Why I hate Finland (on occasion)
German writer and Icelandic resident Katharina Hauptmann recently wrote a piece for Iceland Review Online entitled “Ten Things I Hate About You, Iceland.” So that led me to think, what do I hate about Finland?
Anyone who reads this blog knows that I love living here. I often tell people how much I love living here because it is a great place to raise kids and there is always something new to learn. But, I’ll admit, I do have my “I hate Finland” days and here’s why (in no particular order):
Drunk driving – Even though the rate of reported drunk driving is not high (according to statistics and the police), the number of repeat offenders and the amount of alcohol they have in their system is staggering. Some offenders have so much alcohol in their blood that it would cause other people to pass out. The punishments meted out for drunk driving (and drunk driving causing injury or death) are a joke and do not reflect the severity of the crime. The offenders walk after a short time in jail and the victims have to live with the horror for the rest of their lives.
High prices – Especially for cars, gas, eye glasses, books and food. I often wonder how some people are able to afford having a car. A second car in my household would break the bank.
Idiot drivers – I’m not sure what I hate more, tailgaters or aggressive drivers who act like assholes when someone is driving safely / the speed limit. The “MINÄ” (ME, ME, ME!) culture definitely exists among a lot of Finnish men in the driving set. Running red lights is a sport apparently.
Soft on crime – Especially when it comes to people convicted of abusing children, the elderly and the vulnerable. The punishments meted out for crimes against children are pathetic and often do not reflect the seriousness of the crime. A few months in jail for sexual abuse of children is the norm – again, the victims suffer a life time.
Unsustainable rate of building – I cannot for the life of me understand why there is so much building going on in the capital area. Are we really that short of residential housing and office buildings? According to a report in Helsingin Sanomat nearly two years ago, there were more than one million square metres of unoccupied office space. WHY are they building more? Bye, bye to green spaces alround…
Cheap prices for all the bad things – This mostly relates to food stuffs like candy and pop. I have lamented in this blog in the past that a junk food tax should be levied against candy, pop and other forms of junk food known to contribute to lifestyle diseases like diabetes and obesity. (Yes – acknowledged that this is a very general blanket statement.) Start rewarding people who practice good food consumption habits!
Shopping for clothes – In Finland I am considered a plus size. In Canada, I am “normal” and finding pants that fit is a cinch. Finding bras and pants that are the right size in a store in Finland (at a reasonable price I might add) are an incredible headache. A nightmare, in fact… Otherwise I have discovered I am better off to just follow those instincts and moments when they hit me: Power shop and be done with it. Fortunately in those instances shopping trips are usually successful and I don’t feel pissed off or hopeless about not finding the right clothes.
The language – Yes, some days it is virtually impossible, nuff said! (see previous entries on the language here and here)
Littering, spitting and smoking – I feel a boiling rage when I see someone throw garbage on the ground in the vicinity of a garbage can – I mean, come on! I know that littering is a problem the world over, but the world is not our garbage can and we shouldn’t be treating it like one. Teen-aged girls who smoke (and think they are so cool) are sooo stupid looking, and disgusting when they proceed to spit on the ground in front of other people… Ugh – GROSS!
Crappy TV shows – I speak more with regards to the commercial TV stations that show all sorts of shitty US TV shows. I cannot stand reality TV, and yet we’re still subjected to it here in Finland. UGH! <vomit> Fortunately I can change the channel or better yet, turn it off.
Care to share your opinions here?
No worries, I’ll be sure to tell you what I like about in Finland in another entry. It’s not all bad!
Oh yeah, hard to believe, but there are also not so good things about Finland.
I completely agree with your top 10 (although the language does not bother me so much anymore). I add a follow-up top 10:
1. not braking for pedestrians on pedestrian crossings – a huge behavior problem: including injuries and deaths. Traffic behavior without eye-contact and respect to others. Also, mingling with mobile phones while driving (90% on Ring I…).
2. self-service culture and poor customer service (getting a good service can be quite a nice surprise though) – e-mails to contact addresses end up somewhere in nirvana with no response. Impression that nobody wants sell you anything, expensive hotlines, poorly trained staff unable to professionally advise. Reclamation of poor quality stuff drags on in time or is not leading anywhere. Overpriced services such as tailor, shoe-maker, cleaning (with lengthy waiting time).
3. “outsourcing your brains” – the state will take care of how much alcohol you consume, where and when you buy it and supervise it closely, and soon perhaps how to fine you for commuting by car (while not offering any other options). Patronizing is something I cannot stand.
4. No free-market competition. Oligopolies: choose K or S-markets and their overpriced stuff. The same as for products (Valio or Ingman?).
5. Bad-mouthing foreign products in order to overprice domestic products. I’m astonished how people survive outside Finland eating all that crap
6. Currently – racism and xenophobia on the rise – even (certain group of) politicians making comments below the beltline don’t get any consequences for doing so.
7. Public healthcare – (private) occupational healthcare is a rescue! Long queues e.g. for municipal dentist, poor prevention of serious illnesses (compared to other countries), bureaucratic emergency case service (to refrain from first aid if you are closer than 50 km to your residence place), long waiting times for ambulance. Also bureaucracy elsewhere in public sector (every tiny village has to have different rules, different paper forms for everything)…
8. Lack of basic courtesy: smashing the door in front of your face, not greeting (e.g. when entering a room filled with other people, such as a waiting room etc.), pushing through without a word when going out of a bus, etc. Feels like “living in a bubble”.
9. Old-fashioned hotels and rarely good (mid-class) restaurants with both good food AND good service thanks to uniting them to S, K, or other chains.
10. People are extremely sensitive towards bad feedback about Finland from the mouth of a foreigner (even when sharing the same opinion). Basically, what we did here
And the example case: Abu-Hanna’s article followed by digging facts that “elsewhere it’s not better either”: Still, Finns ask very often (more than any other nation, in my opinion) what is good and bad in their country, but actually wanting to hear only superlatives 
Superlatives: next time!
Thanks Sonia, your additions are good ones!
To be honest, this is more an article about “Why I hate things” rather than “Why I hate Finland”. Being critical about USTV shows is really just criticizing the US, it’s not specifically a Finnish thing to broadcast them. “Cheap” prices for unhealthy goods is again not a serious issue concerning Finland but rather more of an issue in the west, where lower class diabetes and obesity related illnesses are a serious problem. Teenagers smoke and spit everywhere around the world (unless it’s illegal) and Finland is one of the cleanest countries in the world. Surely littering would rather make you hate a place like Naples, where it’s a serious, local issue.
I’m not trying to say that some of these aren’t real issues like the driving mentality, I’m just saying most of these things aren’t exactly reasons to hate Finland but rather just things to be upset about in general. If you ever decide to revisit this topic or the likes maybe you could address some more local, specific issues.
Thanks for your comments Jaimie. I would have to say that some of things that I am “upset about in general” are Finland-specific, at least for me. Some of these things do not happen a great deal where I come from. I have travelled a little, but with regards to living my only comparison to Finland is where I come from.
As a (almost full-time) pedestrian, I have serious issues with the driving culture and safety in Espoo. Northern Ontario drivers are a little more courteous…
Regarding “cleanest country in the world” (yeah, there are some statistics), my Finnish husband would strongly disagree (me too, but not so strongly, because similar way exists elsewhere too). Finland is nearly as big as Germany and has 5 million inhabitants (vs. 82 mio. in Germany). For that, it is not clean. When there would be as many people who behave this way (vandalism by pure anger and “nothing better to do” is really high in here). Also, when something is broken (traffic signs, roads, appliances, etc.) Finns leave it as it is for months if not years, while e.g. in Germany it’s fixed right away (also my husband’s observation more than mine). I can name many, many examples which are even a safety issue – nothing happens unless someone gets badly injured. This is really typical, sorry to say that.
I agree with Carmen, some are certainly Finland-specific and even if not, it’s our daily life so we get confronted with it (more than elsewhere?).
im waiting for ur another entry which is abt what u love in Finland.
Great post!
Thanks for surfing in Steve!
I wouldn’t know about the reality TV, because I hate it too, but the reason why the other crappy US TV shows are shown is because the US networks bundle them with the good ones.
Unless you’re a vegetarian, you forgot to mention makkara. I don’t know why these things they call sausages are so popular. I’m from Germany, so I know about good sausages
My theory is that the sausages are made of the leftovers of the Finnish wood-processing industry
I am from Germany too and Finnish makkara (won’t use the word sausage, it’s an insult) is done from koneliha (all left overs you can get from the skeleton by high-pressure water stream, ears, you don’t wanna know, flour, cheap industrial fat). I am not into sausages, but now I miss them after all…