‘We left the happiest country in the world to raise our kids in India’: Why this foreign couple shifted base to India
Janika and Touka, along with their two young kids, packed their bags and left Finland for India. The couple left Finland, the happiest country in the world, for Mumbai! For the ninth year in a row, Finland was ranked No. 1 on the World Happiness Report’s list, with respondents having an average life satisfaction score of around 7.7 out of 10! So why did the couple leave Finland?
Finland to Mumbai
Representative image
Janika Tuunainen, a dance teacher, and her husband Touko, a teacher/content creator, decided to leave Finland, the happiest country in the world, earlier this year. And the place they chose to live? Mumbai, India. And the most interesting part? They had never visited India, not even once. “We are leaving one of the safest countries in the world for India. We are a Finnish family. Active, always moving and dancing. Normal life. Life in Finland is amazing. Safe, stable and easy,” the couple said in a video shared on Instagram ahead of their move to India.So why exactly did they decide to leave the happiest country in the world? For life experience! “We didn’t want our kids to grow up seeing just one version of the world. So we made a decision. We are moving to India,” the couple said.They have lived in Finland all their lives, and they love it there. But they wanted their kids to ‘see more of the world’. “New people. New cultures. A completely different way of life.” So, this summer, they packed their bags and landed in India.
Why India?
The couple, along with their two kids, moved to Mumbai during the last week of July. “After a long journey, we finally made it to Mumbai. We arrived early this morning, got a little rest… and now it’s finally time to explore our new home for the very first time. We even got a warm (and very wet) welcome from our first monsoon shower this morning. The adventure begins now. Namaste, India,” the couple said.But why India? Why did they leave the happiest country for India? The people, and the nation’s rich and diverse culture. “We won’t always have perfect shots. We won’t always say the right words. And things probably won’t always go as planned. But that’s exactly what this journey is about. Real moments. Real people. Real life,” the couple said.Around the same time the couple decided to leave, Touko got a teaching gig in India. And according to them, it’s the people that pulled them in the most. Moving to India was not an overnight decision. “We’ve been dreaming, planning and preparing for this moment for a long time.”On the second day after their arrival, the kids were enrolled in school. “The kids were still a little sleepy in the car, but we were all excited to see our new school and meet our new colleagues. What a warm welcome. Amazing people, very nice campus, and so many new names to learn. We’re incredibly grateful to begin this new chapter here,” they said in the video.From having vada pavs to going on their first rickshaw ride, the family is living their best lives. They are also prepared for the challenges, including the language barrier. “We knew there would be challenges. But the kindness we received made us feel we’d chosen right,” they said.It’s only been a couple of weeks, but the family is already feeling at home. They love the food, the weather, and the people. There is also something they tolerate: the traffic.
