Moving To Sweden

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ATeutonicKnight

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Someone I know is thinking of moving to Sweden, and she has questions for people who have visited/who live there. The following is from her:

*My fiance and I are seriously considering moving to Sweden after we are married. Has anyone had living experience there?

Ive been doing lots of research about it but I was wondering if anyone had some first hand experience…what the culture is like, what the people are like, job market, interacting when you mostly only speak english…etc etc!

I plan to take a swedish language class for immigrants if we do actually move. *
 
How about Minnesota instead? All the perks of Scandinavian culture without ever leaving the USA! And a great ballpark and a big mall in Minneapolis!

Seriously…WHY? If one really has to ask “what’s the culture like?”, and doesn’t speak the language, why in heck would someone seriously think about moving thousands of miles, knowing no one, and having no firm job or resources at the destination?

So I’m sorry but I can’t help, other than to say it’s a very liberal socialist nation.
 
HELLOOO

TK actually posted this on my behalf cause Im lazy.

But actually PolarGuy, I currently live in MN. And its not like we are making this decision on a whim and plan to move tomorrow. Its likely not going to be for a few years. We are very interested in Sweden for exactly the socialist aspect cause we cray like that.
 
Hmmm…how about visiting Sweden and deciding for yourself?

Course, why you’d want to leave the land of cold, taxes, and the twins and Vikings for colder, more taxes, and no twins and NFL Vikings is beyond me.

Seriously, you’d be exchanging the greatest nation on the face of the earth, for a nation of cradle to grave taxation that couldn’t even fight hitler in the 1940s, without speaking the language either. If that’s what you want, the door’s open. But consider the immigrants flooding into the USA and you’d rather depart for Sweden?

Sorry, I’m ranting. I apologize.
 
I don’t know about Sweden (although that’s my heritage), but there’s a fantastic Netflix original series entitled Lilyhammer, which is about a NY mobster living in the witness protection program in Norway and going through their immigrant resettlement process.

Very funny! Also, the Norwegians have awesome sweaters.
 
PolarGuy said:
How about Minnesota instead? All the perks of Scandinavian culture without ever leaving the USA! And a great ballpark and a big mall in Minneapolis!

Seriously…WHY? If one really has to ask “what’s the culture like?”, and doesn’t speak the language, why in heck would someone seriously think about moving thousands of miles, knowing no one, and having no firm job or resources at the destination?

So I’m sorry but I can’t help, other than to say it’s a very liberal socialist nation.
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The high standard of living? The excellent economy? The education system? The beautiful landscape?

Mind you, the taxes are very high, and as you say the country definitely tends liberal, but it’s hardly a bad place to live if you like the sorts of things I mentioned above. Of course, you’d need a job to immigrate there, but better to think about this sort of thing now than before looking for a job there or requesting a company transfer, no?
 
PolarGuy said:
Hmmm…how about visiting Sweden and deciding for yourself?

Course, why you’d want to leave the land of cold, taxes, and the twins and Vikings for colder, more taxes, and no twins and NFL Vikings is beyond me.

Seriously, you’d be exchanging the greatest nation on the face of the earth, for a nation of cradle to grave taxation that couldn’t even fight hitler in the 1940s, without speaking the language either. If that’s what you want, the door’s open. But consider the immigrants flooding into the USA and you’d rather depart for Sweden?

Sorry, I’m ranting. I apologize.
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Is the climate that much more severe in Sweden than MN?

Of course, if one lives in MN, then one would not be put off by severe winter weather.

We all have cradle-to-grave taxation. It comes with living in civilization. But the question is, what do you get for your taxes? At least the EC nations have governmental programs that actually help people.

Personally, I think their ability to stay out of wars for 10 generations is rather admirable.

And no, I am not yearning to leave the USA.

ICXC NIKA.
 
There is actually a comedy on nbc called Welcome to Sweden…I didn’t know that it never gets fully dark there (well, at least during certain times of the year??) until I watched that show. That would drive me crazy!
 
Vanna_Grace said:
There is actually a comedy on nbc called Welcome to Sweden…I didn’t know that it never gets fully dark there (well, at least during certain times of the year??) until I watched that show. That would drive me crazy!
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It does not get dark there in summer. But the equation balances in winter, when the sky is dark for weeks at a time.

ICXC NIKA
 
PolarGuy said:
How about Minnesota instead?
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Minnesota is full of Norwegians. Plus, Sweden has reindeer and the midnight sun.

The downside? In Sweden you will have to eat lingonberries, limpa and lussekatt. Granted, the last two are seasonal. Plus, if you live near the coast, the winters are milder than in Minnesota.
 
PolarGuy said:
Hmmm…how about visiting Sweden and deciding for yourself?

Course, why you’d want to leave the land of cold, taxes, and the twins and Vikings for colder, more taxes, and no twins and NFL Vikings is beyond me.

Seriously, you’d be exchanging the greatest nation on the face of the earth, for a nation of cradle to grave taxation that couldn’t even fight hitler in the 1940s, without speaking the language either. If that’s what you want, the door’s open. But consider the immigrants flooding into the USA and you’d rather depart for Sweden?

Sorry, I’m ranting. I apologize.
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Some people would appreciate the extremely high standard of living, low crime, excellent health care, etc… believe it or not, but the USA isn’t for everyone! How many immigrants are flooding into the USA from Sweden? Besides, I’ll take Canada over the USA any day…and back home in Vancouver the winters are much, much, much more mild than Minnesota’s!
 
The only time I’ve ever been to Sweden is when I was in Trondheim for business and I took a side trip to Östersund so I don’t have a ton of experience with the country. I have worked in Norway quite a bit though and there a lot of similarities between the two countries.

Beer is about $12 a pint and you can forget ever going out to a restaurant except on very special occasions. On the bright side you can get used to the 6 or 7 hour work day, high pay, and tall gorgeous people everywhere you look. Everybody speaks English and the corporate language of your office will be English but you should also learn Swedish to socialize with your colleagues.

But of course the difference is that Norway has loads of oil and just about all Sweden has is ABBA and IKEA. Sweden is also part of the EU and there are already loads of Poles coming to the country in search of work. All of that is bound to affect your prospects of finding a job as a US citizen. You will have to have a skill or find a niche that isn’t filled already. It shouldn’t be a problem to go for a short work/study program, of course, but if you are planning on relocating long term you may find your career choices are limited by your blue passport.
 
PolarGuy said:
Hmmm…how about visiting Sweden and deciding for yourself?

Course, why you’d want to leave the land of cold, taxes, and the twins and Vikings for colder, more taxes, and no twins and NFL Vikings is beyond me.

Seriously, you’d be exchanging the greatest nation on the face of the earth, for a nation of cradle to grave taxation that couldn’t even fight hitler in the 1940s, without speaking the language either. If that’s what you want, the door’s open. But consider the immigrants flooding into the USA and you’d rather depart for Sweden?

Sorry, I’m ranting. I apologize.
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The really nice thing about the Scandinavian countries from my perspective is you have true freedom to roam. In the US a freedom to roam is seen more as a license to trespass and most people have the attitude of “get off ma lawn.” For someone who really wants to connect with the wilderness there are just so many more opportunities in Norway and Sweden and you don’t have to worry about some crank shooting at you.
 
Crosscut said:
We are very interested in Sweden for exactly the socialist aspect cause we cray like that.
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Many/most Swedes speak English. I would not assume, however, that they are going to welcome you to join their socialist paradise.
 
PolarGuy said:
Seriously, you’d be exchanging the greatest nation on the face of the earth,
…
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Are you serious? :confused:

Your thinking is quite narrow minded. There is a big wide world outside of the USA and each country has something to offer. These people are thinking of going abroad like many others who do the same for whatever reason. You don’t have to show the extent of your prejudice by repeating how strange their idea is.

I respect the USA very much but I wouldn’t live there if you paid me to. (I’d never live in Sweden either 🙂
 
twf said:
Some people would appreciate the extremely high standard of living, low crime, excellent health care, etc… believe it or not, but the USA isn’t for everyone! How many immigrants are flooding into the USA from Sweden?

**
Sweden’s population is under 10 million–hence it’s 1/30th the size of the US and 1/12 the size of Mexico. For comparison, the US is supposed to have something like 20 or 30 illegal aliens. It wouldn’t feel like a flood unless every single Swede packed their bags and came.**

Besides, I’ll take Canada over the USA any day…and back home in Vancouver the winters are much, much, much more mild than Minnesota’s!
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Yes–except the winters last 10 months of the year in the Pacific NW and a starter house costs a million dollars in Vancouver. It’s a miserable place for middle income people with families. Here’s a fun internet quiz entitled “crack shack or mansion” where you try to figure out whether a given house is the site of a drug bust or a million dollar home:

crackshackormansion.com/
 
Contra_Mundum said:
Are you serious? :confused:

Your thinking is quite narrow minded. There is a big wide world outside of the USA and each country has something to offer. These people are thinking of going abroad like many others who do the same for whatever reason. You don’t have to show the extent of your prejudice by repeating how strange their idea is.

I respect the USA very much but I wouldn’t live there if you paid me to. (I’d never live in Sweden either 🙂
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Wait a second–you just said every country has something to offer.

My husband enjoyed Sweden as an academic tourist.

There’s also a chapter devoted to Sweden in P.J. O’Rourke’s book “Eat the Rich.”
 
Xantippe said:
Wait a second–you just said every country has something to offer.
True. And I mean it. But there are many countries I have enjoyed visiting but would not want to live there. As I said above, I wouldn’t like to live in the US, but I know many people who have moved there and I completely understand why.
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Thank you all for your responses!

My fiance and I of course love the US and it definitely holds so much opportunity sooo many people. But we are getting a bit tired of the politics. We are also very much itching to try something new; we dont want to spend our whole lives in one place working mundane jobs and not experiencing the world.
Maybe our decision sounds whimsical to some, but we are looking for some change.

We will of course get all our ducks in a row before moving!
 
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