> looks like your sampling has a bias error.
>If you don't live in Sweden any more, how do you make friends with the non-Nordics who moved to one of the Nordic countries and decided to stay there?
I live in Sweden and I upvoted bedobi‘s post. I came here with idealistic notions of what Sweden was supposedly like (also encouraged by the myths perpetuated by many expat Swedes that I met), and became disillusioned with the reality pretty quickly.
Now I hate living here but it’s too difficult to leave with a Swedish wife and kids.
I’d say three-quarters of the people that I’ve known through the years who moved here like me, have left by now.
Also I wish people wouldn't constantly be lumping together all the 'Nordic' countries as though they were an interchangeable entity. They have similarities and share similar languages, but the cultural differences are much greater than outsiders appear to think.
In the case of 'friluftsliv' the Norwegian concept is way more generally about hiking in the wilds. (Affluent) Swedes do often spend their summers in a cottage out in the country, but in my experience this involves a pretty static existence in rural surroundings, and physical activity is mostly restricted to going to whatever beach is nearby (either on the coast or an inland lake). I love walking or cycling in the countryside and I'll rarely meet anyone doing the same unless they're walking their dog close to their house.
When I was in Norway it seemed like way more people were interested in putting on a knapsack and heading deep into the forest.