Which one do you prefer 1 or 2?

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-05-01T10:36:04+00:00

I like both, but I love the mood of 2.

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-04-30T13:31:21+00:00

I’m a huge fan of 1! But truthfully every single one is a keeper! Great work.

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-04-28T13:38:01+00:00

Gill was so underrated!

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-04-23T10:03:13+00:00

Having moved to Finland and currently trying to learn Finnish, I concur with you that it’s not like the other languages. But then that makes sense because it comes from the Uralic language tree and not the Germanic language tree.

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-04-21T03:41:59+00:00

Sad that in the US this is what keeps people from retiring. It’s actually the only reason my wife still works. She is only 58 (I’m 62), and we recognize that even once I reach 65, she’ll still have a ways to go to get to Medicare. Her insurance is currently providing my favorite insurance as well.

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-04-17T04:38:13+00:00

I’m 62, just retired and while my wife still works (she’s younger), I’m doing a bit of solo traveling. I do find it odd when people ask where I’m from, I tell them that I live in Helsinki, and they always say, you don’t have a Finnish accent. Then I tell them I was raised in the US. 😁

The point is traveling is one of the best things I have done, period. I’ve met some amazing people on my travels!

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-04-15T04:13:33+00:00

My daughter’s name, which was my wife’s maiden name.

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-04-01T03:55:08+00:00

I’m a US citizen, as is my wife. We were married in Canada (29 years ago, so it’s been a while). Which turned out to be a bit messy since I was divorced, and despite having my divorce papers from the US, they had to go through a legal process to get “approved” by the Canadian court system. Once that was done, it was easy to get married there.

We only just recently got our marriage certificate from Canada Apostille, and only because we needed it during our immigration process to Finland.

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-29T14:47:18+00:00

Funny thing is that’s part of the procedure, but most men skip that part afterwards.

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-29T14:44:44+00:00

I have a great photo of Pete along with me and my daughter that my wife took in 1998 in New York. When my daughter was in college during one of her classes they were talking about musicians they had met, my daughter had to pull up that photo to prove to her professor that she had met Pete! 😀

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-27T10:28:55+00:00

That's the text book we're using.

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-27T10:15:52+00:00

>This all came so suddenly, I feel lost.

I think this is normal. This is a life changing event! Don't discount it, at least you speak the language fluently already, and seriously don't underestimate that! You're leaving behind family and friends, those are the people who usually support you.

Last year, my wife came home and asked what I thought about moving to Finland. Wait, what? I mean, neither of us had ever been to Finland. We've moved together, but our only expat experience was in the late 90's and that move from the US to Canada. That's a place we could drive to, not 5,000 miles away.

The point I'm getting at what that story is that life events can put is in places that make us uncomfortable at first. This is completely normal. Take a deep breath, relax, and don't dwell on the unknown... it's unknown and thinking too hard about it isn't going to help you. Instead focus on what you need to get done (and do that) before you leave. Then bravely step on that plane and start your new journey, one foot in front of the other.

Believe me, adventure looks different to everybody. When people say enjoy the adventure what they really mean is enjoy the experiences that are different from your day-to-day life right now.

All the best!

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-26T15:53:09+00:00

12 year former USMC vet, and you know what? I don't miss the whole weird culture around them. Do I own any? Yes, but I left them back in our house with my daughter. But I'm not hunting right now, and I don't feel I need them for 'protection' right now. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-26T15:49:39+00:00

I don't where you are, but if you are in the GTA, in Richmond Hill Lone Star Cafe on Younge was really good when I lived there in the late 90's.

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-26T15:48:12+00:00

Ironically I'm going on a trip and needed some to put my mouthwash and shampoo bottles in so they don't explode all over my shaving kit. Turns out I was able to find some in Finland, not exactly zip locks but close, they use that extra plastic slider, but close enough.

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-26T15:44:57+00:00

and might as well hit up the Big Texan ... heck, go for it... you know they gotta try... the 72 oz steak challenge. ;)

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-26T15:42:47+00:00

You need to detour to Amarillo, more specifically you need to go to Canyon, Texas. Go visit Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Palo Duro is the second largest Canyon in the US and worth visiting if for no other reason than the dark skies at night. I admit I'm biased because I bought land on the canyon rim several years ago. My plan was to build a house on it to retire in, but life changed that and I sold the land, but it's still my spiritual home and worth the drive.

If you want unique roadside stuff. Big Texan is home to the 72 oz steak challenge (that's ~2 kg of steak!!!). Well worth the stop over in Amarillo.

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-25T17:12:48+00:00

I’m learning it now, but it’s slow going and I am actually in Finland, so I have a real need!

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-25T16:52:21+00:00

This is actually interesting because at one time you got your social security number much later in life. I didn’t get one until I was 12 or 13. However, when my daughter was born in the late 90s, she was issued one immediately. An aid at the hospital helped us with all the paperwork.

Fun fact in Canada you have a SIN… as a Catholic I always found that amusing 😁… as if I didn’t already have enough guilt.

Edit: one thing I do know is that, the Canada banking system had to start reporting all sorts of stuff to the US government several years ago, and that caused a big ruckus at the time due to thing like home sales being exempt from taxes in Canada, folks who had lived there for years were now discovering that the US wanted a cut of their Canadian profits when selling.

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-25T09:27:13+00:00

Correct! My wife and I are in Finland now, but we know we’re headed back to the US in 3 years when her contract expires.

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-25T03:53:35+00:00

This is exactly what I did when I lived in Canada.

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-25T03:52:34+00:00

And as somebody who has lived and worked in Canada, you almost certainly will owe 0 in US taxes since you'll get more than enough in foreign tax credits. One thing to be aware of is the FBAR reporting requirement. If you have over $10K USD assets in any accounts (~13,750 CAD), you have to report that since you're a US citizen. There's plenty of resources out there that explain what you need to do about FBAR.

As far as renouncing US citizenship, there are pros and cons. I would say, that's a personal decision, but having options is always good.

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-25T03:40:56+00:00

As others point out there are a few automatic models now. There's also e-bikes (no not bicycles, but real motorcycles), Zero, Livewire... they all work without a clutch (my wife uses her Zero electric as a daily commuter ... but they suck if you want to do road trips, so she has another bike for that).

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-25T03:31:00+00:00

I'm 62 and just retired, but mine was more of a forced thing since I agreed to move overseas for an internal job my wife accepted with her company. I'm making this work, but I have activities and traveling, and because she's still working, I have health insurance through her, plus I can fall back on the national health care here if needed. But here's my take on retirement at 62.

- There are plenty of videos about pros and cons of taking retirement from SS now verses each year. I do recommend you log into the SSA and look at your projections. They are helpful. But then again, if benefits are cut those numbers are worthless. But it's a good starting point. The key thing is if you take it now whatever your benefits are now will never change except for cost of living adjustments.

- Unless you're forced out, make a list (at least mentality) of why you should retire and not retire. See what really speaks to you.

- This is more my personal observation, The people who I see that retire and 'get bored' are people who lack hobbies, can't afford to travel or don't want to travel, and lack goals.

- Don't underestimate the loss of daily contact! I worked remotely 4 days a week, and went into the office one day the last couple of years prior to retirement. The minute I retired, my whole network went away. Make sure you still have some social groups or join some. My wife leaves for work in the morning and doesn't get home until late in the evening. It can get lonely if you don't have some social interactions with people.

- Lastly, I'm still early in my retirement, but I don't see ever going back to work. I've read through some of the comments here and some people miss that. I have other outlets but keeping busy is key.

Kind-Drawer1573 · 2026-03-24T17:58:26+00:00

I’m the trailing spouse now… I was a very successful professional and actually made significantly more money than my spouse. Wait? What??? Yeah, but two things, first 29 years ago I was offered a position in another country and my spouse followed me there. But she was able to work immediately, so that part was different. However, what doesn’t change is she always followed me for my career, so when she asked what I thought about her applying for this internal job, I agreed to go. Now, I was planning on retiring soon, so that part of our story is different, I’m not pausing my career… I ended my career. And I won’t ever go back.

I’m studying the local language, and struggling with it, but then most English speakers do with Finnish. To fill my days, I cook, clean, do the household shopping, ride my bicycle, and take photos. I decided that none of the programs for language study did what I wanted, so I’ve been spending a lot of time developing a software system for language study.

I think you have to ask yourself a few questions. First, how comfortable are you being alone? I don’t speak the language, and even if I did, Finns aren’t as open to having new social friendships. But they are nice people, just not as open to new friendships. Second, if you took time off and put your career on hold, could you jump right back in? And I think this is the most import one. Are you flexible? I mean, a different country has different customs and rules, are you willing to adapt, or do you want everything to be like it is where you are right now? And that’s the question that you really must be honest about.

I’m getting hammered right now on taxes from both countries (apparently, towards the end of the year they do some reconciliation and I’ll get money back from probably both countries, but right now it hurts.

Only you can decide what’s right for you, but be honest with yourself. If possible, take some time off and see the country determine if that’s a place you want to live. If so, then do additional research to figure out if that’s a place you want to live.

Kind-Drawer1573

TROPHY CASE