Swedes are collective in the way that we strive together for the greater good, like for health care, daycare, parental leave and so on. But on a personal level we are independent and reserved.
From my limited understanding of the other Nordics, they are the same. It makes sense that humans who live in more challenging (at least historically) climates see the value in a strong community as well as a strong individual.
we Swedes are very individualistic but never at the expense of the collective (as a cultural ideal) we even have a saying "dra vårt strå till stacken" drag our straw to the anthill, but at the same time we praise self expression where it does not harm anyone else. there is a lot of personal freedom but there is also a big sense of pride in doing our own part to make society better.
I think another good thing to mention about people liking the high taxes, is in how it becomes a more effortless way to pull our straw to the hill. Throw money at the problem, and you don't feel the responsibility to actually invest any time and effort. Not even needing to identify charities if you lived somewhere with low taxes and still wanted to use money like that. But yeah, when it comes to strangers, don't go too close to people, keep talking at minimum, but do basic courtesy like holding doors for them or provide aid when they are in trouble.
I'm not sure on which way we are actually indivdualistic though? I've always heard that but yes, not sure. Seems to me we are very keen to wanna be seen as one in the crowd.
But you also have Jante-lagen, that makes sure no one stands out. I used to describe Jante as "If you prove you are the very best one, then you will be considered above average. Otherwise, you are just like everyone else."
As a Swede i must say that it is worth every dark winter night that month in the summer with the short nights when everyone is in top mood and its barbeque and beer all night long, i love it
We try to teach our daughter to sleep in light, and wake in darkness. It goes quite good, and isn't recommended as far as I know. She is soon 2, the summer shift took a week this year.
Yep, specifically it is called "Jantelagen" in Swedish. Something that I have found Americans not getting right when learning about it, is that they think it is called the same in all 3 Scandinavian countries. We Scandinavians ofc understand this.
What really helped me learning another language was starting off with reading childrens books in that language, gradually building up to more difficult reads over time. When I had that basic knowledge I started listening to audiobooks and podcasts. Watching tv-shows/movies/youtubers and stuff like that in that language, really immersed myself in it. Without subtitles of course. 😉 It might sound daunting but once you get the hang of it, it's actually really good. Practice makes perfect, good luck 🥰
I'm a Swede, but I would never feel comfortable leaving anything unattended (whether it's something expensive or cheap) unless I know that I can trust everyone in the area
Typically, if on a train or such, you ask someone sitting near to you to keep an eye on your Laptop, wallet or whatnot when going to the bathroom or the cafeteria (Stockholm perspective)
My parents moved to Sweden from Australia about 20 years ago and my dad has never really fully learned the language. He has never been good at languages, and he understands Swedish rather well but he never actually has to speak swedish. He owns a company together with a friend with only Swedes and they all speak swedish with each other and he has a number of Swedish friends but he never needed to learn Swedish to live here and has survived speaking English for 20 years.
In Sweden we cooperate with others in order to be able to live independently. If we pay taxes for elderly care f.e., parents won't be dependent on their children and their good will. The same for all other public good. We all do our part to make sure society is there for us when we need it.
Many of us love the silence in our own home doing what ever you do when your alone....BUT when someone shout COFFEE we almost beak a leg in the hurry to reach that coffee. We love to gather around in our bakeries/coffee shops drinking coffee and hang out...and then straight home to the privacy of our beloved solitude 😂
We are very patriotic in Sweden, we look for the best for the country and not for ourselves. Then we are also very reserved and private on the individual level so it is a bit weird. And for the taxes, I don't see the problem if I get enough money after taxes to make it through the month and put a little away for a rainy day then I don't see the problem. I have never had to wait for healthcare and I have been hospitalised three times for things and the level of service that I have received has been fantastic and basically free. I live in a small town in the far north of Sweden and I am glad to live in this country!😄👍
I was going to say that the trust level isn't that high and then I realised I usually leave my phone at a machine at the gym while going to get a paper towel to wipe off my sweat. I also usually just leave my locker open when I head for the shower afterwards. And on the beach you make a half hearted attempt at hiding your phone and wallet before you head into the water. And kids on the playground and so on.... Yeah we're kinda trusting.
As a swede I can say we are a very collective society and even if we are in generall very independent at the same time we are depending on others through taxes that pay for our schools, police, healthcare and lots more. So sweden have a very good way of keeping the community equal and even if you are poor you still get good healthcare and so on.
I think it's humid and snowing powder that makes him look like a living snowman, it usually happens if you're skiing or running when your breath gets warm the frosty snow sticks to your hair and beard
No its NOT. 🙄 It's cold here in the winters. Sometimes -45°C.... but on a regular -35°C and you get those freezes where your eyelashes literally sometimes break 😂. We are used to it in the upper parts of the country. Has NOTHING to do with "powdersnow"....
I think you are right that we Swedes are both individualistic and collective. However, this is a double-edged sword. In America, exceptional individuals are fostered and rewarded, but in Sweden, such standout qualities are often frowned upon due to the concept of 'jantelagen.' This cultural norm discourages individuals from thinking they are better than others. Despite this, there are certainly remarkable individuals in Sweden who are comparable to their American counterparts. In fact, it might be more challenging to stand out in Sweden unless you are significantly better than everyone else. Even if you are objectively superior, it is not acceptable to say so yourself; recognition must come from a third-party observer.
Having lived in England with sun setting around 3 or 4 in the winter, you’d fit in perfectly in Gothenburg. We even have the rain 😂 (doesn’t snow much here, normally).
yes i followed Stephan for years hearing his swed got better every month by telling his new swedish friends to just talk swedish with him..He is realy good now with his own accent..I learnd inglish when i was 10 years old up to 19 years old from the old inglish to the new and then american inglish. You can then speak and wright to allmost everybody in the world.
Hallå gubben, jag försöker inte vara en rövhatt här genom att förminska dig på något vis. Har enbart goda intentioner. Du gjorde nämligen ett par stavfel här å där och om du vill så kan du få stavningen av mig?
@@SuperDalton72 jaja för sjutton gubbar, det du skrev är fullt förståeligt. Så stora var de inte. Alla stavar fel då å då. Det tog mig typ 10 år och inse att 'egentligen' inte stavades 'igentligen' och att 'förresten' stavades med 2 r 😆
There’s a british guy who calls himself healthy crazy cool I think, and he made some videos about living in Sweden. It seemed he enjoyed it very much. But i think that was in Malmö, which is more social than Stockholm.
Does it really get that cold. Yes. Yes is does, now mind you I live up north but this winter we had the coldest day in my city for 130 years at -40°C (surprisingly also -40°F, apperently the scales intersect at -40 degrees)
Then imagine a long dark winter with 0-2deg C, with strong winds, icy rain sideways and slush on the ground. Welcome to Skåne my friend. I’d take -40 and snow any day!
Well, guess I'm in a kind of midpoint. "Only" living with -20° in the winter season. I love it when stockholm recives 0,2mm of snowfall and to watch the entire society collapse, meanwhile I sip my hot chocolate already covered in 30cm of snow, at peace.
Even if we're individualistic in our achievements or our goals, our individualism should never be at the expense of the collective good if that makes sense. We want the best for the community. For example, i hate taxes but I'm happy to pay them if i know my taxes goes towards taking care of our old who came before me, giving our young a good start in life with their education and helping our sick back to health. Also, take note in how i phrase myself. I don't say, the old, the young, the sick, i say 'our' and that is how i see it. They're all my people, even if we don't see eye to eye in anything, i still want the best for them and for them to work for the collective good. "Dra sitt strå till stacken" is a common saying which translate to "pull one's straw to the haystack (or anthill)". I don't know which one it is because both kinda makes sense here. 'Haystack' and 'straw' kinda goes hand in hand since a haystack is made out of straws, but an 'anthill' fits perfectly with the meaning of it since ants work as a collective. The saying basically means "pull your own weight" or "be a productive member to our society".
2:00 The picture of Stefan in the snow it's probably just from walking in heavy snow. It can be snowing and blowing around all the loose snow creating a horrible snowstorm on your morning commute. Stockholm rarely sees over -10 nowadays and it's usually closer to -20 before you start to see people walking around with frozen eyebrows and such.
1:03 "I live in *Thailand* and I'm learning about Sweden." Me (Swedish): "Brother. "Fäderneslandet kallar dig..." (the fatherland calls for you)" Come home!
You can see the Swedish collectivism like high trust. We are very individual at the personal level but as a society we are very trusting of each other and can rely on people.
10:45 It’s kind of a dilemma, we value our privacy and individualism but are part of a collective. Because we value our own privacy we respect (and don’t intrude on) other peoples lives if not invited.
Daylights savings in middle north and northern Sweden is useless except for destroying your sleep habits for a few days. It makes no difference in the amount of light I get.
My thoughts on collectivist vs individualist: I would say that Sweden is collectivist in that we want to contribute to the common good via taxes, commitments to community groups, volunteering for youth sports, or similar things. At the same time, we're very tolerant and encouraging of individual expression and freedom to pursue what we believe will make us happy. We tend to be somewhat reserved in dealing with strangers so you might interpret that in a negative collectivist way - you are not part of our collective and so we are cold towards you - but we do not usually mean any offense by this. Once you get to know Swedes we can be the nicest people ever. Sidenote: It's that first collectivist trait that I described that I think is in part responsible for the reaction to the rising levels of gun crime, people setting off explosives, and dealing drugs as part of our current gang problem. It is seriously pissing a lot of Swedes off because obviously none of those things contribute to the common good and they only cost us tax-payer money and potentially ruined lives among our citizens. Unfortunately, it has led to right-wing populists getting traction in the Riksdag, but maybe that will give the rest of the politicians the kick in the ass they need to solve the problem.
Regarding leaving stuff unattended on a train... he's not talking about a tram. This is about an enclosed locked-room murder mystery environment WITH A CAMERA, where any theft would both have a very limited number of suspects, and said camera could be used to identify them. It's also assigned seating and very long between stops, so not much movement and any other passengers would be a danger to any thief in that they might recognize that the person packing the stuff at someone's seat is not the same person who sat there. So no, that was imo a bad example. People know not to leave stuff entirely unattended in public, and when they do thefts do occur. Though the majority of times things turn out well, and things are either left untouched, or someone has taken it to the store's clerk or if outside propped it up somewhere visible (like gloves are put on some nearby bush's branch). But there *absolutely* exist people scanning for easy targets to steal.
It´s our high taxes🤣(60% of my dad´s pension goes to taxes) we HAVE to have a collective nature, jokes aside we prefere our personal space so in a sence that makes us independent. BUT many Swedes stribe to not be better than others, and to help the once who need it since nobody is better than anyone else and it´s the right thing to do.
We are not happy to pay high taxes, we are happy to help people who need help and to do that our goverment has told us to pay high taxes so we can have things like affordable daycare,healthcare and state funded education.
No one in Sweden pay 60% tax, thats a fact especially in a progressive tax system where you only pay the highest tax on the highest income bracket and not on your full salary or pension. As a retiree you miss out on some deductions that you only can use when working but the main difference is if you retire before the official retirement age of 67 as per 2024
Finland and sweden have wery different languge,so we speak englisch,there Are many finnisch people who speak swedisch special the part of Finland that is nearest to sweden,when you know a sweden person you often have a friend forlive,we are very trustwothy,i think when i look to films from USA ex😊
Sounds great. Where did you get the money for that if I'm not asking too much? Your parents supported you, or you could support yourself at 16; that in Sweden even some menial jobs teenagers can do are payed well enough to make a living.
@@loonaya i had a girlfriend and she was 20, i moved in with her, she payed for us for 6 months, then i got a job, 5 years later we got married, 3 kids who now is 38, 35 and 33 years old.
@@jonaspettersson5296 Wow, beautiful story Jonas. And it's great that she got into you at an age where that age gap is big, especially if a woman is older, cause in teenage years we men are most of the time very immature comparing to women our age, we catch up with them in the early 20s I would say. All the best to you and your family!
My mom even choose to pay more taxes every month (dont know why, I suck at these things, I just fill my applications if its just a regular year and nothing have happend that i have to write down) but the SKATTEÅTERBÄRING (when you get money back for paying to much taxes the year before) every late spring/summer most of us is in our best mood ever (well if you get back, sometimes you have to pay in more, typically when you have sold a house and stuff like that)
Just a guess, its probably cause she knows she would otherwise get a large extra payment next spring. Can happen, depends a bit on how you're employed and stuff (I had to do that when I had two employers for example, cause both adjusted the tax payments based on annual salary, which at each employer was lower than my total annual income).
@@hannagyllensten475 no she never have to pay back, She has a fast employment and also gets (lite svenska här då.. känns konstigt att skriva med dig på engelska men för att andra ska kunna förstå😅 heter det traktamente? För resor till och från jobbet osv?) Im going to ask her right away now.. so i get an explanation haha!
We have temperatures going under -40-45 degrees up in the north of the country. The lowest recorded is around -53 degrees I think. Even Stockholm can get down to minus 30 degrees if it gets extremely cold.
The trust we have as Swedish is not in the way that we can leave expansive things on the restaurant table while going the bathroom. It’s more a trust that if we get really sick we don’t need to pay tenthousands or sell the house and move in with your parents again or be homeless. I got really sick 5 years ago as a 24 year old and still I can’t work fulltime and never will but I still can play the rent, have a car and eat good food and so fun things cause we can have a good trust that we get support and help( its not perfect everytime but we have something)
The climate is no surprise with day and night when living in the northern part of the world, but the individualism and speaking English are spot on. :D
In the far north of sweden, i believe the longest "day" (time between sunrise and the next sunset) is about 60-80 days, about the same for night. For the individualistic part, you are partly correct, we are very independent, but i belive he is correct on the "collectivism" to my knowlage most people dont really want to publicly display achivments, we celebrate them more privatly with friends and family
if you need to go to the bathroom and leave your laptop or whatever you usually look around to see if there is some other customer that could keep an eye on it. Or you ask the barista/staff. This is in Stockholm and depends on the place and time of day.
I’m 45… i have never loocked my front door, i leave my phone on the table in cafés or on the beach.. i have walked myself to school (and home) and my kids did too
My beard tend to freeze at time during winter, when taking a long walk. That's probably because the air I breath out is moist enough and close enough, so it sticks to the beard and then freezes. If the beard is a centimeter or longer, that's an odd feeling.
lagom is basically like the saying "All things in moderation". Swedes are very independent, but our outlook on the world is that of a collectivist mindset. And we don't generally try to achieve accolades by trampling others, unlike in the US. We rather stay on equal footing to our peers, than trying to gain an advantage over them. We try to help them get on the same level.
I live in southern Sweden and the city I live in is as far north as Aberdeen. In my head I always thought we were kinda level with the UK, but we're actually a bit farther north.
As for the weather in Sweden, it is not like that in all of Sweden. From Gothenburg and up in Sweden, the weather is very snowy and windy and quite dark I live in Malmö at the bottom of the map next door to Denmark, We have no snow at all, more a little rain We have brighter longer in the winter and not as cold as the rest of Sweden. It happens some years that we get snow, but it rains away ditekt.
I’m Swedish and would never leave anything unattended, it would be gone in no time. Back in the days you could do that but not nowadays. Today I really don’t trust many people. I moved out when I was 16 years old.
5:19 Im from the North Part of England XD just below Scotland not far of stockholm, that comment made me giggle, Stockholm is still the southern part of Sweden and 5 hours south of the middle Part "Östersund" , i mean when you travel far north like Umeå we start talking but about where Kiruna is its another country almost even for a Swede
20:53 I'm learning Japanese on Duolingo. There are Japanese language-learning trips you can make to Japan, I believe, or at least you can pay to study the language there for a number of months/weeks so you're immersed and living in the country whose language you're trying to learn. If I didn't have a bunch of other commitments lined up currently I would considering doing that, because I find reading Japanese (in Hiragana/Katakana/Kanji) and speaking it very difficult despite studying it for over a year and a half. I know lots and lots of words and can make basic sentences, but anything advanced or reading/writing it in their alphabets seems almost impossible currently.
It really depends on what part of Sweden you are. If you’re in a populated city then your stuff most likely will be taken. If it’s a city with less population, it’ll be fine.
Completely agree with the other writing that we as individuals are very individualistic but not at the expense of the collective. And it probably depends on what city you're in as well. Then - yes, I leave my computer and phone here and there all the time 😅 Often by accident though haha. But there is an absolute tendency in Sweden that we trust each other a lot. Also depending on the city.
What we usually do at work when someone doesn't speak Swedish well enough to feel comfortable yet is that they can say when they want the ones who do to keep speaking Swedish and they then respond in Swedish or English, whichever they want. So far its usually over time resulted in that person changing to more and more Swedish. But, yea, its a choice, its certainly possible to live in Sweden and only speak English. However, this has resulted in me loosing the direct association between which language someone talk to me and how I answer, which can turn out quite funny sometimes ;-)
What he means whith collectivistic is that if you play in a team, you play as a team. As in society you help others or do things whitout getting anything back.
North of sweden it is cold as hell and dark for 2 months during the winter and in the summer sun never sets. I live more in the middle. Have long days in summer and. Normal days in winter. Not that cold but very warm during summer.
I live in Stockholm and I’d say that people are very trusting here. Lots of people leave their bikes for example unlocked or they are just popping into a shop or something and people will leave their phones and laptops unattended for a few minutes while doing something. Sure, things get stolen sometimes but not nearly as much as in any other big city.
Up north we had -45 this winter.... Nothing worked, no trains where running aso aso..... I looooooooooove the summer nights though, it totally makes up for the winters.... Its not that warm though, in summer........
I belive that theres not a good idea to leave stuff outside now because how many people that are from other countries live in sweden now like people from America p.p.s no fence
Could it be that you are mixing up introvert with individualistic? Swedes have historically been very collectivistic but that’s about to change rather rapidly. The coming generations are much more individualistic than the older ones.
In think this is a myth that Swedes like to perpetuate. However if you look at the Inglehart-Welzel World Cultural Map compiled by the World Values Survey (WVS) it is clear that Swedes are, and has been for a long time, some of the most individualistic and self expressionistic people in the world, so much so that Swedes together with the rest of the Nordic countries are extreme outliners compared to the rest of the world.
The thing about lagom is that my lagom might not be lagom for you. Ex my lagom temperature on the water in the shower is not the same as yours, how much food you eat. It's a moderate word but it's individual.
In Sweden you're supposed to be a responsible individual taking care of yourself and your family to be part of the collective, as in your place of work, your friends and your place of living (neighborhood, city, country). You're always supposed to be doing your best in everything you do, so it is a competitive environment, but at the same time, if you are very successful at what you do, you're not supposed to brag about it, but rather stay grounded and be humble about it. It's no surprise that despite being a small country of only 10 000 000 people, we are successful in all kind of sports as well in advanced technologies and we have a number of well known and respected internationell corporate businesses. We are one of the worlds best developer and manufacturer of highly advanced military gear. We make everything from the best Submarines and aviation to maybe the best tanks, armored combat vehicles and self-propelled artillery in the world. People moving to Sweden with high ambitions and a will to be a part of the Swedish society usually likes it here and have a tendency to stay, especially if you start a family with kids. Very few other countries have the benefits as a parent as you have here, not to talk about our almost free health care and educational system. Of course there's element in our society that are not that good, but as a democratic country with deeply rooted values and principles regarding values and ethics, I believe in our ability to improve our lives to the better in all areas over time.
5:56 The map might be a bit missleading. The very north of England is at 55.7 degree north. I grew up in 56.2 degrees north. I now live outside of stockholm at 60 degrees north. And the diffrance between 56 and 60 degrees north is actually quite surprising. Its worth saying that the artic circle is 67 degrees north where the suns never set. On top of that. even here at 60 degrees north where the sun where the sun is down about 4½ hours. of those 4½ hours, its actually twilight over 2 hours. And the twilight is like ridiculously strong. Its basically daytime type light 11:10 Its the school that is collectivism, not the culture 13:56 No Swedshpeople don´t want to "contribute" The people that say they like to pay high taxes is a bit dishonest. What they really mean is that they like other people to pay high taxes, because they work in a government job. 15:03 Crime is relatively low in Stockholm. Typically most countries would have the most crime in the large cities. That is not quite the case in Sweden. Malmö is for sure the most crime ridden. But the other towns with high crimes are really in most cases relatively small. Its also a very sharp contrast with very high crime in one town and hardly anything just the town next door. 19:48 In defense of our Nordic neighbors most countries do look to there closest largest trading partner. And in Sweden that is Germany, UK and USA. (a lot of Swedish people also know German, something like ~40%, France, Spanish, Italian and Japanese is also decreasingly common (in pretty much that order)). In Norway and Finland Swedish is the closest largest trading partner. In Denmark its Sweden and Germany. Specially since Copenhagen is pretty much on the Swedish border. Understanding Swedish have a higher priority than understanding English or German.
My biggest shock was that i have to do military service. Many sweeds see it as positive while it later turned out that alot, like 70% of people my age had lied to skip it. While they only have to choose choose lik 10-20 thousand people I somehow was chosen while while I know of 4 others that really wanted to do military service and did not get the chance. Basically I am kinda forced and will do it soon, as I had no idea that they would choose people who don't want to do it. I later found out that there are laws ("totalförsvarsplikten") that basically says that I can go to jail if I don't go to military service, while att the same time sweden being at the forefront off individual expression.
I wondered why Finnish men were moving much later than female out of parents home, but it much be because the men are registered at parents house thru the military service period (when they actually live in the army facilities).
I have a theory why we Scandinavians are so profitionent in the English language. The reason spells Hollywood. In most countries moves and TV shows are dubbed, but in the Scandinavian countries they are shown with subtitles. That means that we are being exposed to hearing the English language, while, say, German, Frensh, Italians and most Asians are not. If it has worked for us Scandinavians, it should work for others as well. Tip: Try watching foreign language, without subtitles. It's a great way to get a feel for a language. Today it's so easy to do. You can choose the original language, and turn off the subtiltles, on most DVDs and Blu-rays. As a matter of fact, I always turn off the Swedish subtiles when watching English language films, which can lead to some funny things. In "Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation", there are two Swedish actors having scenes together. The filmmakers took advantage of this and had them speak Swedish in the movie. That, in turn, means that, when I turn off the Swedish subtitles, I automatically get English subtitles when they speak Swedish. Well, well, well.... I feel especially sad for our American friends. Hollywood always makes American versions of foreign films, so they never get exposed to foreign langages, nor foreign cultures. So an advise to all our American friends: Forget the inferior American copies, and watch the original versions. You will learn a lot, and expand your mind. Also, it's a lot healthier than mind altering drugs!
Interesting. Did you know that Thailand is to Swedes what Spain is to Brits? Lots of Swedes go to Thailand on vacation and I dare say everyone knows someone who has a house or relatives there. It’s quite unexpected. I have three co-workers who have a house there and my uncle has friends there that he stays at every other year.
Oh yeah, i forgot about our "not to be a burden to anyone" mentality 😂. How could i forget, that was the main reason how i became a smoker at the ripe age of 32 🥴. I had been a snusare for most of my life, went cold turkey one day and succeeded with being nicotine free over a year. I then went on a trip to Sri Lanka and traveled around the island with a bunch of French people i met there. French people, as i found out, smoke and drink quite a bit. Since I've been a party smoker from time to time in the past when given cigarettes i did not decline when offered. After a while the Swede in me woke up and i of course couldn't be a "snyltare" anymore so naturally i started buying my own cigarettes as one do when not wanting to be a burden to others 😂... I'm an idiot. I have now quit smoking and instead gained an old habit again as a snusare. Okay, it wasn't just because my swedishness, old habits and alcohol started it, but the Swede in me sealed the deal. 😂😂🇸🇪🇸🇪
Dwayne the collective mindset is about society and being a team at work. Swedes are also selfish but being part of a collective hive is the truth. Swedes are very conformed in opinions and clothes!
A person from England is much more like Swedes than Americans. Americans just look like us, but they really aren't like us. The word "Lagom” is not about harmony, rather more about not taking too much. It's not just a positive word, it's about not emphasizing yourself and being greedy. Americans can often talk loud and clear about their successes, you can't do that in Sweden.
we don't talk about finland no, no, no, we don't talk about finland! we don't talk about denmark no, no, no, we don't talk about denmark! we don't talk about norway no, no, no, we don't talk about norway!
In Sweden just some 30 year ago you could leave your house without locking the door. Today not so much. People cant even leave bicykles without having the tires and sadels taken. Things have changed a lot in Sweden, and much due to facts youtube wont allow you to write in text.
Actually what I think he's talking about is that Swedish schools are free. So is also Universities. Therefore if you compare US towards Sweden is that american teenagers want scolarships (or what it's called). Correct me if I'm wrong! Here - as I wrote - schools are free. No charges. Of course the students have to live somewhere, eat a s o. Maybe the difference is in US you compete.
I'll paste my comment from the original video: A Swede will generally trust another Swede (to a certain point), and this most likely comes from the fact that Sweden has historically been a very harsh place to live. You HAD to trust the people around you in order to survive, trust them to not steal your stuff and trust them to help you when in need - and this went both ways. Other people knew they could rely on you because it was just the right thing to do. It is very sad and unfortunate that the "trusting" part of Swedish society is slowly, but surely, going away. This is of course mainly because of immigrants (in general) with completely different cultures coming here. They see the "naive" Swedish trust we place in our fellow Swedes as a weakness to exploit, an easy mark, if you will. So what Stefan describes about the trust is still true in predominantly Swedish areas and settings, but as soon as you start going to more mixed areas this is no longer the case. I myself have left my bag on the train to use the restroom, and come back to it being untouched, but that was in a very Swedish area. Do something like that on the subway at your own peril, depending on the line.
Many who exploit others here in Sweden. And they want it to look like everyone's opinion is worth the same even though it is not. Do not let the children stay in the village themselves in the evening, a lot of drugs, robberies, rapes, battery, weapons etc. You are not even allowed to defend your own home here, if you injure a burglar, you can be reported by the thief and be convicted and the thief goes free. Therefore, you do not report a burglary before you have hidden the thief far down under the ground. If you put a mobile, wallet or laptop unattended, then it is stolen.
Stockholm is to dark for me, I live in the north and even though we have less sun hour during the winter it is a different kind of darkness, can't do the dark darkness (pitch black) they have in the south. Been there, done that and I can say never again.
Please don't leave your belongings unattended anywhere. Theft isn't as bad as it is in countries with larger populations, but I still wouldn't recommend you trying your luck.
The guy has been conditioned by the Stockholmians. And no most Swedes that say that they are fine paying the high taxes but they don't really know how much they pay. The few that do know, aren't fine with it at all.
Swedes are collective in the way that we strive together for the greater good, like for health care, daycare, parental leave and so on. But on a personal level we are independent and reserved.
spot-on
This is why most Swedes like to pay taxes, we see the benefits.
From my limited understanding of the other Nordics, they are the same.
It makes sense that humans who live in more challenging (at least historically) climates see the value in a strong community as well as a strong individual.
would agree with you on both points.
Yes
we Swedes are very individualistic but never at the expense of the collective (as a cultural ideal) we even have a saying "dra vårt strå till stacken" drag our straw to the anthill, but at the same time we praise self expression where it does not harm anyone else. there is a lot of personal freedom but there is also a big sense of pride in doing our own part to make society better.
You said it better than i did.
I think another good thing to mention about people liking the high taxes, is in how it becomes a more effortless way to pull our straw to the hill. Throw money at the problem, and you don't feel the responsibility to actually invest any time and effort. Not even needing to identify charities if you lived somewhere with low taxes and still wanted to use money like that.
But yeah, when it comes to strangers, don't go too close to people, keep talking at minimum, but do basic courtesy like holding doors for them or provide aid when they are in trouble.
You are describing swedish culture, not swedes.
I'm not sure on which way we are actually indivdualistic though? I've always heard that but yes, not sure. Seems to me we are very keen to wanna be seen as one in the crowd.
But you also have Jante-lagen, that makes sure no one stands out. I used to describe Jante as "If you prove you are the very best one, then you will be considered above average. Otherwise, you are just like everyone else."
As a Swede i must say that it is worth every dark winter night that month in the summer with the short nights when everyone is in top mood and its barbeque and beer all night long, i love it
Unless you live in Skåne, winters are horrible here.
Also, winter days are cozy. I love going on walks in the weekends (to get sun) and spend the rest of the time indoors with my books and a cup of tea.
We try to teach our daughter to sleep in light, and wake in darkness. It goes quite good, and isn't recommended as far as I know. She is soon 2, the summer shift took a week this year.
@@robertmosen6126 Where? if white it's better.
@@PennyAfNorberg Snow is rare in Skåne
"Janteloven" is a skandinavian thing i think ❤ Norwegian here and i love my Brothers and sisters in sweden and the rest of skandinavia ❤
Yep, specifically it is called "Jantelagen" in Swedish. Something that I have found Americans not getting right when learning about it, is that they think it is called the same in all 3 Scandinavian countries. We Scandinavians ofc understand this.
Yeah, Swede here and we have it and I heard from a Dane that they have it as well.
Piss on Jante
Vi älskar er åxå..
@@snorungar70 ❤️
What really helped me learning another language was starting off with reading childrens books in that language, gradually building up to more difficult reads over time. When I had that basic knowledge I started listening to audiobooks and podcasts. Watching tv-shows/movies/youtubers and stuff like that in that language, really immersed myself in it. Without subtitles of course. 😉 It might sound daunting but once you get the hang of it, it's actually really good. Practice makes perfect, good luck 🥰
I'm a Swede, but I would never feel comfortable leaving anything unattended (whether it's something expensive or cheap) unless I know that I can trust everyone in the area
In the north we do, in the south not so much...
Typically, if on a train or such, you ask someone sitting near to you to keep an eye on your Laptop, wallet or whatnot when going to the bathroom or the cafeteria (Stockholm perspective)
I do that too. It’s weird that we trust a stranger we sat next to for 5min.
My parents moved to Sweden from Australia about 20 years ago and my dad has never really fully learned the language. He has never been good at languages, and he understands Swedish rather well but he never actually has to speak swedish. He owns a company together with a friend with only Swedes and they all speak swedish with each other and he has a number of Swedish friends but he never needed to learn Swedish to live here and has survived speaking English for 20 years.
In Sweden we cooperate with others in order to be able to live independently. If we pay taxes for elderly care f.e., parents won't be dependent on their children and their good will. The same for all other public good. We all do our part to make sure society is there for us when we need it.
Many of us love the silence in our own home doing what ever you do when your alone....BUT when someone shout COFFEE we almost beak a leg in the hurry to reach that coffee. We love to gather around in our bakeries/coffee shops drinking coffee and hang out...and then straight home to the privacy of our beloved solitude 😂
We are very patriotic in Sweden, we look for the best for the country and not for ourselves. Then we are also very reserved and private on the individual level so it is a bit weird. And for the taxes, I don't see the problem if I get enough money after taxes to make it through the month and put a little away for a rainy day then I don't see the problem. I have never had to wait for healthcare and I have been hospitalised three times for things and the level of service that I have received has been fantastic and basically free. I live in a small town in the far north of Sweden and I am glad to live in this country!😄👍
❤ Sweden🇸🇪love it
I was going to say that the trust level isn't that high and then I realised I usually leave my phone at a machine at the gym while going to get a paper towel to wipe off my sweat. I also usually just leave my locker open when I head for the shower afterwards.
And on the beach you make a half hearted attempt at hiding your phone and wallet before you head into the water.
And kids on the playground and so on....
Yeah we're kinda trusting.
As a swede I can say we are a very collective society and even if we are in generall very independent at the same time we are depending on others through taxes that pay for our schools, police, healthcare and lots more. So sweden have a very good way of keeping the community equal and even if you are poor you still get good healthcare and so on.
As a Swede that used to work with a Thai years ago that "mai pen rai" was nostalgic! 😄
You are welcome to Sweden we need positive people to our country,, love from Sweden ❤❤❤
Love Sweden 🇸🇪 ❤,
I think it's humid and snowing powder that makes him look like a living snowman, it usually happens if you're skiing or running when your breath gets warm the frosty snow sticks to your hair and beard
No its NOT. 🙄
It's cold here in the winters. Sometimes -45°C.... but on a regular -35°C and you get those freezes where your eyelashes literally sometimes break 😂. We are used to it in the upper parts of the country. Has NOTHING to do with "powdersnow"....
@@miasingh7257 Was refering to "snöyra" and the humid air we get closer to water but I couldn't find a good word for it
@@miasingh7257 And if you're running and get warm it gets like that if it's -10 and lower
I think you are right that we Swedes are both individualistic and collective. However, this is a double-edged sword. In America, exceptional individuals are fostered and rewarded, but in Sweden, such standout qualities are often frowned upon due to the concept of 'jantelagen.' This cultural norm discourages individuals from thinking they are better than others. Despite this, there are certainly remarkable individuals in Sweden who are comparable to their American counterparts. In fact, it might be more challenging to stand out in Sweden unless you are significantly better than everyone else. Even if you are objectively superior, it is not acceptable to say so yourself; recognition must come from a third-party observer.
Having lived in England with sun setting around 3 or 4 in the winter, you’d fit in perfectly in Gothenburg. We even have the rain 😂 (doesn’t snow much here, normally).
yes i followed Stephan for years hearing his swed got better every month by telling his new swedish friends to just talk swedish with him..He is realy good now with his own accent..I learnd inglish when i was 10 years old up to 19 years old from the old inglish to the new and then american inglish. You can then speak and wright to allmost everybody in the world.
Hallå gubben, jag försöker inte vara en rövhatt här genom att förminska dig på något vis. Har enbart goda intentioner. Du gjorde nämligen ett par stavfel här å där och om du vill så kan du få stavningen av mig?
@@loris-bismar jag vet ser det efteråt ha ha. inga problem. Ibland ser man ändå vad man sa eller ville ha sagt..Men ja ibland blir det fel.
@@SuperDalton72 jaja för sjutton gubbar, det du skrev är fullt förståeligt. Så stora var de inte. Alla stavar fel då å då. Det tog mig typ 10 år och inse att 'egentligen' inte stavades 'igentligen' och att 'förresten' stavades med 2 r 😆
@@loris-bismareller så är man inte en rövhatt och struntar i det och scrollar vidare....
a startrek reference about collectivism: we are the swedes, resistance is futile! :D
5:43 we call it Sommar tid(summer time) and vinter tid(winter time) I think
technically, it's 'normaltid' (normal time), not 'vintertid'.
@@thehoogard And the other time is called daylight savings time
There’s a british guy who calls himself healthy crazy cool I think, and he made some videos about living in Sweden. It seemed he enjoyed it very much. But i think that was in Malmö, which is more social than Stockholm.
Does it really get that cold. Yes. Yes is does, now mind you I live up north but this winter we had the coldest day in my city for 130 years at -40°C (surprisingly also -40°F, apperently the scales intersect at -40 degrees)
Then imagine a long dark winter with 0-2deg C, with strong winds, icy rain sideways and slush on the ground. Welcome to Skåne my friend. I’d take -40 and snow any day!
Well, guess I'm in a kind of midpoint. "Only" living with -20° in the winter season. I love it when stockholm recives 0,2mm of snowfall and to watch the entire society collapse, meanwhile I sip my hot chocolate already covered in 30cm of snow, at peace.
@@robertmosen6126absolutely. That depressing rain, storms, constant grey and windy surroundings.... it's just soulkilling...
There are some paralells with the Thai way of living. A Swedish/Thai couple has a better than average chance to stay together i think.
Even if we're individualistic in our achievements or our goals, our individualism should never be at the expense of the collective good if that makes sense. We want the best for the community. For example, i hate taxes but I'm happy to pay them if i know my taxes goes towards taking care of our old who came before me, giving our young a good start in life with their education and helping our sick back to health. Also, take note in how i phrase myself. I don't say, the old, the young, the sick, i say 'our' and that is how i see it. They're all my people, even if we don't see eye to eye in anything, i still want the best for them and for them to work for the collective good. "Dra sitt strå till stacken" is a common saying which translate to "pull one's straw to the haystack (or anthill)". I don't know which one it is because both kinda makes sense here. 'Haystack' and 'straw' kinda goes hand in hand since a haystack is made out of straws, but an 'anthill' fits perfectly with the meaning of it since ants work as a collective. The saying basically means "pull your own weight" or "be a productive member to our society".
2:00 The picture of Stefan in the snow it's probably just from walking in heavy snow. It can be snowing and blowing around all the loose snow creating a horrible snowstorm on your morning commute. Stockholm rarely sees over -10 nowadays and it's usually closer to -20 before you start to see people walking around with frozen eyebrows and such.
1:03 "I live in *Thailand* and I'm learning about Sweden."
Me (Swedish): "Brother. "Fäderneslandet kallar dig..." (the fatherland calls for you)"
Come home!
You can see the Swedish collectivism like high trust. We are very individual at the personal level but as a society we are very trusting of each other and can rely on people.
We not leave out laptop when go to toilet. Im sure it Will be stolen. We not crazy
In the north we do...
10:45 It’s kind of a dilemma, we value our privacy and individualism but are part of a collective. Because we value our own privacy we respect (and don’t intrude on) other peoples lives if not invited.
A finn is a hard rock and a swede is a sensitive flower. I'm half and half so I'm more like a tree. Makes sense? No? Ok.
A flower with guns.
Precious socialist flower seems about right.
Daylights savings in middle north and northern Sweden is useless except for destroying your sleep habits for a few days. It makes no difference in the amount of light I get.
My thoughts on collectivist vs individualist:
I would say that Sweden is collectivist in that we want to contribute to the common good via taxes, commitments to community groups, volunteering for youth sports, or similar things. At the same time, we're very tolerant and encouraging of individual expression and freedom to pursue what we believe will make us happy. We tend to be somewhat reserved in dealing with strangers so you might interpret that in a negative collectivist way - you are not part of our collective and so we are cold towards you - but we do not usually mean any offense by this. Once you get to know Swedes we can be the nicest people ever.
Sidenote: It's that first collectivist trait that I described that I think is in part responsible for the reaction to the rising levels of gun crime, people setting off explosives, and dealing drugs as part of our current gang problem. It is seriously pissing a lot of Swedes off because obviously none of those things contribute to the common good and they only cost us tax-payer money and potentially ruined lives among our citizens.
Unfortunately, it has led to right-wing populists getting traction in the Riksdag, but maybe that will give the rest of the politicians the kick in the ass they need to solve the problem.
Regarding leaving stuff unattended on a train... he's not talking about a tram. This is about an enclosed locked-room murder mystery environment WITH A CAMERA, where any theft would both have a very limited number of suspects, and said camera could be used to identify them. It's also assigned seating and very long between stops, so not much movement and any other passengers would be a danger to any thief in that they might recognize that the person packing the stuff at someone's seat is not the same person who sat there.
So no, that was imo a bad example. People know not to leave stuff entirely unattended in public, and when they do thefts do occur. Though the majority of times things turn out well, and things are either left untouched, or someone has taken it to the store's clerk or if outside propped it up somewhere visible (like gloves are put on some nearby bush's branch). But there *absolutely* exist people scanning for easy targets to steal.
It´s our high taxes🤣(60% of my dad´s pension goes to taxes) we HAVE to have a collective nature, jokes aside we prefere our personal space so in a sence that makes us independent. BUT many Swedes stribe to not be better than others, and to help the once who need it since nobody is better than anyone else and it´s the right thing to do.
We are not happy to pay high taxes, we are happy to help people who need help and to do that our goverment has told us to pay high taxes so we can have things like affordable daycare,healthcare and state funded education.
Some Swedish people know better English than some Americans...
No one in Sweden pay 60% tax, thats a fact especially in a progressive tax system where you only pay the highest tax on the highest income bracket and not on your full salary or pension. As a retiree you miss out on some deductions that you only can use when working but the main difference is if you retire before the official retirement age of 67 as per 2024
14:34 You could, 20 years ago before all the Doctors and Engineers arrived.
Finland and sweden have wery different languge,so we speak englisch,there Are many finnisch people who speak swedisch special the part of Finland that is nearest to sweden,when you know a sweden person you often have a friend forlive,we are very trustwothy,i think when i look to films from USA ex😊
Swedish is the second official language of Finland and it is compulsory in schools.
I am Swedish and i mowed out of my parents home when i just turned 16.
Sounds great. Where did you get the money for that if I'm not asking too much? Your parents supported you, or you could support yourself at 16; that in Sweden even some menial jobs teenagers can do are payed well enough to make a living.
@@loonaya i had a girlfriend and she was 20, i moved in with her, she payed for us for 6 months, then i got a job, 5 years later we got married, 3 kids who now is 38, 35 and 33 years old.
@@jonaspettersson5296 Wow, beautiful story Jonas. And it's great that she got into you at an age where that age gap is big, especially if a woman is older, cause in teenage years we men are most of the time very immature comparing to women our age, we catch up with them in the early 20s I would say.
All the best to you and your family!
@@loonaya thank you and the same to you.😃
Hey i was 16 when i move out from home, and yes i think You should learn Swedish !!!!!
Norsk, flytta ut da jeg var 15 år.
@@tovemagnussen4423 själv e ja svensk 😉
@@tovemagnussen4423 Samma här och jag är svensk. Enda sättet att gå gymnasiet när man bor i glesbygden.
I understand that you want a Swedish passport, it is one of the best passports in the world
My mom even choose to pay more taxes every month (dont know why, I suck at these things, I just fill my applications if its just a regular year and nothing have happend that i have to write down) but the SKATTEÅTERBÄRING (when you get money back for paying to much taxes the year before) every late spring/summer most of us is in our best mood ever (well if you get back, sometimes you have to pay in more, typically when you have sold a house and stuff like that)
Just a guess, its probably cause she knows she would otherwise get a large extra payment next spring. Can happen, depends a bit on how you're employed and stuff (I had to do that when I had two employers for example, cause both adjusted the tax payments based on annual salary, which at each employer was lower than my total annual income).
@@hannagyllensten475 no she never have to pay back, She has a fast employment and also gets (lite svenska här då.. känns konstigt att skriva med dig på engelska men för att andra ska kunna förstå😅 heter det traktamente? För resor till och från jobbet osv?)
Im going to ask her right away now.. so i get an explanation haha!
jepp det gör vi i Sverige alltid kul att höra att många vill lära vårat språk från många olika länder. Good video clip a enjoy all of it.🙂
We have temperatures going under -40-45 degrees up in the north of the country. The lowest recorded is around -53 degrees I think. Even Stockholm can get down to minus 30 degrees if it gets extremely cold.
The trust we have as Swedish is not in the way that we can leave expansive things on the restaurant table while going the bathroom. It’s more a trust that if we get really sick we don’t need to pay tenthousands or sell the house and move in with your parents again or be homeless. I got really sick 5 years ago as a 24 year old and still I can’t work fulltime and never will but I still can play the rent, have a car and eat good food and so fun things cause we can have a good trust that we get support and help( its not perfect everytime but we have something)
You should react to Swedish beaches I think you would be amazed,,, love from Sweden 🇸🇪 😉
On a train you leave your laptop if you going to the toilet but only if you can go back before next station.
The climate is no surprise with day and night when living in the northern part of the world, but the individualism and speaking English are spot on. :D
In the far north of sweden, i believe the longest "day" (time between sunrise and the next sunset) is about 60-80 days, about the same for night.
For the individualistic part, you are partly correct, we are very independent, but i belive he is correct on the "collectivism" to my knowlage most people dont really want to publicly display achivments, we celebrate them more privatly with friends and family
if you need to go to the bathroom and leave your laptop or whatever you usually look around to see if there is some other customer that could keep an eye on it. Or you ask the barista/staff. This is in Stockholm and depends on the place and time of day.
I’m 45… i have never loocked my front door, i leave my phone on the table in cafés or on the beach.. i have walked myself to school (and home) and my kids did too
My beard tend to freeze at time during winter, when taking a long walk. That's probably because the air I breath out is moist enough and close enough, so it sticks to the beard and then freezes. If the beard is a centimeter or longer, that's an odd feeling.
lagom is basically like the saying "All things in moderation".
Swedes are very independent, but our outlook on the world is that of a collectivist mindset.
And we don't generally try to achieve accolades by trampling others, unlike in the US.
We rather stay on equal footing to our peers, than trying to gain an advantage over them.
We try to help them get on the same level.
In Sweden we are happy for 25 ˚c in the summer
He showed footage from Piteå, my hometown.. Winter at the coldest get between 35-40 negative here.
I live in southern Sweden and the city I live in is as far north as Aberdeen. In my head I always thought we were kinda level with the UK, but we're actually a bit farther north.
The sun doesn't set at all in northern Sweden in the summer. And you get just a few hours of sun in the winter
As for the weather in Sweden, it is not like that in all of Sweden. From Gothenburg and up in Sweden, the weather is very snowy and windy and quite dark
I live in Malmö at the bottom of the map next door to Denmark, We have no snow at all, more a little rain
We have brighter longer in the winter and not as cold as the rest of Sweden.
It happens some years that we get snow, but it rains away ditekt.
I’m Swedish and would never leave anything unattended, it would be gone in no time.
Back in the days you could do that but not nowadays. Today I really don’t trust many people.
I moved out when I was 16 years old.
5:19 Im from the North Part of England XD just below Scotland not far of stockholm, that comment made me giggle, Stockholm is still the southern part of Sweden and 5 hours south of the middle Part "Östersund" , i mean when you travel far north like Umeå we start talking but about where Kiruna is its another country almost even for a Swede
20:53 I'm learning Japanese on Duolingo. There are Japanese language-learning trips you can make to Japan, I believe, or at least you can pay to study the language there for a number of months/weeks so you're immersed and living in the country whose language you're trying to learn.
If I didn't have a bunch of other commitments lined up currently I would considering doing that, because I find reading Japanese (in Hiragana/Katakana/Kanji) and speaking it very difficult despite studying it for over a year and a half. I know lots and lots of words and can make basic sentences, but anything advanced or reading/writing it in their alphabets seems almost impossible currently.
I’m swedish! 🇸🇪
me too! :)
We had -37C last winter in northern Sweden, so yes it can get cold :P
It really depends on what part of Sweden you are. If you’re in a populated city then your stuff most likely will be taken. If it’s a city with less population, it’ll be fine.
Completely agree with the other writing that we as individuals are very individualistic but not at the expense of the collective. And it probably depends on what city you're in as well.
Then - yes, I leave my computer and phone here and there all the time 😅 Often by accident though haha. But there is an absolute tendency in Sweden that we trust each other a lot. Also depending on the city.
What we usually do at work when someone doesn't speak Swedish well enough to feel comfortable yet is that they can say when they want the ones who do to keep speaking Swedish and they then respond in Swedish or English, whichever they want. So far its usually over time resulted in that person changing to more and more Swedish. But, yea, its a choice, its certainly possible to live in Sweden and only speak English. However, this has resulted in me loosing the direct association between which language someone talk to me and how I answer, which can turn out quite funny sometimes ;-)
What he means whith collectivistic is that if you play in a team, you play as a team. As in society you help others or do things whitout getting anything back.
North of sweden it is cold as hell and dark for 2 months during the winter and in the summer sun never sets.
I live more in the middle. Have long days in summer and. Normal days in winter. Not that cold but very warm during summer.
recently at school i had to pay for coffee so i was drinking anywhere from 6-9 cups of coffee a day
Been there done that from Finland, but have learned way more since arrived. but sitll lacking as english works so well in here.
I live in Stockholm and I’d say that people are very trusting here. Lots of people leave their bikes for example unlocked or they are just popping into a shop or something and people will leave their phones and laptops unattended for a few minutes while doing something. Sure, things get stolen sometimes but not nearly as much as in any other big city.
at 2:11 thats not really cold, thats just fine -ish clingy wet snow, with the wind i'd guess it's about -5-10 C
Up north we had -45 this winter.... Nothing worked, no trains where running aso aso..... I looooooooooove the summer nights though, it totally makes up for the winters.... Its not that warm though, in summer........
I belive that theres not a good idea to leave stuff outside now because how many people that are from other countries live in sweden now like people from America p.p.s no fence
Could it be that you are mixing up introvert with individualistic?
Swedes have historically been very collectivistic but that’s about to change rather rapidly. The coming generations are much more individualistic than the older ones.
Sadly true
In think this is a myth that Swedes like to perpetuate.
However if you look at the Inglehart-Welzel World Cultural Map compiled by the World Values Survey (WVS) it is clear that Swedes are, and has been for a long time, some of the most individualistic and self expressionistic people in the world, so much so that Swedes together with the rest of the Nordic countries are extreme outliners compared to the rest of the world.
The thing about lagom is that my lagom might not be lagom for you. Ex my lagom temperature on the water in the shower is not the same as yours, how much food you eat. It's a moderate word but it's individual.
Where in Thailand do you live, we have a house in Lop Buri and a plot in Thap Sakae.
You're welcome to Linköping! 🥰
In Sweden you're supposed to be a responsible individual taking care of yourself and your family to be part of the collective, as in your place of work, your friends and your place of living (neighborhood, city, country). You're always supposed to be doing your best in everything you do, so it is a competitive environment, but at the same time, if you are very successful at what you do, you're not supposed to brag about it, but rather stay grounded and be humble about it. It's no surprise that despite being a small country of only 10 000 000 people, we are successful in all kind of sports as well in advanced technologies and we have a number of well known and respected internationell corporate businesses. We are one of the worlds best developer and manufacturer of highly advanced military gear. We make everything from the best Submarines and aviation to maybe the best tanks, armored combat vehicles and self-propelled artillery in the world. People moving to Sweden with high ambitions and a will to be a part of the Swedish society usually likes it here and have a tendency to stay, especially if you start a family with kids. Very few other countries have the benefits as a parent as you have here, not to talk about our almost free health care and educational system. Of course there's element in our society that are not that good, but as a democratic country with deeply rooted values and principles regarding values and ethics, I believe in our ability to improve our lives to the better in all areas over time.
5:56 The map might be a bit missleading.
The very north of England is at 55.7 degree north. I grew up in 56.2 degrees north. I now live outside of stockholm at 60 degrees north. And the diffrance between 56 and 60 degrees north is actually quite surprising.
Its worth saying that the artic circle is 67 degrees north where the suns never set.
On top of that. even here at 60 degrees north where the sun where the sun is down about 4½ hours. of those 4½ hours, its actually twilight over 2 hours. And the twilight is like ridiculously strong. Its basically daytime type light
11:10 Its the school that is collectivism, not the culture
13:56 No Swedshpeople don´t want to "contribute"
The people that say they like to pay high taxes is a bit dishonest. What they really mean is that they like other people to pay high taxes, because they work in a government job.
15:03 Crime is relatively low in Stockholm. Typically most countries would have the most crime in the large cities. That is not quite the case in Sweden. Malmö is for sure the most crime ridden. But the other towns with high crimes are really in most cases relatively small. Its also a very sharp contrast with very high crime in one town and hardly anything just the town next door.
19:48 In defense of our Nordic neighbors most countries do look to there closest largest trading partner. And in Sweden that is Germany, UK and USA. (a lot of Swedish people also know German, something like ~40%, France, Spanish, Italian and Japanese is also decreasingly common (in pretty much that order)).
In Norway and Finland Swedish is the closest largest trading partner. In Denmark its Sweden and Germany. Specially since Copenhagen is pretty much on the Swedish border. Understanding Swedish have a higher priority than understanding English or German.
My biggest shock was that i have to do military service. Many sweeds see it as positive while it later turned out that alot, like 70% of people my age had lied to skip it. While they only have to choose choose lik 10-20 thousand people I somehow was chosen while while I know of 4 others that really wanted to do military service and did not get the chance. Basically I am kinda forced and will do it soon, as I had no idea that they would choose people who don't want to do it. I later found out that there are laws ("totalförsvarsplikten") that basically says that I can go to jail if I don't go to military service, while att the same time sweden being at the forefront off individual expression.
Did i hear that right? Do u live in Thailand?! If so thats awesome
I´m a Swede and I´m actually trying to learn to speak in Welsh
You can be individualistic without being selfish!
You are welcome to sweden 👏 ♥️
I wondered why Finnish men were moving much later than female out of parents home, but it much be because the men are registered at parents house thru the military service period (when they actually live in the army facilities).
I have a theory why we Scandinavians are so profitionent in the English language. The reason spells Hollywood. In most countries moves and TV shows are dubbed, but in the Scandinavian countries they are shown with subtitles. That means that we are being exposed to hearing the English language, while, say, German, Frensh, Italians and most Asians are not.
If it has worked for us Scandinavians, it should work for others as well. Tip: Try watching foreign language, without subtitles. It's a great way to get a feel for a language. Today it's so easy to do. You can choose the original language, and turn off the subtiltles, on most DVDs and Blu-rays.
As a matter of fact, I always turn off the Swedish subtiles when watching English language films, which can lead to some funny things. In "Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation", there are two Swedish actors having scenes together. The filmmakers took advantage of this and had them speak Swedish in the movie. That, in turn, means that, when I turn off the Swedish subtitles, I automatically get English subtitles when they speak Swedish. Well, well, well....
I feel especially sad for our American friends. Hollywood always makes American versions of foreign films, so they never get exposed to foreign langages, nor foreign cultures. So an advise to all our American friends: Forget the inferior American copies, and watch the original versions. You will learn a lot, and expand your mind. Also, it's a lot healthier than mind altering drugs!
Interesting. Did you know that Thailand is to Swedes what Spain is to Brits?
Lots of Swedes go to Thailand on vacation and I dare say everyone knows someone who has a house or relatives there.
It’s quite unexpected.
I have three co-workers who have a house there and my uncle has friends there that he stays at every other year.
Oh yeah, i forgot about our "not to be a burden to anyone" mentality 😂. How could i forget, that was the main reason how i became a smoker at the ripe age of 32 🥴. I had been a snusare for most of my life, went cold turkey one day and succeeded with being nicotine free over a year. I then went on a trip to Sri Lanka and traveled around the island with a bunch of French people i met there. French people, as i found out, smoke and drink quite a bit. Since I've been a party smoker from time to time in the past when given cigarettes i did not decline when offered. After a while the Swede in me woke up and i of course couldn't be a "snyltare" anymore so naturally i started buying my own cigarettes as one do when not wanting to be a burden to others 😂... I'm an idiot. I have now quit smoking and instead gained an old habit again as a snusare. Okay, it wasn't just because my swedishness, old habits and alcohol started it, but the Swede in me sealed the deal. 😂😂🇸🇪🇸🇪
Dwayne the collective mindset is about society and being a team at work. Swedes are also selfish but being part of a collective hive is the truth. Swedes are very conformed in opinions and clothes!
A person from England is much more like Swedes than Americans. Americans just look like us, but they really aren't like us. The word "Lagom” is not about harmony, rather more about not taking too much. It's not just a positive word, it's about not emphasizing yourself and being greedy. Americans can often talk loud and clear about their successes, you can't do that in Sweden.
we don't talk about finland no, no, no, we don't talk about finland!
we don't talk about denmark no, no, no, we don't talk about denmark!
we don't talk about norway no, no, no, we don't talk about norway!
In Sweden just some 30 year ago you could leave your house without locking the door.
Today not so much. People cant even leave bicykles without having the tires and sadels taken. Things have changed a lot in Sweden, and much due to facts youtube wont allow you to write in text.
Actually what I think he's talking about is that Swedish schools are free. So is also Universities.
Therefore if you compare US towards Sweden is that american teenagers want scolarships (or what it's called). Correct me if I'm wrong!
Here - as I wrote - schools are free. No charges.
Of course the students have to live somewhere, eat a s o.
Maybe the difference is in US you compete.
How come you moved to Thailand?
If you don't mind me asking.
I'll paste my comment from the original video:
A Swede will generally trust another Swede (to a certain point), and this most likely comes from the fact that Sweden has historically been a very harsh place to live. You HAD to trust the people around you in order to survive, trust them to not steal your stuff and trust them to help you when in need - and this went both ways. Other people knew they could rely on you because it was just the right thing to do.
It is very sad and unfortunate that the "trusting" part of Swedish society is slowly, but surely, going away. This is of course mainly because of immigrants (in general) with completely different cultures coming here. They see the "naive" Swedish trust we place in our fellow Swedes as a weakness to exploit, an easy mark, if you will.
So what Stefan describes about the trust is still true in predominantly Swedish areas and settings, but as soon as you start going to more mixed areas this is no longer the case. I myself have left my bag on the train to use the restroom, and come back to it being untouched, but that was in a very Swedish area. Do something like that on the subway at your own peril, depending on the line.
Many who exploit others here in Sweden. And they want it to look like everyone's opinion is worth the same even though it is not. Do not let the children stay in the village themselves in the evening, a lot of drugs, robberies, rapes, battery, weapons etc. You are not even allowed to defend your own home here, if you injure a burglar, you can be reported by the thief and be convicted and the thief goes free. Therefore, you do not report a burglary before you have hidden the thief far down under the ground. If you put a mobile, wallet or laptop unattended, then it is stolen.
I will never leave anything unatended om a train!
Stockholm is to dark for me, I live in the north and even though we have less sun hour during the winter it is a different kind of darkness, can't do the dark darkness (pitch black) they have in the south. Been there, done that and I can say never again.
Please don't leave your belongings unattended anywhere. Theft isn't as bad as it is in countries with larger populations, but I still wouldn't recommend you trying your luck.
The guy has been conditioned by the Stockholmians.
And no most Swedes that say that they are fine paying the high taxes but they don't really know how much they pay.
The few that do know, aren't fine with it at all.