Contemporary Finnish Emigrants: Finnish Expatriate Families in North America

Abstract

<p> <em>Finnish e</em><em>migration was and still is typically labor-based. Temporariness and higher education are two characteristics of contemporary Finnish emigration.</em> <em>Modern</em><em> Finnish emigrants can be called expatriates. This study focuses on the resources and adjustment problems of Finnish expatriate families. Research data were gathered by an online survey questionnaire completed by parents (N = 202) who had repatriated to a large city in Finland. One fourth of the families (n = 44) had lived in North America. The main finding concerning family resources was that social support within the family itself was the most substantial resource in expatriation. Finnish expatriate families had few problems in North America. Clearly, the number of problems in North America was significantly lower in terms of local culture, climate, language proficiency, and transportation. North America emerges as an excellent host continent for Finnish expatriate families.</em></p>