IMPORTANT NOTE!! Though it should become clear from the text and anyways be self-evident if you read it with an open mind, I will still underline, that these things are the typical situation, but in each cases each country of course has their exceptions. "Exception that proves the rule." I mention it already now, because people who get easily provoked often don't want to see this unless it's directly said to them.
TOP 5 things I like about Finland that Mexico doesn't have (that much)
- Safety. Finland is super safe place to live compared to Mexico. You don't need to be paranoid when you go outside even at night. You can be a woman, alone outside, at night, at quiet street, and still the possibility of anything bad happening to you is extremely small. I love to take walks outside at night alone. In Mexico currently it's extremely dangerous to go outside even at daytime. And even at your own house you can't count on safety, because it's very common that houses are robbed. Violence of Mexico is the main reason why we live in Finland now with my wife.
When I was in Mexico 2 years ago for almost 3 months, I had to stay locked inside our house most of the summer, if I had nobody local to "babysit" me. Going to the closest market in 100m from our house alone was already a risk, and I had to be extremely careful and conscious about people around me. Also I had been only about a week in Monterrey, when I saw a first shot human body. (._.) It's impossible to explain the violence for Finns, who have never lived in such country. We're simply too used to safeness to survive alone in Mexico. Safety is what I really enjoy, appreciate and love about Finland.
- Support by government. If you get unemployed it's not the end of the world, because our government gives you money for living until you find a new job. If you're a student, you don't have to go to work at the same time, because the government gives you money to live with during your studies. If you get pregnant, government gives you money because of the small baby so that you don't need to go to work after it's born or you're not dependent of your husband. If you get sick or have a handicap, our government helps your special needs by giving money and sometimes other services too. Financially, it's way easier to live here at times of trouble. In Mexico you're totally screwed, if you have no work. Such thing as government supporting you financially don't exist there.
- Nature. Mexicans have destroyed most of their nature. Mexicans lack the respect and enjoyment of Nature that Finns still have. Based on Wikipedia, 77% of Finland is forests, and from the remaining 23% huge part is lakes, rivers, etc. Most Finns really embrace the nature and it's goods, and even environmental/nature protection is here a matter of a law. Finns usually try their best to live in harmony with all the nature around them.
- The studies are free for you, if you live in Finland. In theory, that gives everybody the option to study no matter if your family could pay it for you or not. In Mexico you must go work or have a rich family to be able to study, and because of that it's typical that people who get to study, are unable to finish their studies.
- Freedom of speech seems to be more appreciated in Finland than in Mexico. Including human rights. In Finland the laws mostly protect gay rights, freedom of religion, rights of the sick and people of different ages, etc. If you're a gay outside the closet, it's way easier in Finland than in Mexico. Being openly gay, for example, can be even very dangerous for you in Mexico. It's quite typical that if you're a gay, your family rejects you (Mexicans are much more religious than Finns). In Mexico certain things just aren't acceptable, like being a pagan, an atheist or a gay. You can get lots of trouble to admit being one of those. In Finland, I don't even have to be careful if I walk hand in hand with my wife, or kiss her at public place. If someone even says something about it, most probable thing would be "Awwww, look at that lesbian couple, aren't they cute." This is at least at the capital area. Countryside is less open-minded, but I don't know enough of it to tell more.
TOP 5 things I like about Mexico that Finland doesn't have (that much)
- Openness/sincerity. Telling someone "Hey, I like you, Ernesto" even if you're not super close friends is completely normal for Mexicans. In Finland, that will be taken as "I love you and I will haunt you until you start loving me!" or as a try to hit on the person. In Mexico it's completely normal to sit next to another person even if there's lots of empty chairs around you, more far away. In Finland, sitting next to someone is the last option unless you're very close friends/family. Actually, in busses many people even prefer standing, if they don't have the two free seats to overtake. It makes typically Finnish people uncomfortable, if anyone touches them in any way. I even have good friends who I've known for maaany years, but I still can't hug them when meeting without making them feel uncomfortable. Also, In Mexico you always give cheek kisses to all new people you meet, even if you didn't know them personally. In Finland this would most possibly cause you to be charged for sexual harassment.
- Positiveness. Positive feelings and happenings are shown, enjoyed and shared with people. In Finland if you're telling positive things, you'll be easily counted as an arrogant and "fake" person. Something I can't understand. Sharing your happiness with others should be a good thing.
- Values. In Mexico, family and friends are THE number 1, and things like work come only after that. This is how I think it should be. In Finland it's usually opposite. Your value as human is based on your job title and how much you pay taxes, and it's extremely typical that people don't even stay contacted with their family. Even if they're ok with their family, it's typical that some people visit their parents three times a year or even more rarely. In Mexico you're a horrible person if you don't visit your family weekly, or at least few times a month. The family includes also your cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. who typically make an amount of 50+ of people. In Finland, many have no contact to others but their parents and grandparents, and "family" means typically only your children, parents and maybe grandparents.
In Mexico, if you get sick, you can be sure that you have many family members visiting you, taking care of you while you try to recover. In Finland, nobody visits you unless you're almost about to die or otherwise seriously sick (serious cancer, etc). And even if you're about to die, you might be left alone. There's lots of lonely old people, who die in institutions without anybody from the family visiting them. In Mexico, when you get old your children take care of you, you live with them, at their house. Mexicans think, that because their parents took care of them for their childhood and teenage, they owe and want to do the same to their parents. Like my wife says, "When my mother becomes old, it's kinda like she becomes my child - I'll be the one taking care of her". In Finland this would be "a weird and distressing idea" for most.
- Trust to goodness in people. Despite all the violence and fear, the normal people are very caring towards others. Also strangers. You can trust, that if something happened to you, for example a heart attack in the center of the city, there will be huge amount of people immediately around you, helping you the best they can. In Finland it's sadly usual, that if you saw a man lying on a street, you just looked at it, but walked away. This is the most horrible thing. Or if someone mugged you, possibility that someone who saw your situation would help you is actually quite small. In Mexico you can trust, that there are always strangers taking care of you at such horrible moment.
So, as a summary, Finland is a safe place to live because our government is so well built. Even though people whine about it often, but it's only because they have never seen how things are outside Finland. This country is built for financial success, and it's at least in theory easy to make a career here, if you have the right kind of personality for that. You don't need to worry about being homeless, discriminated at different services, etc. The level of safety is one of the best in the world, and can't be left without a positive note.
However, because of the strong capitalism and also the small amount of people in a big country, people are really comfortable with their isolation and egoistic lifestyle, which leads to indifference at some levels of social communication and caring.
To me the greatest thing in Mexico is the openess and warmth you can sense since the first day you arrive. It's easier to be happy and optimistic in Mexico, even though it's so dangerous there. Mexicans behave as members of their community, at the caring kind of level. Whereas Finns work as a member of the team but usually at the financial way.
The saddest thing about Mexico is the violence, that seems to be quite impossible to overcome because of the huge corruption of the government. I suppose the normal people take so well care of each others, because they know that otherwise nobody does.
