A couple are living the dream after purchasing an uninhabited island in Finland because it was ‘less than a house deposit’.
It all started when Oliver Russell, 24, who is half American and half Finnish, would visit family and friends in the Nordic country on his summer holidays.
Growing up in Laguna Beach, California, he’d always thought about moving to Helsinki, and in 2022, he did just that – moving from Fort Collins, Colorado after failing to get inter-state tuition to Finland to study international business.
After he settled in, Oliver ended up meeting his girlfriend Helena Tomaszewska, 20.
Instead of doing the usual and getting an overpriced flat in the city, the couple opted for something much cheaper – and much bigger.
The US couple plan to live on a two and a half acre island (SWNS)
Having moved over in August 2022, the pair loved the idea of having a summer house.
The business student explained: “I fell in love with the idea of going to Finland and going to school there. As a Finnish citizen, I got free schooling and it has been awesome here and I have really enjoyed my time here.
“In Finland, the summer cottage life is a huge part of the culture and I would come out here every summer. I loved the summer cottage life and wanted one of my own.”
Checking out the property prices, Oliver went on a real estate website and came across an island that had been vacant for 10 years for just $36,569 (£27,712).
On the property listing, he said: “I was looking more for fun, I was going through a real estate website and found the island.
“It ended up being cheaper than a normal lot I could buy so we jumped on it.
“I offered $31,000 (£23,492.42) and got accepted.”
The couple arrived at their new home in June 2024 and noticed that it was largely uninhabitable – so they got to work.
The island had been vacant for 10 years (SWNS)
Oliver said: “We made a frame out of logs that we felled from trees and I got some decking from a hardware store.
“We then built an outhouse and I am now trying to build a shower structure so we can wash while we’re on the island.
“We wanted to get the base camp set up so we have a comfortable place to stay while the big building happens next year.”
They now spend most of their weekends working on their home and are in the process of building a summer cottage with a fancy sauna.
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 has to be a sauna cabin.
“We haven’t set ourselves super hard deadlines as there have been a lot of learning experiences.
“It is a very big commitment, especially now with me and Helena both being students.”
He added that it’s been a challenge ‘getting work done’, but it’s also ‘been fun though’, adding: “Every time we go to the island, it doesn’t feel real that it is our’s – it is so nice to be out there.
“It is so quiet and because it is an island nobody can stumble across it.”
Featured Image Credit: SWNS
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