I'm currently in Helsinki, and it is a really great place to live - speaking as somebody who moved from Edinburgh, Scotland. The public-transport is first-clas

I'm currently in Helsinki, and it is a really great place to live - speaking as somebody who moved from Edinburgh, Scotland. The public-transport is first-class, with a single system for the local rail, trams, and busses. Even in winter they're almost always on-time, and in good-shape. The place is clean, the people are generally helpful if you need assistance, although the stereotype of Finns being "closed" and noncommunicative is pretty true, in general. The city feels well-run, and well-organized, and the child-care is first-rate. Where I live I'm two minutes from the sea by foot, and the back of our apartment block faces a large park which contains our allotment on the far-side. Many of the apartment buildings have children's play-areas, sandboxes, swings, etc, in them, and I guess we're lucky that where we live there are about ten children ranging in age from 1 year to 7 years. So there are always neighbours to chat to, and company for the children.