My name is Linda Bosire. My husband and me, we are Kenyan Nationalities. I have been living in Kuopio for 5 years now, Eric and I have 4 children, two boys and two girls. My husband has lived in this city for 20 years. He speaks fluent Finnish language, in fact working as a translator. He has lived more of his lifetime here in Kuopio than anywhere else.

As Kenyan natives living in Finland, we believe in multiculturalism and positivity. We have built our own unbiased family culture and are not enclosed to a specific religion nor culture even though we respect other people’s beliefs.

When I first moved to this city, many of my friends asked me why I decided to move to Kuopio and not the big city that everyone yearns to live in. My answer then was that I first needed to experience the whole of Finland, Experience Kuopio as I have no idea what it holds for me, and besides-my husband already lives there.

After moving here I don’t have the need nor urge to move to the big city as my husband and I agree that this is where the most opportunity lies and main reason is because many tend to run to other cities to chase their dreams instead of building those dreams in this city.

Kuopio city is clean, serene, quiet, has many beautiful forests, beautiful nature and beaches, not congested and yet convenient in regards to infrastructure, shopping proximity and more.

The people are at first hard to understand but when you get more acquainted you will learn that they are the most loyal and honest people you could ever meet. Yes, The ‘Savo person’ likes their space so it is important to respect it even though we come from a culture where space is a zero-factor. It is also important to understand a Savo person when they give a neutral answer ´katsotaan´ instead of a yes or no.

Despite culture differences that are inevitable, they can make very good friends and are happy to help especially once you prove to be an active person and maintain positivity as key.

For our family, we have found Kuopio as the perfect landing and we are not planning to move anytime soon. Our children are attending Finnish language based schools and are quickly learning a lot in regards to culture and languge. There has always been quick assistance whenever they face any difficulty and as parents we find refuge in the schools.

Kenyan culture is totally different from Finnish culture. We do try to keep our culture and identities, but at the same time, we seek to integrate into this new culture. Besides interacting with the Finnish natives only, Kuopio has given us the opportunity to interact with other nationalities from around the World. We believe that it is a form of wealth to interact and learn from various cultures.

Also we believe, that Kuopio city is a `virgin business’ hub and it has so many opportunities hidden within. To make Kuopio more beautiful and to benefit from business opportunities available here, we have set up a new business. We are running a model and events management company called L.B the Agency.

Read more of Linda´s experiences in setting up a company in Kuopio and her business in the printed edition of Kohtaamisia magazine.