Do
- Say hello to your neighbors while passing by
- Remember to make an appointment at first if you need to use public laundry or sauna at your building and be punctual about it – no overtime.
- Keep decent distance from others, Finnish people have large personal space
- Bring your own drinks to parties, unless told otherwise. Your own drinks are not allowed at bars or pubs.
- If you have two kitchen sinks, learn to use them both while washing dishes!
- Ask help from the workers of grocery stores, it is part of their work to help you find something.
- If someone asks you something in Finnish and you don’t understand them, it’s more polite to reply *En puhu suomea* or *Sorry, I don’t speak Finnish* rather than being silent
- Remember to carry your keys with you, Finnish apartment buildings have locked outer doors. Calling the janitor to open the doors might be expensive
- Pour a cup of coffee for your guests!
- Recycle! Every apartment building has their own waste bins for different types of waste (plastic, cardboard, glass etc.)
- Remember to use a towel for sitting in sauna
Don’t
- Don’t use shoes inside
- Don’t smoke inside your apartment, not even at the windows
- You can’t buy strong alcohol (over 21%) unless you are over 20 years old
- You can’t buy alcohol between 9pm and 9am from grocery stores
- Don’t let your dog do their needs in the apartment yard
- Don’t let your dog run free outside
- Don’t play loud music past 21-22, Finnish apartment buildings have “silent time” which goes from 22pm till 7-8am
- Don’t keep windows open for long in winter
- Don’t heat your apartment with an oven
- Don’t use swimsuits in public sauna (most swimming halls have prohibited it)
- Don’t be too loud in public and remember to respect others
Here’s a stereotypical story from a Finn:
”I live in a apartment building and I was about to go out. I heard noise from the hallway and looked to it from the door’s peephole (”ovisilmä”), there were some of my neighbors. I waited for them to leave until I went outside my apartment to the hallway. Just because I didn’t want to have a small talk with them.
After that I heard a noise from the upper floors, someone ordered the lift! I had two options. To run fast to the first floor by the stairway or be so slow that the upper floor’s neighbor could go before me. Again, just because of the small talk.”
Tip! Go visit @finnishnightmaresofficial and @veryfinnishproblems Instagram accounts to learn more about stereotypical Finnish culture.
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