Where is your God now?
Äiti!
comming from a language background that both uses prepositions and is similar to english in many ways i find it using the english ones very easy
are they really ? ive never heard of any noteworthy similarity bewtween german and finnish
what i do know however is that ive learned to hate conjugations from my education in latin and spanish
if you go as far as to declare dyphtongs a dealbraker to spelling simplicity then yes german isnt like that
however in german i cant think of any case where theres 2 ways to spell the same pronounciation (as with too to and two in english) or different pronounciations for the same spelling (with the obvious exception of words derived from other languages most notably french)
For me it is
And that's brazilian btw, they're weird 
Remembering and learning to draw thousands of characters is dead easy? In Chinese you need to learn at least 3000-4000 to be able to read properly newspaper text. Not to mention the spelling part.
Don't know if this is good or bad, but we arrange all kind of odd sport events in World Champion level. For example...
Swamp football (soccer) - http://www.suopotkupallo.fi/
Mobile phone throwing - http://www.savonlinnafestivals.com/
Wife carrying - http://www.sonkajarvi.fi/?deptid=14952
Boot throwing -http://www.saappaanheitto.com/online/etusivu/index.php
Winter swimming (in an icy lake) - (can't find link?)
Who can stay (alive) longest in Sauna - (no link?)
...
Swamp football (soccer) - http://www.suopotkupallo.fi/
Mobile phone throwing - http://www.savonlinnafestivals.com/
Wife carrying - http://www.sonkajarvi.fi/?deptid=14952
Boot throwing -http://www.saappaanheitto.com/online/etusivu/index.php
Winter swimming (in an icy lake) - (can't find link?)
Who can stay (alive) longest in Sauna - (no link?)
...
All of which can be found on Sky sports.
It ought to be husband carrying though.
Good. Now Doorman can start practising all of them as he cannot become a proper Finn before he masters all..... oh yeah, they test that you can handle all of them in the immigration office.
I'm doomed!
So what have you found worse thing in Finland so far? Our bizarre humour? Maybe our weird association to put everything to behind sauna?
After long and careful thought there is not very much I can point a finger at. Maybe it's the rose tinted silmälasit symdrome it just seems there is less to complain about in Finland than here. Maybe when I start paying taxes.
Which reminds me. Something that has always puzzled me is how can a country with a fine infrastructure and facilities etc. etc. be payed for by only 5 million people? The taxes must be crippling or politicians must be VERY honest.
1. try reading it again i said gramatically (how did finland do in the pisa studies btw
)2. ive heard from several people who learned either of these languages that associating a picture (the character) with a word is really helpful if your brain is wired that way
and of course the annual air guitar world championship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_guitar#World
Nokia pays for the whole thing. Once they smarten up and move out we're doomed.
And paper factories too, both of these are very likely to move out quite soon.
Also for example my income is around 20k, I pay 23% of taxes + 22% from everything I buy, even from tax in petrol I pay 22% of tax (luckily I get some tax free income).
If you have a company and you have some workers, salary that those get can be multiplied by 1.8 what you really have to pay.
Anything that is related to cars somehow is being taxed with highest possible rate.
All pay taxes, even unemployed and students, it does not matter if they have other income than one from KELA.
Do you pay tax on ALL your income or is, as in UK, a proportion of it tax free. For example, if you earn £30,000 p.a. the first £4,000 is tax free. (or there abouts) So you only(!) pay tax on £26,000.
It's progressive. If the income is under some limit (dunno what) you don't pay tax. Then if it goes beyond that limit, you pay only for the part going over it. There are several steps as the tax rates gets higher.
EDIT: But there are those hidden taxes, e.g. in prices of all products (VAT). Like 320 euro graphics card costs only 280 before the taxes
EDIT: But there are those hidden taxes, e.g. in prices of all products (VAT). Like 320 euro graphics card costs only 280 before the taxes
I still wouldn't say that the taxes are bad or way off. Basically free healthcare with all added safety really pays off imho. Would you like to pay half less taxes and then pay in full if you get a cancer or so? There is always a price tag on anything, even on human lives. Education is almost free too. I could never had the chance to study in university if it had cost the same it costs abroad.
The system isn't perfect but few things in life are
The system isn't perfect but few things in life are
So no change there then. In the UK some traders, like builders and car mechanics, quote you a price for a job then when they've finished tell you that vat goes on top! I hate that, just tell me what the final figure is for god's sake!
If you like to know about tax system, there is page for that too www.vero.fi I did choose English language page to link for you
We have page almost for anything, that is quite good actually.
www.finlex.fi Finnish law
www.otakantaa.fi Here you can tell your opinion for possible coming future laws
www.tulli.fi Our customs office, might be handy sometimes
www.eduskunta.fi Parliament, if interested from politics might be good to look
www.finland.fi links to information, for example to immigrants
www.kerava.fi Every city and town has own pages, usually you find there information about healthcare etc.
www.kirjasto.fi Libraries are there too
www.kela.fi The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, don't know if any use of for you
http://www.ficora.fi/ Here you pay from owning your tv, they do more or less regular inspections too that you have paid your permission to own tv, sounds sick perhaps
www.stat.fi Everything from Finland in stats, economical stats, enviromental stats, you name it, everything is in there, only problem is finding what you need as there is so much.
So practically anything you might need is there, if you like to know what some official department is called or what page they might have just ask and we can find it for you
What about an Anglophone in Finland? Would we do alright, or would we need to learn finnish?
Yes, you would need to learn Finnish, although you can manage the basic stuff with only English.
Hän on autolla = He is at the car
Hän on autossa = He is in the car
Hän on autotta = He is without a car
Hän on auto = He is a car
Hänellä on auto = He has a car
:P
Hän on autolla = He is at the car
Hän on autossa = He is in the car
Hän on autotta = He is without a car
Hän on auto = He is a car
Hänellä on auto = He has a car
:P
That depends completely on occasion and where you're at. On large towns there's enough international movement (workers, students, immigrants) that you can expect to get service in english aswell. On the otherhand if you stop by at some small town with average age of 65+, you may need to bring out the good old body communication.
As an example, my old boss was from South-Africa and he had lived in Finland for 2 years already and he was doing just fine using only english.
JTbo, thanks for going to the trouble of getting those links. Very handy. 
Bookmarked all of them (except Kerava, been there, done that)
Bookmarked all of them (except Kerava, been there, done that)In Jyväskylä maybe, but in Helsinki it's amazing how many people speak English. I got a parking ticket in Helsinki and phone the given number to find out what I must do to pay the fine. I asked the girl if she spoke English 'Of course' she replied. Oh yes, I got away with the fine as well.
Viva Suomi
Worse thing about Finland?
(253 posts, started )
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