Oliver Russell, who has Finnish roots, says he’s always spent his summers in Finland with family and has longed to have his own slice of the country’s summer cottage lifestyle.
A man has waved goodbye to the hustle and bustle of American life, trading it for the serenity of his own island, which he bagged for a mere $31k (£23k) – an absolute bargain compared to your typical house deposit.
Oliver Russell who shares his time between America and Finland, cherished summertime in Finland with his family. Originally from Laguna Beach, California, before moving to Fort Collins, Colorado, in 2020, Oliver was hit with hefty tuition costs as he wasn’t eligible for more affordable inter-state rates, propelling him to seek out other pathways.
Mulling over relocating to Helsinki for his studies, come August 2022, Oliver turned that notion into a reality. In Finland, he met his partner, Helena Tomaszewska and together they stumbled upon what would become their new abode on a property website. By March 2024, they had snapped up their idyllic 2.5-acre island haven for an unassuming $31,000 (€28,000).
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The terrain lay ready for a makeover when they took ownership. Since then, they’ve been busy decking out the space, standing up an outhouse, and harbour dreams of erecting a summer cabin and sauna at their cherished getaway spot. Oliver, an international business student hailing from sunny Laguna Beach, said: “I fell in love with the idea of going to Finland and going to school there.
“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. Every time we go to the island it doesn’t feel real that it is ours – it is so nice to be out there. It is so quiet and because it is an island nobody can stumble across it.”
Showing his enthusiasm for the acquisition, Oliver 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 and got accepted.”
Detailing the efforts put into shaping their new retreat since their initial visit in June 2024, he explained: “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,” he said.
Dedicated to seeing their island vision come to fruition, Oliver and Helena regularly make trips to continue developing their land. They aim not just for simplicity but extravagance – dreaming of a summer cottage and sauna amongst Finland’s lush nature – a country famously dotted with around one sauna for every two residents.
“The ultimate dream is to build a log cabin for the summer. We want to build a sauna cabin – based on the rules, one-third of the plot has to be a sauna cabin,” Oliver shared, reflecting on his aspirations despite having no stringent deadlines due to ongoing lessons learned along the way.
Despite acknowledging his inexperience with construction and the magnitude of the challenge ahead, Oliver candidly disclosed, “It has been a challenging journey so far.”
Nevertheless, he and his partner Helena are determined to roll up their sleeves and delve into the project with their own hands, all while juggling academic responsibilities. Oliver expressed the gravity of their project, saying, “It is a very big commitment, especially now with me and Helena both being students. Time is a big thing, doing research and getting work done on the island has been hard.”
Yet Oliver remains upbeat about the couple’s ambitious endeavor, finding joy in the novelty: “It has been fun though, the things we are doing are very new to me. Felling a tree for example, I have never done that before until now and it can be pretty dangerous.”
