Cătălina Mihai is called “Snowy” for a reason. He loves snow, winter and everything related to the cold season. When he had to choose between two job offers, one in Spain, the other in Finland, he went against the grain and chose the colder option: “instead of sitting at 40 degrees, it’s better to sit at -40.”

In the fall of 2018, Katalina landed for the first time at the Helsinki airport, where she encountered the first difference in a long series of such moments that would define the period of her assimilation: “the first shock I experienced was auditory . I didn’t hear any noise. I got to the airport and there was just the sound of birds recorded in the background. I remembered it. At that moment I thought, if there is a heaven, I have achieved my goal.”

On paper, Finland seems like a unicorn of countries, as magical a place as it seemed to Katalina when she first set foot in the country.

The public education system, known for de-emphasizing student testing, is one of the best in the world, college is free, the public health system is well established, and the cost of raising a child is affordable. Finland was also one of the countries least affected by the pandemic, partly due to high levels of trust in the government as well as among citizens. They are one of the reasons why the country also has one of the lowest unemployment rates.

Read the article on Panorama.ro