Would you rather live in Norway or Tennessee?

[politicus]

Norway obviously

Norway is about as religious as Scotland (or rather as Scotland was 10 years ago), this is enough to make it more religious than the rest of Mainland Scandinavia, but much less so than Tennessee.

There would be a slightly higher share of people belonging to minority religions and being non-Christians in Norway than Tennessee.

Tennessee: Muslims: 1%, Other religions: 2%, Non-religious: 9%.

Norway: Muslims: 2,2%, Other Religions: 2%, Non-religious: 10%.

Anyway, Norway is the second most beautiful Nordic country, has a rock solid economy, low crime, a language I can understand and speak pretty well + a culture that is closer to mine than anywhere else outside of Denmark, so Norway.

[politicus]

Coming from northern MN, which with the exception of rural eastern North Dakota, Is as close to Scandinavia as it gets in the US I can tell you many would struggle much more to get along in Norway than in Tennessee.

You would NEVER be fully accepted in Norway.  You are once and forever an outsider. 

Many codes of conduct in different cultures are established as unspoken rules.  Scandinavians, however, are masters of the unspoken rule and you just plowed haphazardly through ten of them which is why all of the sudden they seem standoffish and cold.  Insular cultures are always like this.  Japan is an extreme example.

In other words...a black lesbian communist will be accepted in TN before even a Minnesotan with Norwegian cousins would be accepted in Norway.

Keep that in mind. 

On the other hand a black lesbian communist would be much better received and experience less discrimination in Norway than in Tennessee.

[politicus]

Certainly Tennessee. Even leaving aside concerns of weather and culture (both of which would be strong points in Tennessee's favor), as someone who is not white and belongs to a minority religion I would feel much more comfortable in Tennessee than in Norway.

Why would Tennessee be better for someone who belongs to a minority religion?  TN is heavily conservative Christian, while Norwegians are not very religious.

Because American culture is significantly more tolerant of religious diversity than Scandinavian culture.

No it isn't. Especially not compared to mainstream Southern culture.

Where do you have all your prejudices about Scandinavian culture?

(and there isn't really one Scandinavian culture)

[politicus]

Coming from northern MN, which with the exception of rural eastern North Dakota, Is as close to Scandinavia as it gets in the US I can tell you many would struggle much more to get along in Norway than in Tennessee.

You would NEVER be fully accepted in Norway.  You are once and forever an outsider.  

Many codes of conduct in different cultures are established as unspoken rules.  Scandinavians, however, are masters of the unspoken rule and you just plowed haphazardly through ten of them which is why all of the sudden they seem standoffish and cold.  Insular cultures are always like this.  Japan is an extreme example.

In other words...a black lesbian communist will be accepted in TN before even a Minnesotan with Norwegian cousins would be accepted in Norway.

Keep that in mind.  

On the other hand a black lesbian communist would be much better received and experience less discrimination in Norway than in Tennessee.

Black people are oddities in Norway in a way that they are not in Tennessee.

Well, you made her a triple minority:

1) Norway is significantly less homophobic than the US South.

2) Being a Communist is a lot less of a marginal or weird position in Norway. Whereas plenty of people in Tennessee would view any Communist as un-American.

3) There are black people even in small towns in northern Norway and quite a lot of them in the big cities. Being an Afro-Norwegian would not make you an oddity. There is a lot less structural racism in Norway than in the US (again, this would apply even more so when comparing with the South) and Norwegian police would be much less likely to target black people and harass them.

[politicus]

Oslo County has the highest Afro-Norwegian share with 5,3%, whereas provincial Norway has 1-2%. Even Møre and Romsdal county in Western Norway, which has the lowest share, has 1%. So you would be part of a small minority, but not an unheard of oddity.

[politicus]

Tennessee.

Scandanavia is really overrated. What a boring bunch of countries (I have very low expectations for Sweden when I go in May). I like the black Southern culture present and the jazz scene in Memphis and Nashville. More diversity in those parts.

What part of the country and what will you be doing?

[politicus]

Certainly Tennessee. Even leaving aside concerns of weather and culture (both of which would be strong points in Tennessee's favor), as someone who is not white and belongs to a minority religion I would feel much more comfortable in Tennessee than in Norway.

Why would Tennessee be better for someone who belongs to a minority religion?  TN is heavily conservative Christian, while Norwegians are not very religious.

Because American culture is significantly more tolerant of religious diversity than Scandinavian culture.

No it isn't. Especially not compared to mainstream Southern culture.

Where do you have all your prejudices about Scandinavian culture?

(and there isn't really one Scandinavian culture)

Oh, I don't have anything against Scandinavia in particular. I have a great deal against Europe.

You did not answer my question.

[politicus]

Also, I'm just going to point out the irony of Atlas forum members talking about Norway's social safety net when most of them don't even need it.

Kind of irrelevant to the point of the thread.

Nah, I guess the main point of the thread was trying to measure whether American liberals would choose a conservative part of the US or a liberal (and affluent) part of Western Europe. Otherwise it seems a bit pointless to compare those two places.

[politicus]

Tennessee.

Scandanavia is really overrated. What a boring bunch of countries (I have very low expectations for Sweden when I go in May). I like the black Southern culture present and the jazz scene in Memphis and Nashville. More diversity in those parts.

What part of the country and what will you be doing?

I'm really not sure. Stockholm and one of its northeastern satellite cities. My mom's third cousin married a Swedish guy and had babies with him, so this is the first time i'm getting to meet them all. We were originally doing Turkey and Italy, but my parents are paranoid about ISIS and crap, and tickets were $400 cheaper each through Sweden, so we're doing Sweden and Italy instead.

Well, it is definitely possible to have fun in Stockholm