I was born in Sweden, but I live in Finland now. I work as a customer service representative and salesperson in a garden store. Interestingly, the most challenging Finnish customers are the elderly, as many of them seem to lack manners. 😂
i think i have not forgotten my keys in over 20 years. just the basic check. it´s in your muscle memory. before you shut the door all the way. you DO check that left front pocket.
Not all are like moody when it's so dark and raining etc, I love autumn and winter a lot cos the cool air and nature is beautiful! I have few friends who complains from all weathers lol, summer is too hot and there's mosquitoes a lot and wasps, then autumn sucks cos it's so rainy and chill, winter sucks cos it's so frickin' cold and spring sucks cos all melts :D I love all other time of the years except summer cos I suffer a lot then, Winter is so beautiful and crisp air and can see stars clearly, spring is nice too that everything starts to get green and autumn is pretty and cos of darkness, you can start to put mood lights and candles on
As a finn I don't like when I'm involuntarily put into a situation where I'm expected to be grateful and courteous. I might give a small nod and smile as a thanks when someone holds a door, but I think "thank you" is more reserved to a situation you actually feel thankful.
About smiling: I smile guite a lot without any particular reason and yes, I do get some weird looks from other people. But on the other hand it is even more lovely when someone smiles back and I can get someone to better mood. :) So when you come to Finland, just go for it! We might look grumpy but usually people are lovely and polite. For example when I worked at a foodstore in a little town, there were allways the same customers. Some older people smiled back after month or so, and it was allways a little win for me.
Funny story is actually that we as Finns were on a holiday in Switzerland. We stayed at a hotel in Zürich which didn't have a keycard like usually on hotels. Then we left the hotel for a day trip in Luzern and when we came back the door was not locked since we didn't think we'd have to lock the door with keys, luckily our stuff was still there.
Finland VS England when talking about the shortest day Helsinki 5 h 49 min between the sunrise and sunset... London 7 h 50 min between the sunrise and sunset...
If you are member of The Lutheran Protestant Church or The Finnish Russian Orthodox Church, your "membership fee" is collected along normal taxation as "Church tax".
Church tax is a thing in Sweden too, most of it goes to maintaining the burial grounds and your burial rights, in Sweden at least you can opt out of the part that goes to the... uh, was it called diocese in English I think... for stuff like salaries, budgets and buildings.
Finland has a Lutheran state church.Itis voluntary, but if you are a member, your tidings are passed through the state. Other denominations have their own ways to deal with it. In Finland it does not matter so much where you are on the social ladder. Some people just live as if they were all by themselves in tte wilderness.
I normally don't forget my keys, but once when I live in apartment I did. Luckily it was summer time and I had the window open and I lived in the first floor. I just took a bench from outside, climbed and got my keys. 😅
Wow, the finnish in southern Finland are so different from the finnish here in norhtern Finland. I live in Lapland and I found especially the courtesy part really shocking, also customer service. Here everyone are so polite and helpful, I've not once been given directions at a store but I have always been lead to the item I was looking for O_o
I'm sure there are differences between the north and south (as with every country), but I don't think customer service really is one of them? In my experience, in stores it really depends on how large the store is and whether the worker is busy or not. I'm not saying them just giving directions doesn't happen, but it's not like it's the norm either. I wouldn't expect someone to come and show me if I interrupted their work and what I was looking for was quite far away. I can find it with directions just fine. Or if not, then I will simply ask the person whether they could show me. Have lived in both Helsinki area and in Tampere my whole life. Never have I encountered a person in customer service who refused to come and show me to the item. If they're too busy to do it themselves, they'll usually get someone else to show you.
Not every door has an Abloy lock on it in Finland, but they are very, very common. I prefer them personally, you just need to get into the habit of checking you have your keys before stepping out of your house. You say you would leave your keys every time, does that also mean you have to go back inside every time you're about to lock your door? (Surely not?) You only have to pay a church tax if you're a member of a church and the amount really isn't _that_ much (we're talking 1% of your income). Churches in Finland do a lot of community work (child/homeless services etc) so you don't feel like you're funding a private jet for someone A VPN won't do a whole lot of good when you're at a location that isn't convenient for most connecting flights. It's not really a distance thing, fewer passenger flights in and out simply means higher flight prices on average. I mean... Ok, sure. If you're just beaming at everyone you walk by on the sidewalk, Finns are going to think you're weird (or American), but you're not going to go wrong with the "British amount" of smiling. If someone is interacting with you, a polite smile is very much acceptable or even expected for "good manners". "Smiling because of them" in a bad way, aka making fun of them. Finns can take themselves _very_ seriously. Finland is kinda big on self-serve style restaurants/cafes, so it's not uncommon to pay for your (basic drip) coffee and then heading to the "coffee station" to fill your coffee out of a huge thermos and adding whatever you put in your coffee. I think it's nicer than trying to communicate how much milk/cream and/or sugar you want and Finns are usually extremely considerate about being quick and moving out of the way as soon as possible if things are busy. I prefer the Finnish way of giving directions at a store over the store employee walking me to where the item I'm looking for is. I know they're busy and I'm certainly not so important that I couldn't spare the extra minute or even two (gasp!) looking for the item. Now, Finnish customer service in general can be quite... abrupt and will definitely seem rude to people used to more overtly friendly service. More French than British for comparison, but they also don't expect you to tip, so there's that at least. I feel like Aleksi needs to hang out with some higher quality people. I've always found Finns to "say please and thank you" more often than not, but of course it depends who you're around. The thing with the "holding door experiment" is that if you make it at all weird (make the person feel like they need to hurry or stare at them, for example) they will absolutely NOT thank you for it. That would be encouraging unwanted behavior and some might even see it as dishonest (them thanking you for something they're not thankful for). We can be pretty weird about being honest to the point of being rude and/or hurtful.
I've only ever once locked myself out, and that was out of my room in a shared apartment. Usually kept my room unlocked when was home but had just came back from a vacation, threw my stuff in and went to bathroom. I've just grown from childhood to always check that I got my key with me before leaving. And then many people have backup keys, with a friend/neighbor that they can go fetch.
You cant forget your keys if you have them in your jacket pocket, and people who dont live in apartments usually have a spare key hidden somewhere outside Church tax is only for people who take part in a church/religion
The way I survive the always locked door is to always keep the keys in your pocket and check the pocket every time you're about to close the door. Helps if you usually use the same trousers or shorts in the summer. I don't think I've ever locked myself out, but the fear is always there. Especially if you're going for a shared sauna in few clothes. Especially, never leave without your phone so you can call the service to open the door for you.
Thanks for your reaction video Dwayne. Yeah, the drinking... When you consider that Finns overall are really reserved people, interface to foreigners is pretty much like the only ones who will come to talk to you are either wasted drunk or insane. In Scotland there is pretty similar drinking culture - that's true, constant presence of violence and aggressive behavior. I have never felt so home that I felt in Aberdeen and Highlands. If you want to socialize with Finns (sober), the easiest way is to ask for a help (even if you don't need it), that is very acceptable way to break the ice and get to contact with strange. Once you are in, you are nearly friend already.
Am a Finn and yes, I know people don't smile that much, especially at strangers. But sometimes I might smile for a stranger. Example, I walk at semi empty street, I see an elderly person, if they rise their eyes and we make eye contact, I might smile and/or nod at them. Sometimes maybe even greet, like "Good afternoon." About opening doors. Well I usually am the one to open the door to people. And I do normally thank if someone opens the door to me. Another random fact. I often say "Terveydeksi," aka "Bless you," when someone sneezes. Be it stranger or familiar person. (Though I admit, I often say it so quietly that the person doesn't even hear it.) _I don't know why I started to do so, but it began when I was younger and in school._ 😂 😂
I have to say that i always try to say thank you, but mostly finnish people dont want to talk, so they just goes into their bubble. I always keep the door open, but i dont even know if i want that the other person says "thank you". We are polite with our deeds not with words. Customer service part i dont agree. I think we have good customer service we just dont talk too much and most of finnish people doesnt want to be helped. When i go to a store i do ask where things are, but i just want the direction. Most people in Finland doesnt want to even ask that. It's annoying when a clerk comes to you and ask you something. "i'm just watching"
Yeah, I think the fear of having to talk to other people is the main reason for our lack of manners. We get a bit shocked if something out of ordinary happens, and we are supposed to react with interaction with others. So we might not get the words "thank you" or "I'm so sorry!" out of our mouth. We rather hurry away before we would have to actually talk to some stranger 😅
I personally prefer the fin customer service, because it doesnt feel like too much and turn me off from buying and I can just walk there at my own pace
I can definitely tell that his views are of Southern Finland, especially the capital area. People there tend to be how people are in other "big" cities: busy, "mind your own business" etc. It's not the same anymore, when you move north from there; people start to be a lot more friendly and are more easily engaged in small talk, at least in the Eastern Finland where I reside. But when it comes to courtesy and good manners, Finns can be even over-considered, and that might seem that they're being rude. I''ll elaborate. Finns often do everything in their power not to cause any inconvenience to other people. This means that when they cross the zebra crossing after a car gives them space, they actually jog or walk with great pace so that the driver doesn't have to wait too long, as he/she already had to stop and let the person cross the road. The door experiment is another example of over-consideration, since most Finns give the "white smirk" and nod to the person holding the door and they don't say thank you, because it's more convenient for the "door holder" to nod back than to have to say "you're welcome" 36 times. So yeah. Our good manners run really deep, but they are there, they just seem rude if you don't see them. If a Finn is being rude, he/she will put extra energy to show it. If he/she doesn't put the energy, then he/she is probably being polite and doing the best he/she can not to cause any convenience to you. Other than that, I think the video is somewhat on point: do not smile at random people. Read the room, do not engage in small talk, unless it seems like really a-ok.
No, we actually have 3 Starbucks. Two in Helsinki airport and one at Kämppi (also in Helsinki). Starbucks is equal with type two diabetes so finnish people are not so keen to have such a sugar drinks. We mostly drink our coffee black or with little splash of milk or cream. Some people puts little bit sugar or other sweetener in to coffee too.
Hehheheh... The anxiety I get when I leave my apartment WITHOUT my keys... xD Sweden had these self-locking doors when I was a kid, but they moved away from them to safety doors in 2006 or so. These days, I would freak the f*** out if I realized that I had forgotten my keys in my apartment, because that would mean that my door is unlocked. xD Sweden has church tax as well, but you can also decide whether you want to pay this tax or not which btw was not a thing till fairly recently. So by default, yes, there is a church tax. But you can also ask to remove this tax from your annual income if you want.
As a Finn, the idea of an outside door that does NOT lock automatically is simply idiotic to me. I find it so much more logical that if you want to keep it unlocked, then you have to do something (as in flick the switch). But then again, we're used to this from birth so I can understand how it could be difficult for foreigners. Speaking of doors, most of the world outside the nordic countries hasn't even grasped the simple idea that doors should always open out, NOT in. (or at least towards the larger space) With some exeptions, like narrow corridors in hotels or office buildings. It's so much safer in every way when the door opens out. And yes, I've left my house keys in 2 times in my life (I'm 51 now). First time when I was still young and living at my parents' house. They were conveniently in Thailand on holiday so I had basically two options, either break in through a window or get a locksmith. I chose the locksmith... It was really expensive because it was outside of regular hours so I had to pay all kinds of extra charges. But, that taught me. Ever since I never leave my house without doublechecking that I have the keys in my pocket. The other time was an accident when I was just quickly getting something from my yard, literally just a couple of meters from the door but there was a back window open and a gust of wind made the front door slam shut basically in front of me. Luckily I live in a housing complex (rivitalo for Finns) so all I had to do was go get the master key from the person who has it in our building. Four buildings, four master keys, one in each building. EDIT: oh and the church tax, in Finland you have resign from being a member of the (state)church to be exempt from paying the church tax. So it's not just a do you want to pay or not thing in here.
In apartment and townhouses, call the maintenance company to open the door. Usually costs 20-60 euros. In a single-family house, you'd better have a spare key hidden somewhere, or you'll either have to call a locksmith or break a window. At Utsjoki, from 27th of November to 17th of January, sun doesn't rise at all. It's just darkness all that time. Church tax is only paid if you belong to a church. You can leave the congregation at any time.
I was watching Love it or List it UK, and in one ore two episodes the husband saw a big bonus, if the apartment was near to a pub. If someone in Finland would wanna have they're apartment close to a pub most people in here thought they were alcoholic. But in Brits that's more like a community thing? Getting to know people, not getting wasted all the time, right? 😄 Maybe because we Finns don't socialize unless we're pretty drunk...
I thank people almost always when I have an opportunity, and no one really makes a huge fuss about it.. mostly his list is something I can relate to but I think he might be a bit too harsh towards Finns. :P
I agree on 100% of that what he said about why do you have to be wasted to have fun?!, same goes some people who smokes pot or uses drugs that some do it cos it makes life funnier and all, but all and all, after everything in the end it causes bad stuff, hungover most lol, i knew a person long time ago who smoked pot only because they were bored and same went for drinking, what's the point in that, that in the end you get bad stuff :D but that social awkwardness is so true, i usually start talking back to person who talks to me especially if its elderly person but otherwise i don't speak with anyone lol
I live alone, And I have made a habbit out of leaving my keys to hang on the door handle. Therefore, to open the door, i must touch the door handle... except my keys are in the way, And therefore it's quite difficult to forget them. Alcohol/party thing. If his/her eyes are moving, it's indication of not enough alcohol in his/her system.
Taxes are highish, yes, but not as high as Alexi tries to portray them. Just for fun, I used the tax calculator available on the web with an annual salary of 38 500 (the median income at the moment), living in Helsinki, no family, no extra deductions, and not belonging to a state church (as it is your choice). The result was 5 528 in taxes and 3 908 in retirement and unemployment insurance fees, i.e. your net income is 29 000+ or about 75 percent of your gross income. Thus, Finnish taxation is not that bad imho. PS. I am slowly getting bored with the exaggeration of social awkwardness - it is not that true e.g. in my home city of Helsinki.
Finnish customer service people know that a Finn would get anxious if the sales person would start to follow you or even worse - to lead you, waiting that you obey and follow... Same with the coffee, because if the sales person would pour your coffee, s/he would have to ask if to leave space for milk or cream. And if somewhere the sales person would control those too, it would be pure nightmare (to explain if sugar, milk or cream and how much)! No! Absolutely no! Sales person is there to cash you (in stores they keep stuff in order etc) not to serve you. Maybe that has something to do with the deep respect for equality here, it is not comfortable to be served, to be raised above someone just because s/he is working...
In Finland if you belong to church you have to pay church tax. But there is a loop hole for that also in that the government only looks if you are in the church at the change of year they count you as part of the church for the next year. This makes it so that there are lots of people that resign from church in the last month or two and get back in in January or February so that they don't have to pay tax for it.
Actuallt, Finland isn't too high up on the alcohol consumption list of EU. However I'm pretty sure they don't count alot of minors drinking habits, which are REALLY bad (from personal experience).
"Juntti" means originally more like hillbilly, farmer, someone from the countryside, but nowadays it means someone who's not civilized. Today, someone who is thinking that the country people can't be smart, they are pretty "juntti", so that can also mean ignorent.
i dont relly like this finnish guys videos and after hearing he is really agressive against "reactions" to hes videos, that was the last nail in the coffin for me.
I was born in Sweden, but I live in Finland now. I work as a customer service representative and salesperson in a garden store. Interestingly, the most challenging Finnish customers are the elderly, as many of them seem to lack manners. 😂
i think i have not forgotten my keys in over 20 years. just the basic check. it´s in your muscle memory. before you shut the door all the way. you DO check that left front pocket.
right*, phone is in the left
as a finn i once smiled in the house and my mom asked me: "Why are you smiling?"
😅
Not all are like moody when it's so dark and raining etc, I love autumn and winter a lot cos the cool air and nature is beautiful! I have few friends who complains from all weathers lol, summer is too hot and there's mosquitoes a lot and wasps, then autumn sucks cos it's so rainy and chill, winter sucks cos it's so frickin' cold and spring sucks cos all melts :D I love all other time of the years except summer cos I suffer a lot then, Winter is so beautiful and crisp air and can see stars clearly, spring is nice too that everything starts to get green and autumn is pretty and cos of darkness, you can start to put mood lights and candles on
As a finn I don't like when I'm involuntarily put into a situation where I'm expected to be grateful and courteous. I might give a small nod and smile as a thanks when someone holds a door, but I think "thank you" is more reserved to a situation you actually feel thankful.
In regards to the key thing, I just keep my keys in the pocket of whatever coat I'm using that time of year. That, or on a bench right by the door
i never open the door or close it unless i have my keys in my hand :D one of my OCD habits
About smiling: I smile guite a lot without any particular reason and yes, I do get some weird looks from other people. But on the other hand it is even more lovely when someone smiles back and I can get someone to better mood. :) So when you come to Finland, just go for it! We might look grumpy but usually people are lovely and polite.
For example when I worked at a foodstore in a little town, there were allways the same customers. Some older people smiled back after month or so, and it was allways a little win for me.
Funny story is actually that we as Finns were on a holiday in Switzerland. We stayed at a hotel in Zürich which didn't have a keycard like usually on hotels. Then we left the hotel for a day trip in Luzern and when we came back the door was not locked since we didn't think we'd have to lock the door with keys, luckily our stuff was still there.
You only have to pay church tax if you are a member of the church. Aleksi seems to have left that out that it's not a mandatory tax.
finns have this check we do. keys, wallet, phone (and if you smoke, then that.)
Finland VS England when talking about the shortest day
Helsinki 5 h 49 min between the sunrise and sunset...
London 7 h 50 min between the sunrise and sunset...
If you are member of The Lutheran Protestant Church or The Finnish Russian Orthodox Church, your "membership fee" is collected along normal taxation as "Church tax".
Yeah, the cult tax is completely optional and not collected from us heretics.
When the left hand is opening the fromt door to go out, the right hand automatically does the trinity check: keys, wallet, fly (zipper).
Church tax is a thing in Sweden too, most of it goes to maintaining the burial grounds and your burial rights, in Sweden at least you can opt out of the part that goes to the... uh, was it called diocese in English I think... for stuff like salaries, budgets and buildings.
Its not Bad customer service when i want to pour My coffee myself, i only know how much Cream/milk i want to.
Customer service can be good or bad depending on the store.. but I think it's the same in many other countries, not only Finland
Finland has a Lutheran state church.Itis voluntary, but if you are a member, your tidings are passed through the state. Other denominations have their own ways to deal with it. In Finland it does not matter so much where you are on the social ladder. Some people just live as if they were all by themselves in tte wilderness.
The way he hears Estonian is exactly like us Swedes hear Norwegian, it sounds like slang to us, when they speak properly
I normally don't forget my keys, but once when I live in apartment I did. Luckily it was summer time and I had the window open and I lived in the first floor. I just took a bench from outside, climbed and got my keys. 😅
Wow, the finnish in southern Finland are so different from the finnish here in norhtern Finland. I live in Lapland and I found especially the courtesy part really shocking, also customer service. Here everyone are so polite and helpful, I've not once been given directions at a store but I have always been lead to the item I was looking for O_o
I'm sure there are differences between the north and south (as with every country), but I don't think customer service really is one of them? In my experience, in stores it really depends on how large the store is and whether the worker is busy or not. I'm not saying them just giving directions doesn't happen, but it's not like it's the norm either. I wouldn't expect someone to come and show me if I interrupted their work and what I was looking for was quite far away. I can find it with directions just fine. Or if not, then I will simply ask the person whether they could show me.
Have lived in both Helsinki area and in Tampere my whole life. Never have I encountered a person in customer service who refused to come and show me to the item. If they're too busy to do it themselves, they'll usually get someone else to show you.
Not every door has an Abloy lock on it in Finland, but they are very, very common. I prefer them personally, you just need to get into the habit of checking you have your keys before stepping out of your house.
You say you would leave your keys every time, does that also mean you have to go back inside every time you're about to lock your door? (Surely not?)
You only have to pay a church tax if you're a member of a church and the amount really isn't _that_ much (we're talking 1% of your income). Churches in Finland do a lot of community work (child/homeless services etc) so you don't feel like you're funding a private jet for someone
A VPN won't do a whole lot of good when you're at a location that isn't convenient for most connecting flights. It's not really a distance thing, fewer passenger flights in and out simply means higher flight prices on average.
I mean... Ok, sure. If you're just beaming at everyone you walk by on the sidewalk, Finns are going to think you're weird (or American), but you're not going to go wrong with the "British amount" of smiling. If someone is interacting with you, a polite smile is very much acceptable or even expected for "good manners". "Smiling because of them" in a bad way, aka making fun of them. Finns can take themselves _very_ seriously.
Finland is kinda big on self-serve style restaurants/cafes, so it's not uncommon to pay for your (basic drip) coffee and then heading to the "coffee station" to fill your coffee out of a huge thermos and adding whatever you put in your coffee. I think it's nicer than trying to communicate how much milk/cream and/or sugar you want and Finns are usually extremely considerate about being quick and moving out of the way as soon as possible if things are busy.
I prefer the Finnish way of giving directions at a store over the store employee walking me to where the item I'm looking for is. I know they're busy and I'm certainly not so important that I couldn't spare the extra minute or even two (gasp!) looking for the item.
Now, Finnish customer service in general can be quite... abrupt and will definitely seem rude to people used to more overtly friendly service. More French than British for comparison, but they also don't expect you to tip, so there's that at least.
I feel like Aleksi needs to hang out with some higher quality people. I've always found Finns to "say please and thank you" more often than not, but of course it depends who you're around. The thing with the "holding door experiment" is that if you make it at all weird (make the person feel like they need to hurry or stare at them, for example) they will absolutely NOT thank you for it. That would be encouraging unwanted behavior and some might even see it as dishonest (them thanking you for something they're not thankful for). We can be pretty weird about being honest to the point of being rude and/or hurtful.
I've only ever once locked myself out, and that was out of my room in a shared apartment. Usually kept my room unlocked when was home but had just came back from a vacation, threw my stuff in and went to bathroom.
I've just grown from childhood to always check that I got my key with me before leaving. And then many people have backup keys, with a friend/neighbor that they can go fetch.
after few times pay for door opening it will stay in memory to remember key :D
you give spare key to your friend or family.
You cant forget your keys if you have them in your jacket pocket, and people who dont live in apartments usually have a spare key hidden somewhere outside
Church tax is only for people who take part in a church/religion
The way I survive the always locked door is to always keep the keys in your pocket and check the pocket every time you're about to close the door. Helps if you usually use the same trousers or shorts in the summer. I don't think I've ever locked myself out, but the fear is always there. Especially if you're going for a shared sauna in few clothes. Especially, never leave without your phone so you can call the service to open the door for you.
Thanks for your reaction video Dwayne. Yeah, the drinking... When you consider that Finns overall are really reserved people, interface to foreigners is pretty much like the only ones who will come to talk to you are either wasted drunk or insane. In Scotland there is pretty similar drinking culture - that's true, constant presence of violence and aggressive behavior. I have never felt so home that I felt in Aberdeen and Highlands.
If you want to socialize with Finns (sober), the easiest way is to ask for a help (even if you don't need it), that is very acceptable way to break the ice and get to contact with strange. Once you are in, you are nearly friend already.
Am a Finn and yes, I know people don't smile that much, especially at strangers.
But sometimes I might smile for a stranger. Example, I walk at semi empty street, I see an elderly person, if they rise their eyes and we make eye contact, I might smile and/or nod at them. Sometimes maybe even greet, like "Good afternoon."
About opening doors. Well I usually am the one to open the door to people. And I do normally thank if someone opens the door to me.
Another random fact. I often say "Terveydeksi," aka "Bless you," when someone sneezes. Be it stranger or familiar person.
(Though I admit, I often say it so quietly that the person doesn't even hear it.)
_I don't know why I started to do so, but it began when I was younger and in school._ 😂 😂
I have to say that i always try to say thank you, but mostly finnish people dont want to talk, so they just goes into their bubble. I always keep the door open, but i dont even know if i want that the other person says "thank you". We are polite with our deeds not with words. Customer service part i dont agree. I think we have good customer service we just dont talk too much and most of finnish people doesnt want to be helped. When i go to a store i do ask where things are, but i just want the direction. Most people in Finland doesnt want to even ask that. It's annoying when a clerk comes to you and ask you something. "i'm just watching"
Yeah, I think the fear of having to talk to other people is the main reason for our lack of manners. We get a bit shocked if something out of ordinary happens, and we are supposed to react with interaction with others. So we might not get the words "thank you" or "I'm so sorry!" out of our mouth. We rather hurry away before we would have to actually talk to some stranger 😅
I personally prefer the fin customer service, because it doesnt feel like too much and turn me off from buying and I can just walk there at my own pace
I can definitely tell that his views are of Southern Finland, especially the capital area. People there tend to be how people are in other "big" cities: busy, "mind your own business" etc. It's not the same anymore, when you move north from there; people start to be a lot more friendly and are more easily engaged in small talk, at least in the Eastern Finland where I reside.
But when it comes to courtesy and good manners, Finns can be even over-considered, and that might seem that they're being rude. I''ll elaborate. Finns often do everything in their power not to cause any inconvenience to other people. This means that when they cross the zebra crossing after a car gives them space, they actually jog or walk with great pace so that the driver doesn't have to wait too long, as he/she already had to stop and let the person cross the road. The door experiment is another example of over-consideration, since most Finns give the "white smirk" and nod to the person holding the door and they don't say thank you, because it's more convenient for the "door holder" to nod back than to have to say "you're welcome" 36 times. So yeah. Our good manners run really deep, but they are there, they just seem rude if you don't see them.
If a Finn is being rude, he/she will put extra energy to show it. If he/she doesn't put the energy, then he/she is probably being polite and doing the best he/she can not to cause any convenience to you.
Other than that, I think the video is somewhat on point: do not smile at random people. Read the room, do not engage in small talk, unless it seems like really a-ok.
No, we actually have 3 Starbucks. Two in Helsinki airport and one at Kämppi (also in Helsinki). Starbucks is equal with type two diabetes so finnish people are not so keen to have such a sugar drinks. We mostly drink our coffee black or with little splash of milk or cream. Some people puts little bit sugar or other sweetener in to coffee too.
I use to have a door like that, I live in Sweden.
I had to put an extra key at my neighbours because I did it all the time 😂
We do smile 😅 and it happens often when shopping, with friends, noticing something silly&weird....just to mention few things.
Hehheheh... The anxiety I get when I leave my apartment WITHOUT my keys... xD Sweden had these self-locking doors when I was a kid, but they moved away from them to safety doors in 2006 or so.
These days, I would freak the f*** out if I realized that I had forgotten my keys in my apartment, because that would mean that my door is unlocked. xD
Sweden has church tax as well, but you can also decide whether you want to pay this tax or not which btw was not a thing till fairly recently. So by default, yes, there is a church tax. But you can also ask to remove this tax from your annual income if you want.
As a Finn, the idea of an outside door that does NOT lock automatically is simply idiotic to me. I find it so much more logical that if you want to keep it unlocked, then you have to do something (as in flick the switch). But then again, we're used to this from birth so I can understand how it could be difficult for foreigners. Speaking of doors, most of the world outside the nordic countries hasn't even grasped the simple idea that doors should always open out, NOT in. (or at least towards the larger space) With some exeptions, like narrow corridors in hotels or office buildings. It's so much safer in every way when the door opens out.
And yes, I've left my house keys in 2 times in my life (I'm 51 now). First time when I was still young and living at my parents' house. They were conveniently in Thailand on holiday so I had basically two options, either break in through a window or get a locksmith. I chose the locksmith... It was really expensive because it was outside of regular hours so I had to pay all kinds of extra charges. But, that taught me. Ever since I never leave my house without doublechecking that I have the keys in my pocket.
The other time was an accident when I was just quickly getting something from my yard, literally just a couple of meters from the door but there was a back window open and a gust of wind made the front door slam shut basically in front of me. Luckily I live in a housing complex (rivitalo for Finns) so all I had to do was go get the master key from the person who has it in our building. Four buildings, four master keys, one in each building.
EDIT: oh and the church tax, in Finland you have resign from being a member of the (state)church to be exempt from paying the church tax. So it's not just a do you want to pay or not thing in here.
In apartment and townhouses, call the maintenance company to open the door. Usually costs 20-60 euros. In a single-family house, you'd better have a spare key hidden somewhere, or you'll either have to call a locksmith or break a window.
At Utsjoki, from 27th of November to 17th of January, sun doesn't rise at all. It's just darkness all that time.
Church tax is only paid if you belong to a church. You can leave the congregation at any time.
I was watching Love it or List it UK, and in one ore two episodes the husband saw a big bonus, if the apartment was near to a pub. If someone in Finland would wanna have they're apartment close to a pub most people in here thought they were alcoholic. But in Brits that's more like a community thing? Getting to know people, not getting wasted all the time, right? 😄 Maybe because we Finns don't socialize unless we're pretty drunk...
i have flown 25 euro flights back and forth for a week in tenerife.
last-minute flights can be extremely cheap
I thank people almost always when I have an opportunity, and no one really makes a huge fuss about it.. mostly his list is something I can relate to but I think he might be a bit too harsh towards Finns. :P
I agree on 100% of that what he said about why do you have to be wasted to have fun?!, same goes some people who smokes pot or uses drugs that some do it cos it makes life funnier and all, but all and all, after everything in the end it causes bad stuff, hungover most lol, i knew a person long time ago who smoked pot only because they were bored and same went for drinking, what's the point in that, that in the end you get bad stuff :D but that social awkwardness is so true, i usually start talking back to person who talks to me especially if its elderly person but otherwise i don't speak with anyone lol
I live alone, And I have made a habbit out of leaving my keys to hang on the door handle.
Therefore, to open the door, i must touch the door handle... except my keys are in the way, And therefore it's quite difficult to forget them.
Alcohol/party thing.
If his/her eyes are moving, it's indication of not enough alcohol in his/her system.
I am 18 and I JUST LEARNED that other countries don't gave self locking doors.
How tf do you lock a door manually?? Do you use the key?
Taxes are highish, yes, but not as high as Alexi tries to portray them. Just for fun, I used the tax calculator available on the web with an annual salary of 38 500 (the median income at the moment), living in Helsinki, no family, no extra deductions, and not belonging to a state church (as it is your choice). The result was 5 528 in taxes and 3 908 in retirement and unemployment insurance fees, i.e. your net income is 29 000+ or about 75 percent of your gross income. Thus, Finnish taxation is not that bad imho.
PS. I am slowly getting bored with the exaggeration of social awkwardness - it is not that true e.g. in my home city of Helsinki.
Finnish customer service people know that a Finn would get anxious if the sales person would start to follow you or even worse - to lead you, waiting that you obey and follow... Same with the coffee, because if the sales person would pour your coffee, s/he would have to ask if to leave space for milk or cream. And if somewhere the sales person would control those too, it would be pure nightmare (to explain if sugar, milk or cream and how much)! No! Absolutely no! Sales person is there to cash you (in stores they keep stuff in order etc) not to serve you. Maybe that has something to do with the deep respect for equality here, it is not comfortable to be served, to be raised above someone just because s/he is working...
In Finland if you belong to church you have to pay church tax. But there is a loop hole for that also in that the government only looks if you are in the church at the change of year they count you as part of the church for the next year. This makes it so that there are lots of people that resign from church in the last month or two and get back in in January or February so that they don't have to pay tax for it.
Few nights out in finnish weather teach you, A lot
No cause I kid you not, 1st april was +10 celcius and sunny it was SUMMER. 2nd april? -6 celcius and lots and lots of snow.
Just a small tip: don’t go ask around the town for ”mämmi”😅 you’ll end up with some highly illegal crystals
Actuallt, Finland isn't too high up on the alcohol consumption list of EU. However I'm pretty sure they don't count alot of minors drinking habits, which are REALLY bad (from personal experience).
6 euros for a beer is extremely cheap!
these days it can even be more than 10 euros for a normal stobe
"Juntti" means originally more like hillbilly, farmer, someone from the countryside, but nowadays it means someone who's not civilized. Today, someone who is thinking that the country people can't be smart, they are pretty "juntti", so that can also mean ignorent.
Why drinking if you dont drink until you fall asleep and pee on ur pants and woke up on your own shit? Theres coca-cola for you guys!
🤣😂
If you are not part of the church you don't have to play church taxes.
i dont relly like this finnish guys videos and after hearing he is really agressive against "reactions" to hes videos, that was the last nail in the coffin for me.
Hmm, the lip sync doesn't seem to work in the video you selected. Subtly distracting.
You live aasia so shut front door