We are an open-minded and green family with four members: Johanna (42), Mikko (40), Venla (15) and Osmo (13). Usually we host and travel together, but depending on the situation you might meet any combination of us.

I'm a generalist and an active citizen. I have a part-time job in a healthtech company. In addition to that I volunteer for different causes (e.g. green politics, refugees, mental health, culture). People tend to describe me friendly, helpful and logical.

My husband Mikko is a senior software developer. He is passionate about his job, open and straightforward, and enjoys talking to people. We have a good and pretty equal relationship and try to put effort to keep it that way.

Our two children are both school-aged. The older child is quite introverted and mostly likes to spend time in solitude to read books or create art. The younger one enjoys entertainment and is more outgoing and eager to meet people and maybe even chat a bit in English. Generally the kids tend to adapt well to having people around or visiting new places. Whatever happens, they take part in it in their own way or invent their own activities.

There's a chance that our guests may meet more people than just our family members during their stay. We live in a cohousing community, and our neighbours and friends are always welcome for a visit.

Although the profile is under my name, almost all the references are about our family - most of the time we've hosted and traveled together.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

"What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?" - George Eliot

First of all, I very much support the idea of sharing resources. It's ecological, economical and brings people together.

I'm also curious to learn something new all the time. One of the best ways to meet interesting people and learn about the world is to host guests from different countries. Also when we occasionally travel ourselves, we like to meet local people and learn from them, and Couchsurfing makes this possible.

When we started Couchsurfing over ten years ago, it quickly became a lifestyle and a natural part of our life. Back in those days we hosted around 50-60 guests. After that we took a long break from hosting, as we had small kids, lived in a small apartment and accommodated refugees for a while. Now that the covid situation starts to settle, we're back again, looking to meet interesting people and to help our kids grow into the global world.

My biggest hesitation about being a member of Couchsurfing is the worry about the climate crisis. Tourism and especially aviation create emissions. I try to avoid flying when I travel, and I feel I'm also contributing to the problem, if I encourage people to fly here. So we want to reach out especially to people who have put some thought on why they travel or try to travel in a sustainable way. If you want some tips and suggestions on how to reach us in a way that would be less harmful for the environment, we're happy to help you to plan your trip!

Finally I have to add that even if we like to share and help, we are not running a free AirBnB. Our apartment doesn't have an extra room that we could automatically give into use whenever someone is in need of a place to sleep in. When we get visitors, one of us will give their own room to the guest(s). So we'll check the requests together with the family and see which guests we could accept. Usually we host people who seem to have an interesting profile and with whom we can spend some time while they visit us.

Interests

Both me and Mikko like to discuss, and we share an interest in politics, science, social justice, environmental questions and sustainable living. I have a professional interest in education and I'm fascinated to hear life stories and to learn anything new.

We enjoy meeting people, cooking, playing board games, orienteering, hiking and watching movies. I'm also interested in culture and events. We own a small community garden cottage where we regularly visit to relax and take care of the apple trees and berry bushes.

We try to live ecologically. Recycling and sharing are a natural part of our life. We cook mostly vegan or vegetarian food, but our guests can bring any food in the house. We prefer to bike and use public transportation and use shared and rental cars if needed.

Our intention is to meet people with various backgrounds, beliefs, values and opinions, so you're definitely welcome to visit us and see how we live even if our profiles don't match. There is always a special place in our hearts for like-minded travellers, though, so if you're in town and feel like you'd belong here, send a message.

• culture
• books
• documentaries
• diy
• education
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• vegetarian
• sauna
• gardening
• politics
• technology
• board games
• traveling
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• ecology
• teaching
• philosophy
• psychology
• science
• software
• volunteering
• art
• nature
• community living
• games
• orienteering

Music, Movies, and Books

We watch online movies and TV series occasionally. Animations, documentaries, drama and sci-fi appeal to both of us. Mikko enjoys action and fantasy genres, too. But we also relax by watching completely nonsense series and video clips.

When it comes to music, I like Finnish bands and British rock/pop, whereas Mikko listens to metal, classical music and a capella. Mikko also plays classical guitar and sings in a choir.

Most of the books I read these days are nonfiction, but I try to keep up with contemporary fiction, too. Poetry is also close to my heart, as our community arranges a poetry festival every two years. Mikko used to listen to sci-fi, fantasy and science e-books.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Most amazing thing is that me and my kids are still alive and our family is doing fine. I suffered from severe pre-eclampsia when I was pregnant and was hospitalized. Our first child was born three months and second child two months premature and they had to spend months in intensive care. In some other country we could all be dead or our family would be bankrupt with the hospital bills. Although the Nordic welfare society has its downsides, I still think it's pretty amazing that people try to build a society where everybody is taken care of and given equal chances.

Teach, Learn, Share

Exchanging ideas and knowledge is very inspiring - societies, cultures, politics, ways of living and personal interests.

We could teach you to play some board games, as we are game geeks. As native Finns and having lived almost twenty years in Tampere we also know our share about national heritage and can introduce you local foods, take you to sauna or guide you around the city. We're both quite tech-savvy.

It would be great to learn do-it-yourself crafting and new vegetarian recipes from all over the world. If you have recommendations about interesting web pages, books or documentaries, we'd be happy to hear about them. We're also interested in gardening and community living around the world. Or almost anything that you are passionate about and can share with us. :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

We are flexible and independent guests and can bring everything we need with us, so you can take it easy. We can cook you a meal or help you with the chores. We'll tell you anything you want to know about our country, culture and language, and give you a chance to see your own country, city or life in a new light.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Finland

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