10 Years in Estonia, My Honest Thoughts

[@elisterr9913]

I'd make one addition to "!Who is Estonia best suited for?" - To people willing and able to learn the Estonian language and use it daily. Estonia is a nation state where your nationality and you're accepted when you speak Estonian. Until you dont, you'll always be an outsider. Russian language helps you live here but you'll live in a parallell universe with the local russians. English gets you by in everyday activities but you'll still be a foreigner, an outsider, an alien.

[@prospect2664]

no russian pls, english only

[@teresalehtonen8499]

Seems a little close minded or is it because people do not speak english? Here in Finland you can be part of society while speaking english only. Most people speak it exept some of the older people. In Estonia in the 90`s and before that, you could get along by Finnish because most of the people looked at Finnish television and learned the language.

[@prospect2664]

@@teresalehtonen8499 its more like old people know russian, but dont know english while younger people know english but dont know russian and because of certain situation, we are starting to push more towards estonian/english being the standard than the older russian/estonian standard....

[@elisterr9913]

@@teresalehtonen8499 As a finn you understand that you were not russified in the past 80 years?

[@emiliamazur5039]

@@teresalehtonen8499 because you weren't a part of the eastern block.

[@zasmirko100]

We need people who are caring about our country, culture, state etc. We must trust our comrades and stay stoic even in bad times (economically or politically). It's hard to fully trust nomadic peoples who always travel to new places where life is better - it is our obligation to make our homework and struggle to correct mistakes and work to make life better here where we live, not to always travel to some place where others made all work and repaired their living conditions to higher level.

[@martasaghar9992]

Totally agree with you

[@metsatroll]

I think summers in Estonia are too hot and there's too much light. I wish i could live somewhere further in the north :D It depends on the person really. Other than the close proximity of russia, estonia is a great place to live. Also a huge reason to being against immigration is historical as well. Any immigration to Estonia in the past has been a foreign army. It's not racism, it's self preservation as it has been for the last 1000 years.

[@MananAnwar]

Fair point, don't forget that Estonians have been immigrants to other countries as well. All across the world.

[@Pythoner]

What's wrong with the close proximity of Russia? I live in St. Petersburg which is not far from Estonia, but somehow your country doesn't bother me. And we are surrounded by NATO but it doesn't affect my quality of life one bit.

[@944Henri]

@@Pythoner at First Ukraine didn't bother you as well, now it does right?

[@Pythoner]

@@944Henri that's right, before it got itself a Nazi government thanks to Nuland & pals, Russians and other minorities were respected, there were political parties that represented different regional interests, and so on. The situation changed and warranted quick action.

[@Planeet-Long]

That's true for every country in the world until recently, even with Pakistan most immigration were the British through conquest. The change in attitude comes from something else.

[@MarkoErr]

Really nice video. Never anticipated that Estonians are quite cold towards foreigners- I would assume it is same to natives as well. The positive side of this coldness is that we have not been violent towards our fellow countryman 😊. Also it is quite sophisticated society ( "Estonian way" is one of kind and not the nicest) so if you root here you can live in any country in world.

[@MananAnwar]

Absolutely agree with the last point you mentioned !

[@valeriiasmith8]

100% correct!

[@elisterr9913]

I disagree with the critisism part but only in one way. Estonia is highly educated and our culture seeks rationalism in arguments. Facts not opinions. Numbers not slogans. Measurements not feelings. This means that we really dislike someone simply saying "Estonia is expensive" - to who? compared to whom? In what sense? Because when we look at statistics (collected far more efficiently in Estonia than in most other countries, and thus having more accurate data) we see that this is not the case, as incomes have risen far more than prices. Disposable income increases even today. The other side is that we just dont like people talking bad about our country, but Is see the same reaction in Finland, Latvia, Sweden etc. Most likely in Pakistan aswell.

[@ragnarlaine4065]

What do you mean by "we"? Whether a country feels expensive or cheap really depends on how much money you make. If you have a high income that allows you to enjoy a good quality of life, then the country will seem affordable. On the other hand, if your income is low, everything will feel more expensive

[@elisterr9913]

@@ragnarlaine4065 "we" as Estonian culture, educated estonians. And your explenation is not valid. You can be Poor in Switserland aswell when you have a low income. But at the same time you can be poor in India too, that does not mean that the country is expensive. Neither does it mean that Estonia is expensive

[@elisterr9913]

@@dzintarsderums5974 In Estonia, for everybody. The lower half has higher income increase than the higher half on income earners. Thus you can also look at median wages.

[@UninstallingWindows]

Estonia is most suited for people who come from the same cultural space and have roughly the same values and beliefs, regardless of race or nationality. For example a liberal black African English speaking christian is going to find it easier to adapt than a white European conservative muslim who doesnt speak English. Estonian values in general are: Liberal mindset, Education, Lack of Religion( fundamentalism ), Orientation to the west( English language, democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of expression ). Large countries can easily handle many different immigrant groups because they can always find interpreters or communities of existing people from that group, but small countries like Estonia simply cant deal with people whose language noone speaks. There has to be some common language(english, russian, french or german) and some common values. If a Nigeran who only speaks Yoruba language comes to Estonia, then he wont find a group of other Nigerians who speak the same language here. He will have to get by alone from day one. If a Ukrainian refugee comes to Estonia, then they can get by almost without any help using Russian or English and there wont be much of a culture shock since the cultures are very similar.

[@treesareacute2364]

Hello, I am Estonian and I can say that you made a good point about cost of living versus salary. For my family it is hard because our expenses have doubled this year and our salary hasn't, so it is hard to make ends meet.

[@MananAnwar]

Thank you for sharing. Appreciate that.

[@Liftiga]

definitely, if u have any thougths - i should leave - then BIG YES. if theres a chance reborn again, i would never choose it! furthermore, estonia still doesnt have internet - can u belive it?

[@ConorClyneTsarExperience]

Very good summary! It correlates with my experience here so far. I can't comment about being darker skinned so for me it's been pretty open and friendly.

[@MananAnwar]

Thanks for sharing!!

[@TheTerkzzz]

In Finland many have changed their names to get work as a foreigner.. it is not quite like this as far as i know in Estonia..

[@Meek2001]

2:15 is it getting divorced

[@pertsonvelts1699]

Are you sure that more open minded Estonians are uncapable of discussing the shortcomings of Estonian cultural space? It's just a matter of not taking your country personally. Or is Estonia lacking open minded people overall?

[@MananAnwar]

In my experience it’s an uncomfortable topic for them. But there are a lot open minded Estonians, almost all of them have lived abroad.

[@cwpv2477]

ty for the video

[@rogerdinhelm4671]

Thank you for honest thoughts! So what does it mean "Leaving?" - are you leaving Estonia or are you unsure yet?

[@MananAnwar]

Its still a question :)

[@duboiskenty6074]

I love living here ... However, I agree with most things you have said in this video 🙂

[@alifnomad3223]

You mentioned Estonia is suited for White Caucasians. I will say its mainly suited for Eastern Europeans and Scandinavians ('the personal space' aspect). Southern europeans wont like/enjoy Baltic nations.

[@MananAnwar]

That's a fair point.

[@martinkoitmae6655]

True

[@elgasalme9331]

I know a latino who likes a lot northern areas. Likes cold climate, likes privacy. Not all of them are extroverts. He avoids his countrymen as much as possible.

[@BlackIce31337]

I was starting to watch that video with “oh, yet another bs of tourist about my country” (sorry) and watching more and more I was realizing how wrong I were. Totally agree with all points, just want to add about “darker color people” - even me who travels a lot it’s still very unusual and curious to see dark skinned people and I watch them but not with a “get put of here” but more with curiosity

[@MananAnwar]

Thanks. But sadly quite a few of your country men don’t feel the same.

[@E30EST]

You sayd whoever is not on IT or tech person not to come to Estonia ? Come on man... And you edited your video... its a shame bro...

[@encryptedwarlord7680]

I think the highest salaries in Estonia are IT and tech related but surgeons and people in medicine also make a good salary

[@ammadtarar]

Hey @manan , good to see your video after a while. Con # 4 : I think EU in general is expensive. If you remember I moved to Italy from Estonia last year, and Milano is way more expensive then Tallinn. But great video and good to see you uploading again 🎉

[@martinkoitmae6655]

Good video

[@MaunuValnu]

Nice ❤

[@aonith]

It seems fair except that I've been hearing a lot of struggles about education. For the past year lots of kids who finish basic education are unable to get secondary education as there are no vacant spots and the competition is high. So we end up with bunch of underaged kids who have nothing to do as they are kinda young for work or basically nobody wants to hire a 15-16 yo kid.

[@futurez14]

You are so nice, thank you

[@nordicest]

I don’t feel that we like white/caucasian people.. we actually like more people from Asia/South America etc.. but we don’t like at all to make exceptions for forigners.. we expect that when you come here you live like us and like how we live here :P.. food, jokes etc are welcome but not religion, some clothing etc :D

[@usl4689]

Regarding difficulties for darker skinned people. I was thinking as I was watching whether this hostility/dislike is an easy expression of the general distrust Estonians have towards non-Estonians which stems from being consistently colonised/invaded. Throughout all of Estonian recorded history the attempts of erasing the Estonian language/culture/folk tales has been plentiful which has led to this deep distrust/dislike. If a white foreigner was in Estonia most Estonians likely wouldn’t assume they’re a foreigner till they hear them speak, from what I’ve seen the level of distrust increases once an individual is a “confirmed” foreigner. With darker skinned foreigners, however, the assumption that they’re a foreigner is made immediately leading to more open expressions of discrimination and hostility. It’s really unfortunate but also does seem to be more prevalent with older generations as compared to younger as the young ones haven’t experienced oppression like their ancestors thus wouldn’t have this inherent distrust. Hopefully with time and with Estonia continuing to be open to the world the change is coming. As an Estonian with half my roots in India i am hopeful this will be the case as i do love my country.

[@jpthiran]

Good review Manan. Regarding imigration and so called racism, obviously EKRE is miserable. Besides that, they are not so much used to foreign people and eventualy color people, but that will be overcome with time. Estonia as lived in a bit of isolation, in a corner of Europe. They will never be prepared to accept millions of foreigner in there country, due to there history and population. But they will accept foreigners in small numbers for sure - they may be shy but they are generous people. One thing for me is clear, dispite recent dificulties (inflation, russian sordid neighbor) - Estonia as future and potencial in a way, that most of Europe as not anymore - progress with tranquility. All the best Manan.

[@Planeet-Long]

Estonians sound a lot like Finns.

[@tomastomastomas1521]

8:54 victim card activated

[@päärynänugetti]

How?

[@9miroke]

I mean, if you ask me which EU countries are the most inhospitable to foreigners, the first countries that come to my mind would be the Baltic trinity.

[@mohammedgharbiyah6566]

I’d suggest talking a bit louder, kind of sounds like you’re whispering! Good video otherwise

[@MananAnwar]

Thanks for the tip

[@mkuc6951]

Yeah sounds like Poland except for the bureaucracy (much worse in PL) .

[@MananAnwar]

I have been to Poland once and I had a Polish manager. Great people :)

[@eliotness4029]

Estonians decided to be barking dogs towards bear. and sometime bear can hit. may be not.

[@eliotness4029]

and nato told estonians we will feed barking dogs. untill you barking

[@Pythoner]

Russia is not a hostile neighbour to Estonia, Russia has never threatened Estonia in 1991 and when Russian troops were asked to leave they did, back in the early 90s. If there is a war between Russia and NATO then moving to Canada probably won't save anyone anyway, the war will go nuclear sooner or later.

[@944Henri]

Estonia got russian troops out 1994, the same year Russia started the first Chechen war

[@Pythoner]

@@944Henri Also correct. There were 3 years of ultra-nationalist activity under the Dudayev government (which came to power through violence, much like the 2014 Maidan Ukrainian government did) prior to the Russian intervention, raids on Russian military bases and police stations for equipment, kidnappings and a mass exodus of various minorities from the republic. Negotiations went on for a long time but ultimately failed and so we got there what we got.

[@944Henri]

​@@Pythoner russia occupied Crimea and Donbass 2014. After Maidan Ukraine had fair elections. You are either brainwashed or a troll.

[@eliotness4029]

@@944Henri russia occupied Crimea and Donbass 1773. 4 years before USA independence

[@eliotness4029]

@@944Henri You are either brainwashed or a troll.

[@ShadowMaster1443]

2:15 Buy a property.

[@eliotness4029]

Estonian like any other like very much reach people. if you are reach they will kiss you.

[@madmadagascar]

Ekre is the worst thing happened in Estonia in the recent years

[@Raivo_K]

They're pretty delusional and populist (so much so that some conservatives broke off and made their own party) but i wound not say the older parties are free from blame. The current ruling party Reformierakond is also pretty hated because they have won many elections but despite their pro Estonia attitude they have let Russians and Russian language prosper as an unofficial second language and fifth column. Many companies actually require native Estonians to speak Russian. If you dont then you get fired or not even hired in the first place. They were in power for something like 17 years straight but failed to properly build out the eastern border with Russia. They have also placed international praise above the well being of the people. Yes a balanced government budget and low debt looks nice but it's pretty meaningless when everyone around has much bigger debt. They also claim themselves to be great economy managers and yet under their leadership Estonia has had 12 straight quarters of economic decline and they impose bigger and bigger taxes that mostly hit low income households the most while plunging the economy into an even deeper recession. They do love the rich tho. They stubbornly refuse to tax the banks and rich people or luxury goods.

[@jpthiran]

@@Raivo_K ...indeed Reform party as been a misery for Estonia - they bring nothing good and bring a lot of bad things - called them idiots or incompetent is being kind. Just need to see the Car Tax and the maintenace of a Proprtional Tax System, instead of of a progressive Tax system, to understand that they are idiots - wanting the poor to fund the system instead of the rich is obscene. In case they don't know how to do it, they should just look to their model - Sweden!... there it's a Progressive Tax system - the richer pay more in percentage, than the poor!

[@Pythoner]

@@Raivo_K 'Properly build out the eastern border with Russia' lol. What that fence which is supposed to stop the Russian army? And your governments have done everything to drive the Russian language out, latest steps being the closing down of all Russian-language education, limitations on Ukrainian refugees as they speak Russian too, and so on - the fact is that you can't get rid of it other than throwing all its speakers out of the country, which I wouldn't be surprised if you eventually arrive at. And it's not a matter of being a 5th column. I'm from Russia. But those Russians in Estonia are from Estonia. You blame them for defending their own interests, such as not being called occupiers and aliens and not being subject to language patrols and whatever else. But in actuality they would have no reason to be a '5th column' or vote against this or that party if they were respected as fellow citizens.

[@kriskt4754]

@@Raivo_K Estonia has too small population for high dept, you'd end up like Greece or Portugal with stagnated economy for decades.

[@Rula2020]

Estonia has tier citizenship and “alien” passports even for those people that were born in Estonia, which could be considered discriminatory.

[@agevalgepea7873]

There are just two tiers: you either are a citizen or you are not. What's the difference with other countries?

[@Rula2020]

@ there is a difference for those born in Estonia before 1991. If you are born from estonian ancestry or estonian by blood (whatever that means) you are 1st tier citizen and get citizenship automatically. If you cant proof Estonian ancestry you are 2 tier naturalized citizen, in which case your citizenship can be revoked in certain circumstances, or in case if you fail to get naturalized you will get an “alien” passport making you a non citizen in any country. Although you could have been born in Estonia and even your parents could. Thats called 2 tier citizenship and could be considered a discriminatory practice.

[@agevalgepea7873]

@@Rula2020 This is BS in large amount. You have some facts right but some totally wrong. First - no "Estonian blood" or "Estonian ancestry" is considered when granting citizenship. It is much more boring and common process - in 1991 when Estonian Republic was reinstated citizenship was given to those who's ancestors were pre-war Estonian Republic CITIZENS. And this is so also today. For example some territories belonging to pre-war Estonia were not returned and are today part of Russian Federation. But many many Pskov region (RF) Russian people were pre-war Estonian citizens and can actually apply for Estonian citizenship today. And many of them do. When it comes to those who have obtained Estonian citizenship by naturalization then this is not uncommon in other countries as well to have this option to reverse it written into law. And such revocation could happen in very special and extremely rare circumstances. Please just study how naturalized citizens are treated in other countries. And third point is that no 'alien' passports are issued anymore. No such practice that if you fail today to obtain Estonian citizenship you get 'grey passport'. You just retain your current citizenship.

[@Rula2020]

@@agevalgepea7873 well given citizenship based on ancestry provides one with more constitutional rights and protections then those that get naturalized. Anyone born in Estonia before 1991 who is not Estonian by ancestry, will never have the same rights even as those as you’ve mentioned who lived outside of Estonia. Thats the definition of tiered citizenship. And regarding grey passport, if those don’t exist then please explain sixty thousand holders of alien passports living in Estonia currently.

[@agevalgepea7873]

@@Rula2020 First - do not turn around what I said about gray passports - see above, never said that we do not have such people . Second, if a country has been occupied and later freed (like Estonia), there is no international law requiring to give citizenship to colonist from occupying country or their offspring. Third, however, every gray passport owner (colonist and their children who moved to Estonia between 1940-1991) can freely apply for Estonian citizenship. Fourth - gray passports for new people are not issued anymore. Every baby born in Estonia to gray passport parents get Estonian citizenship And last but not least - every other country has legal ways to renounce citizenship from naturalised citizens. See for example USA, UK, Germany, also Russia. So no point to single Estonia out as something uniquely discriminating.

[@Bac4-qu6qg7sk4v]

Sir if Estonia is expensive (which it kinda is) I would suggest for you to consider relocating to the neighboring Putinist Federation. It's super affordable, the econony is booming like a mf and being a massively diverse empire, they love their 3rd world immigrants to bits. Literally. Give mr. Putin and his federation a shot! 💪🇷🇺🦾

[@MananAnwar]

I am first world now. Thanks

[@Pythoner]

Sure, come give it a shot, you might like it.

[@9miroke]

@@MananAnwar nice one)

[@Rula2020]

Thats correct if you are not “pure” blood estonian (whatever that means), and your grandpas name is not Tõnu or Teet you will always be a second tier resident / citizen in here. welcome to estonia :)

[@marko1263]

Estonians don't make the conversation abou Russia within 5 minutes...challenge impossible