thegreatdivide
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Australian Politics<br />
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Grappler Truth Teller Feller wrote on Oct 25 th, 2024 at 12:25pm: .. be all right when the vaunted internationalist 'socialists' spread the poverty equally around and the entire world grinds to a halt ... You keep repeating that Conservative lie, do try to learn: eradication of poverty doesn't mean equality of outcome (whether national or international). I just read this: (9News.com.au) What it's really like to live in the happiest country in the world
I live in the happiest country in the world.
Finland is the happiest country in the world, but I found happiness to Finns isn't about smiling and feeling joy.
Most of the time when you mention Finland's happy title to the locals, they say, "who did they survey?"
I moved to Finland at the end of 2022 and often people ask why I would want to leave Australia and move anywhere else, and of all places, Finland.
Well, for love, of course.
I met my Finnish wife, Annika, almost four years ago playing video games online during the coronavirus lockdown.
Our friendship grew and we waited patiently for Australia's international borders to reopen, and I was on one of the first planes out of the country, bound for Finland.
Over that holiday, I fell in love with the country, its nature, its people, its culture and, of course, Annika.
Within a year we were married, I packed up my life, and I was on my way to my new life in Finland.
Today is The International Day of Happiness and there is no better time to tell you why I think Finland is the happiest country in the world.
Finland has so much to offer, and a high quality of life is one of the foundations to Finnish society with a strong social welfare system that supports the population.
Free education, affordable healthcare and childcare, reliable infrastructure and public transport are just a few policies rooted in society - all paid for by high taxes.
But that tax is paid knowing the benefits received in return.
A healthy work-life balance is an integral part of Finnish society, when the workday ends, it ends.
Free time and family time begin.
By law, every child in Finland is entitled to municipal daycare enabling both parents to participate in the workforce.
Finns enjoy order and respect the law leading to a mutual respect between the Finnish government and its citizens.
A free democratic society that has the right to choose.
Finland also has a relatively low crime and corruption rate as well as one of the top countries in the world for press freedom, resulting in one of the safest countries in the world.
It was hard to fit in at first, my English could only get me so far.
It was very difficult to make new friends.
Finns usually don't make eye contact with strangers and small talk is non-existent.
If someone is waiting in a bus shelter, they would rather stand in the rain than share it.
Finns respect each other's privacy and personal space like nothing else and expect the same in return.
There is only one thing Finns love more than their personal space, and that's coffee.
Finns are a proud bunch, but you'll never see them boast about themselves.
They are humble in every sense of the word. Unless their favourite team is playing.
It was a big change from what I was used to at home.
But it didn't take long before I felt I was no longer a stranger and out came the most welcoming, friendly, and loving people I have ever met.
Always up for a chat and willing to help.
Finland is beautiful. Its winters are long and freezing, and its summers are warm and filled with life, but you really can't appreciate one without the other.
Every winter, almost daily, an army of snowploughs and workers ensure that the roads remain open, and many fields are turned into ice rinks.
The Everyman's Rights law gives everyone who visits and lives in Finland the freedom to use and roam its forests and lakes, keeping them free and accessible all year round.
Where you can fill your pockets with berries and mushrooms, catch fish with a simple rod and line and enjoy all the recreational areas they have to offer.
In Finland, the air is fresh, and the water is clean.
While Australians have their beaches, Finns have their summer cottages.
No matter the weather, you can jump in the sauna and sweat the day away!
The last year and a half has been an amazing learning experience.
Though it hasn't been easy.
Finland is an expensive country, and the job market is brutal and increasingly harder for foreigners to find work, especially without Finnish language skills.
I have spent the last eight months as a full-time student studying the Finnish language to help me find work.
But thanks to a strong social welfare system, that education has been free, and I have been supported the entire time, even as an immigrant.
Being the happiest country in the world doesn't mean everyone is happy.
To me, waking up next with my beautiful wife, Annika, having access to welfare and affordable healthcare, feeling safe to walk alone at night, and importantly, knowing that my children – with our first one due in June - are growing up with free education.
It's not only the responsibility of the individual to be happy but it also takes a government and a society to create an environment where its population can thrive. graps take note...."socialism" or not....
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