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Having lived as a Swedish-speaking Finn in Finland for all my 72 years I can tell you about my own experience.I am not a Swede. My ancestors have lived in Finland “forever”, some perhaps only about 400–500 years, some considerably longer. Some of them have spoken Finnish, and some have spoken Swedish - but for the last centuries they have ended up speaking Swedish. They have lived in places where Swedish has been the dominating language, like the south coast and the archipelago. They have been anything from fishermen and farmers to businessmen, doctors, sea captains and land-owning nobility. All parts of society are represented in my background.Those of my ancestors who moved from Sweden long ago did not move to another country. They moved to another part of Sweden. What we call Finland today (or at least most of it) was an equal part of Sweden, not another country.When Russia conquered Finland in 1809 Swedish remained the language of education and government in Finland. Until that time there actually wasn’t a thing like a “Swedish-speaking Finn” or a “finlandssvensk”. That concept was created towards the end of the 19th century, when the idea that Finland could become independent was growing in society. At the same time many who fought for that ideal also wanted an independent Finland to be Finnish - and that included the idea that everybody was supposed to speak Finnish, because they thought that was some kind of a “natural” and “original” state of things in the country - but it never was.Some people - mostly right-wing nationalists - still talk about making Swedish-speakers “move back” to Sweden. That, of course, means that also many of the Finnish tribes, like the Savonians, should “move back” to where they came from, since they have also moved into what we know as Finland from elsewhere (and later than the early Swedes), and their dialect is different. I have never heard anybody suggest that, by the way.Most of the Finnish-speaking people in Finland have a very pragmatic approach to Swedish-speakers - and to life as a whole. They think everybody is entitled to live the way they want, and speak the way they want. But there is a small group of people who are prepared to use violence to make Swedish-speakers understand that they are despised and hated. That is why I would not necessarily speak Swedish very loudly late at night in some parts of the city (Helsinki). When I speak Finnish nobody notices that it isn’t my mother language.I don’t normally feel aggression in society, and I actually still live in a quite Swedish-speaking bubble, since all my relatives and most of my friends speak Swedish, but I am aware of the fact that there are people who hate me - not for who I am, but for how I speak.

It’s a simple answer - why do 0.2 % of English speaking bubble speaks Russian?Do you know? Or you think speaking English is so “by default” feature for anyone? Not sure.And why do zero percent of Americans and English speak Chinese? Much more people in the world speak Chinese than any of English speakers combined.

In part it depends on what you mean by "live." Matt Schiavenza's answer is absolutely correct if your goal is to feed and clothe yourself, participate in social events with other expats, and work at a job where no Mandarin is required (foreign companies, English teaching, etc.) In other words, if you speak no Mandarin, you can sort of create an English-speaking bubble universe for yourself inside China. A lot of people pretty much do that and are happy with it.If, instead, you want to see China from the point of view of the locals or participate in local life -- that is, become a fully-engaged member of your new home's society -- you won't get very far with just English. You will get a pretty different take on current events or Chinese culture from a migrant laborer over a nighttime snack of roasted lamb from a street vendor than you will from a college-educated, English-fluent Chinese professional at an expat cafe. Without Mandarin you won't be able to watch the local TV shows your Chinese friends are talking about, or read the latest bestselling books.Your mobility will also be pretty limited; I know expats living there who struggle or outright fail to use the local bus system because they can't read the route maps or communicate with the drivers. Absent a bilingual friend who's willing to play tour guide, your ability to go out and explore random places around the country will not be great. And of course everything will be much more expensive since you'll only be able to access services aimed at rich-by-Chinese-standards foreigners.The above two paragraphs probably sound pretty negative, but again, for a substantial number of expats living in China, that stuff doesn't outweigh the benefits and they're enjoying their time there. It just depends on what your goals and expectations are.