“Everything we need is right here, including helpful people and pristine nature,” says Emebet Wache
Meet Emebet Wache, an Ethiopian practical nurse who moved to the Jakobstad region in 2018. Emebet opens up about her experiences as an expatriate, her passion for helping people, and acclimatising to Finnish winters.
Why did you move to the region? To be with my husband, Fundusa, who’s been here for over twenty years now. I’d visited once before and emigrated with my daughter, Sinahe — 14 at the time—five years ago.
Was it easy to settle in? I was given a lot of support right from the beginning and was motivated to learn and study. I felt looked after. Then, yes, there were a few challenges: the culture and climate are very different from mine. For us, snow is the stuff of movies. I don’t know how many videos I sent to friends ‘back home’ that first winter!
What’s the best thing about your job? My job is very interesting and I love helping people. I work in a residential home (Ahlbäck Hemmet) and occasionally as a stand-in carer, visiting people’s homes: both of which involve taking care of people.
What’s the best thing about the region? It is very peaceful and safe for children. People do their best to help you and try to understand you, even if you don’t speak the language well.
Where do you live? I live in Jakobstad. We have a lot of space and a nice garden with fir trees. We have the woods nearby too.
What do you do after work? I love walking in the woods, letting my thoughts wander. The surrounding nature is beautiful here, and very clean. I also like gardening, filling our garden with flowers that come back year after year. Then, I enjoy cooking food from our home country, like injera, a traditional Ethiopian flatbread.
What’s on your regional bucket list? I’m passionate about fashion design and sewing. There is a course here I’d love to do so I can design and make clothes for my daughter and I.
What one piece of advice do you have for people who’d like to move to the region? Go ahead and make the leap! This is a good place to live with many big companies and work opportunities. Jakobstad is relatively small, but everything you need is right here.
Want to know more about the Jakobstad region?
Read about the companies and open positions on our “Work here” website and about housing and things to experience on “This is the Jakobstad region” website.
