11 .15
Explore the Finnish Lifestye
Have you ever been to Finland?
What images do you come up with when you hear the name of this country?
Santa Claus? Aurora? Sauna? Moomin?
I visited Finland to learn about their lifestyle and education during this summer vacation. After returning my trip, I believe that Finland is a great travel destination and I want to go there again. However, many of you have not thought about traveling to Finland before. Therefore, I am very happy to share some information about Finland and I hope you will become interested in this country! Here are 3 things you should know before traveling to Finland.
1) Nature
As you arrive in Finland, all you can see is lush, green nature! Nature is very important for Finnish people and they never live far away from parks and forests. To experience their lifestyle, I took a hike in the national park. I had a great time in the quiet forest with beautiful calm lakes. I also picked berries and ate them there, as well as met and talked with people who told me how essential being in nature is to “recharge your battery.” When you travel to Finland, don’t forget to put “recharging your batteries in forest” on your itinerary! The breath-taking view of nature will surely be a part of your travel memories.
2) High tax & Public services
In Finland, you have to be careful when you go shopping. Basically, pretty much everything is expensive in Finland! In order to finance the expensive welfare state model, the Finnish government needs to highly tax most things. The tax is called “VAT (Value Added Tax)” and even tourists must pay this extra 24%. Although this extremely high tax can be a burden when you plan a trip, Finnish people’s life and welfare are supported by this tax system. As proof of this, fees related to all education and welfare are free. Also, there are a great amount of public facilities that people visit and use for free. “Oodi”, a new central library established in 2018, is one of the best facilities in Finland. It provides a wide range of service to visitors for free, including musical instruments, computer games, special sawing machines, and even 3D printers! It is an internationally famous new sightseeing spot, so you should definitely visit there!
3) Language & Education
The Finnish education system is one of the best in the world. And, of course, it is free! Whoever wants to study hard can go to university regardless of their family background and financial condition. Not all high school graduates go to university. About half of them go to university to study and the other half go to Polytechnic, where they can take hands-on training and acquire specific skills for jobs. In Finland, people are regarded as significant national resources, so the government has tried to improve their educational system and support the education/career goals of individuals.
In addition, the official languages are Finnish and Swedish. Also, Finnish people speak English very well. I did not hear any strong accents in their English. So, if you speak English, you can communicate freely!
There are a lot more things I want to share with you, such as food, Moomin, design, etc. However, I will not share everything with you, since I recommend you to go and explore more by yourself.
Let’s take a trip to Finland!
Kiitos paljon!
