What is it like to live in Scandinavia?

[Glitterbiscuits]

DH and I are having a debate.

He says Scandinavian countries are the most developed socially, economically and in regard to the environment, equality, etc. He assumes there is not much poverty or homelessness in Scandinavian countries. He thinks the high taxes leads to good public services such as transport.

Is his positive view justified?

I knew @Lunde would come in with more specific info, thanks!

I'm off to the Finnish Islands soon so am looking forward to having a look around Alko!

Someone I know is Swedish. Every time there is an opportunity, and even sometimes when there isn't an opportunity, they go on endlessly about how crap it is here, and how Sweden is so much better. And yet, they continue to live here. Says it all really.

Hah enjoy!!

I lived in Norway for a while and would say it's a lovely place to be if, like me, you're a bit of a loner and enjoy living at some distance from others, amongst spectacular scenery, and can afford to do so.

But I wouldn't move there if I was dependent on finding employment in the local community, and wasn't able to choose exactly where I'd live and what kind of lifestyle etc.

I'd imagine it could be a particularly drab and alienating place for a poor foreign worker.

Ha - I suspect for many what they like is the UK is a bit more varied landscape wise and socially and there in my opinion is more to do unless you live in Stockholm ‘or ‘ are hugely into hiking, walking round lakes etc - I love Sweden ( we lived in Denmark forxazwhile and used to go a lot)I suspect what they miss is the Swedish systems/order - it’s very clean and ordered and stuff works come rain or shine .great childcare is peanuts, rents are way less outside of Stockholm ( and even then you can rent an amazing house in Stockholm suburbs with sauna/land/5 beds/ beautiful taste for about 2.5k a month , high tax, but no council tax or NI . Amazing geothermal heating too - my Danish house had superb heating in the winter, always incredibly toasty in the whole house and cost me less than the UK for using it far more.

What is health care like for everyone in these countries?

Well it’s pretty decent and free going on my experience although in Denmark they are pretty tight on fishing out prescriptions and seem to think a painkiller solves all - they do like ‘preventative’ though - well I say free- free at point of use but high taxes

In Finland its variable, sometimes really good, like at the beginning of the month I saw a doctor who referred me for a gastroscopy and colonoscopy, yesterday I got a call telling me they can offer me a time next Tuesday. Another time I was referred for an abdominal ultrasound, got a call a couple days later asking me what day and what time I would like to come in for it, starting from the next day. But I've heard in some areas it can be pretty bad, with long waits, and they are centralising so much - my town used to have 24/7 emergency healthcare and now its only 8-18 on weekdays, nothing at weekends or holidays, and the nearest open place is 80km away (but we at least still have an ambulance service stationed in the town so ambulances arrive quite quickly - called once because DS wouldn't wake up and the ambulance was at my house before I even hung up)

It varies quite a bit by country and area - the sparsely populated Northern regions can have huge distances to travel to A&E and maternity.

In Sweden you have to pay but the amount is capped for medical appointments to £110 in any 12 months after that it's free.

I like the longer appointments - usually a GP for example will only see around 3 patients an hour.

Never feel rushed with GPs here, they definitely have more time for patients. Finland also has a well developed occupational healthcare system which is free for employees but the amount of coverage varies, some companies just have basic health checks and sickness during work day care while others cover specialists and private surgery, even dental care. And children get their healthcare in school, schools have nurses the children can make appointments with or drop in at set times and a doctor and psychiatrist assigned, and they get yearly check ups to detect health and development issues early (DD's very mild scoliosis was spotted when she started school and monitored with 6 monthly physiotherapy visits until it was clear there was no further curving.) Before school age its covered in child health clinics so every child gets paediatrician and paediatric nurse care

I have dealt with the health system a lot in Copenhagen. In general i can get a same day doctors appointment easily, or my gp has a turn up at 11.30 for an acute problem policy which is very handy with my 2 year old. My gp gives referrals very easily, i went in April about some ibs symptoms, they gave me a gastro referral where i got an appointment 2 weeks later, and then another 2 weeks for a sigmoidoscopy. There is never a battle of trying to get a referral. A few years ago i came in for the first time after having an irregular period and they referred me to a gynacologist straight away who did some tests and saw i had a dermoid cyst on my ovary. It would not have met the nhs criteria for removal which i think was 5 cm as it was 3.5 but they referred me to hospital to get it removed straight away. I think from my first appointment to getting it removed was about 2 months. In general when you get the hospital appointment where they assess you for a surgical prodecure, if you need one they are obliged to offer you an appointment within 30 days otherwise you have the right to go private

I gave birth here 2 years ago. I was in a midlife suite with an assigned midwife who stays with you in the private room the entire time, gave me robozo massage and was very supportive, the room has salt lamps and soft lighting and a water bath and was really lovely. You then as a first time mum get 2 nights in the 'maternity hotel' where you get a private room and the midwives help you with the baby. My son actually needed to go to nicu so we stayed there for 2 nights in a private room with him, the nurses were amazing and even took him for a little while so i could sleep, food was great and they provided all nappies, pads for me, bottles etc.

In general i think the health system here is one of the biggest reasons i feel very safe here. I have had some bad experiences with health care in the UK but it feels very different here

I so miss Copenhagen !! It’s like the business centre I had my co working desk at -lovely shared lunches at a low price - all very convivial - beautiful interior - cheap!! The co centre that is- not Copenhagen!!

IME once you get the right help it can be great but getting there can be difficult. It can be difficult getting listed with a ”health central” (equivalent of GP care) and then you end up a bit stuck if that first stop is necessary for a referral. In general a heavy emphasis on not burdening the system with unnecessary visits. I’ve been discouraged from seeing a doctor when I had tonsillitis because the nurse in charge of admissions insisted it was a cold and I should go home and drink fluids. You may well need to advocate heavily for yourself. Also difficult to get child assessed for mental health issues which can lead to worse problems.

I am Norwegian currently living in London. I think the biggest differences for me is that Norway is much more family friendly. Personally yes I think healthcare is better in Norway and I don’t plan to live here as I grow older partly for that reason. I think London and the UK is great if you are healthy and have a good job so you earn enough to look after yourself, but there is little safety net and a bit of “everyone needs to look after themselves” mentality here.
I also feel much calmer every time I am in Norway. People are just more chilled. That might be because I live in London and there are lots of places in the UK which are just as chilled.
Norway is a beautiful country, but nothing beats the Cornish beaches for me🥰

@Ninni82 Norway is, hands down, (and I've traveled a bit) the most beautiful place I've ever visited. It smells glorious (of nothing!) even in the cities. It's also friendly, run for it's people and a much less unequal society all round. You are so lucky. I also love Denmark and Sweden. Hoping to visit Finland soon.

There are many things Nordic nations get right that we would do well to look to.

I found Copenhagen like this too - a lot is made of preventative too , then again I saw less hugely fat or ill looking people - can’t say why, but it was noticeable

Norway is far superior to Cornwall!

Because they cycle everywhere, like the Dutch do. Time we stopped being so f-ing car-centric and did the same. If you live in a hilly are you can use e-bikes.

Ha I don’t drive but I do walk miles - you are right though - cycling is massive there but is not the Lycra clad kind or racing bikes!

We’ve had good experiences so far in Sweden, when we moved over we had a kind of induction I guess where we were all given a health MOT, had time to talk through our health history etc and we had a medication review.

Our children can go to the usual doctor, but they can also be seen by the school doctor and nurse. So our son now has his allergy review with the school doctor, which is handy as less school is missed.

Hospital wise, experiences have both been good, well, as good as they can be! Our local hospital is largely private rooms, others are open wards like the UK. They seemed to have a higher level of staffing, food and sleep were also taken quite seriously. My husband fairly recently was in hospital for almost two weeks, he was well looked after, as staff weren’t rushed of their feet there wasn’t a lot of waiting when be did buzz. He has a physical disability, so upon admission he was allocated to the hospitals disability team, as soon as he was well enough he had a kind of OT assessment to work out what aids etc he needed in the hospital. It was simple things, like every meal came with special cutlery and everything cut up, he didn’t have to ask or remind.

You do pay at point of use, but there is a very low cap, I think its about £110 a year and it doesn’t apply to low earners.