After living in Järvenpää throughout her childhood, Sanna Lyytinen moved away but soon realised how much she had enjoyed living in Järvenpää in Central Uusimaa.

“This city is the perfect size and, in a way, it’s larger than it seems. In Järvenpää, you can enjoy the services of urban life, great transport connections and culture, but nature is always right there,” she says.

Lyytinen particularly enjoys the outdoor areas of Järvenpää. One of her favourite spots is Tuusulanjärvi lake with its many popular trails. This is also where the legendary composer Jean Sibelius spent a large part of his life with his wife Aino.

“If I had to pick a single memorable place in Järvenpää, I’d probably pick Ainola and its surroundings. I often walk my dogs there, and the trails are a great place to watch nature and the changing seasons,” says Lyytinen.

In addition to idyllic landscapes, Lyytinen appreciates Järvenpää’s excellent transport connections to the metropolitan area. The railway runs through the middle of the city and it only takes about 30 minutes to reach downtown Helsinki. Lyytinen is not the only one interested in easy railway connections; Järvenpää is quickly growing and developing, and many residential areas have been rezoned.

“The Pajala district right next to the city centre, for example, used to be an industrial area. Most of the buildings have been demolished, with the exception of the oldest and most prestigious ones. At the same time, the area has been tastefully developed with new buildings, and I can understand why the district is now a hugely popular residential area,” says Lyytinen.

Even though some of the buildings in Pajala are quite large, Lyytinen does not think the area feels like a suburb.

“It’s more like an annex next to the city centre. Pajala features swimming pools, ice rinks and running tracks, and the distance to the city centre and the railway station is only one kilometre.