University of Lapland This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version usually differs somewhat from the publisher’s final version, if the self-archived version is the accepted author manuscript. Highly skilled Finns in the European labor market Koikkalainen, Saara Pirjetta Published in: Finns abroad Published: 01.01.2011 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Citation for pulished version (APA): Koikkalainen, S. P. (2011). Highly skilled Finns in the European labor market: why do they move abroad? In E. Heikkilä, & S. Koikkalainen (Eds.), Finns abroad: new forms of mobility and migration (pp. 46-61). Siirtolaisuusinstituutti. Migration Studies C No. 21 Document License Unspecified Download date: 07. Oct. 2021 Elli Heikkilä Saara Koikkalainen (eds.) FINNS ABROAD New Forms of Mobility and Migration Publisher Institute of Migration Eerikinkatu 34, 20100 Turku, Finland http://www.migrationinstitute.fi Copyright © Institute of Migration & authors Graphic design Sisko Tampio Photos www.sxc.hu / authors Printing Painosalama 2011, Turku ISBN 978-952-5889-23-9 ISBN 978-952-5889-24-6 (pdf) ISSN 0356-780X Elli Heikkilä Saara Koikkalainen (eds.) FINNS ABROAD New Forms of Mobility and Migration Migration Studies C 21 SIIRTOLAISUUSINSTITUUTTI, TURKU 2011 Contents Preface ............................................................................................................................................. 6 Chapter 1 Finns abroad – the profi le of emigrants and their thoughts about returning to Finland Elli Heikkilä ......................................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2 Finns in Sweden and Switzerland – between cosmopolitans and locals Krister Björklund ............................................................................................................................... 29 Chapter 3 Highly skilled Finns in the European labor market: why do they move abroad? Saara Koikkalainen ............................................................................................................................ 46 Chapter 4 Between cultures – place experiences of the Finns in Ireland Salla Saarela ...................................................................................................................................... 62 Chapter 5 “A Yankee boy promised me everything except the moon.” Changing marriage patterns of Finnish migrants in the U.S. in the twentieth century Johanna Leinonen ............................................................................................................................. 82 Chapter 6 Finns in Silicon Valley: motivations and identities in relation to place Carol Marie Kiriakos ........................................................................................................................ 103 Chapter 7 Encountering difference. Nordic privileged migrants in Indian mega-cities Nicol Foulkes ................................................................................................................................... 127 Chapter 8 Contemporary emigration on the family level: Finnish expatriate families Anu Warinowski ............................................................................................................................... 153 Chapter 9 Alcoholic expatriate Finns’ life and destiny in Sweden and Australia Leena Vuorinen ................................................................................................................................ 173 Chapter 10 Finnish linguistic and cultural identity in multicultural Australia Tiina Lammervo ............................................................................................................................... 188 Chapter 11 Organizing a transnational advocacy network. A glance into the Finnish Expatriate Parliament and its member associations Sanna-Mari Vierimaa ....................................................................................................................... 202 Contributors ...................................................................................................................................... 225 6 ■ Preface Finland was long a country of emigration, and the number of incoming migrants only started to exceed the numbers of outgoing migrants during the 1980s, much later than in most European countries. Common stereotypical images of Finn- ish migrants range from the early 20th century lumberjack who left his native country to work in the timber trade in North America, to his countryman who found employment in the factories of prosperous Sweden in the 1960s or 1970s. Women have also emigrated from Finland to work as maids in St. Petersburg or nurses in Germany and the United Kingdom, or to accompany their families that crossed oceans to look for a new life abroad. This collection of articles aims at broadening our understanding of Finnish emigration and the multitude of different types of transnational mobility that Finns engage in, which is a distinctive feature of our times. The days when entire villages in the peripheries had to contemplate international migration to a single destination as a survival strategy are long gone. Current migration from Finland is much more diverse, as people make individual choices with their own motivations for undertaking international mobility. For some, the motivation is grounded in career aspirations, while for others it is linked to love, family or a personal life- style choice, such as wanting to experience life in a global city or retirement in sunny Spain or Thailand. The origins of this book lie in the realization that many scholars in the early stages of their career who agreed to write to this volume are researching these interesting new migration phenomena in different settings. Finns Abroad – New Forms of Mobility and Migration takes you, our reader, on a trip that spans over four continents and explores different types of mobility, Preface ■ 7 such as marriage and family migration, company secondments and highly-skilled migration. The historical perspective is present here too, as some destination countries have long attracted Finnish migrants. The irst chapter by Elli Heikkilä introduces recent statistics on out-migration from Finland. Elli gives a proile of some Finnish emigrants and presents some of their thoughts about their possible return to Finland. In the second chapter, Krister Björklund irst walks us briely through the history of Finnish migration abroad over the past ifty years. He then continues with a comparison of the integration of Finnish migrants into local society in Sweden and in Switzerland, two quite different destinations in terms of the migrant stocks that have moved to each destination. In chapter three, Saara Koikkalainen discusses the phenomenon of highly skilled migration in the European context, focusing on the motivation of Finns who have moved abroad to other European Union countries. Salla Saarela’s ar- ticle in chapter four also looks at expatriate Finns in Europe, especially the place experience of Finns living in Ireland. In chapter ive, Johanna Leinonen tracks the changes in Finnish emigration to the United States over the course of the twentieth century, showing how the marriage patterns of Finnish emigrants have changed along with deepening glo- balization processes. Our next stop in the United States is Silicon Valley, where in chapter six Carol Marie Kiriakos explores how the Finnish professionals situate their identity between their fellow citizens living back home and the non-Finns living in this innovation hub. In chapter seven, we ind ourselves on the other side of the globe where Nicol Foulkes explores how Finnish and Danish privileged migrants on company se- condment navigate the social systems of India’s mega-cities Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai. In the following chapter Anu Warinowski concentrates on the migration experiences of expatriate families who have returned to Finland after a company placement abroad. In spite of originating from what is now a relatively prosperous nation, not all Finnish migrants live privileged lives when they are abroad. In chapter nine Leena Vuorinen takes a look at the life course of Finnish male alcoholics who have emigrated to Sweden and Australia. In chapter ten we stay downunder and Tiina Lammervo describes the differences between older and newer Finnish migrants living in Australia in terms of their linguistic and cultural identity. Our journey concludes with chapter eleven by Sanna-Mari Vierimaa, who discusses Finnish emigrant politics through the lens of the active member associations of the Finn- ish Expatriate Parliament. We would like to thank the Spatial Citizenship in European Labour Markets (2008–2011) research project which was inanced by the Academy of Finland Re- search Programme on The Future of Work and Wellbeing (WORK) for supporting the publication of this volume. We are grateful to the leader of the research project, 8 ■ Preface professor Asko Suikkanen and team members Seppo Koskinen, Anni Vilkko, Nicol Foulkes, Marja Katisko, Timo Tammilehto and Hannu Mikkola. We would also like to thank the Institute of Migration, particularly the direc- tor, Ismo Söderling, for his insightful comments on the manuscript, the librarian Sisko Tampio who organized the lay-out of the book and lastly the information service manager, Jouni Korkiasaari. We hope you enjoy your ride around the globe with us.