TOP 20 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT FINLAND

[@carrington2158]

I am from the UK and lived and worked in a hospital in Helsinki for five years during the 1960's, I went to Helsinki University in the evenings to learn the finnish language, Finland was a very different place then but I have returned to Finland many times as I regard the coiuntry as my second home there is no country better, I wish you well you have chosen well.

[@nigelwatson2750]

Finns are also cool, too

[@dklang]

Seems like a beautiful place, all the pines forests, lakes, and nature

[@nigelwatson2750]

It is

[@AlmightyNorppa]

Always nice to see some footage of the hometown and hear people from different countries give a bit of a rundown. Appreciated Nigel :)

[@nigelwatson2750]

Best place I've ever lived - and by miles!

[@AlmightyNorppa]

@@nigelwatson2750 I have been tempted to move out at times. Case of temporary insanity I'd say.

[@harrikuusjarvi3795]

@@nigelwatson2750 I have been Pori like 150 times over the years. First because of sport ans after that because of my own business. I make sauna heaters. Pori is good place. Not big and not small. But east side of Finland is more beautiful by nature. Lapland might still take a win for my opinion.

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@harrikuusjarvi3795 All about opinions, Harri

[@markkujantunen8298]

I loved it how your really got down to exploring the beer selection. The selection has indeed exploded in the last 5-10 years. What I appreciate is that you have a decent choice between different types of non-alcoholic beers as well these days. When I took a sauna today I had an IPA and a lager that were non-alcoholic and they were amazing. We've come a long way from low-alcoholic content beers tasting watered down versions of the regular stuff.

[@SuomiGameHUB]

Yep, non-alcoholic, gluten free, vegan... although I'm not sure if there's any that does all three. 😄

[@blazarian]

What a lovely video about Finland

[@mariamm9460]

Good morning Nigel, watching this video now July 26th, very lovely video, haven't been in Pori , just ones long time long ago, looks amazing 🌊🌊...Yes Helsinki these days is so different than decades before,,now here in Helsinki can't trust personal things one second in the public places..but we have secuarety cameras everywhere almost, if someone steel bike or some other things where the cameras are then might get back by police ..Very interesting and well done video , thank you and have a good day and summer 😊🇬🇧❤🇫🇮

[@nigelwatson2750]

Kiitos

[@mariamm9460]

@@nigelwatson2750 ole hyvä ja mukavaa päivän jatkoa😊,you Welcome and wish you and yours a happy Friday ❤🇫🇮

[@harrikuusjarvi3795]

I had to take a brake when video was 32:33 and had to go buy some beer. Now i continue watching. I have 5 week summer holiday and just started last week and of course my summerhouse. So typical. i also have 4 week Christmas holiday. I dont do any autumn or spring holidays. I just pack my days 2 longer holidays.

[@nigelwatson2750]

Sounds good, Harri. Finns have a FANTASTIC quality of life; far higher than what 99% of Brits have.

[@j-p.alanen]

Thanks, great video of the town of my childhood. I was 20 yrs away, but returned few years ago to raise my children here. Cost of living being one of the main reasons to come back. And the blue sky. Some Finns could argue against that Finland have that much blue sky, for instance those living in Uusimaa or Pirkanmaa / Tampere area, where the sky is much greyer. Pori area is one of the sunniest in Finland.

[@1watsonwatson]

Even in the winter, the sun still shines (whenever it rises above the horizon )

[@nigelwatson2750]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@davieslm]

Totally agree on the space. If I went to a retail park in the UK on the weekend, then I could be gridlocked and waiting for 45 minutes just to get out of the place. Roads were heavily congested there. Its a real pleasure to drive in Finland and sometimes I think I am in some scene from the "Walking Dead" as the main roads /highways are deserted.

[@nigelwatson2750]

Zero stress - I love it. There's time to think here. In Britain, people are stressed out, fighting like rats in a sack for every scrap of food and stuff like 'good' schools, space in the swimming pool, etc

[@tonikaihola5408]

“In Finland psychopaths are everywhere”, brilliant 😭😂👍 15:47 I’m rolling 🤣🤣🤣

[@autumnfall1912]

Cycle paths

[@fortuna7469]

Interesting video, thanks Nigel! I have lived twenty years in the capitol region and nobody has ever stolen anything from me - yet. Luomu Keisari (the organic one) is my favorite beer!

[@nigelwatson2750]

Yes, I've tried it, it's a great beer.

[@mikesmith9501]

Such a wonderful place to live. I'm very happy for you & your family.

[@nigelwatson2750]

It is, I love Finland.

[@llssneN]

Great video! I need to visit over there :)

[@nigelwatson2750]

You should!

[@sundflux]

I only just now realized that market in the first chapter is also my closest market ;D In case you didn't know, our area is considered to be one of the most dangerous one in Pori! So don't forget to wear bullet proof vest when shopping!

[@nigelwatson2750]

I'll see you in K-Market

[@JussiTre71]

Thanks. I enjoyed your accurate observations and it's always nice to see Pori where I used to study back in the day. I also studied in the UK for a short stint and from my own experince I can say that things are well here from the standard of life point of view. Of course things could be even better and taxes could be smaller but life is good here in general.

[@nigelwatson2750]

Certainly is, pal. Most Brits don't realise that they have a shit standard of living - in both material and non-material terms.

[@JussiTre71]

@@nigelwatson2750 I guess so and Brexit is not going to help. Greetings from Tampere, next time try some Pyynikin Brewing beer unless you have already tasted. Have a nice evening.

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@JussiTre71 Good beer, although thanks to the SDP's stupidity in Tampere, Pyyniki is now brewed in Estonia where taxes and regulations are less onerous than in the Socialist People's Republic of Tampere

[@jaska145]

You picked a good place to live. Pori is a great place. Hugely underrated among Finns. As you mentioned, many of these good points do not exist in Helsinki area. There you unlocked bicycle will be stolen.

[@markkujantunen8298]

I live in Lahti, which is similar in to Pori in many ways. It's in the same size category and also an industrial city with no university of its own having a smallish shared university campus where universities based in other cities have branches. Both Pori and Lahti are thought of as being part of a Southern Finnish rust belt. But I find that image misleading. The cost of living in both cities is quite low in comparison to the more crowded urban areas of Greater Helsinki, and Tampere, Turku and Oulu Urban Areas. As a result, it seems to me that the standard of living is noticeably higher here. This is a kind of mini-America. People live in relatively large houses and the property lots tend to be large - even the new ones - and if they are leaseholds, the ground rents tend to be significantly lower per square meter than in, say, Tampere. The nearest Prisma from my house has a massive two-storey parking garage with a roof adjacent to it. There is *always* plenty of space and even if it's snowing heavily, there is no need to spend a quarter of an hour clearing snow and ice off the windscreen after shopping. The most distant suburbs are a 15-minute drive from the city center. While the city center is not particularly pretty, it's compact and quite walkable for a center of a city this size. Despite all the talk about Lahti having a drug problem, I haven't seen drug addicts congregating even in the city center. The city is clean, well-maintained, efficiently run and the suburbs mostly look like well-to-do middle class with many properties being at a lakefront and affordable to ordinary people who could never afford them in the larger cities. Even the poorest residential areas have well-maintained lawns, parking lots full of cars that may be used and 10-15 years old but rarely complete beaters between condos that may look gray and drab but which are in good condition. Third-tier cities like Pori and Lahti simply offer much better value for money than most people in Finland give them credit for. One more thing, Lahti has a fantastic network of bike and foot paths, often running on both sides of a major street or road connecting suburbs or within suburbs. It's got great coverage and there are underpasses everywhere. In Ahtiala, for example, I counted about a dozen on a two-kilometer stretch along which there were two schools and a third one about half a kilometer off the street.

[@Garbox80]

Oh, a local KZbinr, nice 👍. The algorithm works sometimes 😂 Always good to see some resons for appreciation by an "outsider's" eyes. I've lived here my whole life, so it can be easy to forget sometimes.

[@nigelwatson2750]

That's what I've observed; Finns do take what they have for granted.

[@arska77]

Interesting and good video. Thank you.

[@nigelwatson2750]

You're welcome - as a Brit who has had his country wrecked by pink-haired, social-justice morons, I really appreciate being able to move to Finland - BTW I used to be a teacher, so I live off my UK teacher's pension; I would never have moved to Finland to live off the backs of hard working Finns. This should be the case for all migrants, moving to all countries.

[@ValtteL]

I think this beer phenomena is quite young and i absolutely love it. Usually when buying a beer i have many different kinds of (4-6) and then those traditional Karhus. In the early evening it's like a tasting session if you discovered a great new beer.

[@nigelwatson2750]

Every time I visit the supermarket, there's always something new to try, and like you, I really like that. I think that the micro-brewery explosion has been around for about 5 to 10 years, so yes, it's quite a new thing. Back in the early 90s when I first visited Finland there was also Czech and English beers available in addition to Koff, Lapin Kulta and the other big brands.

[@marttivuorinen8475]

That reminds me of a little shop here. IT was in skii'ing center Himos Doors were open, no personel around,items were prize tagged and if you wanted something you took it and put money in a piggy bank. They had way lower (almost zero) shoplifting rate comparing to common grocerystores. 👍🥰

[@k.l.7788]

We have nature and Nightwish. Nothing more needed. 🤘🏻🇫🇮

[@pekkakarppinen1608]

🤘🤘🤘

[@kaivaja]

Absolutely loved the ending! 😂 Nowadays the beer selection, especially in K-markets, have really taken off compared to what it was 10 years ago. Now it's more about having a few good ones rather than buying in bulk and getting wasted on cheep lager.

[@nigelwatson2750]

Yes, it's amazing, isn't it. The competition is so fierce here that you have to be excellent to survive

[@kaivaja]

@@nigelwatson2750 Truly is! And we as the customers get to enjoy all the benefits!

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@kaivaja Finns also get the free market a little more than the typical Brit.

[@Anttik_]

I was first thinking, that you have a bit too romantic understanding of some things in Finland. But then I realised, that oh yes, he is comparing it to England. I guess in that comparison we truely have locally produced high quality food in Finland. 😅

[@nigelwatson2750]

Yes, Antii, you're right. All judgements have to be made relative to something else. The other thing to consider is that England is declining rapidly. Ignore what this guy says, and just watch what he's able to capture on his screen. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmmUmIBshqaHqNk

[@Jokker88]

Great video

[@1watsonwatson]

Feel free to share it around, so others see it - glad you liked it

[@nigelwatson2750]

You're welcome!

[@MsElias64]

Kiitos.👍

[@jannekallio5047]

Thanks for the video! I now have a thing to show in Germany when I complain about the beer selection in local super market! 🍺

[@nigelwatson2750]

Interesting!

[@juholaitakari1305]

Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas is the most successful micro brewer in Finland, although they started with limonade. I believe their success encouraged others to the business.

[@1watsonwatson]

I love their stuff! Have you tried their Bavarian style 'Helles', which weighs in at 5% ABV?

[@Kuutti_original]

Well there has been many micro brewers here trough the history. Laitilas success could have some impact but the most likely reason is lower taxation etc from the goverment to support this kind of brewers. Which made the scene explode. There was bit less than 100 micro brewers in 1900, but it dipped to under 40 before the 2010s and was 100+ in 2018. Between these last two time tables those laws were changed.

[@mikkovirtanen2806]

I almost spit out my coffee at 17 minutes in the video, turn on subtitles and watch. It's hilarious 😂

[@nigelwatson2750]

Did Gulag tu bes Al Gore rhythm struggle to translate my Lancashire English?

[@katjavirtanen2875]

😂😂😂

[@mantelikukkapenkki2368]

Thanks for the great video 👍 For foreigners, the bluntness of Finns often comes as a surprise, we can't and don't want to talk smalltalk. If you have something to say, say it and don't go around and around about it. I love that we have these small breweries basically every town has at least 1 which is great.I ditched all of those large, international companies couple of years ago and only buy locally produced beer these days. P.S. I have travelled all around the world and to my opinion we have most beautiful women of the world and i can say by experience that because of the sauna, they are also the softest ones 🤗

[@nigelwatson2750]

Thanks for your comments - enough to say I agree with all of what you've written. In the North of Britain, people used to be straight talking. It's important to tell it how it is because it's the honest way of living your life. I'm really glad to be living in Finland, because I feel more at home here than I did living in England as it has become. Finnish women ARE amazing - with their telescopic legs and beautiful, perfectly symmetrical, faces.

[@mantelikukkapenkki2368]

@@nigelwatson2750 My pleasure. It's great that you have found a place in this twisted world where you can be truly happy. A warm welcome to our little country and I hope with all my heart that you enjoy your time here even though we are not perfect either, we have our own problems too

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@mantelikukkapenkki2368 The fact that Finns admit they're imperfect makes them highly unusual; back in England the default setting from individuals and organisations is to exaggerate & big themselves up

[@mantelikukkapenkki2368]

@@nigelwatson2750 I have met dozens of individuals like you mentioned on my travels,especially young Brits and Americans and it makes me smile inside to think how quickly the feathers would be plucked from these "young eagles" in here. It would be a short glide and a rude awakening 😂

[@mcirelandosharma7411]

@@nigelwatson2750 making fun of yourself is a British staple, so I don't know where you're getting that from. There's plenty of stuck up people but Brits probably have the most developed, complex sense of humour of any country. This just seems like a video slagging off everything about the UK. Is there nothing positive you have to say about it?

[@ImForwardlook]

Marimekko rent-a-tent should be a countrywide expression lol!

[@tonikaihola5408]

The young ones in this video are probably working a “summer job”, usually during school summer vacation. Very common and a good thing, worked several myself.

[@seppomaki2496]

I had no idea we have so many different beers 😄

[@nigelwatson2750]

Most people have no idea about what Finland's like. So I thought that I'd do a video giving showing street scenes and concrete examples, rather than just a simple face to camera description, precisely because I didn't expect Brits to believe me. However, they still dispute what it's like here, even with the video evidence

[@seppomaki2496]

@@nigelwatson2750 dispute it? You should make a video about it

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@seppomaki2496 There's somebody else commenting on here trying to tell me that Pori is a village, and that crime in Britain is no higher than in Finland - 100% denial of reality. But then again, that's what I saw in the UK in Spring/Summer 2020 during the Spoof 19 nonsense

[@seppomaki2496]

@@nigelwatson2750 oh lol 🤣 But yeah, crime rate in finland is extremely low compared to most countries

[@auvomesilampi6325]

Hundreds, but they’re expensive.

[@Zardagbum]

You know the microbrewery and overall beer culture has sprung up over the last 20 years. Sure there've been smaller breweries and special beers in Finland before that, but when I was young that was the stuff of a few restaurants and beers, basically everyone drank a few different lagers depending on their local shop/bars contracts.

[@nigelwatson2750]

That's my recollection too. I also think that the mass produced beers have got better, probably due to the growth in competition from the independent breweries.

[@hurri7720]

Younger people tend to forget that it wasn't possible to sell beer in shops but only in ALKO. Not so today and that is the real reason things changed, also Nigel forgot to mention than stronger beer are still only available in ALKO. And yes ALKO is the state owned alcohol monopoly we still have in Finland (and Sweden and Norway), and I would probably keep it for several reasons, one being that they are so big they can actually get favourable prices.

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@hurri7720 Yes, before the alcohol reforms, in Finland the strongest beers you could buy from a Finnish supermarket was 4.7%. This was why there used to be so many English ales sold in Finnish supermarkets back in the day, because most were naturally brewed to less than 4.7%. Today, you don't need to visit ALKO to buy a German 5.2% lager, because the supermarkets are now allowed to sell it.

[@diegokorhonen]

I think a lot of Finns think Finland is really expensive since they only notice alcohol prices when going abroad as a tourist.

[@nigelwatson2750]

Most Finns wrongly assume that pubs sell beer abroad as cheaply as the supermarkets. In Finland, the price difference between the supermarkets and the pubs is much closer than it is in places like England.

[@auvomesilampi6325]

I also notice the restaurant food and hotel room prices. Also gasoline prices, taxi prices, clothing shopping prices, airplane prices etc. I also do notice, for example. Of course the car prices are cheaper elsewhere as well. What prices are cheaper in Finland?

[@diegokorhonen]

@@auvomesilampi6325 In spain they pay almost 3x for electricity even with these current prices in finland

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@auvomesilampi6325 Council tax: UK €2500 PER MONTH. Finland €250 PER YEAR. Car parking is free in Pori. In Guildford it cost €25 per day, and that was to park at the station!

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@diegokorhonen And plenty of stuff in Finland is free, e.g. berries, fish from the sea and lake, elk meat, deer meat, rabbit meat, etc, etc. In England, NOTHING is free

[@Aquelll]

Hard seltzer is an alcoholic flavored mineral water. Not the favourite of younger people but I can easily down one between the beers. And I was a bit disappointed you didn't mention the long drink even if it might not be your favourite. 😅

[@nigelwatson2750]

We just had a party, so we taste-tested all the long drinks before hand. We thought the Le Coq was the best.

[@markpayne2217]

Thanks for this video, Nigel. How do you get on with communication and language barriers? I’m guessing English is widely and generally well spoken.

[@nigelwatson2750]

You're assuming that I don't speak Finnish? Cheeky!

[@markpayne2217]

@@nigelwatson2750 do you speak Finnish? Fluently and without the need to use English?

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@markpayne2217 What's it to you? 😂

[@markpayne2217]

@@nigelwatson2750 no need to be rude. I was just curious, that’s all. If I’d known you were going to be such a dickhead about it, I wouldn’t have bothered asking. Unsubscribing ( and I only newly subscribed yesterday, so well done *thumbs up* )

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@markpayne2217 Just read what you just wrote. And you accuse me of being rude?

[@tonikaihola5408]

As far as the K-stores go, Citymarket is the biggest and have the widest selection.

[@nigelwatson2750]

Prisma and Pay and Save are also good.

[@Aquelll]

It is not only culture that things don't get stolen. Well it is partly and it has become a cultural thing. But the real reason is that the very high level of social security does eradicate petty and street crime when the worst off people do not have to turn to them to get by. And that seeps into the culture. Even Helsinki is not as bad as you make it out to be. Yes there are more big city problems but still compared to some other places still quite safe place, even for your bike. Finland does not have considerably less serious crime than other European countries but those serious criminals have better things to do than hassle random people. It is the petty and street crime that is very rare and makes people safe.

[@nigelwatson2750]

I've heard some bad things happening to women in the Espoo region and around the main station in Helsinki - not safe any more, especially at night!

[@simmysims9209]

I was earlier an export mechanic and did travel abroad to build machines. My taxation was high because of pay and overtime but I didn't ever whine about it. I did travel on places with low taxation and always outside of the city area nothing did work. You did see when you arrive lower income area because trash everywhere, citylights out of order, missing manhole covers replaces by trees. Cities were out of money so only city center and areas where those important people live were in good order. Better to pay some more taxes instead everything is shit.

[@nigelwatson2750]

In the UK people pay high taxes but they still have missing manhole covers & a no health service (nhs), because politicians spend taxes on Libyan les-bionic & b-ifocal social workers instead of public services

[@terhitormanen]

Well, living in Oulu, I wouldn't dare leaving any bike unlocked or leave anything on the bike that you can take. People have stolen stuff (an extra locking chain, plastic bags etc.) from my bike that was locked next to the university building in Linnanmaa university campus in Oulu. So this varies a lot within Finland.

[@nigelwatson2750]

I lived in Oulu back in 2004. It wasn't so diverse back then. I used to cycle to work every day (Oulu Lyseo Lukio) and I never used to remove my bike lights. Same when I visited Leskinen for a few beers - no body knicked anything, and I was there for two years. Times change though!

[@jannekallio5047]

@@nigelwatson2750 maybe bike light is ok, but in the night lot of bicycles are stolen and not only in Oulu.. drunks going home steal them and nowadays some even steal them in sort of professional way driving around with a van... but yeah during the day you might forget your bag on your bike and there is a good chance it is still there when you return.

[@kimerswell7643]

Lived in Oulu in '75, I can't believe what diversity has done for you and I'm black. Mind you it's like that throughout Europe since cultural enrichment.

[@Patialaboy3]

Nice video , Which city you live in Finland? I am from Coventry 😂

[@vanessahenderson1850]

It looks a fantastic place to live. Things in the UK are far from being good in every aspect and it's got so expensive to just even try and keep a roof over your head.

[@nigelwatson2750]

Yes, all true. In Guildford I was paying over £2K a year in council tax. The equivalent property tax in Pori is €250 per year. No parking charges when you visit the town centre either - but, hey, most Brits think that the cost of living in Finland is much higher than in Britain!

[@hurri7720]

@@nigelwatson2750 , and still GDP per capita is higher in all Nordic countries than in Britain.

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@hurri7720 Correct, and that is with a weak euro. If Finland still had it's own currency it would be a lot stronger than the euro. And, this would further increase its GDP per capita when measured in a 3rd currency, such as the US dollar.

[@hurri7720]

@@nigelwatson2750 , that "if" is worth nothing at all, it's a "if cows had wings" type of claim. Finland joined the Eurozone in 1999 and it's quite obvious we have gained from that. One of the reasons people voted for the euro was that people got fed up with how often the mark was devalued to help the export industry. Also guys like Soros made people think. A small currency like the mark might have been played with, something that happened with the yen and the sterling. I might also add that the industry in both Sweden and Denmark had preferred the euro but people still voted against it, out of nostalgia for the krowns perhaps. To claim the mark was today, this or that, is just stupid, there is absolutely no way to know. You will, in a town like Pori, also meet the "Brexit type of Finns", exactly as in similar towns in northern Britain. Don't let them fool you.

[@braikka]

Bikes still get stolen here. I used to deliver newspapers(Satakunnan kansa) in the middle of the night. I went into one block of flats & when I came out, someone had taken the bike & papers! It was a Saturday night & I'm guessing they had come from the pub/nightclub & couldn't get a taxi..... By the way, it seems we live in the same town. The British invasion🤣

[@nigelwatson2750]

Are you a Brit?

[@jasonclar2763]

😅 My best friend in the world is a retired colonel from the United States army. He fought in 5 wars to have what you have in your country. I'm happy for you but it deeply saddened me. That people like my friend fought so hard to get what we have right now. It is a shame.

[@Aquelll]

Sorry I have to mention that Nokia was established in 1865. 😅

[@nigelwatson2750]

Was that Nokian Brewery, or the place that manufactures the rubber-boots? 😄

[@tonikaihola5408]

Impressed that you connected “stadi” with Helsinki, although you’ve been here a while so it might be more of an insult. Sorry anyway 😅

[@davieslm]

I live in Helsinki and bicycles and scooters do get stolen and it is very common practice for storage cages getting broken into for winter/summer tyres and power tools. Actually my storage cage was broken into recently and they just stole an empty large sports bag so they could use it to carry the tools that were stolen from a neighbours cage. However I do not hear about cars getting stolen /vandalised plus I have never heard about anyones apartment getting broken into either. Its also fairly safe for the children to walk the streets although I have heard about ethnic gangs causing issues in East of Helsinki. My both kids participate in fighting sports as a precaution against this. Helsinki is nowhere as crime-free as "real" Finland though but its much better than places in South Wales, UK where I am from.

[@nigelwatson2750]

Interesting. I think that the same things we saw in Britain will happen in Finland, e.g. people leaving the more diverse parts of Uusimaa to get away from a disintegrating society where people with different cultures have been thrown together - the bottom line is that a lack of a common culture causes crime and other anti-social issues.

[@HenritheHorse]

Sadly our bigger cities have seen the rise of "international" criminals like it has happened all over Europe. I've been to England and Wales as a kid in the early 2000s and loved the countryside! I hope it stays like it was.

[@Norpal]

To be fair, I've lived in Pori all my life, and I've had enough bikes nicked that I'll never again leave one somewhere without securing it onto something else. Just nipping off to the store for five minutes, maybe I'll just lock the tyre. Longer than that, it gets tied to the bike rack or something. Anyways, I was not expecting to see the very bike path I used to take to school as a teenager in a random youtube video today.

[@nigelwatson2750]

Did you cycle to the Lukio in Pori

[@Norpal]

@@nigelwatson2750 Yeah the one in Pihlava, near where you are around the 17 minute mark in the video. EDIT: I just remembered, it's not there anymore, it was closed down a few years ago. I went there at around the turn of the millennium.

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@Norpal The one near the swimming pool in Pihlava that's now a vocational school?

[@Norpal]

@@nigelwatson2750 That's the one.

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@Norpal It looks well-equipped.

[@tosspot1305]

Are you fluent in Finnish or Swedish?

[@nigelwatson2750]

I speak Finnish. You?

[@tosspot1305]

@@nigelwatson2750 Just English. Did you learn before you emigrated or did you learnt it once you'd arrived?

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@tosspot1305 I knew some before, because my wife has always spoken to my son in English - from the moment he was born.

[@tosspot1305]

@@nigelwatson2750 ahh i see, you have a Finnish wife? Congrats on the move! I'm looking to get away from UK myself. Trying to decide where to go

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@tosspot1305 Keep on doing your research

[@ChristianJull]

Thanks for sharing your experiences.👍 As an escaped Brit living in Finland for 13 years, I agree with quite a lot your said. Some of my observations: You have a bit of a problem with Helsinki, don't you...? 😂 Having been a small business owner in both the UK and now in Finland, it was definitely cheaper running the business in the UK compared to here when I moved 13 years ago. To be fair, the pay for those types of jobs in the UK is so low that only foreign workers will do it (much like fruit picking and social care workers in Finland). There is a definite problem with Brits that age being interested in doing the hard work required (particularly as summer jobs like the examples you showed). Finns brew some awesome beers (though I wish there was a little more variety than damn IPAs). However, they also produce some absolute piss. Malmgård is a Finnish brewery near Lovisa. Yes, your Finnish pronunciation needs a little work...😄

[@nigelwatson2750]

Did you know that Bob Marley was inspired to write 'Concrete Jungle' after a visit to Espoo? BTW, you wouldn't recognise Britain today - totally unrecognisable from 13 years ago. In addition, the Brits themselves are very different - scared & inclined towards self-censorship due to cancel culture

[@sundflux]

I lived 8 years in Helsinki, before moving back to Pori due corona / bad living quality in Helsinki, while the city has it's upsides, life in smaller cities is way better. Can't even compare.

[@Keinapappa]

Monty Python mishearing moment: "There is provided this really nice psychopath..."

[@juhakipina]

I moved with my family to UK in 2008. Fleet, Hants. Brought bikes with us, but never used them. Just too dangerous. Car culture was much better in UK, though. Lots of traffic so people were friendlier and gave room. Finns rarely do that in traffic. Everyone thinks they're an f1 or a wrc driver :)

[@nigelwatson2750]

Yes, but everybody in Finland is an F1 or a rally driver! Watching Brits trying to drive in the snow must have given you a laugh, though?

[@juhakipina]

@@nigelwatson2750 Yep, it was fun and sad at the same time!

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@juhakipina It's like they enjoy reviving up their engines, getting the wheels to spin, and converting the road under their wheels into an ice hockey pad

[@sundflux]

My front wheel got stolen in Yyteri (!) this spring, at monday evening! That was something I didn't expect... Yes, in general people are honest and it's very safe here, but there's human waste everywhere, and bikes are the ones that likely get stolen first. Probably not from Puuvilla yard with lots of security cameras.

[@nigelwatson2750]

The human waste comes from the new comers - you know, the ones you pay for with your taxes. They also have an unfortunate tendency to stand on toilets and end up crapping up the back of the upturned seat - nothing to do with race, and everything to do with culture. Does that make me 'culturalist'?

[@stephenwright8257]

They do the same thing at Walmart in Missouri…

[@nigelwatson2750]

What?

[@tombartram7384]

Is there anyone watching this who _isn't_ Finnish?

[@nigelwatson2750]

You?

[@markpayne2217]

Me 😊

[@SuomiGameHUB]

Finns don't like to toot their own horn, so we seek out absolutely everyone doing the tooting for us. Great strategy to get, well, I was going to say "a lot of views", but realistically, there aren't that many Finns.

[@VicFlange]

Great vid. You did the right thing getting out Nigel, England is a dump now.

[@nigelwatson2750]

Sadly, you're right. I would love to visit England, but to do so, I'd need a time-machine as well as an airline ticket. Finland in 2022 is more like the England that I grew up in the 70s and 80s than the England I left in November 2020. So sad!

[@vanessahenderson1850]

Yes I agree. Barely anyone smiles and the vast majority of people have forgotten what it's like to actually have a laugh. You now see people trudging along stressed to the max, down trodden and just fed up in general due to the cost of the cost of living and everything else that's going on. We also work to live and there's barely anything left once you've paid everything. I could go on and on how dire things are and to be qute frank I can't think of anything positive to say about Britain.

[@nigelwatson2750]

@@vanessahenderson1850 Sadly, Venessa, you're right. I think that most Brits are now too scared to make jokes just in case they offend somebody

[@auvomesilampi6325]

@@nigelwatson2750 You should go to see your fiends and/or family sometimes, though. I don’t know why you prefer to be here but It’s great whenever people like you do.

[@davieslm]

I love all the outdoor swimming pools here and they are great for the family. Kids can be kids without all that nanny-state health and safety rubbish. Kids are allowed to jump and do all sorts of acrobatics from 10 metre diving boards. This would never be allowed in the UK.

[@nigelwatson2750]

Agreed. children are not as abused by the state & society in general, like in England.

[@cr3752]

Wait until they start letting the dinghy divers in.

[@vincentcarrot]

A comment already at the beginning, just my guess about the honesty part. Maybe in the old times of agriculture, farming tools and the like were things that mattered between life and death. Had someone stolen your plough or hoe or whatever in a critical part of the farming year, you could have been in a bad situation. Also everyone was in the same boat in this sense, so it made sense to cooperate instead of steal. Perhaps that line of thinking has been carried on to the modern days. Mind you, someone was convicted for arson when he mischievously set his neighbour's haystack on fire--it was not hay but corn and according to some law from the 1600s that was a serious offense. If memory serves.

[@nigelwatson2750]

It WAS also like this in Britain. It changed when Britain became less homogeneous, which caused trust levels to fall.

[@auvomesilampi6325]

The possessions aren’t this safe in bigger towns. I keep my electric bike in a locked space and lock it up with 2 locks in there. It also has an air tag hidden in it, so I know where it it is at all times. All of my previous bikes have been stolen. This is in Oulu.

[@paulukjames7799]

Life could be good everywhere but politicians made sure that will not happen by their overlords. Also they seem to serve their people like Sweden used to.

[@ketanpansuriya8725]

i m finding jobs in Finland do you have any suggestion for me

[@kalma999]

Lakaisukoneenkuljettaja

[@EddyTeetree]

I was living in London in Ealing Common and used to go to a garden centre near the isle if dogs (I think) and they had the same pay at counter pickup outside honesty system but when we lived in Fulham yeah pushbikes even chained up we’re getting stolen. In Australia where I grew up as a kid you didn’t lock your house or Ymir car now ypur eye balls would be stolen if you took a nap on a park bench. One of the benefits of mass immigration but we must love our fellow man. Cheers big ears no Britney Spears! Ps Finland looks the bollocks. Just needs surf and I’d be there😁

[@catherinefranklin9128]

The trouble with the UK is that we've taken the very worst from the conglomerate saturated US here plus all the terrible suing culture too😩

[@moonliteX]

did you say "following all the 91 nonsense?"

[@nigelwatson2750]

DIVOC-91 - a phrase used to defeat KZbin's Al Gore rhythm. Use your imagination; it's a code word.🙂

[@Turmootti]

Never heard of satanic exercise rap.

[@nigelwatson2750]

Google 'Stormzy' and you'll find out. He did Glastonbury a few years back wearing a Union Jack stab vest #Classy #SafeAndEffective

[@pentt1886]

one of the most based video about finland lol nice video tho

[@nigelwatson2750]

We have to speak the truth.

[@hazelbrownn]

Why so much time talking about beers . . .

Now here's a Brexiteer who chose and speaks wisely

[@nigelwatson2750]

Did I mention BREXIT??? People got excited about nothing. We now all know that our politicians have global masters!

@@nigelwatson2750 Sorry, my bad. Must've just assumed it from the point in time.

[@tonikaihola5408]

Getting mugged for using a mobile phone on the bus ? Yeesh.

[@nigelwatson2750]

And that was 20 years ago. It will be far worse today.

[@Kokardi65]

it is always better if you lock your bike.Every one not be so honest even in Finlands also

[@nigelwatson2750]

On kylla.

[@hurri7720]

Nice but the Helsinki region is not bad at all, not that I cannot see the difference too. The Russians sometimes call Finland - "the country without locks", something you understand if you have visited Russia. One thing we have learned regarding people coming to Finland from abroad is not to build "slums" but to integrate them with the main population as well as we can. Their kids go to the same Finnish school and become as Finnish as we are eventually. An other thing we have tried to acchive is that the whole big country is populated to avoid a too high concentration in the south only. To do that you need a good infrastructure in the whole country and an even quality in education and healthcare. Regarding industrialization, in Finland that happened much like in Sweden with companies and industrialists expanding to the north from central Europe. Nokia's history dates from 1865. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia

[@nigelwatson2750]

No, I don't think Finland is any better at integrating immigrants from the developing world. At the moment, there's still not many of them compared to say London. However, let's pretend not to see the problems in East Helsinki & parts of Espoo.

[@hurri7720]

@@nigelwatson2750 , I hope you are wrong. I am born and live in Helsinki and I have kids which has enabled me to look at how kids from the developing world are doing so I am not prepared to go all hysteric due to the immigrants entering the country. You find more of that, of course, where there hardly are any, same in Britain I gather.