Small Village Life in North of Finland - VIDEO

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on life in our little village.
Well—to be honest—I do that pretty often, but this time it feels different somehow.
Maybe it’s finally sinking in: this is where we really live now.

Tucked beside a vast wilderness area, right at the edge of a national park, surrounded by clear rivers and lakes…
And I keep thinking—how incredibly lucky we are to be able to call this place home.

Lately, I’ve found myself thinking not just about the nature around us, but especially about the people in our village.
We all enjoy our own space and solitude, but we’re still close enough to truly call this a community.
And honestly—it’s just the right balance for me.

When we were looking for a home in the north, I imagined myself living deep in the forest, at the end of a long road, far away from everything—and everyone.
I didn’t want a village. I didn’t want neighbors. Just the stillness of nature and a cozy cabin to call my own.
Funny how the heart has a way of changing its mind.

I’ve come to realize that I probably never truly wanted isolation—I just longed for peace and quiet, with just enough connection to others to feel grounded.
And over the years of living here, I’ve also come to understand why nearly all settlements in Northern Finland have historically been built around villages.

Out here, where everything else is far away, villages—and the sense of community they bring—are essential.
Not only for support, safety, and practical help, but for connection, belonging, and human warmth.

Especially just a few decades ago, when most of these villages—including ours—had no roads leading to them, and everyday tasks were harder to manage alone.
In a place like this, a village isn’t just a place to live. It’s how people made life possible.

It’s also comforting to have a sense of quiet companionship.
To know that we’re not the only ones who’ve struggled through this strange, shifting winter, or sighed over how expensive firewood has become.

Even if we don’t see our neighbors every week, there’s something deeply reassuring about glancing out the window in the morning and noticing a curl of smoke rising from the chimney next door—knowing someone’s already warming their wood-fired oven.
Or coming back from a trip and having people ask how it went, even though, as far as we remember, we never told anyone we were leaving.

When we’re away, our house is looked after, and in return, we notice if an unfamiliar car pulls into someone’s driveway.
It might sound intrusive in theory, but to me, it’s anything but.
It’s care. It’s looking out for each other. It’s doing our part for the shared well-being of this little place we all call home.

I share more about life in this small wilderness village in my latest video.

Wishing you a lovely rest of the spring!
We actually got almost ten more centimeters of snow just yesterday, and at night the temperatures still drop well below freezing.

Even though this winter has been strange and unusually mild, it seems it’s not quite ready to let us go just yet.

See you soon!

🖤 Sanna