Scandinavia is the group of Nordic countries such as Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland. It is often presented in the media that Scandinavia is the place to be, because of healthcare system, education set ups, life quality and even happiness levels reaching new heights in comparison to other parts of the world – is supposedly the best one.
This description usually creates many differences to more emotionally expressive ethnicities like Spanish and Italian people as well as Americans.
The climate in Scandinavian countries
The climate in countries of Scandinavia are described as different for every country specifically, but the main characteristics are that winters in these countries is long and cold. It is usual to have a lot of snow and freezing temperatures.
Another factor to winters is that they are humid that makes them colder and harder to prepare for as a tourist if not used to this kind of weather. Spring is usually warmer but it is not the time to start wearing summer clothes as the temperatures move to warmer by very little each week closer to summer.
Summers are warmer in Denmark and Sweden, but in Iceland they tend to be chillier that the rest of the Scandinavian countries. Summer months are more popular for tourists as the temperature finally gets more bearable for people afraid of the cold winters.
Average Scandinavian
Average Scandinavian is very clean and efficient. There are many benefits in Scandinavian countries, for example, the policy for parental leave in Sweden is 480 days for each child. Also the schooling system is very different as some Scandinavian countries do not assign homework at all and gives more practical lectures to students.
Average Scandinavian works on a job that gives very good holiday leaves and healthcare systems. Scandinavia has one of the biggest working women shares in comparison to other parts of the world and average salary for Scandinavian can amount to 33 000 SEK or other currencies per month.
Regarding style and visual in Scandinavians, they tend to wear more practical and simple clothes as focus is on comfortable and no strict dress code rules anywhere in the countries. Work hours are very different as, for example, in Norway there are work day from 9 to 5, but workers can easily get afternoons off work and enjoy free time as its valued more than sitting around to finish work hours.
Scandinavian mindset and character
Scandinavians are described as much closed off and even not emotional as other ethnicities. They usually do not engage in conversations amongst strangers and have very little interactions in everyday settings such as supermarkets, service providing places and transportation.
Scandinavians do not like conflicts and they are rather more analytical and a logical thinker, therefore, conflict makes them solve it and leave rather than fight and attract attention. Scandinavians are outdoor lovers and they enjoy relaxing and peace more than any other country in the world.
Many Scandinavians have cottages and summer houses and it is not unusual to live in small towns in nature, forests and away from the cities. The bond with nature is kept by hiking the mountains, enjoying snow activities, swimming in ice baths and going to sauna. All of the traditional Scandinavian activities usually involve some type of relaxation which includes activities that do not require much interaction.
Differences between Scandinavia and other parts of the world
Scandinavian countries try very hard to keep their citizens as equal as possible by making strict taxation laws and having many rules for high earning families to pay to the governments to achieve this goal of equal opportunities. This is very different to many countries everywhere else in the world such as America that has the mentality of success being the ultimate goal.
America has a very huge separation between the underpaid, poor and the rich and wealthy individuals. Another big difference between other parts of the world that the Scandinavian people do not see shyness as a bad thing.
Scandinavians are shy by nature and coming in contact with foreigners usually are very awkward as they do not like foreigners that don’t respect their culture and mindset. Another difference is that Scandinavians are very active and one of the most active and healthiest people in the world. Scandinavians are taught from the young age to enjoy the cold, have ice baths, go to sauna, treat nature with respect and enjoy the free time outside. This is a lot different than other parts of the world such as Italy or Spain, where the free time is usually spent dining with family and partying and America where overweight is the norm.