Located in Kainuu in eastern Finland, Puolanka bills itself as Finland’s most pessimistic town. Residents boast about it and have even made social media videos about the dubious claim to fame.
It’s a haven for people who persist in seeing the glass as half empty and the 2,500-odd residents observe pessimism days every year from 1 January to 31 December.
When Polish TV channel TVN contacted city officials to ask why anyone would want to build a brand on a dark perspective, Mayor Harri Peltola said that they were willing to take the risk.
"There’s always the risk that someone won’t like it but most people see the humour in it."
Peltola added that 99 percent of the feedback about the town’s marketing strategy has been positive.
"Although there isn’t anything positive about pessimism. Everything goes wrong," he noted.
The UK’s public broadcaster the BBC also reported on Puolanka’s close relationship with the blues. In the video report, local pessimists describe how the ennui took root in the town and how they used it to build the Puolanka brand.
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Among the reasons for the residents’ gloomy outlook are the declining population and shortage of entertainment prospects.
There are other reasons why the locals are down in the mouth. In 2016, the town abandoned its annual summer event, “Evening of Pessimism” after 10 years, due to a shortage of active participants in the Puolanka Pessimists group.
The townsfolk now share their reasons for a good gripe by making social media videos that capture the day to day misfortunes and setbacks that others prefer to overlook. The pessimists group also set up a diner, where the fare is advertised in a suitably grim tone.
In early 2019, the town made national headlines in Finland when a major advertising billboard collapsed in a storm. The municipality had erected a yellow billboard at the town limits with the warning, "Next Puolanka. You can still turn back."
Another sign asks travellers, "You will soon be in Puolanka. Are you lost?"
In a true sign of why Puolanka residents have earned their claim to pessimism, not even the billboards managed to remain upright.