Home » Blog

Life in Kuopio as an international talent

4.2.2025

Many international professionals have found their place in Kuopio and decided to settle permanently in the city. They praise Kuopio for its safety, close proximity to nature and warm-hearted people.

Kuopio attracts international talent. Many of them find the city to be the perfect size, a place where the quality of life, work-life balance and work culture are all in good shape.

“I greatly appreciate the work culture in Kuopio”

Having moved to Finland from the United States, Zak Allal appreciates the honesty and resilience of the Finnish people. Originally from Algeria, Allal lived in the United States for over 10 years. He wanted to find a balance in his life and make well-being and happiness his top priorities.

Allal listed various countries and indexes in a large Excel spreadsheet, including the life expectancy, overall happiness and quality of life in each country. Finland topped the list by a wide margin.

After graduating as a doctor, Allal began searching for a job and was offered a research position at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio in 2022. While living in Finland, Allal has come to realize how wonderful the Finnish work culture truly is.

“The work culture in North Savo, in particular, has this quiet and modest, yet powerful and determined force. I greatly appreciate that and the people here,” Allal says.

Allal has enjoyed living in Kuopio, because he loves peace and quiet. The university town also has everything you could ever need. Having lived in California, he also appreciates the fact that there are never any traffic jams in Kuopio. Allal currently lives in Helsinki, but he misses Kuopio and hopes to return to the city to work as a doctor. Kuopio brought balance to his life, something he had been seeking for a long time.

Surprised by the warm-hearted locals

Delia Ionela Chinta, who moved to Finland from Spain, also wouldn’t trade living in Kuopio for anything. Services and nature are close by, and the job opportunities are endless. She moved from Madrid to Kuopio in 2020 and came face to face with a new culture and language. This did not faze her, as she has always longed for peace and quiet. Finland won her heart immediately.

In 2019, Chinta, who was working as a practical nurse in Madrid, received an email offering her the chance to study and work in Kuopio. After giving it some thought and learning more about Finnish culture, she applied.

By August 2020, Chinta was living in Kuopio and started a one-year apprenticeship program as a practical nurse. Later, she began studying both nursing and business administration (at the same time). She found she was more interested in business and decided to give up her nursing studies. This kind of flexibility in studies would not be possible in Spain, for example.

“The educational opportunities, professional development and independent work culture appealed to me. I enjoy developing myself and am self-motivated by nature, so integrating into Finland has been easy. Here, my opinions are heard and valued, which has been wonderful.”

Chinta feels that the people in Kuopio are very warm-hearted. She has received a lot of emotional support and numerous invitations for coffee and summer cottage visits. She doesn’t find Finns to be as reserved as they are often stereotyped. Her mother has also fallen in love with Finland.

“I have everything I could ever need right here. I can live right in the city centre, but I’m still close to nature. I can cycle everywhere and all the services are close by.”

From a metropolis to the small city of Kuopio

Parastoo Jalili, aged 38, decided to start a new life in Kuopio and has not regretted it for a day. She found the love of her life and a meaningful job in her new hometown. Parastoo Jalili comes from Tehran, the capital of Iran, from a province that is home to more than 10 million people.

Back in Iran, Jalili worked as a business development assistant and was happy with her life. At the time, many of her friends were moving abroad and experiencing new things, and Jalili also became fascinated with the idea of doing so. She applied to universities in Norway, Sweden and Finland and was accepted by all these countries as a student.

She ended up choosing Finland after discovering that the quality of life, work-life balance, and work culture were comparatively favorable. Jalili moved to Kuopio in September 2021. She was immediately captivated by the Finnish nature.

“The fact that forests cover 70% of Finland was immediately obvious in everyday life. How incredible it feels to go walking or jogging when the air is full of oxygen thanks to the forests!”

She is very grateful for the kindness of Finns and their willingness to help whenever needed. But of course, you need to be willing to learn the customs of the country and culture. After starting her studies, she decided she wanted to expand her social circle and so she participated in every possible event she could find. A Talent Hub event eventually led her to a job at the city’s Business Development Services and Business Center.

---

Top 10 reasons to move to the Kuopio region

1. 1.“Kuopio is an excellent place for families to live. There are activities, friendly people, the traffic is calm and nature is always close by.” (Katja Gorlinski, Ukraine)

 

1. 2. “Kuopio has the feel of a city, but also nature, events and culture – something for everyone. Although we’re used to moving often, I don’t think we’ll ever move away from Finland again. This is our home now.” (Inabat Seytnazarova, Uzbekistan)

 

1. 3. “In Finland, workloads are realistic and you don’t feel completely exhausted at the end of the day, but still have energy for hobbies, for example.” (Priscila Da Silva, Spain)

 

1. 4. “I appreciate the honesty and sincerity that I see in Finnish people. From a professional point of view, Finland is also a very honest country. Honesty is part of the country’s culture.” (Carme Plumed-Ferrer, Spain)

 

1. 5. “Many people who move here from other countries are used to being told what to do by their boss. But in Finland, you can and are expected to be self-motivated and independent, and it’s not wrong to express your opinions.” (Delia Ionela Chinta, Spain)

 

1. 6. “The quality of life here is good, the technology is high-level, and the culture is fascinating.” (Priscila Da Silva, Spain)

 

1. 7. “We were particularly excited about Finland when we heard at the embassy in Los Angeles that Santa Claus lives in Finland, in Korvatunturi. That was a fun thought.” (Inabat Seytnazarova, Uzbekistan)

 

1. 8. “As an exchange student, I worked independently in a laboratory, following the instructions I was given. I enjoyed it and fell in love with the trust-based approach to studying and with Finland overall.” (Carme Plumed-Ferrer, Spain)

 

1. 9. “One of the first things I noticed was the silence. After living in America, the calm was almost tangible. The number of trees and lakes was also a pleasant surprise.” (Inabat Seytnazarova, Uzbekistan)

 

1. 10. “Here, you can take your child to day care and the caregivers will support and take care of them. It’s wonderful – just remembering it makes me emotional.” (Carme Plumed-Ferrer, Spain)

 

---

This article is produced by Talent First (Talent Attraction Model of North Savo – Impact Through Collaboration). The project is co-funded by the European Union, South Savo ELY Centre (ESF+) and 12 project partners from North Savo (1 September 2023 – 31 August 2025). More information: www.talentfirst.fi/en/.

---

Text: Minna Akiola

This article was first published in Kuopio by Nature.

Kuopio by Nature is available at Issuu.