Are the Nordic countries paradise on earth.

dj jarvis · 06-09-2013 06:26PM

the life expectancy of the Nordic country's is the same as here , its down to the quality of that life,

I spend a month a year ( at least ) in Finland , and i have to say , it might not be paradise , but socially its light years ahead of here,

best education system in the world,
one of, if not the best health care in the world,
good social welfare for those that deserve it ( you pay in , you get back)
a union for self employed people ( not like the slavery heaped onto self employed people here )
a good example of this union is this , if your business is failing or the work stops , the union will pay you 80% of your avg wage for 2 year , while paying for you to up skill of change career - while here you get a kick in the balls and told to jog on

forward thinking family friendly policy's - not like the crap here.

as for the military service in Finland - most people choose to do it
not just for the buzz but out of civic pride, and the national memory of the Russians attacking. ( the winter war and the continuation war)
My son is a Finnish citizen and will be asked to do his service , and i will encourage this - it will be good character building activity.

i wish i was asked at 18 to head off to Finland to do military service , in a country full of gorgeous women who love the Irish and the Irish accent,
happy days indeed

fits · 06-09-2013 06:29PM

My name is URL wrote: »

Yeah, that'd be a big put-off for me too. I mean how 'liberal and progressive' can a place be if you're virtually forced into the military, regardless of what you believe in, for 2 years as a young adult?

Hmm when your neighbour is Russia, who have tried it on before, you can understand the military service thing. I'm in Finland the last year and its a grand spot tbh.

4zn76tysfajdxp · 06-09-2013 06:29PM

My name is URL wrote: »

Yeah, that'd be a big put-off for me too. I mean how 'liberal and progressive' can a place be if you're virtually forced into the military, regardless of what you believe in, for 2 years as a young adult?

Military service in Finland can sometimes be as short as four months, though.

dj jarvis · 06-09-2013 06:30PM

My name is URL wrote: »

Yeah, that'd be a big put-off for me too. I mean how 'liberal and progressive' can a place be if you're virtually forced into the military, regardless of what you believe in, for 2 years as a young adult?

rubbish

its one year and you can opt out , you can do all sorts of community work instead .
the Finns had the option to remove this and didn't - becasue they can see the social benefits of having healthy trained young people with civic pride

compared to Ireland socially its utopia - Ireland looks backward the way it treats it citizens

Lawrence1895 · 06-09-2013 06:31PM

If they do community service in Finland, do they serve the same period, as the soldiers do?

I didn't go to the army way back in Germany, and the community service was always three months longer :mad:

dj jarvis · 06-09-2013 06:37PM

Lars1916 wrote: »

If they do community service in Finland, do they serve the same period, as the soldiers do?

I didn't go to the army way back in Germany, and the community service was always three months longer :mad:

they do the same time as they would have in the army , but the time spent in the army can differ hugely for a large amount of reasons

its not as one poster alluded to - you are not frog marched off to a army camp against your will for 2 years - that just does not happen

both my sisters are married to Germans , and their husbands both had the option of community service , one took the navy one took helping old people
The one that done the social work regretted it , the one that went to the navy developed a fondness for beer :-)

inocybe · 06-09-2013 06:37PM

Where I worked I had a window looking out on to an idyllic nordic city park. Fantastic view of the heroin addicts shooting up, and of the ambulance-a-day coming to cart away the overdoses. Was mugged at a cashpoint, always scared walking home as there had been a lot of rapes. Bus drivers would regularly skip stopping at my local bus stop when there was a big group of African students waiting.
Found the locals to be quite inward looking, bordering on xenophobic and arrogant. Cost of living was horrific, very difficult to afford basics. All discounts for travel were for norwegians only.
And at a certain time of year marching bands of boys would come by at a ridiculously early hour of sunday morning, banging drums and making a racket in the name of patriotism. Now can anyone guess the city?

Legs.Eleven · 06-09-2013 06:38PM

Seaneh wrote: »

From his name, I'm guessing Sweden.

Ah!

Oooh silly me! Norway appeals to me more.

Nodin · 06-09-2013 06:40PM

dj jarvis wrote: »

they do the same time as they would have in the army , but the time spent in the army can differ hugely for a large amount of reasons

its not as one poster alluded to - you are not frog marched off to a army camp against your will for 2 years - that just does not happen

both my sisters are married to Germans , and their husbands both had the option of community service , one took the navy one took helping old people
The one that done the social work regretted it , the one that went to the navy developed a fondness for beer :-)

Note to self - Take "beer connosieur" option, not training for Enforced Euthanasia Advocate...

dj jarvis · 06-09-2013 06:41PM

inocybe wrote: »

Where I worked I had a window looking out on to an idyllic nordic city park. Fantastic view of the heroin addicts shooting up, and of the ambulance-a-day coming to cart away the overdoses. Was mugged at a cashpoint, always scared walking home as there had been a lot of rapes. Bus drivers would regularly skip stopping at my local bus stop when there was a big group of African students waiting.
Found the locals to be quite inward looking, bordering on xenophobic and arrogant. Cost of living was horrific, very difficult to afford basics. All discounts for travel were for norwegians only.
And at a certain time of year marching bands of boys would come by at a ridiculously early hour of sunday morning, banging drums and making a racket in the name of patriotism. Now can anyone guess the city?

It could be ANY city in any Nordic country , no one said this did not happen,
they are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination

thing is , this ALSO happens here in Ireland , but we dont have the benefits of the social care they have

lose lose for us really

( as for name the city - i'll go Helsinki

)

Reiketsu · 06-09-2013 06:43PM

I have friends in Gothenburg so I have been there a couple of times. Lovely city and nice people but pricey compared to here even for basics like bread. My friends that live there say it isn't as good as it used to be.

EB_2013 · 06-09-2013 06:45PM

inocybe wrote: »

Where I worked I had a window looking out on to an idyllic nordic city park. Fantastic view of the heroin addicts shooting up, and of the ambulance-a-day coming to cart away the overdoses. Was mugged at a cashpoint, always scared walking home as there had been a lot of rapes. Bus drivers would regularly skip stopping at my local bus stop when there was a big group of African students waiting.
Found the locals to be quite inward looking, bordering on xenophobic and arrogant. Cost of living was horrific, very difficult to afford basics. All discounts for travel were for norwegians only.
And at a certain time of year marching bands of boys would come by at a ridiculously early hour of sunday morning, banging drums and making a racket in the name of patriotism. Now can anyone guess the city?

Still sounds better than Dublin.

inocybe · 06-09-2013 06:45PM

dj jarvis wrote: »

It could be ANY city in any Nordic country , no one said this did not happen,
they are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination

thing is , this ALSO happens here in Ireland , but we dont have the benefits of the social care they have

lose lose for us really

( as for name the city - i'll go Helsinki )

oh sorry, I misread the thread title then:p
wrong city, unless other places have those annoying, male only, drumming, crossbow bearing, noise makers.:mad:

crockholm · 06-09-2013 06:49PM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

Ah! Oooh silly me! Norway appeals to me more.

Norway is an insanely beautiful country,not sure they would have the need for English language teachers though:oAnd no-one has yet mentioned Legoland in Denmark:mad:

MadsL · 06-09-2013 06:54PM

Oranage2 wrote: »

Arent they known for their terrible cusine?

My name is URL wrote: »

The world's 'best' restaurant happens to be in Copenhagen, which for some people means that Nordic countries must have the best cuisines.

I happen to like herring.

_Redzer_ · 06-09-2013 06:56PM

HalloweenJack wrote: »

You forgot to mention military service for males. I know it exists in Finland and I think Norway. Definitely not a bonus point. You can swap military service for community service (in Finland, at least) but people who do this are seen as a bit odd.

I don't see the issue. Builds you up and makes you a more independent person. I think it's a good foundation to have when you're a young adult and that will stand to you throughout your life.

06-09-2013 07:01PM

_Redzer_ wrote: »

I don't see the issue. Builds you up and makes you a more independent person. I think it's a good foundation to have when you're a young adult and that will stand to you throughout your life.

Being forced to do something by the state makes you more independent yea

questionmark? · 06-09-2013 07:02PM

My name is URL wrote: »

The world's 'best' restaurant happens to be in Copenhagen, which for some people means that Nordic countries must have the best cuisines.

At least with the worlds best restaurant it has a least one good thing going for it. Dirty, smelly, noisy city.

My name is URL · 06-09-2013 07:03PM

dj jarvis wrote: »

rubbish

its one year and you can opt out , you can do all sorts of community work instead .
they Finns had the option to remove this and didn't - becasue they can see the social benefits of having healthy trained young people with civic pride

compared to Ireland socially its utopia - Ireland looks backward the way it treats it citizens

Where are you speaking of? I assume Finland.

In Norway, the minimum and mandatory term is 18 months, and that can be extended for any number of reasons. There are certain ways in which you can 'opt-out', but it's something which is still socially frowned upon to a very large degree.

Not sure what the situation is regarding swapping military service for community service.. in any event it's one of the least attractive aspects of it. The state should not be in a position to take away any of your liberties (once you have not signed them away by being a criminal), however big or small they are, if you are to truly regard yourself as a free individual.

Legs.Eleven · 06-09-2013 07:04PM

crockholm wrote: »

Norway is an insanely beautiful country,not sure they would have the need for English language teachers though:oAnd no-one has yet mentioned Legoland in Denmark:mad:

I'd work in my other profession - Lollipop Lady.

Micky Dolenz · 06-09-2013 07:05PM

I had a chance to work in that part of the world but any place that calls winter "The dark" isn't for me.

Mike 1972 · 06-09-2013 07:07PM

Swedens reputation as a liberal paraise is somewhat undeserved given their hardline stance on drug prohibtion and prostitution. Not to mention the fact that they had an official eugenics programme right up until the 1970,s and a growing far right menace today.

_Redzer_ · 06-09-2013 07:08PM

bluewolf wrote: »

Being forced to do something by the state makes you more independent yea

Well if I was a young guy and was mandated into the military I would have to mature a lot and learn to be stronger and more independent, yes. I've met a few people who were in the army and they were mad independent after because while there they had to do everything themselves because nobody else was there to do it for them. I see no harm in it, personally.

Sh1tbag OToole · 06-09-2013 07:10PM

Loads of tax

Celtic tiger Cafe en Seine prices for drink are normal

People topping themselves out of depression

Government that doesnt allow you to do anything

Mandatory naked saunas with your parents

No thx.

dj jarvis · 06-09-2013 07:10PM

My name is URL wrote: »

Where are you speaking of? I assume Finland.

In Norway, the minimum and mandatory term is 18 months, and that can be extended for any number of reasons. There are certain ways in which you can 'opt-out', but it's something which is still socially frowned upon to a very large degree.

Not sure what the situation is regarding swapping military service for community service.. in any event it's one of the least attractive aspects of it. The state should not be in a position to take away any of your liberties (once you have not signed them away by being a criminal), however big or small they are, if you are a to truly regard yourself as a free individual.

yea , recite that back to your government , after they have taken care of your welfare from birth , best health , best education , super social back up , when the big angry bear comes knocking on your door ,
funnybut some of the most forward liberal nations on this planet , let alone Europe have mandatory military service

If it was such a infringement on your rights , would the country's with some of the most vocal civil rights advocates not be jumping to getting this abhorrent behavior stopped ? no they dont , as i said , it was put to the Finns years back and they said keep it

you have your view looking in , try it from their side

06-09-2013 07:11PM

_Redzer_ wrote: »

Well if I was a young guy and was mandated into the military I would have to mature a lot and learn to be stronger and more independent, yes. I've met a few people who were in the army and they were mad independent after because while there they had to do everything themselves because nobody else was there to do it for them. I see no harm in it, personally.

Well great. The rest of us have lives to get on with and value our freedom, not wasting up to 2 years of life because a few people who are nothing to do with us "need maturing".

dj jarvis · 06-09-2013 07:13PM

bluewolf wrote: »

Being forced to do something by the state makes you more independent yea

reminds me of the GAA TBH

06-09-2013 07:14PM

dj jarvis wrote: »

reminds me of the GAA TBH

Eh?

Micky Dolenz · 06-09-2013 07:14PM

dj jarvis wrote: »

reminds me of the GAA TBH

How so?

Legs.Eleven · 06-09-2013 07:15PM

dj jarvis wrote: »

reminds me of the GAA TBH

Hmmm.

Are the Nordic countries paradise on earth.

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