<p class="ingestion featured-caption">Oliver Russell and his girlfriend, Helena Tomaszewska, plan to build a summer cottage and sauna on the island he bought three hours outside Helsinki.Courtesy of Oliver Russell</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Oliver Russell, a 24-year-old college student in Finland, bought a private island in March.</li><li>Russell, who is half-American and half-Finnish, plans to build a cottage and a sauna on the land. </li></ul><p>When Oliver Russell saw <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-private-blacks-island-florida-coast-for-sale-50-million-2024-4">the island</a> for the first time, it was coated in powdery white snow.</p><p>Bundled in thick layers, he and his girlfriend trudged 150 feet across a frozen lake to reach the uninhabited outcrop of land — one of over <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.statista.com/chart/15364/the-estimated-number-of-islands-by-country/">178,00 islands</a> <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-finland-is-the-happiest-country-former-international-student-2024-3">in Finland</a>.</p><p>Russell, a 24-year-old college student who is half-American and half-Finnish, knew they'd made it to solid ground when the snow felt noticeably firmer.</p><p>He and his girlfriend — Helena Tomaszewska, 20 — found a relatively flat spot nestled among<strong> </strong>the<strong> </strong>2.5 acres of hills and trees. The couple lit a small campfire and cooked some sausages they'd brought with them on the three-hour drive <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moved-finland-happiest-place-on-earth-what-its-like-2024-1">from Helsinki</a>.</p><p>Except for the crackling of the fire, the crunch of snow beneath their boots, and the chirps of a few birds darting between spindly trees, they were undisturbed. </p><p>"Peace and quiet," Russell told Business Insider.</p><p><a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/an-unspoiled-maine-island-full-of-wildlife-is-on-sale-2022-6">The island</a> — listed for 33,000 euros, or around $36,000 — was an opportunity for Russell to fulfill his childhood dream of having a summer vacation spot <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-couple-bought-island-finland-rent-out-2400-night-2022-10">in Finland</a>. (The island has a name, but he declined to share it for privacy reasons.)</p><p>The sellers' real-estate agent told him no one had stepped foot on the island in a decade, Russell said.</p><p>In March, Russell's offer of 28,000 euros, or around $30,500, was accepted.</p><p>Here, the Gen Zer explains why he believed buying the island was a "risk" worth taking and what he plans to build on it.</p>