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

I love Finland, but only because one of my best friends is Finnish and has supplied me with enough delicious Finnish chocolate to secure it in my mind as a wonderful place. That and the 6 months of near-darkness. I'd very much like that.

I have a love for pretty much any place near the Arctic though. It started when I visited Alaska and became so enchanted with the endless expanses of snow and ice, and the beautiful loneliness of it.

Nah it was really for your implied association of Ville Valo with Goth... Oh he is pretty indeed, but not Goth...

Or is he...? *goes away to think long and hard about Ville Valo*

I haven't really thought of Finland being associated with Goths...

Anyhow, I'm absolutely in love with Finland and I really want to go. I think it's a beautiful country (lakes and mountains and snow and......) and a beautiful language. I'm trying to learn Finnish but so far have only embarrassingly learnt random words... sitruna, aspirinni, ole kilti, harmaa, volkoinen....

Dirty_Daniela...I'm still a beginner, if that's what you mean :) And hollowmaggot, Teach Yourself Finnish by Terttu Leney is invaluable. It's heavy-going and swamps you in vocabulary, but it does at least provide some sort of learning structure. http://venla.olento.net/ is also a useful resource for getting the grammar sorted out. And a little phrase to add to your collection...'perkele, se on kylmä'...

I prefer Norway. Wanna know why?
Kaizers Orchestra.:D

is it safe [crawls out from hiding spot]

I never once said he was goth, just that he was hot and wore a lot of black. Finland is a beautiful place year round. Norway is nice too.

I like Scandinavia (Finland included) because the Interior Design is awesome and it is Architecturally interesting.....Ikea is my favourite shop.

Goths like Finland? Wow, aren't we popular.

I've just noticed a general Finland-craze among foreigners, not limited to goths.

XD mikä on kylmä?

Hey I want to learn to write and speak Finnish, can anyone give me some phrases and their meanings?

Kato lämpömittaria ja kysy sitten vasta. ;)

Because Finland is nice.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I want to be,
Pony trekking or camping,
Or just watching TV.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
It's the country for me.

You're so near to Russia,
So far from Japan,
Quite a long way from Cairo,
Lots of miles from Vietnam.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I want to be,
Eating breakfast or dinner,
Or snack lunch in the hall.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
Finland has it all.


You're so sadly neglected
And often ignored,
A poor second to Belgium,
When going abroad.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I quite want to be,
Your mountains so lofty,
Your treetops so tall.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
Finland has it all.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I quite want to be,
Your mountains so lofty,
Your treetops so tall.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
Finland has it all.

Finland has it all.

I noticed this too; maybe it's RyanAir offering dirt-cheap flights to Tampere, or maybe because it's been ignored so long it's now advertised as 'unspoilt by tourism'.

And Morrigan_Dubh, I lost count of the amount of times you wrote the word 'Finland' in that wonderful poem of yours :D

'Tis a wonderful and "finland"-sprinkled masterpiece, isn't it? Oh, but I can't take the credit for it... that must go to a Mr. M. Python...

I forgot to mention they have wonderful coffee there.

You mention coffee?

Well...it would take more than a post to teach an entire language! Maybe you could mail me and learn together :)

And don't forget the wonderful, amazing, sal ammoniac candy....Well, a huge kiitos to my wonderful friend that provided me with boxes of the stuff...

Beautiful and mysterious language.
Amazing coffee.
Basenji Club of Finland.
Music.
Dirt cheap flights.
Good shopping.
Beautiful land.
Midnight sun/ aurora borealis.
my best friend.

Finland is lovable in SO many ways

My mom's a member, we have basenjis. Well only one now, the other one was put to sleep last fall :(

And our music rocks, yes. Our country in general is awesome. Except for now when it's -20C and I have to go to work.

and Transylvania.

I loved your first paragraph Morrigan. The way you described it makes me want to see it.

Aww.I don't know what I would do if Dasher died! You can check him out on my myspace page. www.myspace.com/death2ryan

One word why: VAMPIRA.

Oh, I don't know about that... I think Elvira beats her 900 - 0, Vampira was a little stiff... but at least she was original. Go Maila Nurmi!

If this thread was a living breathing entity, I'd fucking throttle it to death. I can probably say the same for most threads though so please do not feel like I'm singling this thread out.