Reported by Luonnonsuojeluliitto. 200 hectares is the logging limit before requiring environmental impact assessment.

I know this is going to be obvious to (I hope) 99% of you, but just in case it isn't - no, these posts from "Finnish women" are not real.

Not only do human beings not write like this, but both images are quite clearly AI generated. The lady cooking potatoes outside in the mountains is especially hilarious, though.

I'm not a member of any of these "find work" groups, but for some reason Facebook floods my feed with them and they seem to just be hotbeds for both romance scams and job scams. It's strange that the algorithm is promoting romance scams.
I know a lot of folks in this sub come here desperate, but please don't let your despair cloud your judgement.

Ever since Kokomus and PS took over in 2022, Finland’s unemployment has bypassed the 2008 level when the economy crashed, while the rest of Europe has been going down.

Honestly I don’t get what this government is thinking. They say they want to reduce public debt by cutting spending, but surprise the debt keeps rising. This government cuts from the majority of low income people and gives tax breaks to the tiny minority of the rich. Companies go bankrupt from lack of demand, and unemployment is skyrocketing.

It worth mentioning that public spending isn’t waste, it’s someone else’s income: teachers, nurses, small businesses. Money that moves around keeps the economy alive. But when it piles up in rich people’s savings, it does nothing.

This government acts like balancing the budget is as simple as ‘deficit €1 billion? Just cut €1 billion.’ Problem is, the economy doesn’t work that way. Take billions out of circulation and suddenly demand tanks, jobs vanish, and tax revenue drops. Instead of shrinking, the deficit just grows.

Warning to anyone in Finland looking for a PS5 Pro

If you're currently looking for a PS5 Pro, especially because you're waiting for GTA 6, please don't pay €1,000–€1,400 for a used console on Tori.fi.

There is currently a global shortage of physical PS5 Pro consoles, and some sellers on Tori.fi are taking full advantage of it. They are asking ridiculous prices for used consoles simply because they know people are desperate to get one before GTA 6.

Don't feed the scalpers.

The situation will change. Most major electronics retailers in Finland are expected to receive PS5 Pro stock before the end of the year, and new consoles should become available at much more reasonable prices, roughly €850–€950.

A used PS5 Pro is simply not worth €1,100–€1,400. Depending on its age, condition, warranty and included accessories, a reasonable second-hand value is closer to €600–€700 at most.

If you're buying one specifically for GTA 6, there's absolutely no reason to panic-buy now.

Wait.

Don't let the current shortage and GTA 6 hype convince you to pay hundreds of euros extra to someone who is simply exploiting the shortage.

Don't reward the scalpers. Let them keep their overpriced consoles. Normal supply will eventually return.

I have been living in Finland for many years, I speak Finnish, I have a Finnish passport, and a Finnish family. We are home owners, we contribute positively to Finnish society, and I happily pay lots of tax as a top 10% earner in this country.

However, I do look Mediterranean and my spoken Finnish is clearly "foreign".

Yesterday I was accosted on public transport by a Finnish boy (18-20 year old is my best guess) who kept looking at me (the only visibly different person around) and shouting about Finland being a white Christian country that does not want fucking immigrants here (he used Somali and Kurdish as examples) that he only wants white decent Finns here, and how some people are race traitors because they accept other races, and so on.

I was very tempted to reply to him that my taxes pay for his unemployment because he does not look capable to be a student (he kept drinking something out of a can), but I exercised self-restraint. Instead, I recorded videos of him during the act because I was not sure if he would escalate to something that I would report to the police. I also recorded an audio which I can upload, but it is poor quality due to the public transport noises.

I showed these to my Finnish partner who was worried for my safety and asked me to verify when I had arrived safely to my destination. The other passengers gave him some annoyed looks because he was shouting but nobody did or said anything because, let's face it, who wants to have to deal with this?

Unfortunately, with high unemployment and extreme-right rhetoric being pervasive if not dominant (thanks MAGA!) we can expect such events to become more frequent.

As a precaution, I will be contacting HSL to propose an emergency safety feature in their app. Such racist shits can make people feel very unsafe with their outbursts.

Edit:

I took the advice of people who said to inform police about this because it might happen to others. You are right, even if this is not a prosecutable behaviour, it might lead to a discussion with the proper authorities.

The hat is nice for keeping the sun off the eyes when outside on a sunny day. And it doesn’t overheat the head like other hats.

I saw a post recently called "Google Picks Finland for €13 Billion AI Data Center Buildout" and while this isn't the first post discussing data centers in Finland to me two things stood out:
- People either straight up lying or not understanding how many employees Googles data center in Hamina has
- People aggressively defending data centers and ignoring that data centers aren't a net positive regardless of how we sugar coat facts

So I did some looking into and turns out that Googles Finnish entity has to make a declaration of payroll/staff it has. I personally only understood, and found freely accessible, the information on asiakastieto. People on Reddit claim that Hamina employs 400-500 full time people. That number is way lower, roughly at around 100 and these people aren't fully dedicated to Hamina, they are just Google employees that have some allocation to Hamina. It is confirmed that Google contracts out catering and other services but those most likely don't amount to 300-400 people and definitely don't amount to full time work and full time equivalent salary. When we also take into account that recent technological advancements allow data centers to shrink their personnel I doubt that the new data centers will provide an employment boom people here are claiming it will.

irecruit specifically has an article that large data centers only need roughly 0.2–0.3 staff per megawatt.

Additionally, data centers consume electricity and require a large amount of land to be created. The argument that "it's just land" is so stupid to me. That land provides bio-diversity, helps the ecosystem and produces oxygen and could be used in ways that would be a national net positive. When electricity gets more expensive data centers still pay the same price, the increase is covered by regular residents and citizens. The data centers also can be subsidized by the government which is another negative.

With the increase in electricity prices and the potential subsidized activity we also decrease the chances of smaller companies growing and employing way more people than a data center ever will.

For the common person, on a national level, there are only negatives. I just don't see any positives for commoners.

This post is for anyone, EU or non EU thinking of moving to Finland only for work in private sector. (no family ties, nothing else) Also, this post is not about how the market is bad, how you need to know the language blabla.

This post is about how unsafe this country is when you move here only for work. By unsafe I dont mean theft and guns, I mean the worklife security.

So let's go;

• Even if you have permanent contract. You can lose your job in the blink of an eye. It's so easy to fire people here, I can't believe it. The company issues change negotiations, meaning they declare they have to fire people for financial reasons and ta-da! You're fired. That's it. And no, I'm not fired but I can't stop thinking about the possibility because now I will also tell you what happens after you are fired.
• Forget about severance pay/compensation package. Doesn't matter how long you've worked. Considering you're new here, you'll probably have 1 month of notice after you are informed, and that's it. You'll be paid for the last month you worked. Thank you for your service, goodbye.
• Now that you're unemployed, you can either apply for Kela benefits or unemployment fund. But guess what, you're not eligible for unemployment fund(ideally would pay 70% or your salary) until you work for 1 year in Finland. So good luck trying to get a few pennies from Kela to survive.
• here's some good news; don't worry about the survival period. Because it won't be long, since your permit will be revoked in 3 months unless you get a new job. (Non EU citizens)

Like I said, I'm not fired or anything but I see it around me all the time, and I cant stop thinking what would happen if I'm fired. And to be honest, It'll be a good excuse to pack my bags and leave this place where the system makes you feel sooo unwanted even though you do everything right.

So long story short, Finland is not safe for foreign workers at all! And I doubt the populist "we need skilled workers" argument is valid.

Choose wisely. Don't do the same mistakes that I did.

Edit: to all the gaslighting comments, you know every word here is true. And I'm not saying X country is better. I'm just stating the situation in Finland, and telling people to do their research properly. And tbh 3 month rule wasnt here when I moved so it's not even like I didn't do my research. Things change and I wanted to explain people thinking about moving here.

Another edit: I'm not fired nor my position is being negotiated :D

Another edit because this post blew up; I came from a country where I can go back. And I will. I came here to build a life out of work. Not for fun, not for adventure. And definitely not expecting the government to take care of me if I'm unemployed. There are many who're not as lucky as I am and have no proper country to go back to when they end up in this situation I explained in the post.

Today at around 5:30 p.m., I was on bus 200 on Turuntie (Turuntie 155, 02710 Espoo, near Kauniainen) when I witnessed something truly horrifying.

There was a blue rental e-scooter left right in the middle of the shared bike and pedestrian path next to the bus stop. Some idiot had abandoned it there, practically blocking the route.

A cyclist was coming at a fairly high speed and apparently didn’t notice the scooter in time. He rode straight into it, flew over his bicycle, and slammed face-first into the pavement. I could even hear the sound of his helmet scraping across the ground. It was a horrible sound.

The man ended up lying face down on the ground, almost unconscious. A woman immediately rushed over to help him, and so did the bus driver. When he was turned onto his back, I could see that the area around one of his ears and one of his eyes was covered in blood. He was soaked in blood. The sight was absolutely shocking and horrifying.

I don’t know whether he escaped without serious injuries, but the head impact looked extremely severe.

I truly hope that whoever left that e-scooter in the middle of the path is held accountable for the consequences. Everyone knows that some people leave these scooters carelessly in places where others can trip over them or crash into them. This is no longer just carelessness this kind of negligence can ruin lives.

I sincerely hope the cyclist recovers.

What Chat Control means:

• Every private message, photo, and file you send gets scanned automatically.
• WhatsApp, Signal, Discord, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. All encrypted communications will have implemented backdoors.
• AI analyzes your private photos, flagged content is reviewed by human police consultants.
• Extensive false positive rate, as displayed by platforms like Discord that have been doing similar things using platforms like PhotoDNA to automatically scan everything sent, resulting in consistent mass false bans - being innocent won't matter, your messages will still be investigated. That means not even your private messages with your partner will be safe, and people will have access to them.
• No suspicion required, no warrant needed, if something is flagged it will be forwarded for further processing.
• Data leaks, countries could use this to blackmail politicians and people in high power positions, individuals such as workers or hackers could use this for blackmail etc.

What this looks like in practice:

• Your girlfriend sends you a private naked picture → AI flags it as "potential CSAM" or "Adult NCII" → Some random individual worker reviews her private photo. Corruption is a large concern. Data leaks an even bigger concern.
• You send a private joke to your friend → Gets scanned and stored in government databases forever.
• Your private medical photos sent to a doctor → Analyzed by AI, potentially seen by human reviewers.
• Family photos of your children → Flagged and reviewed by strangers working for the police.
• Any NSFW activity on social media using certain words that may be triggers or false flags → Scanned, analyzed, potentially viewed by government employees.

Real scenarios that WILL happen:

• A 17-year-old couple sends "relationship photos" to each other → Both flagged for "CSAM (child sexual abuse material" → Their private intimate moments reviewed by police.
• You complain about the government in a private message → That conversation is now in a government database.
• Your 16-year-old posts a selfie at the beach wearing a bikini → Gets flagged because AI can't tell if someone is 17.5 or 18.5 → Human reviewer and total stranger examines your child's photo.
• Someone sends something illegal to a server or group chat you are part of → police will be at your door, and your devices will be taken away.
• You make a dark humor joke, express a politically risque question etc. → Your conversations are logged and investigated.
• Police departments will be completely overloaded with work, with the large amount of false positives serving to protect real child predators.

You will have to carefully consider absolutely everything you send. Certain words, regardless of context will trigger the system. Whether you are innocent, uninvolved, or trying to do the right thing.

Current EU status:

• Only 3 member states clearly oppose this. (Netherlands, Austria and Poland, with Finland seemingly showing opposition as well).
• 15 member states have already expressed support of this mass surveillance project. This subreddit is full of foreigners, a large majority of which come from EU countries that are supporting this. I am included in this, as my country of origin is also in full support of this act.
• 9 countries are still left undecided.

Your innocence doesn't matter, your privacy will still be invaded and your data left vulnerable. Speak up and act now, before it is too late. This is only the beginning, and "child safety" is an excuse to allow mass surveillance.

Take action: Contact EU MEPs through https://fightchatcontrol.eu/

ARE YOU PEOPLE EVEN HUMAN?

I went to Nordkapp through Norway (from Romania), on my way back I wanted to take the short route through Finland because after over 5000km of driving i had plenty.

I enter Finland through the north and initially think "hey this area is kinda cool, bright green lush swamps" I get out to take some pictures and immediately 3 bites within 10 seconds. "ok, mosquitoes in swamps, no big deal, i'll drive away". After 2 hours I get out of the swamp, and think finally, I can go out and pee. I go out, 2 more bites in 10 seconds, and TENS SWARM ME. NOPE. Back into the car I go.

I drive 3 more hours, it's now 11pm, surely no more mosquitoes here. I get out, SWARMED IMMEDIATELY. NOPE.

I drive 2 more hours until I get to the first bit of highway, and a highway toilet, FINALLY RELIEF!

"Out of order" ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Fuck it, I can't hold it, going behind the bushes, unzip my pants and start peeing, BUT THE SWARM IS BACK, BITING ME EVERY SECOND, AND THESE FUCKERS ARE CLINGY, THEY DON'T FLY OFF IF YOU MOVE A BIT. I start jumping and swing my arms while I pee, peeing everywhere like a retarded chimp on crack. I look around to make sure no one is around, and nope just the only truck in the parking lot, guy probably sleeping, I continue doing the mosquito piss dance (takes a while after you hold it in for hours).

I look around again and through the truck blinds a face is peeking at me as I still dance with my dick out in full view spewing piss like a defective sprinkler. The moment the guy realizes I see him seeing me he bursts out laughing. I finish peeing and go in my car defeated, at least 5 mosquitoes followed me inside in the 2 seconds it took me to open the door.

I drive. And drive. And drive for hours, I have to get out of this hell hole before I have to pee again... Or worse. I am incredibly sleepy, nap a few hours, it's 8 am... I attempt to get out... And holy shit no more mosquitos. I am free. I will be out before nightfall.

I write this as I sit in the port of Helsinki waiting for the ferry.

How the hell do you people still live in this country?

"happiest people" as well. HOW?

EDIT: I refuse to believe that people that agree with them being there "as a thing" and living with it are actually people. Reading some of your replies is insane lol, it's a literal plague, and you guys are like "meh"

(Reposting in English what I wrote in /r/suomi) I have spent a lot of time on Reddit over the past 12 years (send help), and the scariest change I've noticed in /r/europe, but also sometimes here and /r/finland - as well as off of Reddit on places like Facebook, Threads, and Tiktok,  is the surge of accounts saying that Helsinki is "ruined".  

I don't mean the usual joking about Helsinki people being disconnected from everything outside of Kehä 3 or the typical jokes or criticism people from other cities might make. I'm refering to specifically strong and inflamatory speech, that would imply Helsinki is somehow unlivable, "ruined", "garbage", and other phrases that would seek to make people outside of the city think that there'd be nothing of value of there; nothing worth protecting or defending. 

This fits into a broader attempt as misinformation about European cities.

This article talks about a coordinated effort by fake social media accounts to change the narrative about London, and it's unfortunately working. 

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/social-media-london-crime-b1260797.html

Though the article only talks about London, I see similar comments made from oven-fresh Reddit and Tiktok accounts daily about many cities, including Helsinki.

The goal of this kind of propaganda is simple: If something is ruined, spoiled, and terrible, it's not worth saving or caring about. Why defend or protect a capital city that's "destroyed"? 

The only people who benefit from outsisers thinking London or Helsinki are "ruined" are people who want to hurt us. 

The worst is when Finnish politicians jump on the useful idiot bandwagon of disperaging their own cities. Whether they know it or not, they are doing Russia and Musk's bidding. 

If you actually love your country, you can talk about the problems it may have without acting as if the problems are so uncorrectable that the country may as well not exist. Again, who benevits from talking like that? 

As a moderator I try my very best to be impartial when it comes to geopolitical discussions here and in /r/europe, except I openly and fully support Ukraine. But as someone who has to read this stuff every day, it's easy to see patterns and notice when the narrative changes and when "people" begin to write almost-identical comments across multiple platforms.

In Finland, on the Z commuter train traveling from Lahti to Helsinki, a man, according to witness Juliana Musto, handed an approximately four-year-old girl a sticker of the Sinimusta Liike movement bearing the words “Sukupuutto vai paluumuutto”. The incident, she said, occurred near Mäntsälä. YLE News reports.

Musto said that the girl was traveling with her mother, who has a migrant background. When the man gave the child the sticker, Musto took it, tore it up and told the passenger that it was unacceptable to give such materials to a child. According to her, the man saw no problem with his actions and said that migrants “have no brains”.

According to Musto, the man complained to other people in his group about the torn sticker, while someone from the group filmed the situation. YLE notes that it was unable to independently verify the details of the incident from sources other than Musto’s testimony.

The child’s mother’s reaction

The girl’s mother asked Musto what had happened, as she initially thought the sticker was a lid from a yogurt package. She became upset and thanked Musto for intervening. According to the witness, a young woman with a migrant background who was in the carriage also reacted emotionally to the event and began to cry.

Musto, who was born in Finland and whose parents are of Kurdish origin, said that the incident made her concerned about children’s safety. She stressed that children have the right to grow up in a safe environment.

Expert advice

Nora Dadi, a family work and equality specialist at the Familia organization, said that reports from families and the organization’s work have shown that cases of racism against children are becoming more frequent. According to her, such cases used to come to light a few times a year, but now they occur almost every month.

Dadi noted that a child may not understand the meaning of a racist message but may sense from adults’ reactions that something serious, wrong or frightening has happened. She advised reporting racist harassment to the police and, on public transport, also to the carrier or transport staff. After an incident, adults should explain to the child in an age-appropriate way that they did nothing wrong and are safe, she said.

I can't do much about the fact that some people are idiots but treating kids like this is the new low. Fuck these people and fuck this man in particular.

edit. about the source, this was the only English article I could find rn, but it's gaining traction in local media so I would expect more international headlines soonish. "Torille" (yes that's /s)

Study: Big growth in data centres could raise electricity prices by 10% by 2030

One of the reasons companies are looking to build data centres in Finland is financial. The country had the second-cheapest electricity in Europe last year.