as speaking the language or how welcoming local people are.”
So, while expats might theoretically have access to all the services and benefits of Finland, the unique challenges of living there as a foreigner diminish the experience.
As one Brit remarked in the expat survey, “How it achieves ‘happiest country’ status is beyond me.”
