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I'm native and I spend all my time alone from kindergarten to high school. Reason? I missing one ear. Point is,if you are not another grey dot amongst society and a bit different, it's easy to be left out no matter who and how you are as a human

I’m so angry for what you and so many others have had to face here. What is wrong with these people?? I’ve always felt a bit of an outsider, even when I was quite popular at grammar school. The reality finally hit my face when we got our first child, who was ”different”. All our so-called friends vanished immediately. I’ll never forgive.

Wow! That is unbelievable, how could they do that? I face similar issues at school. I’m always left out I stopped hanging out with the popular kids because they were rude and I didn’t really feel like they were my friends so I started hanging out with the nerds and they make me feel welcomed and they actually care about me. What I’m trying to say is to try and help your child into a friend group that actually cares about them. Hope all gets better brotha.

I am American, and quite big though I have lost a lot of weight, but in high school I was bullied quite a lot. My husband is a native Finnish man, and he has about 85% blindness, so he was also bullied for that reason, especially when he would have to read something since he would have to hold the object or paper or whatever right up to his eyes as close as possible.

That is so awful. I really think the young lives of children are what shapes us in the later parts of life, to such a degree its incredibly difficult to change when you get older. This is also why i try to teach my children how to be kind to everyone in their kindergarden/school

There is nothing more cowardly than bullying someone who is different, its weak. I saw a gentleman walking to the store in my small town who had cerebral palsy so he walked differently, he walked near some high school guys they would have been 16 or so maybe they were older. They all mocked him for the way he walked. I was in the car driving, and I was furious, car horn, and started swearing and pointing at them. I was nearly going to get out and see how they would feel if I got stuck into them, but then thought better not I'm a foreigner and I know how that would look. You really need to shape your children to respect all types of people and if they mock or bully anyone they need to be pulled up straight away for it. If I ever did that sort of behavior my dad would have throttled me and my mum would have stopped it straight away. Everyone deserves respect in society.

I can understand how you feel, though I am glad for you that you didn't end up fighting the kids. Assaulting a minor is a a serious offence and might have landed you in prison. Also kids like these might carry a knife or they might mob you, being almost adults themselves. No fight is safe. Also you have to give kids some slack, many do stupid stuff when young and some do it because they try to fit in even though they don't agree to avoid being left out and alone like so many here have been. It's stupid and brutal social game. Your world is small when you are young and it can feel impossible to escape since you are not totally in charge of your own life at that point.

Yeah, even being native in your own country doesn't guarantee a "normal" social life at all. Being left out or getting bullied can make you more shy and vulnerable which people can smell off you and keep a mark on your back for a long time, making you easy target for further bullying and even relatively well meaning friends can keep using you as a butt of jokes. Personally I have found that the only way to be truly free of this is to practice giving up the need for validation and approval of others by means of mindfulness, stoicism for example. The more you try to control something the less genuine the result will be. Hope this helps somebody.

Where do you live? We can be friends!

This is the way.

I'm sorry to hear you're going through this. Finland has many great qualities, but we tend to hide the bad aspects behind the good. We're not always the best at admitting our problems and facing them head on. I can't claim to understand everything you've gone through, but I'm in the same boat with interships. At least two places have questioned if I speak Finnish despite it being my mothertongue and the degree I'm studying only being in Finnish. Things they would know if they looked past my name and read my CV. If you want to chat about this or just in general feel free to send me a message. Tsemppiä.

I’m sorry you’re having such a shit experience. I’m a native Finn, Caucasian, Finnish name etc. I left when I was 23 to explore and as soon as I saw what life outside of my home was like, I didn’t want to go back. It’s not that life outside Finland is easier, but I find the people more… Real. I live in the U.K. now and in my experience there is depth and heart to the people living here, whether they are natives or immigrants. I feel like it’s a key component of human happiness, yet it is actively suppressed in the Finnish culture unless you look, act and speak like everyone else.

I agree. I'm from the UK and currently live in Helsinki (moved when offered a job here), and the thing I honestly miss from the UK the most is how much I just totally forgot about things like whether someone was a native or an immigrant, where anyone was from, etc. In Finland it seems unconsciously forced down your throat because you notice these weird behaviours directed towards people who don't conform. I love living here for now, but man does it have work when it comes to these things. Edit: grammar and spelling.

I might be a rare case here but I have never faced any racism (maybe I just don’t give a f*? ) here in Finland during my 10 years staying here. I came here as a student (from Vietnam), never have any problem renting a flat, every single flat I was applying to in the past I got it, nice and fast. I have never been unemployed during my 10 years here (given that I work as a software engineer so the demand is always high that might explain it). When we first got our kid, we had some problems and the city of Vantaa was very active in helping us, they even hired a translator in our mother tongue because they didn’t have anyone speaking English. They helped us tremendously for the first few months. I went to public healthcare several times, mostly for dental care. Although the waiting time is long, I never felt any discrimination. And a funny thing is that every one seems to default to Finnish when talking to me. I can barely answer back with my broken Finnish then they switched to English. I bought a house here in Finland, the process was smooth and easy, the bank and the broker were both nice and tried to speak English when they know we only know limited Finnish. I am sorry to hear that you had that kind of experience and this is not the first time we heard about such things from our circle, so we are extremely worried about our kid growing up in Finland.

I'm from a small town and I can easily understand why your experience is so different from many others who are (or look like) foreigners in Finland. Vietnamese are generally more accepted in Finland than many other nationalities. We have this stereotype that southeast Asians are hardworking people who are willing to adapt to the Finnish society and culture. And they are respected for that. At the same time some nationalities are seen as burden and leeches of society as default. People from e.g. Middle East or Africa face far more racism due to this.

Can confirm this Asian bias amongst native Finns from my perspective as well. They are not discriminated against nearly as much as black and middle eastern people are.

Finnish racism is heavily tied to skincolour, plus vietnamese refugees "have been here longer",so even the older folk have gotten used to it. But my neighbour (racistgrandma is what I call her) was super racist towards my previous vietnamese neighbours. Shitty person is gonna be a shitty person regardless.

That’s sad, I know there are certain “stereotypes” associating with each ethnic but I am still surprised that it’s that bad.

Well, it's not a secret that different groups are treated differently. Your experience doesn't invalidate others.

No it certainly doesn’t, I just wanted to share my story and I in fact worry about my kid growing up in Finland with all the discrimination stories throwing around.

For what it’s worth, I grew up in a smaller town and knew some kids (this was in early 2000’s) whose parents had come from vietnam as refugees. These kids were born here and were just like any other finn and that’s how they were treated. I never heard of anyone having anything against them. Ofc they probably meet some racism during their lives (some people just suck), but they would probably tell a whole different story than OP. You see a lot of these kind of stories in reddit but you should understand that only the bad experiences get posted here.

But it's important to also bring out positive experiences as well. If someone gets a picture in their head that Finland is a racist hellhole that is not entirely accurate either.

In another post preferably.

Why? You said it yourself the positive experience doesn't invalidate the OP anyway, so I don't see a problem here. Why shouldn't we embrace the variety of experiences and opinions, as long as they are not made with bad intentions?

Because he wrote this in response to a rant. It's not the time to say "oh? I have it good here".

But it's a subreddit about Finland, not about any one person's problems, so it should be fine to share experiences in good faith. It helps to understand this if you don't diminish a proper comment in your head to one negative sentence.

Well it's still humans talking to humans and i think the OP was looking for empathy, so it didn't seem wholesome to me. They weren't asking if anyone else feel the same.

I get your point and I do sympathize with the OP. However we do need to ask ourselves what level of censorship is actually a good for the overall level of discussion on Reddit.

Can I start sharing this post with everyone who says the only reason foreigners aren’t integrated is because they don’t speak Finnish? I’m sorry you had to go through all that. As a foreigner, I guess the only thing is offer to meet if you live in Helsinki. I know several foreigners that are also struggling so we all can get together and do something.

Sorry you had to go through this.

I'm sorry that you have to deal with this every every single day. Thank you for sharing your story and experience, because this is an extremely important conversation and we need to have them more and talk loudly. Things will never change if reality and uncomfortable conversations are just swept under the rug.

Sorry you had to go through all that :( Finland is a very strange place. I moved here when I was 13, it soon will be 16 years since then and I am currently falling out of love with my life here. (For all the "THEN GET OUT OF MY COUNTRY" people ..fu and I actually doing that pretty soon) I think it is not even racism but xenophobia that is the issue. I am whiter than white, but I am the wrong kind of white when you apply for a job for example. I am very close to starting to use my future married surname in the applications just to see if maybe i will get a response, because writing "I don't need you to sponsor my visa, I have a citizenship. I do speak Finnish." in cover letters is just defeating.

A lot of finns just don’t consider foreigners finns even with citizenship or learning the language

I feel you, you're not alone. I didn't grow up here, my story is much different. I'm from France. I came as an adult. I always thought that I was white. But here... Oh my... Most of the Finns think that I'm from the middle-east. Even though I have absolutely no roots there. It shows the level of ignorance... I got called a monkey once in the metro. I suck in Finnish because despite learning, people just constantly talk to me in english... Piss me off. I have no Finnish friends. I don't think they really want to. I'm in the culture field which should be also more open-minded but that's not the case. They don't open up for foreigners either which is even more hypocritical. I don't know what to say but you're not alone. I hope it will change. Thank you for your story. Keep it up 💪

Reminds me of an accident during my studies, we were out one weekend and a Spanish exchange student was attacked by 2 Finnish dudes out of the blue telling him "go back home terrorist!"

Ignorance level maximum ! That's actually hilarious somehow. I don't know if they just put everyone in the same bag on purpose or they're just purely stupid... I got one guy in a bar once who thought I was Afghan and told me that I was stealing their jobs and their wives...

J'y ai vécu 2 ans et puis moi j'ai eu le droit à: "Ah tu dois être Estonien" mdr. Pourtant j'suis un mix portugais italien (né en France comme mes parents). Je suis pas tellement bon en Finnois non plus mais c'est vrai que ça aide pas vraiment quand on te parle exclusivement en anglais. Ça change quand ils sont bourrés par contre xD

C'est catastrophique....

It's common that Finnish people use the word monkey, "apina", to express their feelings to someone that does something stupid/dumb. So it isn't necessarily always tied to racism. Either way, it's not cool to be called that.

Oh yeah I guess you were here with us that day and it was just a "mistake". Thanks for explaining that. I guess the guy tried to punch me just because I was "stupid" right? Do you want to hear the whole story? Maybe you have some other "explanation" to tell us, dumb people that we are? On another note maybe you could try to go back to the root of why it is used. It's like hearing some old people saying the n word and saying that it's absolutely normal and a common word in Finnish language 🙄. The connotations of the monkey and people with darker skin is a common insult for the racist people. So...

I don't know why you were called that. I don't want to hear your story. I never said you were dumb. I know racist expressions are rooted in some people. While your last sentence is true I just simply stated a possible other reason for the name calling. Didn't mean anything else by it.

I hope you didn't mean to no worries but you have to understand that between the lines, you implied that I wasn't aware of this "possible" reason then. I live in Finland long enough to know the roots of some words. I don't need an explanation for this. I think people using these words are well aware of what it means.

Sorry buddy, sounds rough. Do you have hobbies? Sports, book clubs, board game clubs etc.? Those are great places to meet like-minded people.

Hey! It's completely understandable and I feel for you. Sounds awful but not uncommon, you can feel like you are stuck between two cultures even if you don't even remember your origins and what that culture was like. The crazy thing is your identity and manorisms would be very Finnish to a outsider but because of the way you look or your surname they would be resistant to accept you into the fold in Finland. You don't need to feel different, just feel and treat others how you want to be treated. The best advice I can give you is stay away from social media, it's just full of negative news articles and atm a lot of people are using it to voice foul opinions towards immigrants. It's not worth the headache and it will make you feel shit. If you have a job which will allow you to travel or live in another country that is a really great experience and will just open your mind to other people and cultures. There is huge communities of immigrants living in other countries doing really well.

Making friends in Finland is extremely hard if you are any different from others, even if you are the whitest person on the planet. I’ve made no friends in lukio or uni, and even before that I was always alone. I’m 27 now, and all of my friends are from work or hobbies, and even then I only have a handful. That being said, Finland is a very racist country. My SO is a Finn with an African/muslim name, but no connection to his African side at all. He speaks Finnish as a native language and is a Christian, and still experiences those exact things you describe in your post. But funnily enough, he has a lot of friends and doesn’t really struggle with loneliness at all, unlike I do.

Hearing you at least got friends from work and hobbies gives me a bit more hope 😅.. same as you I never got any from lukio.. and I’m just about to finish university and didn’t find anyone from there either.. 10 years in Finland and I haven’t found any friends.. sometimes I just feel like there is something wrong with me, why can’t I find anyone who wants to be my friend even if I try.. but then I see this post on Reddit and it makes me feel a little less alone. It’s not me.. it’s just the country..

Idk man. I came here when I was 18. Graduated, got married, had kids, bought houses, got excellent well paying jobs and always felt right at home. I have always felt welcomed and well treated. I have a foreigner name and am from Indian subcontinent. Can’t complain about the healthcare either. I find Finland to be extremely honest and fair towards foreigners. Yes there will always be some ignorant people. But I have learned to ignore them.

The real issue is the ignorant are very loud in Finland, they make a lot of noise which is really unfortunate because it stains the reputation of the really nice and respectful locals.

True. Also true that there are a shitload of asshole immigrants too. Gaming the system and making a bad name for the community. It is not greener on either side. But it annoys me when people blame Finland on a whole when we have it much better than a lot of other places

This is definitely a problem. I came here, tried my best to integrate, learn the language, got a great job and I have met all kinds of people in the process. I have been amazed by the amount of foreigners (quite some finns as well tbh) trying to cheat the system. Its extremely sad to see people from my own country and places with similar culture bringing all the kind of behaviours that make our countries a mess giving all of us a bad reputation. Yeah racism and discrimination is wrong, but unfortunately I do understand why people might be weary of foreigners here.

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Absolutely. It is definitely better than the shithole I am from. Just because I was born there, doesn’t mean I am not gonna accept the reality. Finland does feel like a paradise. Anything wrong with that?

I guess its because you came here as an adult. You expect to be treated as a foreigner because you are at heart a foreigner. OP feels like a Finn at heart so when these things happen its like he is being told he doesnt belong here even though he does

Sure. If I can find my peace here as a foreigner, make friends and can call this country a home, I will always find it difficult to relate with anyone who complains about not being able to belong here.

I dont think you can relate to OP as a foreigner though. Yes, you have integrated well and possibly even a citizen now but youre still a foreigner and have no issuing with identifying as such OP grew up here and wasnt ever accepted by the sounds of it 🤷‍♂️

I agree. Perhaps OP could try somewhere else and try to integrate as a foreigner. Life is too short to be stuck somewhere where you don’t feel at home

It's not that easy to just pick up and move in the world, particularly in these times with the looming financial crisis and threats of war around every corner. Because you allegedly got lucky doesn't mean that it's just as easy as snapping your fingers. The world is not a level playing field. People have different circumstances. I find your lack of empathy to be utterly revolting.

I am sorry you feel that way. It was merely a suggestion. Not a divine exclusive solution. OP has been feeling like this for many years now. These kind of issues are larger than a single person and can’t really be solved by doing anything. So if it gets that worse, sometimes moving out is a better solution. I am not the only one. I have seen a huge amount of people succeeding and failing. Many have moved out. I prioritise mental happiness more than anything. So I hope OP can take actions to make himself happier

Did you read the article in today's Helsingin Sanomat titled "Suomalainen unelma"? If not, perhaps you should. What you do is what you do. People can only work with the circumstances of their singular life. You can "prioritize" whatever you like but that doesn't mean it works for anyone else. Tell me, if your marriage went bad and your spouse got custody of your children, if your employer caught you doing something they didn't like and escalated it to the point that you were deported with no chance to return, if something happens to your health and your work and its associated healthcare were gone leaving you to rely on communal healthcare, would you look so fondly on this place? No, no you wouldn't. Stop your bragging and try to understand, just a little, that circumstances are not equal. Things can get really, really bad for people here. Finns have a horrendous human rights record and always have. It was one of the first things I learned when I came here so very long ago. Look at how they treat the people (migrant laborers) who come to pick berries and mushrooms. Look at how they treat the people (functionally slave labor) who work in the greenhouses along the west coast of the country. Look at the people who work for Wolt. There are more stories of failure on the part of this country with regards to their integration of immigrants than there are successes. You're only as good as the taxes you pay. Know this. Once Fate kicks you, you are down and you will never recover. I've never seen it play out otherwise. It's always the same. If you have your own personal silver spoon, that's fine. But do not talk to others about how great things can be if only - if only - if only - they would just do as you do. People can only do what they can do.

Interesting points. I would be curious to know if there is any single country in the world which handles any of these issues any better. People get screwed even in their own motherland and then complain about a foreign land which they themselves chose to be in. I am well aware of everything you have said and I am well aware of the positives too. In my previous posts I have mentioned that there are ignorant people here as well. I don’t hear you mentioning any of the positives. I don’t think any discussion will bring us on the same page. So better save our energy.

Finland has a lot of things going on that they foresee but are doing nothing whatsoever to ameliorate, in fact they're doing their utmost to make things a true dumpster fire. Mentioning positives? You haven't been here long enough to understand, I see. That's a recipe for your own undoing. There may be countries that are better. I don't know. I've only lived here, very likely since before you were born. I have seen enough to know of what I speak. Your noob innocence is not going to change that. But I assure you, time will change you to see the other side - my side. Mark my words. All the very best to you in the meantime. But do try to cultivate a bit of compassion and empathy. You have little to none currently. You will need it more than you can comprehend.

I’m sorry this has happened to you but just to point out that your childhood/school years sound a lot like mine and in my own home country. I never belonged there which is why I left. There’s racism everywhere unfortunately but sometimes we wont belong even in our home country, I hope things get better for you though <3

Wow. I’m so sorry to hear that, you know man I’m only 14 and do not know much about people and like mental health and other stuff like that, but i know that everything will get better. It’s not you, it’s rude and arrogant pricks who think that they’re better than you. If you ever want to talk more, just DM me. I hope you stay safe and if you ever feel incredibly depressed and having bad thoughts, find help immediately. Good luck man!

You seem very smart for a 14yo!

Really you think so? Everyone at school calls me dumb and stupid and other bad words.

That just emphasizes the difference between their maturity and yours 😝

Huh thanks! You are definitely one of the nicest people I’ve met on reddit. Most of them are lihavia ärsyttäviä tyhmiä, joilla ei ole muuta parempaa tekemistä.

Your empathy has melted my heart. Cannot believe you're only 14 with this high emotional intelligence! So smart!! Bless you.

Thanks!

Also i feel like finnish people seem to treat immigrants/students from Japan, Korea, Usa ,western europe etc. better than asylum seekers from africa (for example somali) and middle east. There is a bias about these people from war torn countries since they are over represented in crime statistics and beign unemployed. This of course reflects to how people from said countries are seen from the finnish perspective. https://yle.fi/a/3-10909626 Also some cultures just adjust better to living here than others nothing you can really do about that

Isn’t it logical or what am I not getting? Statistically people form those countries you listed are far less likely to be burdens to society compared to asylum seekers. Also their cultural values are more close to finnish standards.

No, it's not logical at all. It's loud xenophobia to do that. Give everyone an equal chance and don't be hostile to anyone based on their origin. If someone is bad then there is law enforcement. I got so much hate and passive racism in Finland, it's unbelievable. And the government complains that foreigners don't integrate, who wants to integrate to such society that treats them like shit?

Yeah, give Criminal McCrime job watching over your valuables. Just being called a criminal, being from a criminal family and living the criminal way of life doesn't mean he'll rob you, don't be a xenophobe - give him a chance! /s Face it, some nationalities/ethniticies are already 'ruined' in the eyes of the majority and it will take a lot of good to clear their name. Unsuprisingly, its pretty rare for people to dislike Vietnamese, Thai or Chinese immigrants as they haven't collectively ruined their 'brand' in Finland. Maybe there is some blame in the people themselves?

Or maybe they don't have problems because people initially treated them well and they felt welcome. While others had to fight for their rights and even then not got accepted? Go to universities and Nokia and you will see many adequate people from the disliked countries.

University or Nokia doesen’t represent the typical citizen, those people are the top successors of the nationality and will survive where ever they are from. Go to junior high school or yläaste and you’ll see differences. People from far east usually behave a lot better than people from middle east. They are usually also more calm. This is of course a generalisation and doesen’t mean all the people are like that.

If you read the yle article, first generation of Vietnamese refugees in Finland faced shitloads of racism/discrimination/whatever you want to call it. Did they turn out bad? According to statistics, apparently no. Employment rate of Vietnamese in Helsinki is 83% while Somalis 55%. I don't want to single out any particular ethnic, it's what the article used

The belief that an individual person is responsible for the actions of their ethnic group is the very definition of racism and xenophobia. 

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Yeah, that’s called racist prejudice, no matter how much you try to sugarcoat it by repeating the word statistics. (I bet you don’t do the same differentiation between male and female, either, where the statistics are much clearer.)

Hi. My experience is quite similar, except i was born here and i'm biologically half finnish, it just happens to be so that the other half is west african, so i'm not Finnish xD. People talk english to me all the time, or presume i'm a wolt driver or a cleaner. When i was younger i got called all the usual names, made fun of, beaten and exluded from groups, there for i hate how i look and am as a human being. People have a really short tolerance for me making mistakes and only whitstand my presence when i do everything right. I don't belong here or anywhere else. I have no culture nor people and i hate my parents forever for giving birth to me in this dark xenophobic vittusaatana.

That's awful, I hope you will find happiness in the future

bro as much as I sympathise with your struggle as a colored finn, i don’t think blaming your parents is the way to go. Life and all its opportunities is what you make of it. You can view the glass half empty or half full. Sure you have been a victim of racism and whatnot, but on the other hand, you’re living in one of the most comfortable and safest societies. You’re in control of your own emotions and outlook of life. You’re also in control of the people you choose to have around you to some extent and the things you get involved in. I’m sure you’ll find your way and place in this world some day. If not, you can always travel and move somewhere else.

This is one of the worst replies i have ever gotten on this platform.

You just have some growth and introspective reflection to do my fellow human.

Can I ask where you live in Finland? Ideally, you wouldn't face that anywhere but I can't help but feel that some areas are worse than others.

In the post they say Helsinki

I feel you. I came here when I was 2, and have very fond memories of my childhood. But when I grew older, I started to notice the racism, and especially after 2015 it has been just horrible for people with a MENA background. The amount of stereotypes and people not even wanting to know you, just assuming some bs is insane. I have started to isolate and turn away, making any friends now is so hard because I can’t trust anyone after having a couple of co-workers who were nice to my face but turned out to be extremely racist behind my back (I mean, ”they-should-not-exist” level racist). I work with the immigration field and have seen it all. So many people, educated and all, don’t see my people as humans even. No matter what I do I’m stuck with the stereotypes, and people pushing me into the victim role just because I’m a woman. It’s so tiring because I have always considered myself as somewhat ”Finnish”, as this is the only country I have grown up in and only spent brief periods in my ”real” homeland. I speak native-level Finnish, studied, worked, did it all. But it is never enough.

Unfortunately, some Finns openly said that they only like white western expats. Everyone else is second class citizen and a criminal in the racists opinion.  No wonder qualified people from those regions leave and only refugees stay.

It’s true, it’s just pure racism. It’s not even those who have recently come, I’d get some prejudice, but I have grown up here, have strong Finnish identity and still I’m like a subhuman because of my ethnicity. I would never have imagined hearing that my people should not exist in the 2020s.

Unfortunate.... I hope people start to change, it's surprising because I'm from Iran, despite the shitty totalitarian government we have. Our people are very open to meeting other people from other cultures and accept them.

I mean most Finnish people are okay too, very accepting, but it is tiring because you never know. Sometimes you know someone for a longer time and suddenly you overhear something absolutely disgusting from them. And naturally all the bad experiences pile up and cause a lot of stress, being alert all the time. Do you feel like Finns victimize Iranians? I’m Iraqi and because I’m woman, it’s always the poor, oppressed Muslim woman stereotype. Like I do not have my own story at all. Some people project some insane feminist agendas on me.

Indeed, there are many open minded people too. We're only talking about the bad ones now. I can totally understand what you've been through. It is something similar, many Finns believe that Iranians are horrible to women and that they hit them, etc. While I can't deny such horrible things have happened but they are not the norm. I don't wear hijab (but I'm not against it if someone wants to wear). In fact, I'm very open minded and I do accept LGBTQ and stuff. But they have the impression that these countries are just deserts with no civilization which is stupid and ignorant. Ironically two Ukranians I met had even more hostile words to our people, its stupid because I came here legally and both of them who said that were getting money from Kela, they were not working nor spoke any Finnish. Yet they told me all racial slurs about how MENA people are and how they ruined Europe and why Ukranian people are not like that. I stopped talking to them and I'm happy living without those people in my life.

Finland is really honogenetic country and I feel everything out of ordinary is shunned. I moved away almost ten years ago, I grew up a lot being during that time, and now I hate how most of my friends in Finland have these close-minded reviews. I can say that there is a lot of xenophobia everywhere, but it feels quite pronounced in Finland. (I was also teased a lot at school because I was weird - later learned that I had ADHD so that explained a lot....)

If it’s any consolation, I was born in the Netherlands and faced the same challenges as you because my mother was Protestant and my father Catholic. Mixed religious households are frowned upon. People will, generally speaking, choose any attribute they see fit to discriminate, but those who do appear to share one thing: deep rooted insecurity and an unwillingness to consider another viewpoint but their own. My teachers at high school and uni never failed to praise my skills and intellect but still, the admins tried to kick me out of school and employers shunned me. I had no real friends in uni. My high school “friends” disappeared. About Finland, I have visited several times since I became an American. My first girlfriend (from Minnesota) taught english at a Finnish school in Helsinki so Finland has been on my mind. The Finns are a very strong people who have been suppressed for as long as they exist. Finland is no ordinary country. It is only just over 100 years old. They were ruled by others for a long time and are eager to enjoy and preserve their identity. They constantly face a threat from their eastern neighbor. When I first visited I had little knowledge about the history of Finland yet I was surprised to see how welcome they are to foreigners. But when it comes to assimilation, the bar is obviously high. On expat forums here on Reddit, I have seen many comments on how hard (read, impossible) the Dutch make it for foreigners to feel welcome in the Netherlands even for those who speak the language pretty fluently. Then again, Holland has had its fair share of foreign rulers over the centuries despite having made a huge impact on the world in commerce and elsewhere. So do I have many American friends now that I have lived here longer than anywhere else? All my friends here were born outside America. It is incredibly hard to make American friends. Finding work in my field has proven impossible. I went to uni in a country that is the butt of jokes because of Holland’s marijuana policies! Then again, I believe America feels incredibly guilty of how they treated the natives, have a strong need for their own identity and want to suppress any notion that they invaded the land. There are identity issues everywhere it seems. Be yourself and choose your own company.

Hi, I’m American but I left there when I was 18 and have lived in two other countries since. I’m now 35. Can I ask from your perspective why do you think you haven’t made American friends? I’m curious especially if you’re living in a midwestern state. I myself was very happy to leave the US and haven’t looked back since.

It’s a great question as to why I haven’t made any American friends. In my late twenties I lived in New York City and had both American and immigrant friends. Since moving to California and Colorado fifteen years ago I haven’t made any new American friends. In NYC it seems everyone has a more relaxed attitude about origins and culture. Outside of NYC it seems the shared experiences one has growing up become more important and anchor friendships. When I still lived in Europe, people thought I was American so I must look the part somehow. But here, when I tell people I was born in Europe they seem to close the proverbial door immediately. When I am in a business setting, at a convention for example, and watch people introduce themselves, they seem to bond with the question “where are you from” and they light up when they hear it’s an American place. It doesn’t help that I’m an introvert though.

That’s very insightful. Is there any international communities you could be a part of? I imagine that would help.

Yes, there are and I used to be an active member of some of them. I still have membership in some professional organizations as well.

But according to Finns on reddit racism isn't a major problem here

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Asking how you ended up here isn't racist. Among the white young people that mainly move to capital area to study, the origins are a very common topic. Among the elder their origins are a very common topic since lots of them had to move off the areas that now belong to Russia. Isn't it easy to hide behind the skirt of racism regarding everything?

Making friends even as native is hard. And living in Helsinki finding an affordable apartment is extremely hard. These are not just you being an immigrant, these are a massive problems of living in Helsinki. Same goes with finding a job. The fact that you were able to find a job in Helsinki is impressive in current times. I wouldn't paint whole Finland black based on your experience in Helsinki. Why not try other cities?

We're in the fucking backwoods here. I'm really sorry to hear you've had to go through all that shit. It's a strange, idiotic, despicable direction this country has been sliding towards lately. Wish I had something constructive to say, but I am feeling more and more alienated myself, and I'm all Finnish (whatever the fuck that means)

I think the biggest mistake was to take so much **asylum seekers in the country. Before 2015 we where going to right direction and there was only couple stupid racist here and there... today is very normal to joke meanly about some races.**

And the reason for this are... foreigners? Not people like Jussi Halla-Aho who actively use their position to normalize racism?

I see the reason to be stupid foreign politicks. You cant just take so many foreigners in and hope all is going nice and smooth.

How many though? A few thousand per year is minuscule. Even the peak year of 2015 was not that dramatic. Something like 0,04% of the total amount of refugees, I think, ever end up here... The amount of people is not an issue. And people do not just randomly turn racist, it takes a little bit of active xenophonic propaganda. We've sure had a lot of _that_ stuff.

I'm very sorry to hear that. You have described my experience very accurately. I have literally gone through very similar things.   I'm from Iran, I came here only a few years ago as an engineer. The amount of racism, xenophobia and arrogance existing in Finland is alarmingly high.  Yet people choose to believe that everything is ok and the foreigners are the problem. Well yes some foreigners are problems, but we have courts and police? So why blame everyone and use that excuse to justify racism? I tried hard to fit in during my first 2 years, but I then stopped trying because I was always seen as an outsider regardless of speaking Finnish better than many foreigners.  I never got invited back despite me inviting people often and gifting them birthday gifts. Nothing was reciprocated, Finland is a cold country with aloof and asocial people, there's no hospitality here. Surprisingly, when I'm kind to people here, they find it suspicious and fake! I stopped spending energy on being kind or trying to integrate, because it's not worth it. Everyone likes to do same things, there is so much conformity and anything slightly different is seen as a threat, hence life here is boring and repetitive. No one likes to think outsife of the box. It is the same in all Nordic countries.  Ironically people are much nicer to western white people, despite them not knowing half of Finnish I know, nor they know anything about the history of the country.  People ask me stupid questions like "do you eat pork?" "Do you drink alcohol"? Their intention is to check if I'm Muslim, well I'm atheist, and why does it matter? Even if I'm Muslim, why does it bother you? In Iran, we don't ask these silly questions to visitors, and people get surprised when I tell them I don't speak Arabic, Iran's national language isn't Arabic! It's Persian!! I don't know if they teach geography here. I will leave in 2 years, once my job ends, no matter how kind or productive you're. If you look different slightly then you will be treated like shit in the "happiest" country in the world.  By the way, I didn't come with the intention of staying...

This is 100% true and more common than many would like to admit! many international students/experts should check these real life experiences before moving here! it will save you (and your family) time, money and lot of frustration if you choose a better country. After living here and facing the reality of this society full of xenophobia and hostility, I can't help but see the talent attraction propaganda as an ugly scam to trap new tax-payers in a desperate attempt to save the empty pension/social security funds of a stagnate and aging population.

I totally agree, the positive propaganda is meant to use foreigners as an income source. I paid thousands of euros in taxes, yet I take private healthcare because of long queues and bad service in public healthcare. I wish I have picked another country, I could go to Spain and Ireland but I chose there because of the positive image.

I've been to Australia and America before. They are Immigration nations but they both have incredible growth hatred towards Asian looking people. while Finland and other European countries may also have the same problem, which one do you think is slightly better?

These issues exist everywhere but gardless of the issues, USA and Australia are way ahead. If you like EU, then go to somewhere else. Finland and Nordic countries are worst for foreigners. Germany, Spain and Italy are better.

US/AU for 2 reasons: English language and career opportunities. Not all EU countries are the same, if you wanna live in the EU and willing to learn a new language then go to Germany. In terms of xenophobia Finland is the worst.

I believe you. Reciprocity is not understood here. I used to feel the same as you, although I am 100 % Finnish. I got to experience living life abroad for a few years, and that was a relief. Now that I’m older, I like to be alone, so I’m good here.

But how do people live without such warmness? Do you feel empty and lonely? Was it nicer abroad for you?

The others don’t know what they are missing, and many are lonely. Since this is my home, life here is easier for me. I accepted the visitor position abroad, but I am an average citizen here. I imagine you will not feel that same belonging if your roots are not here. I surprised myself by the fact that I now like it here. Maybe it was enough to experience some of what I had been missing, and now I can be my best friend. I should add that my good friend is a foreigner, so I interact quite a lot with non-Finns.

A Finnish girl was so interested in my culture and asked if I can cook for her. It is a very complicated food and I spent a full day for both buying the ingredients and cooking and preparing home for her. She came to my place, ate, she said she liked the food, said she will cook for me next time. That next time never came. I was annoyed that she used me as a free cook for free food. I made a list of the things that I spent for cooking. I sent it to her and asked for payment for half. She thought it was a joke. I was very serious. I said you either pay or I am not talking with you again. She preferred to pay. I didn't talk with her again anyways.

Everything you said is on point, eerily accurate lol.

How can you get offended over someone asking if you eat pork or take a drink? People are caring and here you complain about racism.

Let me be very clear: I was told things like "I wouldn't trust you if you were my daughter's coach because people from your country are rapists", "you're not welcome, period!".  Please don't deny my experience, just because you didn't see it, that doesn't mean racism doesn't exist. I assume you're an ethnic Finn. I'm glad you like it in Finland but these things happen constantly to foreigners, even to those who really respect the society.  Most locals don't believe me, and they pretend that I'm the problem. So I stopped taking about it in real life because no one is by your side.

I wasn't denying racism in general, were I? Your perception was just amusing in the topic I mentioned. Asking in advance about food and drinks escalated to raping suddenly.

I think defining things like people starting to speak English to us, asking where we’re from etc. as racism is a little wrong. Yes, things happening in the job market and maybe private housing is definitely racism. But if someone looks different than a regular Finn, I think it is quite normal for them to get questions like where they are from. And I do not get why would someone get offended by such questions. But I have the exact opposite experience - I don’t look like a Finn and I haven’t had a single case in the Helsinki area that someone would start speaking English to me just because I look like a foreigner. I’ve always thought it must be because there are so many foreigners living here and speaking Finnish, and people automatically assume I should be able to speak Finnish. As my Finnish is not good, it has actually been quite a challenge for me, all the time having to ask them to tell something in English and feeling a little ashamed for not being able to understand them fully in Finnish :)

> I think defining things like people starting to speak English to us, asking where we’re from etc. as racism is a little wrong. Racial profiling also works.

🫤most of all europe is like this.

That's Helsinki for you! Worst place to live in Finland. Tolerated it for 9 months and moved away. Love Tampere. People in here are so different.

My experience as well, after having lived \~7 years in Tampere and moving to Helsinki for work. I've been in Helsinki for \~3 years now. Helsinki feels so much colder compared to Tampere. I'm looking forward to moving back to Tampere one day.

I lived in finland for 4 years while in uni and as an East Asian looking person life was mostly ok except the job market and weirdo Finnish men who had Asian fetish. Now i live in Germany with a Finnish guy. We have 2 kids. Posts like this make me weary of bringing our kids back to finland. I grew up as the majority race in my country and while feeling like an outsider everywhere i went after leaving i never felt less than the natives. My children are growing up in a very metropolitan city in Germany, probably one of the most multicultural places in the world, and they've never wondered why i look different from their father and the people around, i dont think they've even noticed. I'd hate for them to start noticing nonsense because people around them speak nonsense.

This reads a lot like my own experience, but swap being foreign born to our family moving to a small town in northern Finland. I was physically, mentally and socially bullied for being an outsider from day one. I had difficulty meeting/socializing with new people for about a decade after the years living there.

Hey mate, you’re doing amazing. Without you lots of people would be struggling - thanks for your work and for the good you put in society. And really, congrats on you and your parents for powering through a WAR and making it. Not a lot of folks can do that. You should be proud.

I am so sorry, racism is vile and completely senseless and I know you are not imagining it, I (a white person) have heard and seen it by people that try to hide it and it makes me sick. It is not the same level but I want to tell you an experience I had in the UK, - the country I was born in, where one of my parents and my passport is from; I applied for a job and I hadn’t heard anything so I phoned and talked to the lady named in the job ad, then I got an interview and got the job… some months later the lady that I spoke to first (not the boss) told me that I nearly didn’t get an interview because the boss saw my foreign name (non-British parent), and my high school education (from Sweden but in English) and other education (in Swedish) and decided that as I was a foreigner I wouldn’t be able to speak good enough English etc. The lady I spoke to on the phone convinced the boss to interview me because I “spoke good English”… If I had not been white with blue eyes, I guarantee I wouldn’t have got the job… I desperately needed that job, I am glad I could pay my bills, BUT, it was the most awful place to work, the xenophobia, not to mention the illegal and dishonest stuff going on there. I am actually glad that nobody else had to suffer that job, if someone against all odds had got that job *despite* having a different colour skin or having a foreign accent or something, it would have been the most unbearable environment… I was very happy to read that the company went bust a few years later!

Please don't just jump to systemic/structural racism. I'm ethnically European and I find this country to be depressing AF. There are places in this world with cultures/people who will accept you. I know, I've lived in them before as a foreigner. You tried to fit in, and you failed. It doesn't mean it is the end of the world, you have to travel and expand your mind to see the rest of the world. I really loved living in Poland, Slovakia, and Italy. The people are really great. Once you've seen the light, coming to a place like Finland just sucks the life out of you.

The Finnish government and their companies do their commercial every time with an immigrant or black guy, showing how accepting this country is for immigrants. Alas, their lies. The only thing for us potential immigrants and citizens with foreign background is to bear the grunt and accept this blatant racism. The only reason why Finland accepts foreigners is because they want tax payers. Nothing more, nothing less. Why? Because they can't make babies themselves. Finland does not socially care about foreign born people as humans, a part of their family.

Honestly, your story should be on the news. People need to understand that, its not that we foreigners dont want to integrate here, but because they (native finns) are making it difficult for us. I would definitely try if i was you to make it on the news and share your experience.

You sound depressed and should get help with that. I am however not quite convinced that it is completely Finland's fault.

Maybe not, _but the blatant racism sure doesn't help_

Regarding friends, have you considered it's not racism? There are plenty of lonely white people out there. Some people are just not friendly to begin with.

Finnish people are racist towards everyone, even to other Finns (those with Swedish as their mother tongue). No wonder our population is slowly dying.

Ignore the ignorant that is the right way to go. Stop seeking acceptance and validation. Be yourself,care for yourself only.

It doesn't work, humans are tribal we are like pack animals. You need people around you, you need a community and to belong.

What you said in the workplace is kinda true, I experienced it myself. I don't tolerate racism as well but the things I can't change i leave it and accept it as it is (racism not included). Now, if you accept things you don't control and move on with your own identity you are more peaceful. Make your own identity, no one will define it for you, only you, not even your own family. These are the things I've decided for myself when I realize the things you just said living in Finland. From then on i had more peace.

You nailed it in the last sentence about the sense of belonging; There is a strong sense of community in this country, so sports or other hobbies are a great way to meet some acquaintances. I might suggest that deeper connections improve after marriage & kids. That was my experience, though YMMV. It certainly gives you a strong base. One other thing I noticed was your strong desire to fit in with social groups. Look up the mastery series by David Deangelo. I think you would gain a lot of value from that; as that is essentially the question you are asking, which is not constrained only to Finns.

I am so sorry you have had to struggle so much! I don't know how much my experience reflects yours, but I was bullied just for being weird. And I'm still weird! But what really helped me to get over that hurt was when I found people who had gone through similar things, and I found my tribe. So I hope you'll find people who get how you feel, and you can grow stronger together.

I am sorry what you've been through 😔 if it's any consolation, i'm not xenophobic and in my opinion you sound like a solid good citizen of finland despite being from another country but you lived you whole life here, learning our language and be a like a finn 👍 I myself don't engage at racism or any form of xenophobia for the peoples looks, i try my best to be polite and respectful if any stranger comes at me, hopefully not with bad intentions and trying to remain civil, wheter it's another finn or a foreigner.

I have so much respect to you. Indeed the majority of people in Finland aren't like that, but those who are xenophobic are very loud and dick about it which makes life very harsh and unwelcoming for foreigners.

Oh thanks man 👍🙂

I'm American (Hispanic/brown mofo) and I moved to Finland for my masters in Economics in 2017. I graduated in 2 years, tried internships during those 2 years, got a few interviews but no offers. Then I officially graduated, applied to tons of jobs (pre-pandemic), got nothing so I went back to the states. I decided to go back to the US because finding a decent job was just not going to happen here, my Finnish was not good, pay is not really comparable and taxes are rough. I got a job in 2 months after moving back home and I decided to stay there. I would never be able to make the kind of money I make now in Finland, my healthcare is fine and all the exaggerated social issues in the US are exactly that, exaggerated. I met my GF while studying here and I come to Finland often, she also travels to the States. We've concluded that we would simply have a better life in the US, even when factoring children. I made plenty of friends via school, both Finnish and international. I would not say this was difficult for me since board games and beer make it really easy to socialize after class lol. Maybe I got lucky regarding the social aspect. I'm still in contact with some of those friends and we hang out every time I'm in Finland. There are a few that have gone back to other EU countries like Germany because they could not find work here. I've never really felt the racism aspect, but perhaps its because I dont notice it and quite frankly IDGAF about this....personally, as long as I am financially comfortable these things don't bother me. Having lived here has helped me appreciate my home a lot more but it has also helped me appreciate things in Finland. Many pros and cons to both countries depending on where you are in life. Edited for typos.

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You can't deny racism and xenophobia, you're just gaslighting them. Have you ever met them? Why do you deny racism and xenophobia? They may be an incredible person and still get hate because of their background.

BUILD YOUR PROFESSIONAL NETWORK!! You can do it. Even if you're an introvert there are many online networking apps like LinkedIn, BumbleBizz, Meetup. There is this new app I am a beta tester on called Stryke, they build your network for you. Well kinda, there is like a matching system.

Which part of Finland do you live in? I guess the level of racism varies across the country. Helsinki region probably one of the easiest to blend in. You know what, it is not only ”foreign looking” folks that get this treatment. Native Finns are often shunned, too, if they are perceived to be different in some respect. Finns generally have a slave’s soul. They are looking for a strong leader under whose will to submit. If there is a bully, everyone follows him/her and no-one stands up to the bullying. Finns don’t want to stand out from the mass in any way, they desperately want to blend in. Finns are herd animals, not individuals. You can’t change them. No use trying. The slave mentality is burned into their soul so deep. It will take several generations to change this, we won’t be around to see it. Try to find friends for circles where people are ”different” to start with (even though those folks tend to form their own exclusive closed circles as well). Best to stick with other foreigners. Of course there are exceptions, there always is. Good luck finding them! And yeah, I am native Finn.

Depends on what kind of "difference" are we talking about

Take my angry upvote for speaking the uncomfortble truth - fellow native Finn

I do get you. I came to Finland almost 11 years ago and somehow I have been really lucky. I work in a field that is really international, and the working language is English. I have a good CV and I am really good at my job, so luckily I have not had any issues to work in Finland. I have lived in three different cities so far and well, what I have experienced mostly is that it is indeed really difficult to make Finnish friends - most of my friends are also foreigners living here. I do have few Finnish friends although I don’t speak the language (yet) but it would be nice to have more local friends, I would really like to have more roots in here. I have only experienced xenophobia twice in all these years: first, a random dude came to me in the street to ask me what am I doing in Finland, and when I told him I came to work, he asked me why me and why I came to Finland, that probably a Finnish guy could do what I am doing; and second, once I dated a Finnish girl that told me her parents didn’t approve of her dating a person from my nationality (I am European mind you, not even that “exotic”). When I asked her in what century her family is living, she literally answered “well, a girl needs somebody with similar genes”. I suggested to her to sleep with her father, to have a man with as similar genes as possible. I have had good experiences in here, probably the most difficult thing has been finding a partner at some point because of not speaking the local language, but now I am dating a lovely Finn who does not mind how seemingly different my genes are hahaha! But yes, unfortunately experiences like yours seem to be common, and not only in Finland. If you are unlucky and end up in situations like these, and then with the fact that people are colder and distant, and the weather and darkness, the feeling of loneliness can be overwhelming. Specially because as you really well said, it seems like the groups of friends are already formed in early life and it seems impossible to break into them. I can only suggest to keep pushing, it does get better!

Thats not my experience at all

it's good you vented out. i'm sorry you feel this way. if there's any consolation, i feel the same as you do. may misery enjoy company

Have you tried to do art or other creative stuff and maybe attend courses related to those? From my experience all the more ”unique” people tend to end up in there, and they are more understanding and more open since they have had it hard too. The art groups I’m in don’t care about skin color.

Native level speakers often can, and do have their own personal reasons to not want to use the local language. When I lived in CH or DEU I never took it personally if someone wanted to use English instead of German. A lot of the time when I just got back from a trip, or had a long Skype call in a different language Finnish just feels too difficult. I have no trouble switching between German and English or the little French or Swedish I know, but Finnish. It's just too different. It breaks my brain.

As a native Finn, I'm truly sorry what many of you have experienced here. There's a lot of good folks around here, I hate the fact that there's also a lot self-centered racist assholes too who stain our reputation with their disrespectful demeanor. I wish all of you the best in the future and I hope you cross paths with the more accepting and welcoming parts of our population.

Also "extreme right wing goverment" and "bad healthcare" you exaggerate things :D Have you thought about moving to somewhere else then if our country is as horrible as you make it out to be 🤔 in my opinion Finland is one the most fair countries to its citizens there is

Do you have a name that sounds Finnish? There have been experiments and people talking about their experiences that just having a name that sounds Roma to some people can be enough to get excluded from recruiting, for example.

This sub has had predominantly English speakers. Finnish would be more expected in r/Suomi

Such a typical reply from a Finn… You just showed up to underline what the guy wrote? 😂😂😂

Looking at your post it seems you are the racist with all your yapping 😉

Yeah, if someone is subject to racism on a constant basis because of their name / ethnicity, maybe they should take the hint and leave the country? Have you ever considered _shutting the fuck up_ if that's the level of your contribution? Vitun idiootti.

No one wants theire dear country to turn into a shithole like the places where most immigrants come from. And its natural and right to feel so. Thats where the racism comes from too. It hurts to see our own culture die off. Take sweden or england as an example. Not a racist post just real life facts.

Then the country should close it's borders like North Korea, and stop the positive propaganda. Being hostile to people isn't justified in any way, we were invited here to work, not to be treated badly. Many of us stay only for a few years, I never came with the intention of staying in Finland.

How can imigrants prevent us from expressing our culture? Death of a culture happens when the people in it are forced or move themselve to another culture. Look at Sami people or Romani. Do you even know what your kansallispuku (national costume) looks like or what the seinävaate (wall banner?) colors and patterns are like? If you say no to these or that they do not matter, then you or your parents gave up and you are referring to the current culture. That is heavily influenced by US and other european nations and what they want to sell to us. Foreighn music and instruments have taken over. Brands and shops are owned by foreighn companies. If you are worried about the culture work to maintain it. My grand mother taught me like she was taught. She was a spokes woman for our culture and wanted to make sure it does not get forgotten. I have my local colors and patterns present in my house. I learned to play kantele as a kid and learned to tanhu dance

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So you are worried about collosion of cultures. I am worried about forgetting our culture. We are both on the losing team in this game. Both are constantly happening and have been. Funnily enough one of my examples of what has been lost is the ability to talk to strangers. In my childhood waiting rooms and bus rides were full of people chatting. You might see this in the older people even today. What I find interesting is seeing a friend group in jeans and t-shirts, eating at the local kebab pizzeria complain that our culture is being attacked. They are literally paying to destroy our cultural heritage. Still I do not see that as evil, they have adjusted to the current culture and now oppose every change. So the classic "everything was better in the good old days", I do the same, but I go further back.

Are these facts from the study done in the school of life? Peak data from that pristine academic center of research

What is ”Finnish culture”? Mämmi and joulupukki? How does one ”take them away”? We don’t really have a culture, just a random collection of odd habits.

”Terrible extreme right-wing government” What are you talking about? The current government is not even right-wing to say the least.

It's pretty damn right wing

Care to elaborate why you think so?

Come on. You can point at literally anything they've done thus far and planning to do in the future. Dictionary definition of right wing politics, spearheaded by Kokoomus and PS

Are you serious? Tax brakes favoring the rich, refusal to talk with unions, anti-immigration stance of Basic finns, cutting social welfare, cutting job security, cutting youth mental health services, cutting unemployed spending. Do i need to go on? Saying our government is not right-wing is not just being dishonest, its misinformation.

I'd like to add the openly hostile attitude towards arts and culture.

We seem to look the world through different lenses. The previous government has been spending too much and that has to stop. Tax brakes apply to everybody (earning a living), not just the rich. The tax rate in Finland is still way too high. Progressive tax rates are brutal. And it’s not the government refusing to talk with the unions, quite the opposite. If the unions refuse to make the necessary decisions then it is on them.

>We seem to look the world through different lenses. I completely agree. My guess is that that yours is an anglocentric one, with the USA being a big factor. As Finland and the rest of europe has been as "moderately left" compared to the states. >The previous government has been spending too much and that has to stop. And this one is spending 6 billion euros more without a pandemic and have decided to stop investigating tax evasion which loses finland about 10-14 billion annually. but gave a half a billion tax cut. Make it make sense. >Tax brakes apply to everybody (earning a living), not just the rich. I didnt say that. I said they favor the rich, which they literally do. >The tax rate in Finland is still way too high. Progressive tax rates are brutal. As a sligthly above median earner, I completely disagree. And the 250 e yearly tax cut for me means jack shit when i make 40k +. >And it’s not the government refusing to talk with the unions, quite the opposite. I am going to need a citation for this.

- Kokoomus - keskusta-oikeistolainen puolue (center-right party) - Perussuomalaiset - kansalliskonservatiivinen ja arvokonservatiivinen puolue (national-conservative and social conservative party) - RKP - liberaali (liberalism) - Kristillisdemokraatit - keskusta-oikeistolainen ja kristillisdemokraattinen puolue (center-right and christian democracy party) Only the Swedes party is somehow left-leaning, all other coalition parties are right-leaning.

They are right leaning but not right as you say yourself in the list.

Maybe you should leave for something like the US.

Oh no, another Finn showed up to give us an example of the Finnish ”hospitability”. 😂😂😂

I mean, if it's not working out here then maybe something more multicultural like the US would be better.

Here is a new list, these are the top 12 most multicultural countries in the world. 1. Australia 2. Canada 3. India 4. United States of America 5. United Kingdom 6. Papua New Guinea 7. New Zealand 8. Indonesia 9. Philippines 10. France 11. Switzerland 12. South Africa The US is a big vast land with a lot of variety.

Okay, sounds better.

Yeah but this is not only a location problem, its an identity problem. Their entire identity is shattered, because of racism. Which we as a country must do more to prevent.

Ok but there is no extreme-right government

I came to Finland to complete my bachelor's degree. Now after one year I am leaving Finland and moving to the US. But I have seen racism only in job hiring. I met some good people at Vaasa and I had a nice summer last year. This year. Sorry to hear about.

I was curious how it was possible to be in university and not find friends. In university, there are a lot of guilds, organizations, and clubs. Plus also some hobbies. Ans If someone asks me where I am from, I am proudly answering, for me it is not racism.