A man swapped his life in the US to live on a $31,000 island in Finland – for “less than a house deposit”.
Oliver Russell, 24, who is half American and half Finnish, would spend every summer in Finland visiting his friends and family.
After growing up in Laguna Beach, California, USA and moving to Fort Collins, Colorado in 2020, he struggled to get in-state tuition – which is more affordable – so he looked elsewhere.
He thought of moving to Helsinki, Finland, to study and made his dream come true in August 2022.
After moving to Finland, Oliver met his girlfriend, Helena Tomaszewska, 20, and the pair bought the island – which they saw advertised on a property website – in March 2024 for just $31,000.
The island is two and a half acres and was uninhabitable when purchased.
Since then, the couple have built decking for their tent and an outhouse with the ultimate goal of building a summer cabin and sauna – to spend their holidays there.
Oliver, an international business student, from Laguna Beach, California, said, “I fell in love with the idea of going to Finland and going to school there.
“As a Finnish citizen, I have received free tuition and it has been fantastic here and I have really enjoyed my time here.
“In Finland, summer cottage living is a big part of the culture and I would come out here every summer.
“I liked life in the summer cottage and wanted one of my own.
“Every time we go to the island, it doesn’t really feel like it’s ours – it’s so good to be there.
“It’s so peaceful and because it’s an island, no one can come across it.”
After moving to Finland in August 2022, Oliver and Helena fell in love with the idea of having a summer home.
Oliver went to a real estate website and found the island that had been vacant for 10 years for $36,569.
He said: “I was looking more for fun, I was browsing a real estate website and found the island.
“It ended up being cheaper than a normal part I could buy, so we jumped on it.
“I offered $31,000 and was accepted.”
The first time the couple set foot on the island was in June 2024, the land was covered in trees and moss and mostly uninhabitable.
Oliver began by cutting down trees to make room to build a deck for a tent where the couple planned to stay.
He said: “We made a frame out of logs we fell from the trees and I got some decking from a hardware store.
“Then we built a house and now I’m trying to build a shower structure so we can shower while we’re on the island.
“We wanted to set up base camp so we have a comfortable place to stay while the big building happens next year.”
Oliver and Helena spend most weekends on the island working on their dream.
The intention for the couple is to build a summer cottage and sauna. In Finland, there is approximately one sauna for every two people.
Oliver said: “The ultimate dream is to build a log cabin for the summer.
“But first we want to build a sauna cabin – based on the rules, one third of the plot must be a sauna cabin.
“We haven’t set ourselves super hard deadlines as there have been a lot of learning experiences.”
Oliver doesn’t have any construction experience and admits it’s been a challenging journey so far.
Despite this, the couple plans to build everything themselves.
Oliver said: “It’s a very big commitment, especially now that Helena and I are students.
“Time is a big thing, doing research and doing the work on the island has been difficult.
“It’s been fun though, the stuff we’re doing is very new to me.
“Cutting down a tree for example, I’ve never done it before until now and it can be very dangerous.”
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Image Source : nypost.com