Finnish 2-car garage build, by-the-book

[y'sguy]

A fascinating journey! I've only caught on to your adventure today. I lead a pretty cautious and boring life so this is a nice read. Thank you for sharing and letting us tag along.

 

[drivesitfar]

Great to see you posting a few great pics and lots of great words too.

If you need any golf tips just ask cause I was a scratch golfer for 40 years before I took a little break. I’m giving lessons to a few of my sons friends and our grandkids and getting the itch to play myself again.

We actually paid to learn how to make won ton soup a few months ago and hoping to take more classes cause making our own dinners has always been tastier than going out.

Stay cool (don’t have to tell you to stay warm these days).

 

[Matias]

Matias, we have another thing in common (besides the whole Scandinavian thing). On a business trip to India I had a little free time and visited a place with working elephants. The Mahouts treated their elephants better than their own children.

Bob, yep they treat them well. I am a little bit annoyed, that we have a lot of people especially in the west, who are telling everyone how bad elephants are treated, and they should all just roam free in the wild. However, that is only a viewpoint of someone who has lived in their own culture only. They do not have the background. And they only think elephants are exotic and should be saved because they are not used to them. Here they can live within normal families, like we have working horses in the west. I don't see that horses which are used for riding different skilled beginners on a daily basis as having a great life, but I'm still not passing judgement quickly. End of ramble...

Great to see you posting a few great pics and lots of great words too.

If you need any golf tips just ask cause I was a scratch golfer for 40 years before I took a little break. I’m giving lessons to a few of my sons friends and our grandkids and getting the itch to play myself again.

We actually paid to learn how to make won ton soup a few months ago and hoping to take more classes cause making our own dinners has always been tastier than going out.

Stay cool (don’t have to tell you to stay warm these days).

Thanks Drives! If you have any tips or best way to try and teach a correct swing for a child, I sure would appreciate. At the moment, I try to keep my instructions at the minimum, and just make it fun. I suspect the swing etc. can be corrected more and more with time. Of course I try to have the basic things correctly from the beginning (stance, position, grip) but trying to not be too fussy about them. I am just surprised already that she actually wanted me to teach and not a golf pro/teacher.

We are trying to learn to make the foods we like while here, as the ingredients are correct and cheap, so easier to know if we nailed the recipe or not. However, it takes effort, and the time just passes by... I already dread coming back to Finland with the hectic schedules. May be I can do something about that...

It is getting warmer as it is warm season. We are getting about 29-30C (86F) in the nights and 34-35C (95F) during the day, and with the humidity it means just the walk with the dogs or going one block will have me in a sweat...

 

[Denwood]

Matias, it was nice to catch up on your thread and see updates on your family’s adventure. I suspect once you get home there will be a project explosion as that pent up energy finds an outlet

 

[jimmy3shoezzz]

Goodday Matias. Just been though this thread which was very interesting and detailed. I was interested as I am planning building something similar in house I recently purchased in Naantali, Finland. As I am currently renting a warehouse (120m2) in Naantali for all my "projects" including cars and motorcycles. Do you still ride? If so I would be interested in meeting up some point as seems we have same interests and I am looking for riding buddies.
Anyway thanks for documenting you garage build has given me lots to consider and think about.

 

[jimmy3shoezzz]

Some of my projects

 

[Matias]

Matias, it was nice to catch up on your thread and see updates on your family’s adventure. I suspect once you get home there will be a project explosion as that pent up energy finds an outlet

It has taken me some time to answer this one Well, let's just say that we tried to get things back to normal, and then life takes a turn... I'll write more in the following post.

Goodday Matias. Just been though this thread which was very interesting and detailed. I was interested as I am planning building something similar in house I recently purchased in Naantali, Finland. As I am currently renting a warehouse (120m2) in Naantali for all my "projects" including cars and motorcycles. Do you still ride? If so I would be interested in meeting up some point as seems we have same interests and I am looking for riding buddies.
Anyway thanks for documenting you garage build has given me lots to consider and think about.

Hi, sorry for the late answer, let's just say that I haven't been around for a while. That would have been nice, atm though it would be challenging. Nice collection you have! That little fiat and the bikes! A little bit of everything, old, fast, touring...

 

[Matias]

During the spring of 2023, we had to make a decision, will we continue in Thailand or come back to Finland. We enjoyed being there, and it was hard to decide what to do. At the end of the day, the kid's school was the deciding factor and we head back home. I must say that moving yet again was a huge ordeal. With all the official papers for the dog, and all the stuff was either to be packed, sold or given away as we were traveling yet again with only suitcases.

Come summer and I was again reunited with my bikes at my sister's place.



First thing to do was go immediately on a bike trip






This was in Latvia, we had to use lanterns with candles, as it was pitch black in the castle's stairs and you couldn't see a thing without a light.



I'm so happy, I got my garage back and brought all my stuff back.



We went back to our cottage with the daughter to recollect our wheels we had stored there before leaving to Thailand.



It was now time to get back to our normal lives.

Helped the FIL at their cottage by driving some trees out of the forest so that we could cut them up.



Went golfing with the daughter. Also with the boss in Estonia.





Enjoyd time in the forests, here we are picking mushrooms.



Helped my daughter with sewing a hobby horse.



Started again 3D printing with my old printer. Did nothing and it worked right out of storage. Here I'm printing the holder for a google wifi puck.



Our washing maching broke down. We didn't have the money to buy a new one, so bought a used one for $80 and picked it up myself. With those two wooden bars I made it was ok to lift in and get out of the hatchback, even if it has that high boot lip.



As the Aprilia had started to jutter a little, I decided to change the stator.

I was enjoying me some garage time!



But like every year, winter came.



Still had to some trimming



Well, this was quite different from Thailand, I must admit.



As I had sold my lift before our move, I now have to work with ramps. I had got quite used to the lift...



As spring came, yet again, life was starting to get easy and comfortable. Maybe too easy...

Last ride before putting bike in storage...





packing... again...



... but this time for good





I took a picture just to remember a moment in my life, where I had the garage I wanted, with three bikes I wanted.



I don't know when will the be the next time I can say that. I'm feel lucky I enjoyed the moment.

What now? I don't yet know myself, but let's see how this goes. I'll post more later on, but just a couple of teaser pics.

 

[Denwood]

Wow. That post set me back. It takes some real courage to take on these adventures. So, Qatar….but for good??

 

[drivesitfar]

great to see you posting again!! so are you going to commute to Doha or whereever now and keep the family in Finland? tell us more about Thailand when you get a chance? we've heard rumors and had friends go there, but always want to hear from anybody that actually lived there for a while.

 

[Matias]

Wow. That post set me back. It takes some real courage to take on these adventures. So, Qatar….but for good??

Well, there is one thing everyone says when you come here to Qatar: you are here to enjoy your time and save money, don´t expect to live here for the rest of your life. It might end at any time. For example, to be able to move here, you need a sponsor. Usually that is your employer if you don´t have relatives. Then if the breadwinner makes enough money, he/she can sponsor her family. We are here because my wife got a job in a Finnish international school. If she would lose her job, she´s got 30 days to find a new one, or then you have to leave the country. If everything goes fine (I find a job at some point, the girl´s school goes ok), we plan to stay several years. This time it´s more permanent than Thailand, as we have sold our house and 2/3 of my bikes, and put our stuff in a rented space. That way we are free to go wherever we want from here.

great to see you posting again!! so are you going to commute to Doha or whereever now and keep the family in Finland? tell us more about Thailand when you get a chance? we've heard rumors and had friends go there, but always want to hear from anybody that actually lived there for a while.

As mentioned, me and the girls are yet again following my wife This time I do not have any job aligned, so let´s see how this goes. I´ll post separately about Thailand in some post to come.

 

[Matias]

There´s not so much here, so most things to do involve money. There are enourmous malls everywhere, luxurious hotels with fine restaurants and a beach etc. I have visited many of the malls alone and with the girls (when we arrived, we had 2 days and then my wife´s work started).



Local foods are mainly based on rice and chicken/lamb:



50% of the cars are mainly white Toyota Land Cruisers and Nissan Patrols. Also, sportscars and range rovers, jeeps, and Jetour (chinese brand). Lot of chinese cars here. This is near the first hotel where we stayed.



In front of our house is a gym/cafe and there are always some nice cars parked in front. The black one in the middle is a Jetour, which there are many here.



EDIT: just got this pic a minute ago in front of our house with the lambo, mat black range rover and the LCs.



This is from our back street which I took just a couple of hours ago.



So, what am I going to do? I am "passively" looking for a job. This is a country where in 99% of the cases you need to know someone to land an interview/get a job. I am giving myself until christmas, then I will start actively looking. I have already applied for one, but not expecting to hear anything. I have also had a meeting with a headhunter which contacted me, so it´s not looking that bad.

What I did want to do, was learn arabic. For me, a completely new language. I found this on-site course which was 5 weeks, 4 days a week for 1,5h each time. It was held at the islamic cultural center.



Nearly all of the others were already familiar with the language. They were from neighbouring countries and musulmans so have studied quoran, and thus knew the letters etc. It has taken me really out of my comfort zone, but it has been a great experience. Now I have passed A1, and I will start B1 class in November



I do already miss having a garage/workshop. I have no tools, no materials, nothing...

The washing machine has been placed in the extra toilet there is in the apartment. As the dirty water goes into a hole on the floor which is 30cm away from the wall, the washing machine is really away from the wall and nearly blocking the door from opening. Also there is no shelve or anything to place related stuff. That means I will have to build a mount for the washing machine, and a case around it which will act as a shelve.

First, planning.



Everything is delivered to your door. I must say that one problem is, that you are not able to pick the timber you want. Also, the price is high and availability is low or none for many kind of timber. So, I just ordered what was a) in stock b) cheap enough to be placed under the washing maching.

As you can see, the constructing from this is much harder. The extreme moisture in the air does not help.



And ofcourse I had to buy some tools This saw made an exceptionally nice cut without any splintering.



Every house needs at least one power tool.



I put those extra pieces of wood there and actually also on the front board so that there is no screws on the front or the top. The washing machine will go on top, so the other ones will not be that visible.




You can see here, I could try as hard as I could, but I was not able to straighten the front board´s curvature. Well, luckily it won´t be visible from the front.

Next I need to stain the wood, and make the casing around.

 

[Denwood]

One thing we know for sure, you and your family are 100% not afraid of change! A Fin fluent in Arabic sounds like a job opportunity

 

[nicholam77]

Nice to see some posts from you Matias!

I know you are well-traveled, so maybe it's not as big of a shock to you, but I am kind of blown away by this. Very bold and exciting. I haven't been to either, but Finland and Qatar seem like they would be quite different. Good on for for trying to learn some Arabic, I would think that would be quite a challenge. But like Dennis said, I'm sure even a little would go a long way in job prospects as well as connections. Out of curiosity do many speak people speak English there, or is it mostly Arabic?

Do you have a spot in your new home you could set up a small work area for tinkering, seeing as the bikes and garage are gone for now?

Thanks for sharing and excited to see where your latest journey goes!

 

[loganb]

Wow....talk about a whirlwind of change! Looking forward to following along as you have time!

 

[Bob Heine]

Matias, the first move overseas is challenging but after our two years in Australia I would have happily moved to another overseas location. Leaving grownup children behind in the US was a pretty strong tie.

In a way not having a job right away is a great start in Qatar, with the language classes giving you skills that will pay off in the near future. Best of luck in your new not quite forever home.

 

[Matias]

Nice to see some posts from you Matias!

I know you are well-traveled, so maybe it's not as big of a shock to you, but I am kind of blown away by this. Very bold and exciting. I haven't been to either, but Finland and Qatar seem like they would be quite different. Good on for for trying to learn some Arabic, I would think that would be quite a challenge. But like Dennis said, I'm sure even a little would go a long way in job prospects as well as connections. Out of curiosity do many speak people speak English there, or is it mostly Arabic?

Do you have a spot in your new home you could set up a small work area for tinkering, seeing as the bikes and garage are gone for now?

Thanks for sharing and excited to see where your latest journey goes!

Thanks Nick! Yep, arabic is challenging, especially with having to learn a completely new alphabet, new sounds and then trying to learn vocabulary with my memory of an ant. Luckily nearly everyone speaks english here, as 95% of the population is immigrants/expats. I think learning arabic might give me a little edge, but it´s also for learning and understanding the culture.

So long as I don´t have a job, we´ll be staying in our 3BR flat. Now that I think of it, my wife told me I should use the balcony when I´m painting the washing machine support. As it is not used, I think that is the only place I will be able to use as a work area, if the living room is not counted I don´t know if the neighbours use their balcony, maybe a good way to find out is to do some sanding work...

Matias, the first move overseas is challenging but after our two years in Australia I would have happily moved to another overseas location. Leaving grownup children behind in the US was a pretty strong tie.

In a way not having a job right away is a great start in Qatar, with the language classes giving you skills that will pay off in the near future. Best of luck in your new not quite forever home.

I agree with you Bob, I am trying to enjoy as much as I can this moment in life without work. I expect this will not be permanent, and then I´ll have to work probably until I retire. I am concentrating on the arabic, it also gives me a daily routine, so it´s not just days passing by... Thanks for the nice words

 

[drivesitfar]

thanks for the updates on your doings. I'm 100% Norwegian and I've never been to Norway. even though I hear that most areas there speak English (yes?) i'd love to learn a new language with more than a few words like lefsa and uff dah. does Finland and Sweden and Denmark also have their own languages or do most of you speak English?

having to be somewhat handy and having zero or minimum tools can be a challenge and I bet your skills will improve unless you get bored and start watching Red Green (Canadian actor who had a TV show for years before he retired). he was the duct tape expert and had some great humor.

have a great day and feel free to PM me if you might need golf swing or strategy tips or just to say hi.