Why do Goths like Finland?
 

I am amazed at the attention Finland gets from Goths. Why do you all think it is so? I live here now, and indeed I have my own reasons, but I am really curious as to why other people are drawn to this corner of the world.

........Generalizing? Silly rabbit, goths like Romania! *end sarcasm*

Personaly I like Ireland.

I prefer Japan and Southern California (for the weather)

Lordi, 69 Eyes, and HiM. ;)

Finland is like a mecca of goth music. Seriously. I went there last year on vacation and went to one of the music stores there...they had music from metal bands I had never heard of. In Helsinki, I saw more goths there in one day than I'd seen anywhere else in a given week.

...Dammit, now I wanna go back.

Japan sounds awesome.

I never really cared about it. I was going to move there at one point, but that's only because I was engaged to a girl from Finland, and her visa had expired so she had to go back.

Me too, I want to go back there...

So not true!
You yourself mentioned metal; not gothic.
I can imagine Scandinavia being the cradle of black metal and maybe death metal and some melodic metal.
But it has not much gothic stuff.
Let's not confuse both styles just because they're dark-oriented.
The mecca of goth music is still London; and I would say California for the deathrock revival.

Dear Jillian, you should check your sources yourself. At least here in Norway we have a gothic subculture which is very good and rests upon the foundations of Bauhaus et al. It's true that various types of metal are more often exported from Norway, but actually most people living here didn't have any idea about this until it was reported in the TV daily news on a major channel. Ironic, really, considering that's what we're known for outside of our own country.

My point? We've got a "real" gothic subculture and actually even have actual goth bands popping up now and then. I'm not disputing the mecca- ness of the UK, however ;)

Haha, ok, I'll correct my statement. "So not true! Norway's known for its metal, not its gothic music. The gothic Mecca is still London; and California for the deathrock revival." *and then insert some random smart Jilly comments*:p

Oh?
I cant completely agree with you Dizzy 1313, but it is true that here are lot of gothpep (and metal too, black, death and melodic) and here are lot of good goth music but it is still in the darkness. Just a few band is broked that darkness and gave up to the out world... < Im so fucking poetical...
I think that the London is still the goth mecca...

I want to go there. Its just what I've heard from friends, that the people are great and the pubs are awesome. I like any place that has GREEN grass, not dead grass like Australia.

Come to Ireland, my children! Come sit in a dark and close inn, back to the fire, staring out the dew-dampened window at the black herds of the rain and the mist that swirls around and benights this little island, while voices around you speak softly with music in mouth.

Britain and France make my gothic senses tingle more so than Finland, and the Czech Republic - Kafka, Mucha, The Sedlec Ossuary...

And Romania, of course...

Personally I'm more partial to Iceland. The climate's better than what it is here.

I like Finland (as you can maybe tell from my user name...), mainly because I was obsessed with Lord Of The Rings in the past and started to investigate Elvish. I then realised that Finnish sounded a lot like Tolkien's Quenya and decided that it would be more useful to learn that instead.

On the FinlandForum site, there is a term 'Goth Helsinki Syndrome' used to decribe people moving to Finland because of the bands that come from there, maybe that's what Dizzy1313 was thinking of?

I don't like Finland. I have no reason I just don't particularly like it. I prefer Europe or Southern California. But come to think of it I dont particularly like Finland because I don't particularly like goth or metal music. I'm not even goth. I'm a hippy-punk talking way too much on a gothic website.

*whispers to OCD I* Umm... Finland is also a part of Europe, you know...

Haha, oh snap!

I'm half Finnish and I believe that it is targeted due to it's rep as a "snowy, dark place" (yah, right. have any of you even seen the midnight sun?) and its close proximity to Sweden (swedish death metal). And, of course, Ville Valo.

I haven't been in a while so for anyone who has been recently:
Are dark skinned/ haired fins (those with more mongol blood) still treated like gypsies? It freakin' sucks to try and shop when the security dude is following you around.

BURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRN HERRRRR!

j/k.
I love ya really.. no, really...

alas, toasted like a bagel (once again) just for my belief that some crappy musician is good looking.

I used to live in Adak, Alaska and it was very weird to be up at midnight and still be sunny like it was 12pm on a summers day...

I'm in so cal and I'm trying to escape too.. and I just got here..lol

Salmiakki:

XD how fine you can speak finnish? (im just interested...)

Well whaddayaknow. I didn't know either Finland gets attention from Goths. Do we Finns get actually attention from anyone else than Vladimir Putin, and not even from him if we're not discussing about NATO and stuff...? :P

Whatever. Although I could bust the myth right on the spot, it is said that Finns are melancholy and that the sun hardly shines in here. Sounds like a good Goth spot to me. The winters and falls are dark, and there are even occasions in Lappland that the sun won't rise at all for a while.

Other than that, don't bother... :D