i summon one kim

“Return for a visit,” you ask? That is, unless you’ve already been participating in the rumors of my upcoming move to Finland.

It’s true — after 13 years in the States, I’m moving out. I’ve given 10 weeks notice on my apartment. My office is being closed, and I’m taking the opportunity to move back to Finland.

Or more realistically I’m leaving the USA to look for a job in Europe. I really can’t say with any certainty that I’d end up staying in Finland. It’s not like the investment banking business is booming there. I’ll have to spend more time thinking about what it is I want to do, but it’ll have to wait until after I’ve moved. I’m busy enough with wrapping up at work and at home as it is.

The question of how it would be to live in Finland these days had crossed my mind occasionally. Just hypothetically. (No, I don’t think I was wishing.) So this is an exciting opportunity to find out. And scary. For the first time I’m moving without having a job waiting for me.

Yet I’m really looking forward to this change. I have plans together with family and friends in Finland and Europe. It’ll be great to live closer to my brother, my sister-in-law, and my niece and nephew. Not that I’ve been homesick. Had you asked me for my plans for the future in October, you would have heard about buying a house in South-West Connecticut. But now that I’ve started thinking about Finland I guess I’ve grown homesick of sorts, little by little.

The thought of leaving has also made its waves in my mind. Everyday routines like driving on I-95 feel different now. Maybe I should try and blame it on the spring or the sunshine. Maybe I shouldn’t have stayed up so late. Maybe I just shouldn’t have skipped breakfast.

Or maybe it’s just going to be time for me to miss my American friends for a change.