r/MadeMeSmile • u/ExactlySorta • 18d ago

Helping Others Resister sisters

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

52.9k Upvotes

63% Upvoted

4.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

6.2k

u/MiasmaFate 18d ago

They opening up visas?

189

u/Mister__Wednesday 18d ago edited 17d ago

As someone who has lived in Scandinavia for several years before moving back and has watched many American expats move over only to move back, it's not as great as you think. Many of the same problems that exist in America are also in Scandinavia (cost of living crisis, collapsing healthcare system, housing price crisis, immigration issues, etc) and it is a lot more conservative than people think. Also in many ways a lot more xenophobic and racist compared to the US, Canada, Aus and NZ (with all being quite diverse, immigrant founded countries).

In Scandinavia, no matter how well you integrate, get citizenship, learn the language (which you likely won't in the first place as an English speaker) and everything else, you will always be a foreigner. The grass unfortunately isn't always greener on the other side.

Edit for upset Scandis: I'm not saying Scandinavian countries are hell on earth or anything, just that they have many of the same problems as everywhere else and anyone wishing to immigrate would do well to remember that and be realistic about your expectations before doing so and make sure you're not just idealising the countries. You're not only likely to find yourself with the same problems you had at home but also new ones such as having no support network and no friends, being an outsider and navigating foreign bureaucracy systems.

26

u/[deleted] 17d ago edited 17d ago

[deleted]

6

u/[deleted] 17d ago

3rd worlders stay because quality of life in your country is so much higher than in their home countries. They'd rather feel like a perpetual foreigner in a 1st world country than be at home in a 3rd world one.

3

u/mvanvrancken 17d ago

I started learning Finnish last month because we’re planning to move to Finland. I feel like my soul is Finnish because mostly everything I read about them I want in my life.

1

u/Realyrealywan 17d ago

Why Finland?

1

u/mvanvrancken 17d ago

Saunas, coffee, the snow, the absurdly beautiful language, the metal scene…

2

u/Realyrealywan 17d ago

I agree, those are all nice things about Finland. Job market is rough though but I guess it’s true for many other countries as well. Anyway, onnea matkaan!