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Couldn't agree more about how annoying it is that Nordic countries are always described as super exceptional. Even allemansrätten is almost always described in

by bedobi 6y ago

Couldn't agree more about how annoying it is that Nordic countries are always described as super exceptional. Even allemansrätten is almost always described in very inaccurate and exaggerated terms, as if you could pitch a tent on some monopoly hat wearing rich person's lawn and there's nothing they can do about it. Just no, that's not how it works. Take it from someone who grew up in Sweden but left as soon as I could - I hate to burst your bubble, but Nordic countries aren't heaven on earth now and never have been. I also have many, many non-Nordic friends who realized their dreams of moving there, only to leave after a year or two because reality didn't align with their nonsensical, wildly inaccurate ideas about what life there should be like.

flemhans 6y ago
Samfundssind is another recent one: https://nypost.com/2020/10/24/danish-word-samfundssind-may-become-2020s-hottest-term/ https://nypost.com/2020/10/24/danish-word-samfundssind-may-b...
- dairylee 6y ago
  > “putting the concern of society higher than one’s own interests.” I don't think there's any worry of that taking off in the US.
fogihujy 6y ago
Heh, it probably works both ways though, especially considering Nordic medias' manic obsession with eveything from the US. But hey, at least it got me to stop watching TV and go outside more.
eesmith 6y ago
It looks like your sampling has a bias error. If you don't live in Sweden any more, how do you make friends with the non-Nordics who moved to one of the Nordic countries and decided to stay there? Certainly you likely go to Sweden to visit, but how many non-Nordic friends, who have been there for more than a year or two, are you making during that time?
- null_object 6y ago
  > looks like your sampling has a bias error. >If you don't live in Sweden any more, how do you make friends with the non-Nordics who moved to one of the Nordic countries and decided to stay there? I live in Sweden and I upvoted bedobi‘s post. I came here with idealistic notions of what Sweden was supposedly like (also encouraged by the myths perpetuated by many expat Swedes that I met), and became disillusioned with the reality pretty quickly. Now I hate living here but it’s too difficult to leave with a Swedish wife and kids. I’d say three-quarters of the people that I’ve known through the years who moved here like me, have left by now. Also I wish people wouldn't constantly be lumping together all the 'Nordic' countries as though they were an interchangeable entity. They have similarities and share similar languages, but the cultural differences are much greater than outsiders appear to think. In the case of 'friluftsliv' the Norwegian concept is way more generally about hiking in the wilds. (Affluent) Swedes do often spend their summers in a cottage out in the country, but in my experience this involves a pretty static existence in rural surroundings, and physical activity is mostly restricted to going to whatever beach is nearby (either on the coast or an inland lake). I love walking or cycling in the countryside and I'll rarely meet anyone doing the same unless they're walking their dog close to their house. When I was in Norway it seemed like way more people were interested in putting on a knapsack and heading deep into the forest.
  - martindbp 6y ago
    > Now I hate living here but it’s too difficult to leave with a Swedish wife and kids. Native Swede here. I felt the same way living in the US (minus the kids). Now having moved back, I realize that the problem was not entirely the US, most of it was my own attitude. I won't claim that every country is equal, but there are often good and bad things about most countries, and I haven't seen a perfect one yet. Being an expat in a country though you will notice every little flaw, or anything that's different from what you're used to. Things that annoyed me disproportionatly included paying rent with paper checks and the look and density of US cities. There were a million things like that, along with more serious issues like politics and healthcare. Meanwhile you are partially (sometimes completely) blind to the problems of your home country. Try to be cognizant of this and try not to be bitter, it's not worth it.
lordnacho 6y ago
> Couldn't agree more about how annoying it is that Nordic countries are always described as super exceptional. Same here, it creates unrealistic expectations. A lot of the things they say about Nordic societies are a bit more two-sided than they are made out in the Anglo media. For instance you don't have very strong job protections in Denmark, and some of the government handouts are dependent on you not having significant savings. I remember I had an American teacher in school who decided to go back there just because he couldn't fit in socially. Something about the society means that people are hard to get a hold of. They kinda already have the friends they're gonna have. Not everyone is the same of course, but you often find with Scandies their friend slots are full. The weather is great during the summer. In fact, it's perfect. Not hot enough to be oppressive, sun stays up late. But the rest of the time it's not great. Like today, it's cloudy in Copenhagen, threatening to rain. There's a lot of those days, and the nights get longer. You'll find a lot of the time it's dark when you want to do stuff.
howlgarnish 6y ago
Eh, it just strikes you are super exceptional because you know the country well. People living in Japan are equally annoyed by "wacky Japan!" stories about people renting family members, buying used panties from vending machines and going to giant penis festivals.

by bedobi 6y ago

flemhans 6y ago

Samfundssind is another recent one: https://nypost.com/2020/10/24/danish-word-samfundssind-may-become-2020s-hottest-term/ https://nypost.com/2020/10/24/danish-word-samfundssind-may-b...

dairylee 6y ago
> “putting the concern of society higher than one’s own interests.” I don't think there's any worry of that taking off in the US.

fogihujy 6y ago

Heh, it probably works both ways though, especially considering Nordic medias' manic obsession with eveything from the US. But hey, at least it got me to stop watching TV and go outside more.

eesmith 6y ago

It looks like your sampling has a bias error. If you don't live in Sweden any more, how do you make friends with the non-Nordics who moved to one of the Nordic countries and decided to stay there? Certainly you likely go to Sweden to visit, but how many non-Nordic friends, who have been there for more than a year or two, are you making during that time?

null_object 6y ago
> looks like your sampling has a bias error. >If you don't live in Sweden any more, how do you make friends with the non-Nordics who moved to one of the Nordic countries and decided to stay there? I live in Sweden and I upvoted bedobi‘s post. I came here with idealistic notions of what Sweden was supposedly like (also encouraged by the myths perpetuated by many expat Swedes that I met), and became disillusioned with the reality pretty quickly. Now I hate living here but it’s too difficult to leave with a Swedish wife and kids. I’d say three-quarters of the people that I’ve known through the years who moved here like me, have left by now. Also I wish people wouldn't constantly be lumping together all the 'Nordic' countries as though they were an interchangeable entity. They have similarities and share similar languages, but the cultural differences are much greater than outsiders appear to think. In the case of 'friluftsliv' the Norwegian concept is way more generally about hiking in the wilds. (Affluent) Swedes do often spend their summers in a cottage out in the country, but in my experience this involves a pretty static existence in rural surroundings, and physical activity is mostly restricted to going to whatever beach is nearby (either on the coast or an inland lake). I love walking or cycling in the countryside and I'll rarely meet anyone doing the same unless they're walking their dog close to their house. When I was in Norway it seemed like way more people were interested in putting on a knapsack and heading deep into the forest.
- martindbp 6y ago
  > Now I hate living here but it’s too difficult to leave with a Swedish wife and kids. Native Swede here. I felt the same way living in the US (minus the kids). Now having moved back, I realize that the problem was not entirely the US, most of it was my own attitude. I won't claim that every country is equal, but there are often good and bad things about most countries, and I haven't seen a perfect one yet. Being an expat in a country though you will notice every little flaw, or anything that's different from what you're used to. Things that annoyed me disproportionatly included paying rent with paper checks and the look and density of US cities. There were a million things like that, along with more serious issues like politics and healthcare. Meanwhile you are partially (sometimes completely) blind to the problems of your home country. Try to be cognizant of this and try not to be bitter, it's not worth it.

lordnacho 6y ago

> Couldn't agree more about how annoying it is that Nordic countries are always described as super exceptional. Same here, it creates unrealistic expectations. A lot of the things they say about Nordic societies are a bit more two-sided than they are made out in the Anglo media. For instance you don't have very strong job protections in Denmark, and some of the government handouts are dependent on you not having significant savings. I remember I had an American teacher in school who decided to go back there just because he couldn't fit in socially. Something about the society means that people are hard to get a hold of. They kinda already have the friends they're gonna have. Not everyone is the same of course, but you often find with Scandies their friend slots are full. The weather is great during the summer. In fact, it's perfect. Not hot enough to be oppressive, sun stays up late. But the rest of the time it's not great. Like today, it's cloudy in Copenhagen, threatening to rain. There's a lot of those days, and the nights get longer. You'll find a lot of the time it's dark when you want to do stuff.

howlgarnish 6y ago

Eh, it just strikes you are super exceptional because you know the country well. People living in Japan are equally annoyed by "wacky Japan!" stories about people renting family members, buying used panties from vending machines and going to giant penis festivals.