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 peaceful environment in which to grow up and good opportunities to play ice hockey. Kotka felt like home; here they found a supportive network of friends and family, nature on their doorstep, a short journey to the ice rink, and, compared to Helsinki, the family gained considerably more living space.

–For the price of the house we sold, we got a house here that’s twice as big and a garden ten times larger. And our son can get to the ice rink in just over 10 minutes, Pascal explains.

Pascal goes into the office twice a week and works remotely the rest of the time. Hybrid working suits him well, and he no longer particularly misses the hustle and bustle of Helsinki. Large crowds feel overwhelming these days. Major events in Kotka, such as the Maritime Festival, are lively enough for him.

Kotka offers everything without the hustle and bustle of a big city

His home country, Belgium, is a small but densely populated country. Pascal grew up in the peaceful, rural town of Landen, from where he later moved to study and work in the more historic and bustling city of Mechelen.

–In my thirties, I began to feel that I wanted to see more of the world. I’d visited Finland before and fell so in love with the country that I decided to move here before it was too late. Looking for work without any knowledge of the local job market was difficult, but I eventually secured an internship, sold my possessions and bought a one-way ticket to Finland.

From the very beginning, he’d been left with a positive impression of Finland because of its natural beauty and the down-to-earth nature of its people. He particularly appreciated the fact that people don’t need to impress others with their cars, clothes or other status symbols.

The internship was followed by a career at a Finnish mobile gaming company. Pascal has remained in the gaming industry ever since, even though he has changed employers. He is currently responsible for ensuring that players have a good user experience and receive high-quality support.

Pascal feels lucky to have a close-knit and extended family around him, thanks to his Finnish wife. This network provides strong support in everyday life.

–In Finland, however, making friends often takes time and requires mutual acquaintances. In my home country, social relationships tend to develop more spontaneously, Pascal explains.

He appreciates Kotka because it reminds him of the environment in which he grew up and offers everything he needs without the hustle and bustle of a big city. He also enjoys visiting Hamina because of its idyllic small-town atmosphere and has got to know Kouvola through his son’s ice hockey activities.

Food culture has become more international

These days, Pascal understands Finnish quite well, but he likes to make a bit of a joke of it and doesn’t usually reveal his proficiency straight away. Instead, he may surprise his conversation partner by showing, as the day goes on, that he understands far more than he initially lets on.

–The food culture was a bit of a culture shock at first, but Finland’s food scene has come on in leaps and bounds over the last 15 years, says Pascal.

Nowadays, there are Belgian products, international specialities and cuisines from various countries on offer. Still, he continues to miss some of the authentic flavours of his homeland and finds Finnish adaptations rather amusing. A Flemish meat stew flavoured with liquorice evokes the same feelings in him as a pineapple pizza does for an Italian.

When settling in the area, Pascal would not have needed so much support from the city or the state as he would have liked practical matters to be made easier. In his view, English-language services, such as banking and healthcare, could still be improved.

In his spare time, he enjoys role-playing games, painting miniatures, music and the outdoors. After a long day at work, these creative hobbies provide a welcome contrast to working at a computer.

A coworking space for networking?

Pascal believes that foreigners and locals could be brought together more than they are at present, as for many people the biggest challenge is not managing day-to-day affairs but building social networks.

He praises the event benefits offered to newcomers in Kotka, but also sees potential for new kinds of meeting places. One idea he highlights is communal workspaces where international remote workers, students and other residents could meet, network, share expertise and perhaps even offer mentoring.

Pascal also reflects on the future of Finland’s economy and working life.

–Competition for jobs has intensified, Pascal notes.

He hopes that international opportunities will not diminish in the future.

–It may no longer be possible to work in the same role for decades. So what comes next? I could see myself, for example, working as a consultant in the gaming industry in the future. Entrepreneurship is one possibility; my wife is already self-employed through her catering business.

He didn’t feel homesick straight away after moving to Finland, but over time Pascal has found himself missing Belgian food, beer and everyday social culture, such as spontaneous chats with strangers.

Particularly meaningful here have been the little moments that have reinforced his sense of belonging to the community: a Dutch-speaking shop assistant, a familiar barman or some other everyday encounter that reminds him he is no stranger in his neighbourhood.

–Integration isn’t just about learning the language, but also about feeling that you belong to the community and are able to manage things independently, he notes.

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