10 Things about Sweden that Would "Send" Americans

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  • Опубліковано 16 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 101

  • @ian-something
    @ian-something Місяць тому +17

    I visited Stockholm from the US for the first time last month, and one thing that struck me is the accessibility of nature without a car. You *can* live without a car in many US cities, but if you want to hike, fish, etc. you're SOL. I talked to a bartender in Södermalm who expressed interest in seeing the Pacific Northwest, but said it would be impossible to see what he wanted see because he can't drive. I was also as astonished by the "right to roam" in Sweden as he was by the lack of it in the US.
    The only thing I really disliked about Stockholm is that I felt perpetually underdressed. The "right to look like shit" is very important to us here.

  • @jennifermiller1519
    @jennifermiller1519 Місяць тому +10

    This middle aged American woman thinks you are the bomb! I love that you are a realist about your own country and recognize the shortcomings of ours. And yes, I’ve been to Sweden and loved it. I took Swedish lessons a few years ago with a delightful young woman on Italki. We actually had fun conversations in (broken) Swedish about our fucked political system. Thanks for rooting for us! If the orange cheeto is re-elected I may want to come live in your fair country! 🇸🇪 🇺🇸

    • @coco5241
      @coco5241 Місяць тому +4

      I am so sorry that we "Europeans" (yeah, we hate to be called that) have so many bad things to say about US. I know many well-educated, smart, honest and wonderful americans! And the country is so big, diverse and has a fantastic nature and culture. We cannot just understand how the country is run. But we love you and you have our back. This old Swedish, maybe ignorant woman.

    • @elspethfougere9683
      @elspethfougere9683 Місяць тому

      ​@coco5241 I'm not sorry we have so many bad things to say, because those things are honest and factual, and it's important it can be said. Honesty is very important. With honesty can come better change! ❤
      But yes, we sympathise, and have love, and can see the good people and efforts too.

    • @PriscillaStacyyy
      @PriscillaStacyyy Місяць тому

      I’ve been trying to make them a document move since 2017 when I went for the first time. Finally finished my degree and will be making the move soon! Politics and government is def the reason. Also the work life balance 🤌🏼

    • @herrbonk3635
      @herrbonk3635 Місяць тому

      If he isn't re-elected, this part of the world would likely be a hell hole soon. "Thanks" to the guys with other hair colors and their *deadly* rich sponsors.

  • @markthefan
    @markthefan Місяць тому +21

    Greetings commenters and comment readers

  • @saruken3250
    @saruken3250 Місяць тому +11

    You forgot mentioning ”Law of Jante” to make Americans mad. LOL

  • @creativeb549
    @creativeb549 Місяць тому +8

    I'm an American who moved to Sweden a year and a half ago, do you think I miss home? No one bit.

  • @_bjorken
    @_bjorken Місяць тому +1

    Out of all the Swedish school lunches I am appalled that you chose that picture to exemplify... but great vid

  • @norwaybirds3015
    @norwaybirds3015 29 днів тому +3

    😂...I agree... Please America... don't fark up the Nov elections. The world cannot deal with that orange dancing idiot for another term. Love from Australia 🦘

  • @sluggo206
    @sluggo206 Місяць тому +2

    There's a book "The Nordic Theory of Everything" by Anu Partanen, about how Finland and other Nordic countries put people first in their approach to children, education, social safety net, etc, and that's the way to make the country the most successful, competitive, and resilient. It also reflects clean (non-corrupt) democracy. My country the US is torn between people who want that, people who want to use the state to help certain groups of people and harm others, and corrupt congresspeople doing whatever their high-paying donors want for their own interests. This video is the first one of yours I've seen, so I'll watch the one on the negative aspects of Sweden.
    If you find it boring, that's what we heard was the general Swedish sentiment until say the 1990s, that everything was comfortable and safe but that made it boring, but recent changes have made things more interesting. Maybe not interesting enough for you though.
    But to the people fighting WWII, as my grandparents did and you had more acute problems in Sweden, boring was their postwar goal: they wanted everything to just work and be safe. And if you're in a country like I am where some of the basics aren't certain, boring seems like a wonderful thing we'd like to have. And we were heading toward it in the postwar era until things started reverting in the 1970s, and things have gotten more precarious since then.

  • @mikephalen3162
    @mikephalen3162 Місяць тому +5

    I'm planning on visiting Ostersund and Jamtland next summer. My maternal grandfather emigrated from Sweden, and he and his parents were born in different towns in Jamtland. What I envy about not only Sweden but also most of Europe is your multi-party political systems. In the USA, we're unfortunately locked into a system with two major parties. Any third party that catches fire gets absorbed by one or both of the major ones. It would be so much more representative of this vast and diverse nation to have at least five major parties. We easily could have some combination of, for example, a progressive party, a conservative party, a centrist party, a Christian party, a libertarian party, a socialist party, a Green party, a labor party, etc.

    • @michelleharrington163
      @michelleharrington163 Місяць тому +1

      @@mikephalen3162 Jamtland is where UA-camrs Talasbuan are from. I love watching them too!!
      I don’t know, I think that would be too many parties. With the voting problems here I think that would be way too confusing for most people. Just my thoughts…

  • @JorinT-u6y
    @JorinT-u6y Місяць тому +2

    Dang as usual he is hilarious. His vids are a must click. Good job.

  • @norwaybirds3015
    @norwaybirds3015 29 днів тому

    I visited Stockholm last year from Melbourne Australia. I found it incredibly clean...the air, the street, the people... everything is immaculate. That is the cleanest 7-eleven in the world!!! Most do not look like that! 😂
    I also loved the ability to get really healthy food almost everywhere in Stockholm. Usually travelling, it's difficult to find healthy options. Not in Sweden. The food is excellent...and don't get me started on how much I love the fika culture ❤
    Cannot wait to go back. You should be incredibly proud of your country 🇸🇪

  • @jenrdemldeml8328
    @jenrdemldeml8328 Місяць тому +3

    I live in America and I wish I was a Swedish citizen. I really enjoyed my time in Sweden.

  • @PriscillaStacyyy
    @PriscillaStacyyy Місяць тому

    As an American teacher..you are spot on about everything in this video. It might get to the point that I do need to take a bullet proof vest to work. In California, at least, school lunches have been free to all children since the pandemic - thankfully. I’m hoping next school year I move to Sweden on a work visa 🙏🏼And yes, I’ve been to Sweden 3x and have been longing to go back ever since 💙💛

  • @fynneditx
    @fynneditx Місяць тому +8

    feels illegal to be this early

  • @camilo12369
    @camilo12369 Місяць тому +5

    #11. It is normal (and they give it for free) to drink water at restaurants!!!

  • @moonbass13
    @moonbass13 Місяць тому +1

    The threat problem is not on the same level 😂. I will say we don’t all own guns. I’d love to visit Sweden and breathe the fresh air and enjoy the quiet and litter free streets! American here love your videos!

  • @Glummah
    @Glummah Місяць тому +3

    Well in most places the public bathrooms are free to use, I have never in my life seen a public bathroom that you have to pay for so that must be a bigger city thing. I have also never seen blue toilet water lol

    • @MarksWorldOfAdventure
      @MarksWorldOfAdventure Місяць тому +1

      Paying to use toilets is a European thing I think. But Blu Loo, yeah we have that in the U.K. It cleans the toilet while turning the water blue

    • @tovep9573
      @tovep9573 Місяць тому +1

      He'd just put in detergent and forgot about it. No blue toilet water in Sweden.

    • @progperljungman8218
      @progperljungman8218 14 днів тому

      I my small city of Hässleholm, some public toilets have a fee nowadays

  • @Ikaelgo
    @Ikaelgo Місяць тому +4

    Its not fullt correct regarding the cost of medicine. You pay 2850kr (approx 280 dollars) before you get free medicine. It’s counted from your first purchase within a 12month period. So if you bought your first medicine on June 11 2024 and reached 2850 on January 15 2025, for instance, you will then get free medicine from January 16 to June 10 2025. After that a new ”payment period” begins. It’s even slightly more complicated (with a gradual decrease of cost) - but let’s not get into that.😊 And people with chronic diseases or, for instance, cancer have to pay for their medicine (up to 2850kr) EXCEPT people with diabetes, who need insulin. Slightly strange, actually.

    • @aniieesteiner
      @aniieesteiner Місяць тому +1

      Some heart medication are also entirely free. My aunt has one of them. The reason for both insulin and those heart meds are that they are absolutely not an option to not take.

    • @stananderson4524
      @stananderson4524 Місяць тому

      Most of the medicine you see advertized on TV costs 20 times the annual 2850 SEK they pay in Sweden.

  • @minhle505
    @minhle505 Місяць тому

    "in the winter the smell of anti-depressant" lol. Well this is why you need to socialize !

  • @AazzTunah
    @AazzTunah Місяць тому

    Hi Fish !
    Just wanted to drop you a few lines to let you know how much I enjoy your videos. Also, I have a question for you that you may feel to be
    a little too crass to be asking, but since I'm an American, I know that you can forgive me for asking it! But what I would like to know is -
    during the very cold and depressing winter months in Sweden, what do people have to do in order to "get laid " !! Thanks !

  • @elspethfougere9683
    @elspethfougere9683 Місяць тому +1

    Hahahaha ❤ omg i LOVE THIS!!! 😂🎉😅
    I think its really healthy for americans to get a little bit of ribbing from time to time..
    and, i also think it's really important for Sweden, and swedish people, to have some national pride, in all the things they do that are such healthy wholesome things, that are lead by pragmatic research on how humans thrive best, and how to create a peaceful society where people can get on with what is meangful for them and contributes, instead of dodging bullets all the time 😘 so, good for you!!! ❤❤❤
    It is really helpful also, to hear these instinctive gut reactions, about things which feel normal to you, because unfortunately some of those hard nosed American habits have made their way around the western world, despite them having some of the worst mental health, domestic violence, sexual violence, maternal death rates, no child human rights agreement, urban violence, terrible health and disease, and other disasterous policy.
    Its important to be able to name that honestly and factually, and have comparitive other processes which work so well. Its all choices which can be improved if enough people say so.
    Even if it feels a bit boring, when theres no life threatening drama, or vulture fest over the scraps of living.
    Astounding thinkers and projects and innovations have come out of both countries, I think its obvious that sweden punches above its weight like all the other countries which have prioritised equality.. it makes the most of people's talents ans skills rather than leaving people fending to survive.
    Id rather live in that world where people arent unecessarily harmed by preventable problems, but are instead free to enjoy life, support one another, and make progress on fun and innovation, to the benefit if everyone around the world. Theres no need to be so stressed by simply staying alive.
    And, I think, your sense of humour, and how loving and kind my swedish friends are in a very chill way, is testiment to this 😊
    I can also imagine the oppresive edge, to eveything being ok all the time, and having to fit in with this level of excellence and conforming to considerateness all the time.
    Sometimes we all need to let our hair down. But then we go back to being nice again. Having seen the flipside, I'm Ok with nice. ❤

  • @dallysinghson5569
    @dallysinghson5569 Місяць тому +8

    Number 2 rule is not true, unless you live in a city, you'll need a car. It's urbanised very much like the US. Not in city = mandatory car ownership.

    • @PigInPJs
      @PigInPJs Місяць тому +6

      You can live in much smaller cities without a car in Sweden compared to the US. I live in a town of 18 000 people in Sweden and it's absolutely fine not having a car. Compared to when I lived in College Station, Texas, a city/town of 125,000 people, for some time when I was 10 years old and it was such a struggle to just go to the park or the grocery store because my mom didn't drive.
      There's definitely a lot of places in Sweden where you need a car. But there are very few places in the US where you don't need a car. Even in cities that are quite big by Swedish standards.

  • @dvdbnalon
    @dvdbnalon Місяць тому

    2:56 I hate the showers in Sweden! There’s no division between the shower and the rest of the bathroom. Everything is on the same level, and most showers don’t have a full glass door, making it very easy to flood the whole area. 😓

  • @JuliaLillyS
    @JuliaLillyS Місяць тому +1

    Although #7 might be true in some places in the US at least where I live school lunches are free for high schoolers and middle schoolers. And in elementary school if you didn't pay for the school lunches you just ate what your parents packed you. This was actually preferred most of the time because school lunches they provide you in America can be quite terrible.

    • @sluggo206
      @sluggo206 Місяць тому

      Yes, there's a federal program that pays for school lunches for poor kids. Everyone else gets subsidized meals so the prices are low. The farm subsidies set a minimum price farmers get for corn, soy, wheat, and dairy; the excess product gets turned into basic products like butter and is donated to schools and food banks, so that's another way school meals are subsidized.

  • @michelleharrington163
    @michelleharrington163 Місяць тому

    Thank you for your honest response 😊

  • @davidgodfrey1815
    @davidgodfrey1815 Місяць тому +2

    Very well said, you should come for a visit.

  • @MarksWorldOfAdventure
    @MarksWorldOfAdventure Місяць тому +1

    I was in Stockholm in April this year. I was expecting to see more people super Nordic looking people. Some of them do look super Nordic, but actually most of them don't. I thought the 7Elevens were very good. I liked to go there for breakfast. I can't compare to other countries, because Sweden is the only place I've been to that has 7Eleven.

    • @sluggo206
      @sluggo206 Місяць тому

      It looks like a US 7-11 except for the balloons and minor decor details. Are the balloons always there? They look like a child's birthday party.

  • @alanh.otterii4872
    @alanh.otterii4872 Місяць тому +4

    You are fucking hilarious. You are pretty close to being on target about the US.

  • @aliciamarie9704
    @aliciamarie9704 Місяць тому +2

    I guess we are very religious in the USA & so living together w/o being married is “sinful” and “controversial”. Honestly, I could write a book in your comments section about all this. Let me at least watch the entire video first!

    • @dallysinghson5569
      @dallysinghson5569 Місяць тому +1

      Sweden is also funnily enough "religious" but without the God/Christianity bit, instead that has been stripped out with the rest of the faith remaining fairly strong/intact.

    • @jura9484
      @jura9484 Місяць тому +1

      ​@@dallysinghson5569wait what does that mean. swedes maintain the aesthetic of being religious without believing in any particular religion?

    • @michelleharrington163
      @michelleharrington163 Місяць тому

      @@aliciamarie9704 agreed😂

    • @tovep9573
      @tovep9573 Місяць тому

      @@jura9484 Basically yes. It used to be that you became a member of the Church of Sweden at birth and had to leave once you were an adult i you didn't want to be a part of the church. Many people uses churches for stuff like funerals, wedding, christmas concerts and the like while considering themselves agnostic or atheist. It's more about respecting the traditions than about believing in God. If asked a lot of people will say that they believe in "something" and we have the highest level of atheists in the world.
      Despite appearances, spiritually the religious US has more in common with any Middle Eastern country than they have with Sweden.

    • @stananderson4524
      @stananderson4524 Місяць тому

      @@jura9484 They have for centuries had a "State religion". If you were born in Sweden, as a Swedish citizen, you automatically belong to the Church of Sweden- which is Lutheran (not a very evangelical religion) However, Sweden in actuality is a very secular country and has one of the highest percentage of athiests and non religious people in the world. Unlike the US, religion isn't that important to them.

  • @sluggo206
    @sluggo206 Місяць тому

    The US things you mention are only trends, not always everywhere. Larger cities have varying levels of transit, some of it good. I live in Seattle which has good transit for the US but less than Europe. I like to attend MMA tournaments but those are mostly in the suburbs and rural towns, so most of them I can't get to unless somebody has a car or we rent one. Even with our mass shootings and widespread gun ownership, average people are very unlikely to get shot; it's like being struck by lightning. So don't worry about visiting.

    • @sluggo206
      @sluggo206 Місяць тому +2

      I found the gun ownership rate. 44% of American households have a gun. Texas is just slightly higher at 45%.

  • @amirmichaelroyer
    @amirmichaelroyer 17 днів тому

    Great video… but… in the US if you can’t afford the lunch then most public schools subsidise (paying for most or usually all of it) it for low income students. I mean is there anyone from the US here who has seen a different policy? Genuinely curious.

  • @damienb6184
    @damienb6184 Місяць тому +2

    Are you living in Sweden again? I swear not too long ago you were in Tokyo. I’m bad at keeping up lol

  • @ccbige
    @ccbige Місяць тому +3

    11 - "SAMBO" is apparently not a racial slur over there...either that or you're one of "those people".

    • @pablodelsegundo9502
      @pablodelsegundo9502 Місяць тому +1

      That got me cackling. Had to send the video to my partner of 15+ years and declare we are, in fact, SAMBOS 😂😂😂

    • @FishSlappee
      @FishSlappee  Місяць тому +2

      Holy shit, I just looked up what it means, no idea it was a Spanish racial slur haha 🥀🥀🥀 I swear it's a term in Swedish!!!

    • @FishSlappee
      @FishSlappee  Місяць тому +2

      You'll enjoy knowing there is even a Swedish "sambo visa" 💕

    • @ccbige
      @ccbige Місяць тому

      @@FishSlappee I didn't know it had its roots in South America. I always thought it was just a very stereotyped cartoon character...and the name of a defunct restaurant chain.

    • @ccbige
      @ccbige Місяць тому

      @@FishSlappee ua-cam.com/video/ER17aQTklPE/v-deo.html

  • @byc0jl3
    @byc0jl3 Місяць тому

    I like this so much I liked it twice

    • @FishSlappee
      @FishSlappee  Місяць тому

      but... doesn't that remove the like? :(((

    • @byc0jl3
      @byc0jl3 Місяць тому +1

      @@FishSlappee lol it does! Let's change that, shall we!

  • @michelleharrington163
    @michelleharrington163 Місяць тому +2

    What is your tax rate as homeowners or just normal citizens of the country?

    • @davidwittberg683
      @davidwittberg683 Місяць тому +2

      No gift, inheritance or real estate tax in Sweden.

    • @michelleharrington163
      @michelleharrington163 Місяць тому +1

      @@davidwittberg683 what about taxes on your income or your purchases at stores?

    • @dallysinghson5569
      @dallysinghson5569 Місяць тому

      @@michelleharrington163 If you're American, the taxes in Sweden should be of little concern- for the money you pay into the system, you get A LOT more value out of it, compared to the US system where you pay out of pocket filthy rich inhumane grinches, all just so you can avoid the scary wary tax.

    • @argo3144
      @argo3144 Місяць тому +1

      @@michelleharrington163 If I recall correctly, every crown of income up to 49,999 SEK (roughly 4,900 USD) per month is taxed at 30%, and every crown above that is taxed at 50%. Taxes on store purchases varies by product. All of this is done automatically, price tags in stores show the total price, and people's income is taxed before it reaches their account.

    • @michelleharrington163
      @michelleharrington163 Місяць тому

      @@argo3144 that’s a lot of taxes! But I guess here is about as bad. The gasoline taxes school taxes and homeowners taxes along with the high cost of healthcare with high co-pays. It would be interesting to compare. There are even cities that charge you a “privilege “ to work in that city tax. Not to mention social security…

  • @jeremylin0904
    @jeremylin0904 Місяць тому +1

    When will u come to Taiwan!! It’s just near Japan!

  • @chegeny
    @chegeny Місяць тому +1

    Poor ol' America. I'd send the US a wonderful ordinary day, without Donald Trump's menacing endless blathering bullshit.

  • @coco5241
    @coco5241 Місяць тому

    Before reading the comments. I pay 31 percent in taxes. Only the very rich pays more.

    • @tovep9573
      @tovep9573 Місяць тому +1

      You pay that before "jobbskatteavdraget" so probably you actually pay less than 31%.

  • @lucyclark704
    @lucyclark704 Місяць тому

    I'd like someone to explain why American toilets have so much water in them.

    • @jura9484
      @jura9484 Місяць тому

      i think it uses a different mechanism to flush or something. i'm not an american tho

  • @Andygarrett357
    @Andygarrett357 Місяць тому +1

    Your hair was better longer, such nice blonde waves.

  • @artvandellay4088
    @artvandellay4088 Місяць тому +1

    Free healthcare…obviously not include dental 😂

  • @joemunson4908
    @joemunson4908 Місяць тому

    What ever happened to your discord? Did it just disappear?

    • @GeneRauXxX
      @GeneRauXxX Місяць тому

      I came here to ask exactly the same question, I wasn't active lately, I had a major problem but before that it was so fun to hang around. is there another secret discord channel or what?

  • @sluggo206
    @sluggo206 Місяць тому

    "Send Americans" is not a phrase; I don't understand it. Maybe it's slang in some youth culture. The closest real phrase I can think of is "send Americans to Sweden". Otherwise it sounds like a literal translation from another language (Swedish?). So whoever told you it's a hip phrase is wrong, unless it's in some narrow youth subculture.

    • @FishSlappee
      @FishSlappee  Місяць тому

      it is indeed a word used by the youth.

    • @sluggo206
      @sluggo206 Місяць тому

      So what does it mean? "send Americans into fits"?

    • @FishSlappee
      @FishSlappee  Місяць тому +1

      Urban dictionary says: I believe this expression has an eastern origin where the full form is translated as "it sent me away", but usually someone "going away" or simply "gone" means "death". So, "it sent me" means that something is so hilarious or powerful that it send me to the other world immediately right here right now. As in, "oh god, this meme sent me".
      My source also claims that it is not only used for "hilarious or powerful" things, but also generally shocking or crazy. So if these things about Sweden are shocking enough for Americans, they would "send" them.

    • @sluggo206
      @sluggo206 Місяць тому

      I can see how "send" could naturally evolve into "send people into fits". That would fit your video and overlap with the death meaning. The death meaning surprised me.

    • @elspethfougere9683
      @elspethfougere9683 Місяць тому

      It's definitely a thing 😉

  • @TheGreenLegend
    @TheGreenLegend Місяць тому +1

    Why are you so blonde?

  • @jkl8006
    @jkl8006 Місяць тому

    Come to the U.S. through the southern border and everything will be free. Everything. Yay!

  • @DerangedMallard
    @DerangedMallard Місяць тому +1

    6:42 I'm so fucking drunk I thought the symbols next to the door were Japanese symbols.