Finland is definitely a kick-ass country to live and today I’m going to introduce you to eight aspects of why Life in Finland will be the best time of your life.
Let’s check them out.
1. Safety & Honesty
Finland is based on trust and honesty. This makes Finland a very safe country to live in and also to visit. For example, the World Economic Forum declared Finland the safest country for travelers. If we think about everyday life here, nothing bad really happens here regarding criminals, crimes, and stuff. So even if you’re like a single girl, you are walking around in the streets, even at night, it’s pretty safe here. Because the people here mind their own business and don’t really try to talk to strangers that much. So things are pretty safe here. And the only problems are usually caused by drunk people on Friday and Saturday night because usually that ’cause that’s when Finns get a little bit more like, “Hey, what’s up man?” Getting a little bit social, let’s say.
And one thing that I also have to mention to you guys that we don’t have any scammers here or muggers. For example, once I went to Hong Kong, and I was at the airport, this kind of shady guy came. “Hey, do you need a taxi?” Actually, I needed a ride to the center, and when I first went with him, he seemed a little bit shady, and then I just dumped the guy. Actually, later I realized that that was actually a scam taxi which would have costs like 300 euro or something. So luckily I passed it, but in Finland, you don’t have to worry about this all because you can trust people here and for example, police, taxi, this kind of things, they know what to do, and they also deliver the best. Most importantly, they don’t try to scam you.
The lost wallet experiment
Did you know that Reader’s Digest declared Helsinki the most honest city in the world, and they did this pretty cool social experiment where they scattered 12 wallets around the city to see how many of those will be returned? And guess how many of those Helsinki wallets were returned? 11 out of 12.
If we see a wallet, a random wallet on the ground, or the bench, or wherever, we don’t think, “Ooh, we can get some free money.” and “Let’s swipe the credit cards” and stuff. No, that’s not what we Finns think. Instead, the first thing we think, oh shit, someone’s lost their wallet. How can we get that to their owner? So what we do is we take it to the closest police station, or at a kiosk, or wherever we found it to make sure it will find its owner. That’s how we Finns do.
2. The School System
You might be wondering, okay, I’ve already done my school, what’s the big deal? Why should I care? But the thing is that if you consider the life in Finland for your kids, if you have small kids, or if you’re planning to have kids at some time, the Finnish education system kicks ass. First of all, the Finnish education system is praised worldwide, but it’s also free. So no money is required. Of course, there are always some expenses, but fortunately, we don’t have any tuition fees. And you know, education is the foundation of the future, so that’s definitely something to keep in mind.
Several aspects are always considered great in the Finnish education system, such as no standardized tests, no tuition fees, teachers’ high prestige and value, all students considered equal, and many teachers can choose their own teaching methods themselves. And there’s a bunch of more, of course, but these are just a few things that make the Finnish education system kick-ass.
3. The Awesome Living Standards
Finland is, generally speaking, a very functional society. Public services are running well, we don’t really have poor people, we don’t really have any diseases, crime people, robbers roaming in the streets. Pretty much the only thing you have to worry about is if that drunk guy on the bus will start talking to you.
Also, we have decent salaries. The income gaps are not that big here because of the progressive and kind of heavy taxation. In addition, the average life expectancy is 82 years here in Finland, according to OE, what’s the OECD. We also got the Happiest Country in the World title back in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
4. The Awesome Living Standards
In Finland, everyone can be whoever they want and pretty much also do whatever they want, as well because Finland is a very individualistic society. We usually think of our career, passions, hobbies, and stuff before we think about the people around us. So if you want to go to study, you are free to do so.No one’s preventing you, and there are many opportunities because we don’t have, for example, tuition fees. Or, if you want to start your business, it’s straightforward. You go to the internet, and within 15 minutes, you have your own business running if you want to do that. Or, if you have a specific career path you want to go, then go for it.
This is really nice because we don’t really have any external influences that try to steer our choices. Of course, we have like parents and grandparents who might say “Oh, you should become a doctor.”, but not really nowadays anymore because it’s more about what you want to do and pursue in your life.
Another good aspect of freedom is that we have every man’s rights. For example, anyone can go to any forest, regardless of who owns it, and roam there freely. I think even you can set up a small camp there. You can pick flowers, berries, and mushrooms there if you want to do that, because that’s what many Finnsdo in the autumn, for example. And you can also use a basic fishing rod for fishing without any licenses or whatsoever. This kind of freedom is also very integrated into our culture.
5. The Social Security
Finland has an excellent social security network for the residents of Finland in case life decides to kick your ass. Because, you know, sometimes we have ups or downs. You see, you can never know what will happen in life, in your life. Kela is a social security institution that controls and organizes social security benefits like child allowance, basic unemployment security, income support, and student benefits. Many of these are available for people living in Finland permanently. So if you are an exchange student, tourist, or whatever, you cannot get these. But if you’re planning to come here for the long term, you are eligible. Again, always the flip side is that these things are funded with tax money.
Unfortunately, some people come here as refugees or immigrants and live with the benefits, and that’s a problem here. If you want to go to Finland, you should also contribute to our society by working and paying taxes, because, for example, I don’t want my tax money. After all, we pay a crapload of taxes here in Finland, go to some lazy bums who live off the benefits money, and don’t contribute anything to our country. I’m done.
6. The Gender Equality
Finland men and women are treated very equally and have pretty much equal opportunities. So, for example, nowadays, you can see more and more women in executive positions in many companies. However, this is not true in the complete. For example, I found statistics; I think it was from statistics Finland that men’s euro equals $0.84 for women. So there is still a little bit of this kind of like pay gaps and stuff, which we still have to work on, but it’s still quite good compared to many other countries.
7. The Nature
The nature of Finland kicks ass as is my favorite thing of life in Finland. For example, Globalcitizen.org stated that Finland had the cleanest air in 2018, and I can agree. When you go outside, you can take a deep breath of clean air. We have the nickname of the Land of Thousand Lakes, so there are many lakes for you to check out. And also forests because Finland is one of the most forested countries in the world. I think it’s one of the most forested countries in Europe.
Nothing beats going out and having a short walk in the forest, breathing the nice air, and listening to the birds sing, and it kind of feels that this is the place to be. You’re outside of all the distractions, your work, your social media, your smartphone, and it just walks there and enjoys them, enjoy life, basically. Again, thanks to everyone’s rights, you’re able to do it pretty much everywhere and also pick up some forests and mushrooms. Pick up some berries and mushrooms on the go. But like the problem here in Helsinki is that you don’t really have forests as easily accessible. For example, when I lived in Tampere, I could leave my studio and flat; boom, there was forest out there. But not here in Helsinki, pretty much. But anyway, the point is that go to walk nature and enjoy that.
8. The Finnishness
We Finns are weird, unique creatures, and we have, like a random, many very Finnish things that you should also enjoy and experience somehow. And folks know we have a sauna; you see the place where we get naked and enjoy. That’s what we Finns love to do. I’ve also made a separate video about Finnish saunas. Make sure to check it out here.
Then we have Finnish music; metal music is one of the most known facts about Finland. I’ve also done a video about here. I think I put it here, or on the description, at least. Then we have like we have Santa Claus here, the real Santa Claus with us is in Finland. And then we have some pretty awesome Finnish people like Kimi Raikkonen, Teemu Selanne, and Jari Litmanen, not to mention Finnish food like Karelian pies, and also the fact that we love to drink a crapload of coffee.
We are the number one country in the world with coffee consumption per capita. Don’t forget to do some ice swimming, because, you know, even if we get naked in the sauna, we also go pretty much naked to the lake swimming during the winter in the icy lakes. That’s a lot of fun and healthy, too. This kind of Finnish thing make also live here in Finland pretty exciting and unique.
Was there anything I didn’t mention about life in Finland? Make sure to write that in the comments below!
