Outlandish

In Finland in 25 years I've moved altogether 3 times. In the UK in 3 years I've moved altogether 5 times. In Aberdeen as well as in London I was homeless for a while, so I truly respect a roof on my head. But even though having a roof and four walls is something that you can survive with, it's not enough. I want a comfortable home with easy access to work and shopping centres.    The student cuarters of St Paul in Aberdeen, my 1st Aberdeen apartment Castle Gate, my 3rd apartment in Aberdeen on the edge there (gorgeous flat!) I thought I had grown over the age of sharing a flat with strangers, but in reality it's the best possible option when moving into a country you know nothing about, don't speak the language and don't know anyone from. A lovely, lovely contact at my future work place had found me an option right next to the lake Strkovec with a really nice-looking room. I would share a house with three Slovaks who (according to them) like a clean ho...

It's reality now, I am going! An official job offer was made and I accepted it and as a result got to do all kinds of onboarding tasks, background checks and preparations for moving to another country. I must say, even though there has been a lot of work to be done before my accepting of the offer has been properly verified, all the tasks have been useful and illuminating. I finally have a small idea of where I am going. There's still a lot to do when I get to Slovakia. Also, it's not just paperwork regarding the job and moving to Slovakia, but there is also a truck load of paperwork to be done for all kinds of Finnish authorities. But it is probably best to notify absolutely every place here where I live because you never know what can happen. So, after the background checks and such I got to the business of booking flights. It wasn't quite as easy as I originally thought. I ended up looking up every single European airline and went through all of them trying to find...

Yesterday came  the call. I recognized the number on my phone and prepared for another kick in the face; that's it, another job slipping through my fingers. Then I hear a voice at the other end of the line saying "I would like to welcome you to our team and congratulate you..." for which I just had to go "stop, stop, STOOP!" I had to double check. But yes, I got kicked in the face but for a change with the most wonderful news: I got the job!! I'm moving to Bratislava, Slovakia!!  In the first interview I was asked why I had applied for a job in Slovakia. I hadn't expected the call, let alone that question, and honestly all I knew about Slovakia was that once upon a time it was a part of Czechoslovakia... not much to go by. But I did my research and came to the conclusion that it is just as lovely a country as all other Central European countries. Not that I've ever been in any of them.  But I'm going! Not clear on when exactly, but I a...