Kemijärvi – Lapland
I’m Jenna and originally I’m from Tampere but I moved to Kemi three months ago. Kemi is located in Southern Lapland on the Bothnian Bay, near the Swedish border. Kemi is a nice place to live and work as there are enough services available and it’s easy to travel anywhere from there because there is an airport and a railway station. Now I live and work in Kemi but me and my boyfriend love to spend our leisure time in Kemijärvi. Our relatives live in Kemijärvi, near Suomutunturi so it’s easy to go there as there is always such a warm and welcoming atmosphere. In Kemijärvi we usually explore nature in the woods, hunt (when it’s allowed of course) and during the winter we hit the slopes at nearby ski resorts such as Suomutunturi.
I absolutely love snowboarding and moving to Lapland is definitely one of my dreams that came true because winters in here are longer and we have more snow during winters than Southern Finland. Kemijärvi is located in Eastern Lapland at the Arctic Circle and Eastern Lapland is well known for the nearby ski resorts Suomu, Luosto, Pyhä and Salla. Kemijärvi is quite in the middle of these places so it’s easy to plan day trips to nearby skiing resorts. Even Rukatunturi is not far away, as it’s about 80 km away from Suomutunturi and it takes one hour by car to get there.
Kemijärvi City
Kemijärvi has 7289 inhabitants and it means that 2.08 inhabitants are in one square kilometre. And most of those are living in the city centre area, which means that it is very peaceful here near Suomutunturi. And to make this clear, it takes about 20-40 minutes to drive to Suomutunturi from Kemijärvi city centre, depending on if the cable ferry is in operation or is the ice road ready yet. If the cable ferry or ice road are not an option it takes about 40 minutes to drive diversion. If you can use cable ferry or ice road then it takes about 20 minutes to Suomutunturi.
Kemijärvi is quite easy to travel, because we have a railway station here and the nearest airport is in Rovaniemi. Renting a car is a highly recommended and easier option to go to different places. But there are also few public transportation options and of course you can use a taxi if you don’t want to drive yourself.
And reindeers, oh I just love those cute, little furry friends. If you are In Kemijärvi during summer and autumn you can spot reindeers literally everywhere. During the winter months reindeers are in their enclosures but still there might be some lonely riders in the woods. Reindeers might even visit your cottage garden. Some people hate this, because reindeers eat everything from your garden. Sometimes reindeers might be annoying for instance when you need to drive somewhere by car and reindeers block the whole road. And they are very stubborn, sometimes they don’t move even you honk. So be careful while driving in Lapland!
Texts and Images By Jenna Heikkilä
