contrasts/comparisons between Finland & your home country

[sassyblue]

I have found it quite interesting during my first months in Finland when going about day to day life, all the small things that we take for granted are quite different between my home country (Australia) and here! I thought it would make an interesting discussion to compare and contrast the differences between Finland and our countries of origin. I will list a few here first:


Finland
-having to buy a digi-box and have a tv license to view tv
-paying for plastic bags at the supermarket
-reliable, almost 24 hour public transport in Helsinki
-Banks having shared cash machines eg Otto

Australia
-were phasing in digi boxes not compulsory yet i believe in the next few years they will be
-plastic bags are only given for 3 or more items in most supermarkets
-public transport in Brisbane Australia is not reliable and certainly not 24 hours, lucky if its even 18 hours on Sundays
-Banks charge fees for using competitors cash machines and competitors charge fees for using another banks card in their machine

I will post more when I think of them =)

[Pursuivant]

Theres competing cash machines... umm used to be... is Anna online?

Paying for plastic bags has been here before after jebus rode on the dinosaurs - but we have *quality* bags and not those squishywasy ones... besides of which most countries are implementing the same legislation...

I guess you never got drunk - bottle/can machines? - as you get a 40c recycling fee for plastic 1,5 bottles? Which isn't that usual globally.

And do you bin your crap biohazard/general/paper/cardboard/metal/glass/ in Brisbane either?

[sassyblue]

I like my alcohol as much as the next person and yes I have recycled bottles in Finland, but only one state in Australia (South Australia) has a bottle-return scheme, you get the equivalent of 3 euro cents back per bottle.

I agree that the Finland bags are quality bags and am happy to pay for them or bring my own. Nowhere is this post did I say that I thought one country or their ways is better than the other, I just said that it would be interesting to discuss the differences.

In Brisbane, there is in fact a very successful recycling scheme in which each household has a second garbage bin in which plastic bottles, milk cartons, cans, newspaper and other paper is placed and then collected with the rest of the household refuge in a separate compartment in the same truck.

[EP]

Hank, you should not post when you have been drinking. The topic is interesting. And yes, I am an old fart.

[Pursuivant]

Excuse me EP I was not meaning to imply any racism here; I was not rude by "Finnish standards" and her condecending imperialist american attitude pisses me off.

*yeah I know* ... *taking raamv into a headlock*... yes I know..

[sassyblue]

actually to clarify, I am Australian therefore it would be Colonial attitude not imperialistic. Also you spelled 'condescending' wrong, how's that for condescending imperialistic attitude?

[ChubbyPoacher]

actually to clarify, I am Australian therefore it would be Colonial attitude not imperialistic. Also you spelled 'condescending' wrong, how's that for condescending imperialistic attitude?

[sassyblue]

and you called me illiterate...

[MagicJ]

[Pursuivant]

actually to clarify, I am Australian therefore it would be Colonial attitude not imperialistic. Also you spelled 'condescending' wrong, how's that for condescending imperialistic attitude?

My bad - thats a rude pommy then. Spell that in Swedish and Finnish first my china.

[Pursuivant]

[Pete]

Phuck knows what you are getting upset about Hank, she isn't bagging out Finland at all here.
She is just doing something that you can't do because you've never lived anywhere else than here.
Why not take a break from this forum for a while until you have learned to get a grip on something other than your e-penis.
I have met you so i know what you are really like, why be such an a s shole here?

[otyikondo]

I can vouch for Hank's peregrinations. Mind you I'm not sure what tree he's barking up here. Unless there was something in that edited message by the OP that whet his appetite for a fight. I notice it did get edited shortly after Hank's first verbal assault. Of course, it could just be the sauce after all. Are you having a hump-day bender, Hank?

Then again, "pointing out the differences between home and abroad" is probably a bit redundant. It wouldn't be abroad if it weren't different, now would it? And I suspect the differences are ultimately deeper in the psyche than a plastic bag or a night bus - but that's something you only discover with a few more months under your belt.

[riku2]

I think the most interesting differences are the things that make real sense here and you wonder why they are not done back home

UK
schools and the police are partly funded from the council tax: a tax based on the value of your house. one fee is charged per house. two people in a 7 bedroom mansion get the same bill as 10 living there.

rubbish collection is a free service provided by local councils. each house is allowed to put out a fixed number of bags/a certain number of bins. a 10 person house has the same allowance as a 2 person house.

cash machines are not only built at bank branches but also free standing (eg airports, shopping centres, inside large offices).

timed parking areas without parking tickets (eg max 30mins parking) are done on an honour basis since no-one knows how long your car is there unless the parking warden notes it down during multiple inspections.

blocks of flats are most often administered by a holding company that can hold the flat owning tenants to ransom and charge them excessive fees and overpriced repairs

power stations have huge "cooling towers" to get rid of excess heat from the process of generating electricity. the towers can be seen from 20km away.

each flat in a block of flats will have its own boiler (usually mains gas powered) to provide heat and hot water.

central heating systems have a fixed water temperature and switch on and off based on a thermostat


Finland
local services are paid for by a local income tax that varies depending on where you live. there is only a tiny "per house" tax.

rubbish collection is a paid service and you can hire any company you like to collect your rubbish. a true "pay as you throw" concept. you want more collected every week. you pay more.

cash machines are normally only found attached to bank branches. apart from free market ones where they charge you an extra fee to withdraw cash.

cars must display a standardized blue disk showing time of arrival in time limited parking areas.

blocks of flats are administered on a co-operative basis by the tenants themselves. Those deciding and implementing the fees are also the ones paying them so there is more control and responsibility.

power stations pump their unwanted heat to local households to provide heating and hot water (so called CHP - combined heat power).

each flat in a block will receive it's hot water and heating from a central boiler or heat source. in cities it's the district heating supply from the CHP plants.

central heating systems pump water around the radiators continually. the temperature of the water is steplessly adjusted to match the weather. colder outside = warmer water going through the radiators.

[Pursuivant]

Some welfare leeching parasite made a complaint against me. Its gotten personal now.