The scenic landscapes of Langinkoski in the Kymijoki delta have become an important place of tranquillity for Farook Al-Dulaimi from Iraq, where he often goes for a walk from his home in Hovinsaari, Kotka. –Whenever I have time, I go for a walk in the local countryside or down to the seaside, he says. When…
Csilla Németh, from Hungary, arrived in Finland over 30 years ago as part of an international student exchange programme whilst she was studying at university. After completing her Master’s degree in Philosophy, she returned to Finland to improve her Finnish language skills and worked as an au pair in Helsinki for a year. That year…
Zahra Sasannia and Shaghayegh Hajiloo, both from Iran, began their studies in the digital industry and artificial intelligence at the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences in Kotka at the start of the year. The Master’s-level programme is taught in English. –I’d heard that Finland is a happy country with a high standard of social…
Belgian Pascal Debroek works for an international gaming company in the Helsinki metropolitan area, but he feels at home in Mäntykangas, Karhula, where a forest trail begins right behind his detached house. The Debroek family moved from Helsinki to Kotka to be closer to his wife’s parents and to provide their son with a more…
Mular Hser was 10 years old when her family moved to Finland 18 years ago. Before arriving in Finland, the family had fled the civil unrest in Myanmar to a refugee camp in Thailand, where Mular was born. Today, all family members – parents and five siblings – live in Kotka, in different parts of…
Isabelle Pekonen moved from France to Finland over 40 years ago through marriage. The family settled in Kotka. Now her three children are grown up and her life is enriched by a four-year-old grandchild. Isabelle retired about a year ago after a long career as a language teacher and interpreter. – Our home is in…
Viktoria Rebo moved to Finland from Russia thirteen years ago. Her new life in Etelä-Kymenlaakso was gradually built up. Today she works in Fida’s second-hand shop in Kotka and lives in the Karhuvuori neighbourhood, where nature and functional everyday life go hand in hand. – Kotka has a good infrastructure and a lot of nature…
Gopal Krishna Sharma moved to Finland from India eight years ago. For the last two years he has been living in Kotka, Kotkansaari, which has become his home – and also the place where he is realising his dream as an entrepreneur. Sharma runs the New Royal India restaurant on Kotkansaari. Working in the area…
Grazyna Cirmirakis moved from Warsaw, Poland to Finland in 1991 with her two children. Her husband had started working in Finland a year earlier, and Kotka became the family’s new hometown. They have lived there ever since, on Kotkansaari, in the same apartment, for more than three decades. – Kotka has been a good place…