Helsinki, Finland – November 4, 2020 – Launching today, the ‘90 Day Finn’ program offers a free 90-day relocation package to Helsinki, Finland for selected U.S. tech professionals. The entrants and their families are invited to enjoy work-life balance unique to Finland and guided to stay safe amidst the global pandemic in a city that is run based on a pragmatic, science-driven approach.
Open for applications today, the program provides a new red-carpet entry scheme to Helsinki, one of the world’s leading technology hubs. Helsinki is the capital of Finland, a strong European democracy built on shared values and equality. Finland ranks the best of the world in happiness, work-life balance, digital public services, education and environmental health, among others.
The ’90 Day Finn’ program is run by Helsinki Business Hub, the international trade and investment promotion agency for the Finnish capital region.
Helsinki Business Hub will ensure a smooth stay for the selected participants. Everything from needed documentation to housing, daycare, schools and healthcare will be arranged to suit the participants’ individual needs. In-person introductions to local technology hubs and business networks will help entrants get settled and up to speed.
“During a time of lockdowns, wildfires, social injustices and political turmoil, people living in strongly affected yet highly expensive areas have begun to ask themselves how they could have both a career and an enjoyable family life,” said Johanna Huurre, Marketing Communications Director at Helsinki Business Hub. “We decided to offer them an opportunity to experience what life has to offer outside of their regular hoods. In the Helsinki region, both singles, couples and families are able to combine work, family and leisure in a way that is hard to imagine for many Americans,” continued Johanna Huurre.
Quality education, pure and accessible nature – and a booming international career
The program website www.90dayfinn.com features interviews with U.S. citizens relocated to Finland, and Finnish citizens who lived in the U.S. and retuned to Finland. Typical reasons for choosing to live in the Helsinki region include better work-life balance, free high-quality schools and universities, and time-saving digital public services such as sorting out taxes via online chat.
“I felt very lucky when we moved to Finland that I was able to work from here. You can live here and still keep your job in the U.S. and work remotely,” said Harinder Jaswal Korhonen, Biochemist and Regulatory Affairs Specialist, a U.S. citizen who moved from Silicon Valley to Finland with her family in 2019. “I have a much more balanced work life in Finland because here kids are a lot more independent. The kids can walk to school or take the bus by themselves. They don’t go outside in the Bay Area, but here they have freedom.”
“The Helsinki region is an amazing cluster for gaming, and the environment is very good for starting up a company,” said Michail Katkoff, A CEO and co-founder at Savage Game Studios, a Finnish national who lived in Silicon Valley for several years and retuned to Finland with his family. “The cost structures are right, there’s tremendous amount of support from the government, and free health care and free education puts a person in a position where they can take risks.”
The application window to participate the ‘90 Day Finn’ program opens November 4 and closes on December 10. Shortlisted applicants are then notified and interviewed, and 90-day visits for selected entrants are scheduled to start from in February 2021 – offering fast movers an opportunity to experience a true Nordic winter. The entrants that wish to stay longer are supported to apply residency in Finland.
Online applications are submitted at www.90dayfinn.com.
For further information, please contact:
Johanna Huurre, Helsinki Business Hub
Email johanna.huurre@helsinkibusinesshub.fi
Tel. +358 400 211 251 (time zone GMT+2)
