Pia Graniittiaho and her family moved from the countryside to Espoo seven years ago in search of better transport connections and services. In Espoon keskus, the family found a sufficiently large apartment for two adults, four teenagers, aged 13–17 at the time, and two dogs.

Moving from Kytäjä, Hyvinkää to Espoo was quite a big step, but Pia Graniittiaho has thoroughly learned to enjoy her urban lifestyle.

“We love it here. It’s safe because everything is nearby: the shops and basic services, such as schools, health centre, library, pharmacy and the administrative centre. We don’t need a car, thanks to the excellent railway and bus connections.”

According to Graniittiaho, the teenagers in the family were able to choose their upper secondary school out of four options and to independently travel to school and their hobbies. Graniittiaho herself mainly uses public transport for her commute. Once a week, her work takes her to Tammisaari, for which she uses Lumo’s car sharing service — it is easy to use and conveniently close by.

Espoon keskus is an up-and-coming area with new residential and office buildings under construction. Graniittiaho is happy about this as new construction means consistently diverse services. However, there is more to Espoon keskus than urban development. It may even come as a surprise how close to nature the area is.

“You only need to walk a short distance to get away from the city noise. The central park is very close, and Kirkkopuisto park on the other side of the river is my family’s go-to picnic spot.”

In addition to nature, Graniittiaho appreciates the grocery shops in the area.

“This place has excellent markets, at least four of which are ethnic. We love to cook and our favourite foods are Asian, such as Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian.”

Only one child and dog still live in the family home. Even though all the children will soon have flown from the nest, the parents are not planning to move. They enjoy their spacious home, the services nearby and the excellent transport connections.