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 around. That’s an important combination for me,” Rebo says.

When she moved to Finland, Viktoria received help from several different sources. Kotka Asunnot, Kela, the municipality and the Kotka Social Welfare Office supported her in the initial practical matters. The parishes were also involved in helping.

– I received enough help to adapt. That made it a lot easier,” she recalls.

Everyday life is easily built around services

Rebo feels that the services in Karhuvori are functional and easily accessible.

– Shop, pharmacy, schools, library, post office. Everything is close by. It makes everyday life easy.

She is mostly satisfied with the quality of services.

– I think they are good,” she says.

Rebo appreciates the Finnish culture, especially the peaceful way of life.

– Generally speaking, people live peacefully. Of course, there are always exceptions,” she laughs.

The location of Kotka is important to him in many ways. Before the border was closed, it was easy to travel to Petrozavodsk – where most of her relatives live.

In everyday life, Rebo gets around by car, public transport or bicycle, depending on the situation.

– In a way, I’m happy with public transport, but sometimes I feel that certain bus routes run too infrequently.

Nature and the surrounding areas offer much to experience

Viktoria has explored the Etelä-Kymenlaakso region extensively and found many of her favourite places.

– In Hamina, Pitkäthiekat is a nice beach. Hamina also has a swimming pool, cafés and a skate park on Tervasaari. Miehikkälä has the Salpalinja Museum, good walking trails and barbecue areas. Kotka is a seaside town and close to the capital Helsinki. In summer, it’s great to go on island cruises. There are lots of nice parks and beaches.

Challenges and opportunities in working and studying life

Learning Finnish has not been easy and, according to her, it is still not a complete process.

– I’m still learning, even though I already speak really good Finnish. It takes time and patience.

She says that English is somewhat adequate, but that Finnish makes everyday life much easier.

Rebo sees both challenges and room for new ideas in the labour market. The world situation also has an impact on Etelä-Kymenlaakso.

– At the moment, there are very few jobs available. But there are openings for entrepreneurship. You just have to be clever – any business idea will no longer do.

The study experiences at the Kotka and Hamina campuses were good.

– There are learning opportunities, you just have to work hard to learn.

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