Well, I live in the U.S., and I've wanted to visit Finland for many, many years. Greener grass aside, it really does seem like a gorgeous place. Maybe it's because I really love forests and lakes.



As for the states in the U.S. being like different countries...wow. Yes. I've literally had more culture shock in certain states than I've had in some developing nations.

A long generation ago, my mother had the same experience. She grew up in a part of the country that considers itself The South, for historical reasons we won't get into, and when my parents were married they moved up to a state which is very definitely in The North. In many, many ways, it was like moving to another country, and a tremendous shock for her.

Much of how we look at our own differences today is deeply colored by fervent and increasingly bitter politics. That aside, there are also immense differences in culture...most of which, unfortunately, also end up becoming political.

There are tremendous disparities across the continent, in just about every aspect of our lives; but we're also extremely mobile between states, thanks to a dense network of interstate highways and generally affordable (if often very uncomfortable) air travel between virtually all corners of the nation. One thing you'll find is that we're very casual about driving distances that the Brits, for instance, simply faint at thinking about.

One thing we don't do very well is trains. I don't know what the train system is like in Finland, but if it's anything like Sweden, Germany, France or the Netherlands, then you should probably lower your expectations on that score down to about zero. We love our cars too much to devote ourselves to trains.

As for public transportation, it really depends where you are. I was a Metro commuter in the D.C. area for years, and while I loathed the buses, I really enjoyed the rail system itself, which was a far better option than driving into work. But apart from large urban areas like Chicago, Atlanta, New York, etc., public transportation is a spottier thing.

And the country really is huge. Our subcultures have subcultures. Distances are immense.

And wherever I go, I manage to find really nice people. Sometimes it takes a while to find them (lookin' at you, D.C. metro area) but they're here.