-40 degree weather is very rare, especially in southern Finland (where the majority lives). Helsinki gets rarely to -20 (currently is though), but these few day

-40 degree weather is very rare, especially in southern Finland (where the majority lives). Helsinki gets rarely to -20 (currently is though), but these few days you can stay indoors, or just put on enough clothes. Typically it hovers a bit under zero (which sucks a bit too due to slush). The lack of sunlight in the winter comes of course with lots of sunlight in the summer (although that may have its downsides too if you're not used to it). I don't find the climate ideal but it's not that big a deal. The conscription may suck a bit, but you can get out of it quite easily if you want, and it probably wont concern you as an immigrant anyway. And generally a conscription military is better for a country's stability than a professional one. The threat of Russia is not a huge concern. And the overall everyday safety compared to most other countries vastly outweigh this minor risk. I find the best part is that the wellfare state is still somewhat intact and things tend to just work. This really lowers the everyday stress compared to e.g. UK or USA. Of course it's not for everybody but for many aspects it's a good place to live (although getting worse due to neoliberalism, like most places). This is probably reflected in that Finland is the happiest country in the world for six years straight now.