Hyvää payvää from Mexico again.

[JMS]

And not having a car and umpteen appliances may be a deliberate choice, not a sign of not having the money to get them.

...or it could be a way of rationalizing for not having the money to get them If you can't have it, a good way to deal with it is to convince yourself that you don't need it (I don't mean "you" personally..I mean any random individual)

Personally, I really don't want to have a car. I live near the city center, so my feet are a sufficient form of personal transportation in most situations, plus I hate driving

Generally, it's all about what one needs to be able to be happy, and different people have different needs. Having a lot of material goods can make someone happy, but it's stupid of him/her to think that no one can be really happy without having the same things. And vice versa, it's stupid if a person satisfied with very little expects everyone else to be happy living the same way. To me it seems that in Finland many people are genuinely happy even though they don't (choose to) have the same amount of things as Americans, for example.

As for the question of Finland being a good place to live... One likes apples, the other oranges, and I don't think the apple person will change their mind just because the orange lover presents a variety of statistics with varying relevance and says that apples suck ass. I like Finland. I'm very happy in Finland and think this is a great country for a lot of reasons, despite the suicide rate etc. Others are free to have different opinions though

[JMS]

For me, I am not even male ... so I don't see how it really relates to my life. If I don't care what the male suicide rate is, I'm not gonna get all bent out of shape over it if it happens to be higher

But isn't your husband male?

I can say that in my case, my husband may think he's very different from other Finnish men, but there are some "typical" things that do influence him.

Even though I wasn't the one being asked the question, I answer So just because Finland has a high male suicide rate women here should get worried sick and export their husbands to keep those poor things safe?! That makes as much sense as saying that you shouldn't move to America because your kids will be poor there since 21.9 % of American kids are poor (whereas in Finland it's only 2.8 %, which I think is a pro for this country...unless the low percentage is a straight consequense of Finnish men quitting themselves before they procreate and thus there aren't many kids to begin with for the statistics ).

If someone likes Finland (or America or any other place) they're not going to change their mind just because of statistics... personal happiness is what counts.

[dusty_bin]

JMS, different standards of poverty apply.
In many respects, the American poor would be regarded as having a good middle class lifestyle in Finland. (Disposable income, living space, household appliances, clothing, calories consumed, personal transport etc etc)

What Finland does not have (to its credit) is the underclass of genuine poverty that exists in the US and a greater degree of social/economic mobility than is common there.

You may choose to enjoy the relative poverty of Finland, in terms of material matters, it is hard for many, from a materially advanced society, to live in Finland with its forced egalitarianism forcing lower standards and expectations for most people.

[haahatus]

And not having a car and umpteen appliances may be a deliberate choice, not a sign of not having the money to get them.

...or it could be a way of rationalizing for not having the money to get them If you can't have it, a good way to deal with it is to convince yourself that you don't need it (I don't mean "you" personally..I mean any random individual)

Strange way of thinking about things. People need excuses to admit they dont have money for things?

I dont have a car. Dont care enough to get one. It would still sometimes be useful. But not worth it for me. Maybe I will think different later but now is now.

Appliances ? Depends. People have different needs. There are tons of crap machines and gadgets without real use. And everyone has limited money. I ignore really rich people that are a real minority. Not buying some crap like a toaster or a nice flat display saves money. That money can used for travel and stuff. Sure someone could have the money for both , but then travel further.