LIFE IN FINLAND | 9 Things that shocked me living in Finland

NOTICE ME HERE!
after so many comments
1. Im LATIN american, not USA american...its different
2. the shower thing wasn't about the curtain, it was a bout the fact that the design is meant to be able to wet the whole bathroom and there are drains for that and not like a concrete thing separating it from the rest of the bathroom...

Anywhere new we go we notice differences from our home countries, cities or whatever in customs, food, habits,well anything really. In this video i share just a few that were really surprising to me that i have noticed in the few months living here in Oulu Finland.
If there is anything you have noticed as well, go ahead and leave a comment, maybe i haven't noticed a hidden gem or something :D

Music provided by my one and only T.Vaisanen

[yorkaturr]

Fun fact about Finnish water quality. The Coca-Cola company set up a beverage factory in Kerava about 20 km outside of Helsinki, and they wanted a raw water sample just to know what kind of filtration equipment was needed. So the guys over here sent a bottle of regular tap water to the Coca-Cola company's lab to be analyzed. A week later they responded with an angry e-mail that they wanted regular tap water and not super filtered production-quality distilled water, and the guys setting up the factory over here were baffled because that was it, just the same stuff we flush our toilets with.

[maestrobash]

Bottled water is expensive because it's taxed heavily. It's taxed heavily because bottled water is horrible for the environment, and as Finlands tap water is of higher quality than your average bottled water, it makes sense to encourage people to drink the tap water by making bottled water expensive. Bottled water is more to use in emergencies, not something you should be buying regularly. In Finland, I have not bought bottled water in my life, though I have when travelling in countries where the quality of the tap water is questionable.

[PaperiLiidokki]

Finns don't care but silently judge

[okaro]

Someone has stolen your shower curtains.

[Aquelll]

Go to any public bathroom and fill your waterbottle from the tap. Water is expensive because nobody buys it bottled. :)

[LaGiaGarcia]

I love that people see the value of what you have to offer as a person rather than your appearance. That's def a positive culture shock! I love it.

[LoganHunter]

Don't buy bottled water unless it's necessary. Just drink tab water. It's clean no matter where you drink it (except trains)

[MauriMahtava]

water is super expensive, because it is really rare that anyone buys them. You can get it free fills almost anywhere. If you need water you usually bring your own tap water.

[martinperry]

One thing you didn't mention about the seasons: in the winter, there's no day-time, in the summer, there's no night-time.

[ainohautamaki]

Finnish people do judge, but quietly. They may say "you know what I saw at the supermarket today!?" at home later about someone, but most sensible young adults and older are careful about hurting others with their words or actions. I think we strike a good balance between freedom to think and feel what you want, and courtesy towards other people and minding your own business. Having an out of the norm personality and some behavior to go with it, I have plenty of experience with this, and I can tell Finland is a good place to avoid "public prosecution". Nobody cares (enough to show it).

[Snofey]

I lived with my parents until I turned 22 and moved away to study. People thought that it was unusual to live at home that ”old” 😂 While my spanish friend is now 28 and just recently moved away from home. Totally normal there but in Finland people would think you have serious problems or something. It’s kinda sad actually 😂

[ArchieArpeggio]

Well that´s the reason we use shower curtains that water does not sprinkle everywhere.
Oulu is one of the biggest cities in Finland so the transportation in there with public transportation works and is good. If you go 200 km south to smaller city of Kokkola (about 50k people), there the public transportation sucks and is expencive. It is my home city so i can tell this for sure. Mainly i live now in Tampere becouse i work here and the transportation is good and much cheaper.
Yes, we take recycling seriously. We like to keep the country clean. We have had most of these recycling habbits from early 90´s. Before that we were recycling only paper. Then came recycling bins for metal, glass and plactics as well. Biowaste is propably the newest thing (some people had them own composts even earlier) thing in recycle. It also has been little bit different in different cities and areas how it has developed by the years.
Well independence is in young age suitable if you want to have serious relationship whit the other gender. If you are over 20 and you live with your parents it´s harder to get "lucky" and pick up someone with you. I couldn´t even tought that iwould bring home some woman and have sex with her in same apartment while my mom was sleeping in another room. Just not ok to do that. Things changed quite alot after i got my first apartment before i was 19.

[timomastosalo]

Water: Finns usually carry a water bottle in the backpack, especially sommertime. So: tap water - which you pay in your rent, or alongside according to consumption, depending on the house.

[tietosanakirja]

I'm surprised I didn't see anyone else mention shower curtains. In the picture, you can see a curtain rod where you're supposed to hang a shower curtain.

The shower curtain is plastic. People don't usually leave their old shower curtain when they move. It's considered unhygienic to do so. Bigger houses with bigger bathrooms have different arrangements. Shower curtain is common in more budget friendly housing.

[noteithne]

About that shower thing...

That is what we have "suihkuverho" (showercurtain?) for. It stops the water frow going all over the bathroom :))

[jemina]

Welcome to Finland❤
1.Showercurtains..i hate those. They are supposed to instal in that level in shower. Buy something thick and good fabric..becouse when they stick in your skin, it feels so slimy and mean 😂❤ and dry the floor after❤

[annagiersz]

Finland actually sounds pretty amazing. I am currently in Barcelona and the water is cheap but the amount of plastic flying around is shocking.

[CultOfMU]

The curtain rod for the missing shower curtain is visible in the picture. Previous tenant had taken their curtain when they left.

[Dostrain]

Having that kind of shower you usually use a shower curtain :D

Also a really nice video! :)

[Vahlsten]

Also when you buy bottled water in Finland 100% of those bottles you get some money back when turning them in so you basically rent the bottle and buy the thing inside. Doesn't matter if it's glass or plastic bottle either and the sizes are valued differently. Last time I checked few years back the recycling rate of the bottles was north of 95% and the rest are propably used to do some dyi solutions requiring thin plastic or waste liquids of sorts...