Gleb Panov has close relationships with Finnish culture, having visited relatives in Finland every year since childhood and studying in a Finnish language group at school for 10 years. Though his first choice was Joensuu, Gleb did not receive enough points and chose Kajaani as his second option. Gleb did not experience culture shock upon moving to Finland as he had studied the Finnish culture in school and was prepared for immigrating there, having family connections through his grandmother who lived in Finland for 70 of her 103 years.