BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2024-02-20, 14:56:

Whenever I read about a country or watch something on it, it usually feels something from the view of a travel agent. Things often feel forced, half-informed, hidden behind scenes.

How the country operates on a normal basis, the culture, the behaviour, the food, laws, daily life, etc. from a resident's perspective is what I want to hear.

Why don't you start by telling everyone about your country?

Australia is much like anywhere really. You do a day's work. Spend the evening with your family. Check the bed for brown snakes. Then do it all again.

Pierre32 wrote on 2024-02-21, 09:48:

Australia is much like anywhere really. You do a day's work. Spend the evening with your family. Check the bed for brown snakes. Then do it all again.

Surely, you do not neglect the spider check on your shoes each morning?!

(Lol!)

My little parcel of dirt gets brown widows and brown recluse every fall (thankfully, they eat each other!), so shoe and drawer checks are mandatory.

I understand the land down under takes that to 11 though.

Or so I've been told.

Not sure there are a lot of French here.
I can tell you about the riots, strikes and food.

Errius wrote on 2024-02-21, 04:15:

Joakim wrote on 2024-02-20, 19:21:

I speak for the Swedish. Ask me anything. I will answer truly.

Fascinated by mooses. Do you see them often? I hear they're a danger to drivers.

Moose? Once I drove through south Sweden a moose walked out of the wood onto the road.
It moved slowely across it, but it did not care about traffic at all!
And it was huge. You'd better don't hit it with your car.

Brazil is a hot mess, nothing works, everything is extremely expensive, corruption is everywhere, but the worse is the violence.
Weather, natural resources, food and the people are amazing, but in the end the cons overcome the pros to me.

I left Brazil and moved to USA about 7 years ago, started my family here and couldn't be happier, I agree that US is several countries in one and maybe I'm lucky to be where I am, but I absolutely love here, I'm living a dream.
All you need to do is stay away from TV and social media so you don't get sucked into the political BS.

Disruptor wrote on 2024-02-21, 14:54:

Moose? Once I drove through south Sweden a moose walked out of the wood onto the road. It moved slowely across it, but it did no […]
Show full quote

Errius wrote on 2024-02-21, 04:15:

Joakim wrote on 2024-02-20, 19:21:

I speak for the Swedish. Ask me anything. I will answer truly.

Fascinated by mooses. Do you see them often? I hear they're a danger to drivers.

Moose? Once I drove through south Sweden a moose walked out of the wood onto the road.
It moved slowely across it, but it did not care about traffic at all!
And it was huge. You'd better don't hit it with your car.

Was it covered in chocolate ? 😉

https://youtu.be/RVsfvbZTBzU?si=CPmdHUuT56S78kuO

Errius wrote on 2024-02-21, 04:15:

Joakim wrote on 2024-02-20, 19:21:

I speak for the Swedish. Ask me anything. I will answer truly.

Fascinated by mooses. Do you see them often? I hear they're a danger to drivers.

Yes we have moose. They are giants, we refer to them as kings of the forest.

Sweden is a very tall country, and in the northern parts where i often visit summer time moose is quite common. You have to watch it when you drive, almost every time you drive there is wild animals on the road, mostly reindeer though as they like to lick salt from the road. Yum yum.

One time when I was out fishing with my father-in-law a female moose and her calf took a swim right next to our boat a warm summer evening. We just sat there watching them. It was a magical moment that was gone almost as quickly as it came.

Or as the Scot’s say if that’s a moose I wonder what the rats are like

Pino wrote on 2024-02-21, 15:43:

Brazil is a hot mess, nothing works, everything is extremely expensive, corruption is everywhere, but the worse is the violence. […]
Show full quote

Brazil is a hot mess, nothing works, everything is extremely expensive, corruption is everywhere, but the worse is the violence.
Weather, natural resources, food and the people are amazing, but in the end the cons overcome the pros to me.

I left Brazil and moved to USA about 7 years ago, started my family here and couldn't be happier, I agree that US is several countries in one and maybe I'm lucky to be where I am, but I absolutely love here, I'm living a dream.
All you need to do is stay away from TV and social media so you don't get sucked into the political BS.

Brazil is quite a big country, almost as big as the US, there are many multiple countries inside it.
My experience is quite different than yours. I left Brazil and lived in the US for 5 years with the option of continuing but decided to return and have zero regrets. Nothing against the US in special, is just that it has its problems like anywhere else.
Maybe is the place you used to live in Brazil, and also our idea of “ideal” place to live may be different, though.

Greywolf1 wrote on 2024-02-21, 17:25:

Or as the Scot’s say if that’s a moose I wonder what the rats are like

And all us true Scots are still trying to live it down!!! 🙁

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzBU56riS68

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoots_Mon

Who knows how many Chinese are here?
I guess not many, because not everyone has the conditions to register for this forum in China's network environment.I'm not sure what kind of attitude Europeans and North Americans have towards the Chinese. It seems to be more negative?
In recent years, I have been to the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and made some comparisons. Relatively speaking, China is politically stable, safe and orderly, its economic conditions are not backward, and its infrastructure is more developed and perfect. The only thing I am not satisfied with is: there are too many people here, competition is too fierce, interpersonal relationships are complicated, and environmental protection in some areas needs to be strengthened.
People here are oppressed and have no freedom of speech?It's an exaggeration to say that, I don't feel restricted in my life.Stability and freedom are a pair of contradictions, and going to either extreme is wrong.
By the way, China’s Internet cannot allow us to access some more authentic information in the world,This is indeed a pity, but do not forget that China has 1.4 billion people. Without some conservative measures, it is difficult to ensure stability and prosperity, so Everything has two sides...

megatron-uk wrote on 2024-02-20, 17:39:

The UK isn't just London. And London isn't representative of the rest of the UK.

The rest of us are quite happy to keep our green fields, forests, beaches, ancient history and local food and traditions for ourselves.

Personally, I am happy to live in an area of the country that most of the uninformed considers a barren wasteland and a remnant of the steam and industrial age.... The reality couldn't be further from the truth, but I am happy for that secret to remain 😁

The industrial cities are probably the worst place to merge in with the local culture. Foreigners coming to work often land with the idea to live in London, then migrate to a residential town but they can't get the knack of it. Only if we would somehow know the places for any type of migrant to live (no I don't want to crowd the neighbourhood with foreigners 😁)

Joakim wrote on 2024-02-20, 19:21:

I speak for the Swedish. Ask me anything. I will answer truly.

I heard only the good about the Nordics, and the places. Tell me something that outsiders must take care of, the places they should look to live in, how to merge with the locals, places for local food, ways to not get scammed, etc

(Others have replied to the thread, I would like to engage with people from other places but let me digest some places first 😀)

I’m a Dutchie who has moved to the north of England tho I never really fit in anywhere even in my birth nation but England is my home now and integrated to the the best of my ability so much so that I sometimes have to translate the Yorkshire dialect for my English colleagues.
There are quirks here that don’t make sense like the NHS and unemployment benefits or no border control on a bloody island.
And politics are even worse tho that will be the same sentiment in other countries they send so much time undermining each other they do sod all for the country.
Luckily or not I’m not allowed to vote due to not being a citizen so my fate is in the hand of others but common sense is a dying breed.

qdsong88@ wrote on 2024-02-22, 05:26:

Who knows how many Chinese are here? I guess not many, because not everyone has the conditions to register for this forum in Chi […]
Show full quote

Who knows how many Chinese are here?
I guess not many, because not everyone has the conditions to register for this forum in China's network environment.I'm not sure what kind of attitude Europeans and North Americans have towards the Chinese. It seems to be more negative?
In recent years, I have been to the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and made some comparisons. Relatively speaking, China is politically stable, safe and orderly, its economic conditions are not backward, and its infrastructure is more developed and perfect. The only thing I am not satisfied with is: there are too many people here, competition is too fierce, interpersonal relationships are complicated, and environmental protection in some areas needs to be strengthened.
People here are oppressed and have no freedom of speech?It's an exaggeration to say that, I don't feel restricted in my life.Stability and freedom are a pair of contradictions, and going to either extreme is wrong.
By the way, China’s Internet cannot allow us to access some more authentic information in the world,This is indeed a pity, but do not forget that China has 1.4 billion people. Without some conservative measures, it is difficult to ensure stability and prosperity, so Everything has two sides...

I was in China twice and my perception matches what you described but only for the more developed cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, etc), once you go to the country side (I was in Hefei) it looks like a completely different place.
The other unfortunate thing about some places in China is the pollution, after only 2 days in Beijing I got a really bad sinus infection. Hopefully this is something that can be addressed in the future.

gaffa2002 wrote on 2024-02-21, 21:51:

Brazil is quite a big country, almost as big as the US, there are many multiple countries inside it. My experience is quite diff […]
Show full quote

Pino wrote on 2024-02-21, 15:43:

Brazil is a hot mess, nothing works, everything is extremely expensive, corruption is everywhere, but the worse is the violence. […]
Show full quote

Brazil is a hot mess, nothing works, everything is extremely expensive, corruption is everywhere, but the worse is the violence.
Weather, natural resources, food and the people are amazing, but in the end the cons overcome the pros to me.

I left Brazil and moved to USA about 7 years ago, started my family here and couldn't be happier, I agree that US is several countries in one and maybe I'm lucky to be where I am, but I absolutely love here, I'm living a dream.
All you need to do is stay away from TV and social media so you don't get sucked into the political BS.

Brazil is quite a big country, almost as big as the US, there are many multiple countries inside it.
My experience is quite different than yours. I left Brazil and lived in the US for 5 years with the option of continuing but decided to return and have zero regrets. Nothing against the US in special, is just that it has its problems like anywhere else.
Maybe is the place you used to live in Brazil, and also our idea of “ideal” place to live may be different, though.

I totally agree, it's all about what you as an individual values the most for yourself and your family, so 2 different people can have opposite experiences.
I was in Campinas/SP area, which in theory is one the richest / most developed part of Brazil, still I wasn't happy.
I couldn't get over the fact that I had to pay an insane amount of taxes and still had zero return from the government.
I had to pay for private school, private security (gated community house), private road infrastructure (tolls everywhere), private health insurance, private entertainment (sports club), etc.

megatron-uk wrote on 2024-02-20, 17:39:

I heard only the good about the Nordics, and the places. Tell me something that outsiders must take care of, the places they should look to live in, how to merge with the locals, places for local food, ways to not get scammed, etc

(Others have replied to the thread, I would like to engage with people from other places but let me digest some places first 😀)

Nordics? I think we are somewhat different. The danish and southern parts of Sweden is more open I would say. Friendlier people generally but also more confrontational (haha). People in the more northern parts are more reserved. In the very northern parts they are not very talkative and just say shhhhph instead of yes. (I am not kidding.)

Generally it is hard for outsiders to get into the group I would say. Especially in more rural areas (which is also because it is not very heavily populated). People keep most to themselves but I think that if you become friends with a swede they are very loyal. But I his leaves a lot of people alone.

You are not likely to get scammed in Sweden, most people are very very honest. I have dropped my wallet once with money in it and it turned out at the police office, intact.

There a lot of things to see around the Stockholm area I would say. A lot of museums. For instance our famous Wasa museum where we put an intact 17th century boat that sunk on its virgin voyage and was salvaged in the 1960s. It's very Swedish to put a failure on display by the way!

We have what we call allemansrätt in Sweden which means that you can within some boundaries of course, enter any forest, pick berries and mushrooms without asking the owner.

Swedish people believe they are not very proud of their heritage or that they are at all religious. But the secret is that is not really true it's just something we have somehow just agreed upon. So is also the individualistic nature, I think it's mostly false. There are a lot of these things. People just love to agree, and don't like conflicts.

Joakim wrote on 2024-02-22, 16:04:

There a lot of things to see around the Stockholm area I would say. A lot of museums. For instance our famous Wasa museum where we put an intact 17th century boat that sunk on its virgin voyage and was salvaged in the 1960s. It's very Swedish to put a failure on display by the way!

Bit of a similar story in the UK with the "Mary Rose"

edit: maybe not quite so similar as I first thought. I only remembered the speculation from when they first dragged her out, which was that she had been freshly modified and reconfigured when sunk.

Pino wrote on 2024-02-22, 14:36:

I totally agree, it's all about what you as an individual values the most for yourself and your family, so 2 different people ca […]
Show full quote

gaffa2002 wrote on 2024-02-21, 21:51:

Brazil is quite a big country, almost as big as the US, there are many multiple countries inside it. My experience is quite diff […]
Show full quote

Pino wrote on 2024-02-21, 15:43:

Brazil is a hot mess, nothing works, everything is extremely expensive, corruption is everywhere, but the worse is the violence. […]
Show full quote

Brazil is a hot mess, nothing works, everything is extremely expensive, corruption is everywhere, but the worse is the violence.
Weather, natural resources, food and the people are amazing, but in the end the cons overcome the pros to me.

I left Brazil and moved to USA about 7 years ago, started my family here and couldn't be happier, I agree that US is several countries in one and maybe I'm lucky to be where I am, but I absolutely love here, I'm living a dream.
All you need to do is stay away from TV and social media so you don't get sucked into the political BS.

Brazil is quite a big country, almost as big as the US, there are many multiple countries inside it.
My experience is quite different than yours. I left Brazil and lived in the US for 5 years with the option of continuing but decided to return and have zero regrets. Nothing against the US in special, is just that it has its problems like anywhere else.
Maybe is the place you used to live in Brazil, and also our idea of “ideal” place to live may be different, though.

I totally agree, it's all about what you as an individual values the most for yourself and your family, so 2 different people can have opposite experiences.
I was in Campinas/SP area, which in theory is one the richest / most developed part of Brazil, still I wasn't happy.
I couldn't get over the fact that I had to pay an insane amount of taxes and still had zero return from the government.
I had to pay for private school, private security (gated community house), private road infrastructure (tolls everywhere), private health insurance, private entertainment (sports club), etc.

What a coincidence. I was born and raised in Campinas, most of my family still lives there in fact.
No idea where that culture came from but people there try too hard to pretend they are not Brazilian… all those gated community houses try to look like an American neighborhood, everyone wants so desperately to look and live like if they were somewhere in US/Europe and are willing to pay premium for that, hence things end up being so much more expensive and crime rates go up due to inequality. I know that sentiment happens nationwide but in Campinas it always felt stronger to me.
I live in a city close by now (São Carlos), and violence is much less of a problem here (nowhere is perfect, but I feel much safer here than in Campinas). The pricing of certain things like clothing and electronics still remain a problem, of course, but having access to less industrialized food and free healthcare makes it up for me.

Born a Brit, now a Canuck. The surgery wasn't too painful, though I still have the accent.
Canada is really big. It's also plenty sunny. I can now boldly say to the random passerby "here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo" and usually mean it.