BARCELONA Maija Winter36, spends a regular afternoon with her eight-year-old son Nick’s with in Barcelona. Mother and son skate down the ramp of the skatepark, the Mediterranean can be seen in the background.
They moved to Barcelona last summer.
– I was initially here on a student exchange and I realized that I would enjoy myself in the city even longer.
When Winter finished his university studies in Helsinki, it was time to leave.
In Barcelona, Winter was attracted not only by the good skating opportunities, but also by the city’s international atmosphere.
In a short time, Winter has learned to know the regular faces of the skatepark.
– Barcelona is the skate capital of Europe, and there is a real community atmosphere here, he praises.
There are already an estimated 30,000–40,000 Finns in Spain
There are a lot of people like Winter now. Moving to Spain is a long-term dream of many Finns, and more and more people are realizing their dream.
According to the Finnish Embassy in Madrid, the number of Finns living in Spain permanently or temporarily is increasing.
It was visible, for example, in the presidential election in the early voting, where Spain received the second highest number of early votes in the world after Sweden.
Based on last year’s statistics, 11,383 Finns had registered in Spain.
However, according to the embassy’s estimates, the number of Finns living in Spain is double or triple, because not all are registered as residents.
The Finnish Embassy in Madrid estimates that 30,000–40,000 Finns currently live in Spain permanently or temporarily.
The largest Finnish communities are found on the Sun Coast and the Canary Islands.
In addition to traditional Finnish areas, the attraction of Spain’s big cities has grown. It can also be seen in Barcelonawhere the number of Finns is increasing.
“Finns have a good reputation on the labor market”
Lived in Barcelona for over 10 years Jenni Lipponen has seen the city change.
– When I moved to Barcelona, I knew many Finns by name. Now it’s already impossible, when there are so many Finns.
Lipponen works in marketing for a local company and otherwise lives a local everyday life.
– It is easy to find a job when you speak Spanish and Catalan. Finns also have a good reputation here on the labor market.
Even Lippon praises Barcelona’s hobby opportunities. He is actively involved in dancing.
– I started with zumba, then came twerking, reggaeton and most recently bachata and salsa. Barcelona is the mecca of Latin dances.
Despite the good opportunities for hobbies, Lippose has a love-hate relationship with Barcelona.
– There are a lot of people, things to do, things to do and mood. Maybe too much for my taste.
That’s why Lipponen currently lives outside of Barcelona.
– The way I am Finnish is that I want to live close to nature.
The Suomi school maintains children’s language skills
Jenni Lipponen knows a few Finns, but does not, as she says, move in “Finnish circles”. There aren’t really any like that in the city.
Finns in Barcelona are not as organized as, for example, on the Sunshine Coast. However, there is a Suomi school supported by the Suomi society in the city.
Its purpose is to help children who speak Finnish as their mother tongue to maintain their language skills. Teaching is organized twice a month.
President of Suomi-koulu Jari Salmi says that this year the school has 25 students in actual teaching. In addition, the school operates a musical play school for babies, with ten children.
Most of the children come from bilingual families.
The Salme family is also like that. They moved to Catalonia following the work opportunities of the spouse who is from there.
– Although my wife speaks Finnish and has a university degree, she could not find a job in Finland that matches her education.
According to Salmi, living in Barcelona always arouses interest in Finland when it is mentioned. He himself works in a US company.
– Barcelona is a dynamic and vibrant city. It interests people and companies, Salmi adds.
Barcelona is interesting, even though living is expensive
Some of the companies moved their offices outside of Catalonia seven years ago, when an unconstitutional vote for independence was held in the region and there were riots in the streets.
The political situation is still unstable, but the demonstrations and unrest have subsided.
At the same time, the number of international companies in Barcelona has started to rise again.
The pandemic also increased remote work opportunities, as a result of which Barcelona’s popularity has grown even more. Currently, almost half of the city’s apartments are rented to foreigners.
Popularity can also be seen in the Barcelona rent level. It is currently the highest in history.
Maija Winter also says that the downsides of living in the city are the weak rental housing situation and expensive rents.
– Otherwise, everything has gone surprisingly smoothly.
He works in Finland through his company.
Eight-year-old Niky Winter, on the other hand, got a place at a local school. At the same time, he had to learn Catalan in addition to Spanish, because it is the language of instruction in Barcelona’s public schools.
Many international private schools also operate in the city. Teaching in Finnish according to the official curriculum is organized in Spain only on the Sunshine Coast.
Niky Winter has not longed for a Finnish school.
– Here, people talk to each other so easily that it’s easy to make friends.
Mother Maija Winter agrees.
– I have never experienced how you can share life with different people in a skatepark.