FINLAND - 20 years 20 things

Join the Discord discussion: / discord
I want to keep doing this! Any support would greatly be appreciated!
Patreon link: / lukebland
How I found myself in Finland: • My American Dream was ...
Instagram - / luke_bland
Twitch - / lukebland
Twitter - / luke_bland
Spotify - open.spotify.com/user/programy...
Soundcloud - / echo-7-1
Where I work
-------------------
lukebland.com
My T-Shirts
-------------------
www.etsy.com/shop/RunLikeHEL
Cameras:
-------------------
GoPro Hero 8 Black
iPhone SE 2020
DJI Mavic Air

[@JohnWins]

Finland is a better place having you here, my friend. Onnea! :)

[@LukeBland]

Thank you, John 🙏🏼 and you as well 🙌🏼

[@cledosmeal595]

I think the yeild sing works also to slow down the traffic and reduce speeding in urban areas, because you have to be more aware of cars coming from the smaller roads and therefore you have to drive a bit slower.

[@kala1780]

yes, better than the 4 way stop signs I saw in the US on many intersections at least in more suburby areas without traffic lights. It meant that you would stop every 50 meters, just not to get T-boned. Yied signs prioritize the main flow of traffic, which is good for traffic flow. edit: I do agree that yield signs are sometimes difficult to spot due to their angle, location, weather etc

[@squidcaps4308]

Yup, and do not cause rise in accidents either. I remember when it was changed and everyone thought it'll be crashes all over the place but... nope, nothing happened except speeds decreased.

[@Melie-Mel85]

I am a single parent moving to Finland next month from California. Thank you for being an inspiration 🫶

[@n00blamer]

Welcome, also: nice time of the year to get started.. winter = 😥

[@LukeBland]

Very cool. I know a few Americans living here from California!

[@Melie-Mel85]

@n00blamer I heard it's brutal...but so are the summers in Palm Springs (125°F). I was born and raised here and still not used to it....

[@Melie-Mel85]

@LukeBland I know absolutely no one 😬...but looking for a better education for my children. I could use ay guidance.

[@Olematonnimi]

Do not bring your politics here. :)

[@TheAlex29494]

by the way regarding the driving/yield sign thing: that only applies on roads that have a speed restriction of 50km/h or less and for cars that come from your right. Above that they always have a yield/stop sign

[@LukeBland]

This I didn’t know ☝🏼

[@willjoby1961]

​@LukeBland also there is a square yellow sigm with a white diamond which (i believe) means you have priority until you see the same sign with a line through it.... ...i think! 😂

[@Kerppu68]

@@willjoby1961 Right of way ending

[@joojoojeejee6058]

"Right-of-way road" sign exists, which helps when present. Anyway, if you are unsure of the yielding order and have to slow down at an intersection, the traffic automatically becomes safer. You can't just blast by crossings at full speed, which is good, right? From our point of view, the excessive use of STOP signs in USA is kind of ridiculous and unnecessary. :)

[@Arctic3OD]

The yield sign system is definitely a bit odd, but understandable imo. Outside of suburb zones (taajama, the black and yellow city signs) the main road always gets the right of way. Others will have those yield signs every time. Within taajama the speed limits are usually very low, and I believe this yield sign policy is one way of enforcing those speed limits.

[@immokukkonen]

It's nice to hear, how much you love to live here in Finland and can see something what we other people doesn't see well. All your content here are something, what I like to others see, so down to earth - type of, normal life. Somebody, who life early life differend kind of culture and can tell his own perspective, so congrats Luke, for all heart warming content what you make here and hope we can see more near future.

[@K0llii]

More of these! Also your "normal day" vlogs are great

[@LukeBland]

Nice! Thank you 🙏🏼

[@user-ur4wo8yc4f]

I'm a Taiwanese and I cannot speak English very well. I watched this videos because there are few videos about finland in Chinese or Taiwanese. I think you introduced Finland very wll, interesting, and clearly. Thank you so much.

[@turpasauna]

Hi from Finland! I just wanted to say that I admire the attitude of the Taiwanese, you are so resilient! I would love to learn more about your culture. 😊

[@mantailuaa]

I’m so happy you have found your dreamland ❤

[@valitsenimimerkki]

This was great, thank you

[@pahis1248]

so calm and pleasant video ty again.

[@thetopicala]

Very good! You are a true Finn! 👍🏻

[@DNA350ppm]

True, you can't ask a Finn "How are you, or How do you do?" (misinterpreted as: Kuinka voit?) without taking the risk of getting a full health and happiness report. You should rather ask "mitä kuuluu?" This could be literally translated like: "what's new?" or some other question starting with 'mitä' or 'miten'. Usual (nonsensical) phrases vary from light, colloquial 'miten menee'? to very sloppy 'mitäs äijä?' - which a lady would never say. If asked "mitä kuuluu?" the correct and expected answer is something like: "Kiitos, hyvää, entäs itselles'?" or similar, and very short replies, with a reciprocal question to you (Kiitti, mitäs ite? with reply suggestion: No kiitos, ei sen kummenpaa). And remember, in Finand you first say somehting that is just a greeting, and someting that sounds as a question comes second, and the real questions are posed as the third or fourth in the exhange. English speakers can say What's up? instead of "hi" - but similar is not so normal n Finland, where hei, heippa, moi, suffice, you add a nod and a smile, and everybody is fine with that. The English greeting-phrase again, tempts one to translate the question literally, and make the meaning of the interaction totally confused. 🙂 As always: "When in Rome (Finland), do as the Romans do (the Finns do)" - that's universal advice. Local and age-related variations are common. Congrats Luke, for surviving 20 years of culture-clashes! Well done! You've got sisu!

[@T3meee]

Good list!

[@ChampTalos]

These equal crossings that we call them mostly exist in areas that are mostly houses so it keeps speeds on the roads slower so it would save some accidents.

[@pamelakilponen3682]

We learned metric in elementary school when the USA was about to switch over. But they never did. I am still learning the language after all these years!

[@LukeBland]

Yeah I actually learned it in school too but there was no emphasis on it since it isn’t or wasn’t used much in America.

[@DNA350ppm]

Dear Pamela, great that you keep learning Finnish - a foreign language is a life-long learning process in any language. Every now and then, once a month or so, do take 30 minutes, pick up a grammar and learn some example phrases by heart. Thus you'll easily learn a lot, because you have heard so much Finnish by then, and immediately you'll find use for them and you will get reinforcement in a few days, just like that. Or start from some examples and examine them closely: "Hassu juttu, mutta tulipa tehtyä!" "Mitä arvelet, onko tämä oikea yhteinen lahja Samille?" "Älä välitä, mitä muut ajattelevat, jos asia on itsellesi tärkeä, pistä töpinäksi, ja ole rennosti oma itsesi!" Indeed, look closer at some interesting sentences you've come across and you'll learn about models for building sentences, which are useful in other contexts. In grammar-speach these models are called paradigms. This way we can transition from translating verbatim from our native language to our target language. Instead we get a "feel" for how that target language functions, though different from our first language, which nevertheless for ever tends to remain our template. Have fun with Finnish, which will surprise you positively again and again. Why not make notes of such discoveries while they still feel new and creative! Taste phrases like: mullin-mallin, huputiti hummani hei!, lauleskella pitkin päivää, tekemällä tehty, and thousands of others, which will delight you each time you encounter them! 🙂

[@suparauta8026]

This was so interesting video. I'm happy you love to live here. ❤

[@spertti]

Nice to hear you've had great time living here. Its been nice to look at your vids during last few years.

[@LukeBland]

It really has been wonderful 🙌🏼

[@JonVonBasslake]

About the yielding vehicles from the right thing. Unless you've seen the yellow diamond white borders sign that indicates that you have the right of way, be prepared for the possibility of having to yield. There are other signs that indicate irregular yielding rules as well, like the h22.x signs that indicate a certain direction at crossed roads has the right of way.

[@Kokardi65]

it is glad to see that you still love to Finland and that is warm my heart.it is nice to see you still feel you are home in Finland

[@user-wv1zk9me7w]

Agree on the driving thing. Luckily there is the yellow road sign that means the road affected is a "priority road" and every road on the left of it WILL have a yield sign.

[@user-wv1zk9me7w]

On the right* my bad

[@LukeBland]

I have never noticed this yellow sign 🤔 I’ll be on the lookout for it now.

[@MMCXCon]

Liikemerkki B1, etuajo-oikeutettu tie ☝🏻

[@EasyFinnish]

Good your here with us :) and 10k🎉 🎉 onneksi olkoon!!

[@MikaelLevoniemi]

Big roads that don't have to yield to cars from the right have a special black and white square as a traffic sign on them already.

[@veripieru]

Nice. Been following your Chanel on and off for years. Your videos have been great (professionally made, nice to watch) and sometimes sad and even boring at times. Nonetheless you have been interesting and a lovely person to follow on KZbin. We are lucky to have such a great person with us. Kaikkea hyvää sinulle!

[@MrLinkola]

As a Finn who has lived some time in the US there are a few things I'd like to add: 1) You can expect professional behavior and help from the police. They are not going to shoot you if you are drunk/minority/disrespectful. They will not escalate anything and you will not escalate them into using violence without going out of your way to put their lives in danger. 2) You can call an ambulance or go to the hospital without taking a second mortgage or cooking meth. It's not free but you are taken care of. 3) Having kids is almost free. You spend very little on day care. Mandatory school costs nothing. Higher education does not have tuition fees. You still have to pay rent and living expenses but those are subsidized by the government (not fully though). 4) The people in Finland do not expect interaction. You do not say hello to strangers even on your own apartment building. You can get to know your coworkers for years without ever getting an invitation to spend time together. (this varies from big to small cities) 5) The cost of living is exceptionally small compared to US and the wages have much better buying power. You do not have to have three jobs and onlyfans to get by without starving to death.

[@MrLinkola]

Actually I have to come back to #1 because I felt the difference so sharply. Moving to the states and speaking to an officer - that was a real culture shock. Police in the USA are masters of escalating things. They will take you in to custody or cuff you for the slightest of mistakes regardless of the laws. They do not know the laws. Police in Finland is masters of de-escalating. They will talk you down when you have a shotgun pointed at them and are looking to be suicided by a cop and take you to get medical attention. They know the law thoroughly.

[@JoseyStranded]

I agree with you on the yield sign.

[@EiraAimo]

Such a heartwarming video ❤ Thank you for being active part of the happiest nation in the world! Sounds kinda cool when you think about it, there should be certificate of honor saying that and you could put it up to the wall. Nation is not something distant out there, its us. For me personally, not only i've been enjoying your videos and spirit, but also getting better with my english by dropping a comment here and there and listening your really clear, calm and understandable pronounciation. Lets keep rockin'!

[@274727]

2:00 I totally agree with the Yield sign! 🔻

[@user-sj4ll7dw8o]

Sama täällä. Liikenteen häirintään pahimmillaan ja vielä valtion toimesta.

[@Pappa_66]

❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉Just great❤. We need more people like you and not only in Finland but especially in the US. What a mess. Keep up with the good work and congrats🎉🎉❤. All the best in the future.

[@LukeBland]

Thank you 🙏🏼❤️

[@paivi8102]

Great video🎉 I totally agree with the yield thing. For example, in Lauttasaari it makes things confusing, because many don’t realize certain small roads have right of way and therefore even if you have it, it’s best to yield yourself as otherwise: boom🤷‍♀️

[@LukeBland]

Yes 🙌🏼

[@Yagathan]

I've lived here for 19 years now, you're just a little bit ahead of me! :)

[@LukeBland]

I’m not far ahead of you. Congrats on 19! 🙌🏼

[@Redfizh]

I've always thought that among the 333 million people in the USA, truly, there really wasn't anyone better than these blokes and surprisingly very wealthy ones, every time. They need more parties and participation from every direction. US politics are like agressive seesaw. One would say finnish politics is cruel at the moment but this is what we wanted and voted. Hard actions with the risk of stepping on someones's foot and when economics are fixed, tables turn again.

[@varsim5691]

Nice, that after 20 years in Finland, you still love living here😄🤩👍🤘

[@JideLambo]

Hey Luke, glad to have seen you over the weekend. Hope it didn't come as a shocker when I came over to introduce myself :D PS: I got inspired by your videos, then made the move to live in Finland.

[@LukeBland]

I’m really happy you came to say hi. It was great meeting you!

[@vasikanpoikanen]

In the Helsinki area there are intersections where there are no yield signs, but you still have to yield because of the elevated crosswalk. In the winter this crosswalk can get covered with snow, so those new intersections are a really stupid idea. The designers still vouch for them, but the police has said that they increase danger. There would be no problem if they just added the yield signs also. Don't know if this has been fixed already tough.

[@K1989L]

The yield sign thing.. If it is a "big" road then there will be yield signs or traffic lights. It is not hard. But in the city and in the living neighbourhood the intersections can be equal and so you always yield for anyone coming from the right.

[@tonylinnalaakso4711]

Onnea! Luke😀👍

[@anincandescentlightbulb]

I am happy to see an American being here happy, and giving such a compliments.😊

[@McEla82]

Holly molly, your pronounciation, spot on! Kippis

[@llssneN]

If we've made you enjoy avanto then there's no more additional integration required 😁

[@LukeBland]

Hah! It took some time but avanto is awesome! 😎

[@samulihirsi]

yield issue is not that hard, if local bus drives on that smaller road there usually are yield signs, otherwise it is no.

[@torspomedia5861]

That Yield-sign thing in Finland, you're spot on with that. I've never understood it either. On larger roads there is this black and yello tilted square, which means you don't have to "look out" for anyone. But in towns the Yield-sign can be often almost invisible. And that you wear your shoes inside, never made ANY sense to me, why would you want the dirt inside past your hallway.

[@LukeBland]

It makes no sense! 😐

[@ImForwardlook]

As a Finnish trucker I worked 100 hour weeks for over 10 years.

[@kv6uf]

I don't know if I should laugh or cry when a Finnish person comments in a way or another that "you should stop this happiness nonsense" - some Finns just don't know how well their society works. The happiest doesn't mean you have 100% happiness and everybody is happy all the time. To have 75% things going okay as a country is pretty freaking well on the global scale.

[@minikuiotoko]

Ok guys, who is going to break it to Luke that he really is at Idaho and that once he started learning the made up language, we no longer had the heart to tell him the truth 😁

[@n00blamer]

I'm not gonna tell him, the pay for acting to be a Finn is way too good.. and the benefits package..

[@oh2mp]

Cool. I didn't realize that you've lived here for 20 years. I knew you have been here for a long time but not that long. If you asked me to guess, I would have said something between 10 and 15 years.

[@LukeBland]

Yeah. Feels more like 5 years. The time really does fly by.

[@reinokarvinen8845]

that how are you was funny. when I arrived in australia years ago there was a how are you. I prepared my answer but by then he was gone he he

[@magicofshootingstar5825]

I can see most of these being a thing but who on earth sings in the elevator? 😂😂 Well anyway, happy Finland anniversary to you! 🙂

[@hertwend]

Happiness is a subjective topic it depends whom you're asking about that report if Finland is the happiest country. That report gives me mixed feelings. Anyways thanks for this video 🙂 happy for you that you have find your place to live. ❤

[@Chimyinfinland]

Hi! Did you live in Joensuu some time ago? Sorry if it’s wrong but you look like one of my classmates on Finnish language course 🫣

[@LukeBland]

I didn’t ever live there but I visited once in the summer of 2004.

[@Chimyinfinland]

@@LukeBland oh my bad, sorry. I just remember his first name and you both look alike 🫣

[@LukeBland]

@Chimyinfinland It’s cool. I have that familiar face I guess 😅

[@Chimyinfinland]

@@LukeBland 😁

[@Yaas_ok123]

I am also checking US politics...it is crazy ! Just waiting Trump trial finale. USA can go pieces if it get out of hand. Hi from Auranmaa Pöytyä 😁

[@somethingfromk6816]

I hate the giveway to the right rule. I cant always clearly see if they have a giveway sign or not.

[@d31kkx]

upea 😊

[@DNA350ppm]

Niin upea että päätin seurata jatkossa! 🙂

[@finnishculturalchannel]

In what possible circumstances would you need to ask/talk about the weather in an elevator? You are indoors, usually in a windowless space and possibly either coming from outdoors or going there in a few seconds, and then you'll find out yourself. On top, the other person has most likely been indoors too, and knows about the weather just as much as you do. So don't ask/talk about the weather. Better still, just be quiet. It's not like you have a long time to talk about something anyway-you're in an elevator.

[@finnishculturalchannel]

@@extremeprejudice0 They might, but it would be just pointing out the obvious and pointless chit-chat without any information value whatsoever to anyone present. Further more, when I'm soaking wet from the rain, it's not something I what to pay extra attention to or have it function as some spectacle for an audience or a topic for some idle chit-chat. You might as well start a conversation in an elevator about a huge mole on someone's face. Point that mole with your finger and go: "Wow, that's one humongous mole you got there, isn't it?"

Are you the one who was in Jordan commercial? =) Looks like you. :)

[@LukeBland]

Sadly no 😅

[@pauljmorton]

I think I'm hearing a slight Finnish accent in your English.

[@Tyrisalthan]

I don't agree on some things here. Well, these have some truth to them, but there is caveats attached to them. People here do use 12 hour time in everyday speech, there is no equivalent to english PM, but you can deduct from the context whether you mean 4 AM or 4PM. In written form it is usually 24 hour clock so you have a meeting at 16.00. It is true that you must yield everyone coming from right, unless sign says otherwise. But most of the time road design is so that there is no ambiguity if you should yield or not. We have no stroads here, so if you are in the highway there is never any crossings, all access is via ramps so there is no need to yield. Artery roads where there actually is side streets have yield-signs on them so no need to slow down on the artery road. Most of the time if you actually have to yield there is an intersection where both streets are about equal size, and are usually low speeds anyway where you have plenty of time to look if there is someone coming from right or not. And everyone learns pretty quickly their own home town where you have to yield, the problems might arise if you drive in somewhere where you haven't familiarized. Both candidates weren't that good in my mind. My favorite candidate didn't get trough to the second round. Politics in Finland has also been polarized in last 10+ years, which is a real shame since different parties used to be able to work together. But I agree that the system in Finland is still a lot better than what U.S. use. For example we have parties (plural) instead of just two. It is actually possible for new parties to rise to the parliament, and it has relatively recently, one of the largest parties now didn't even exist in the 90's. You can talk in elevators if you actually have something worth saying, it's the idle chit chat that is frown upon. And it's not just elevators, it's pretty much universal rule in Finland.

[@kayblue8975]

Thank you for this great info! But I wonder... how could you live and work there without speaking the language for 6 years??? Do they all speak English? Can you find friends if you don't speak their language?

[@LukeBland]

Almost everyone can speak English 👍🏼

[@marittamustonen-smith7333]

Heippa. Really loved your video ❤️. Pikkujoulu😔 ice hockey this year soooo sad☹️ next year🤞 don’t speak in a lift😂😂 trust amazing👍😊 mämmi delicious👍 so proud to be a Finn and so happy you have a happy life in Finland. And sauna of course😘

[@ssattanen]

Kuivauskaappi?

[@Sceme1991]

Yeah the yield sign thing sucks. Traffic is supposed to be predictable so why on earth would you randomly drop intersections around cities with entirely nonsensical right-of-way rules.

[@LukeBland]

I know! Right?

[@Itapirkanmaa2]

The new rules will I think be that such crossings need to be preceded by the X warning sign. I don't think it applies to the old neighbourhoods that have bushes and hedges though. You need to be careful there in any case.

[@perjus]

The proper way to answer "how are you" is "paskaaks tässä".

[@LukeBland]

😆👌🏼

[@peketee2278]

Tai, niinkuin jäitä polttelis...

[@visasap]

Ei kurjuutta kummempaa

[@butterflies655]

​Olis oikein hyvä vierailla muissakin maissa. Sen jälkeen Suomi tuntuu hyvältä. ​@@visasap

[@annibarry1338]

You’ve picked up an accent! At least on some of your words 🙂

[@thrillyria]

I always tell foreigners that we Finns say what we mean and mean what we say. There's no shallow statements. It usually becomes apparent already when meeting Finns. If I ask a friend from abroad how they are or how they've been, it is normal to receive just "fine" and then have the question thrown back at me. But if you ask a Finn how they have been doing, they might tell you what they ate for breakfast, what's on their itinerary today, about their and their family's ailments and how they feel about the recent political environment. So if you ask a question, be prepared to get what you asked for. You're definitely correct there, Luke. 😂 But be assured, this means that if a Finn asks you how you are, it means they actually want to know and care.

[@LukeBland]

I’ve come to love this about fins 🙌🏼

[@thrillyria]

@@LukeBland applies with the promises mentioned in the video as well. 😂 No shallow statements.

[@sket179]

Sponsored by Visit Finland? 😅

[@LukeBland]

I wish 😅

[@KaptSuolisolmu]

Yeah. If you say something to other Finn. It’s a promise

[@Variousmotivation]

Made history, you saw destruction of good Finland

[@marja-leenapretzer2495]

Sorry, since you have lived in Finland for so long, I was born and raised in Finland and have lived in the U.S. since 1975, I would be careful making political remarks, Finland has turned totally woke/blue, I used to visit every summer and noticed the difference , you DO NOT go naked in sauna🇫🇮🇺🇲🇫🇮🇺🇲🇫🇮🇺🇲

[@stasacab]

Woops, now you made a promise. If you think Finland is so wonderful, you are personally obliged to make it wonderful for everyone that strays into this silly country. True Finns do not promise s*it. It is going to be mosquitoes and rain and cold, all in all miserable.

[@tomhill6559]

Torille

[@crazyjoedavola7493]

Finland fckin rules!

[@LukeBland]

It so does!

[@sundflux]

"If you promise to call next week..." Of course you call then? WHY DO YOU SAY IT IF YOU DON'T? Is it common to lie just for fun in America or what? :D How can it be normal?! explain! What's the point of saying something you won't do anyway?

[@sundflux]

@@extremeprejudice0 that sounds pretty hostile to me, not friendly lol

[@sundflux]

@@extremeprejudice0 well I don't follow yours. Is that it also ok, for example, say to your girlfriend that let's get married next week but then say it was just small talk?

[@werre2]

And we don't have 2nd Amendment so human life has no value here.

[@n00blamer]

keksitään jotain positiivista välillä.. hmmm.. ööö... nevö mind..

[@butterflies655]

Go to our eastern neighbour country. Life has no value there.

[@werre2]

Not the happiest. Everything is taxed to death.

[@butterflies655]

Finland's salaries are high too.

[@resonance314]

Imma gonna have to set the record straight, Finland is only happiest country in the world by statistics witchcraft, all the sad people simply k1ll themselves, I guess you must be doing something special for work to live in other circumstances than destiture poverty. But only few and select blue collars and office workers get more than a wooden nickel for their time, and the reason people work 37.5 hours is not worth ethics, but because the employers are too poor to pay for over time.

[@joojoojeejee6058]

And speaking of driving in Helsinki.. The city of Helsinki is ruled by the far-left, and they are intentionally making life as difficult as possible for private motorists. Elsewhere in Finland driving is much less of a hassle...

[@LukeBland]

I believe that 😐

[@FINNSTIGAT0R]

Helsinki is not ruled by the far left, just look at who's at the helm. The thing is that regardless of who's the biggest party, the city planning department seems to be in the grips of those who want to make the city a some kind of new Amsterdam or Copenhagen, and they try to always be in the forefront of all things progressive. This often overrides practicality, when they try to score international points in all kinds of sustainibility and green projects. I personally think the main motivation for them to go head first in all these new progressive things is the same as it's always has been - to show that we Finns are not backwards, and that we are as good as our neighbors. But it's just that we almost never do anything original, others always set the agenda, meaning other neighboring and nearby countries, and then we think we must do the same. It's one of my least favorite Finnish traits - we're always copying, never doing our own stuff. Most of all we always mimic Sweden in everything - and we've been doing that since forever.

[@herrakaarme]

@@FINNSTIGAT0R I'm quite sure I don't even want to know what doing your own thing in traffic design is. Finland is one of the most obese countries in Europe, so encouraging people to switch from their private cars to muscle-based movement would be the best idea ever. E-bikes (sometimes sponsored by employers) at least do a little bit since they can still involve leg work, even if not in full capacity. The broken-bones-trap electric scooters are truly an unfortunate invention in this sense. Kids and youth who should only be biking, like their predecessors gladly did in the past, are now wasting money and neglecting cardio training by riding those. If Helsinki is making it harder for private car owners, that's just jolly good. It has happened in other Finnish cities as well, whereas biking has been made a lot easier over the years. I don't actually have anything against cars, though. I think sports and muscle cars, new and old, both European or American, with fabulous V8 engines are beautiful and cool. It's just a pity Finland doesn't produce oil, aside from a drop of biodiesel for truck use, so buying a lot of oil from abroad isn't doing wonders to the trade deficit. People just should walk and bicycle more whenever they can, instead of driving a car. Luke himself is a perfect example of how to do it right! His videos are inspiring also in that sense.

[@FINNSTIGAT0R]

@@herrakaarme I'm not talking about traffic fesign alone, I'm talking about absolutely everything. We have no originality, and therefore we always come second in results as well. Do you think that, for example, Swedes always check what's happening in neighboring countries when they start a new project or plan new major policies? In Finland, this is always the case; we primarily look to Sweden for examples and moral support before we dare to do something new or different. Our whole society is essentially a copy, primarily of Sweden and secondarily of other Nordic countries. Do you think any of those countries ever similarly look to Finland? They do not, because Finland never leads in anything, since we have taken on the role of being the ones who conscientiously follow their example, without making our own bold moves. This obsessive search for international role models is part of the Finnish tendency towards safety-seeking, which can indeed lead to comfortable conditions, but never to the excellence that we have been lacking for a while now, especially in the economy.

[@herrakaarme]

@@FINNSTIGAT0R At least Sweden was caught pants down when Finland decided to apply for NATO membership and notified Sweden of it. Sweden had no choice but to follow the Finnish leadership in that issue. But yes, I can largely agree with your analysis generally speaking.