Moving To Sweden

[Xantippe]

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!

You probably will work pretty mundane jobs in Sweden, but it’s worth a try, if that’s your passion. And have a plan for coming back, in case it doesn’t work out–don’t burn all your bridges.

(I’m a returned Peace Corps volunteer, and I think one’s 20s is a great time for this kind of experiment.)

By the way, if either of you have Swedish family, a lot of Swedes seem to have the genealogy bug in a big way, so it is not that hard to find family who are interested in meeting American cousins.

 

[RayLi1992]

Oh my gosh, Sweden, what a beautiful place! I read somewhere that it’s got one of the best education systems in the world (either that or Finland), but still! SNOW SNOW SNOW! Although being religious may be a bit tough there (Scandinavia’s not very religious in general) you’re lucky, eh?

 

[Xantippe]

Oh my gosh, Sweden, what a beautiful place! I read somewhere that it’s got one of the best education systems in the world (either that or Finland), but still! SNOW SNOW SNOW! Although being religious may be a bit tough there (Scandinavia’s not very religious in general) you’re lucky, eh?

Finland is the one with impressive education stats.

By the way, I’m very big on the Scandinavian design blogs.

 

[ringil]

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?

It would be a great place to live. Better than the US in many regards.

 

[Contra_Mundum_1]

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.

Just go for it!

You sound just like me a few years back. I really wanted to try something new and had the itch that refused to go away. My husband and I decided to try to move to Asia, wherever an opportunity arouse. So after a few months of sending job applications he got a very good offer in Malaysia, and we decided to move, together with our 2 young children. (I know many people say they want to do this before they have kids, but it is completely doable with them as well.)

It is such an adventure to go abroad to a completely new place. It takes time to adjust and it is not always easy. But I am so glad we did this, and we are not in a rush to go back yet.

I hope things work out for you and that you get to experience this adventure.

 

[PolarGuy]

Yes, Contramundum, I am very serious, the United States is the greatest nation on the face of the earth. Are you serious, disputing that?

Books have been written about this, but, just off the top of my head, there is no other nation now or in world history with the USA’s traditions of democracy; fair and (generally) honest government; helping other nations in physical or economic danger; leaders elected by the people and for the people; military answerable to elected leaders rather than the other way around; bounteous spiritual, material, and economic opportunity for anyone willing to work for it (and many who won’t); tradition of standing up to and defeating tyrants and evildoers (like Hitler; communism, and Muslim extremists, etc.); scientific advancement (i.e., no USA = no heavier than air airplanes, no moon landing, etc.). Millions of people make it their lives’ goals to leave their homelands and just get to the USA. No USA? The Japanese warlords enslave 1/4 of the world in WWII, and its an open question whether USSR defeats Nazism (and if it does, how wonderful for freedom lovers to have Russia control all of Europe). No other nation offers the ability to work as you choose; worship as you choose; and travel as you choose, as does the USA. There are many “free” nations which will likely never elect a black man, or a Catholic, as their leader, but the US has done both.

And we did all in less than 250 years.

Do all countries have something to offer? NO. Does North Korea, now? Stalinist Russia? Many regimes throughout history? Sorry, no. Many do – but people are not exactly flooding into tiny, corrupt nations in Africa, South America, etc. They’re leaving there for the USA.

So yes, I am very serious, the USA is the greatest nation on earth. People here in the USA don’t realize how good they have it, and if they want to flee for Sweden, Zimbabwe, Ecudaor, or anywhere else in between, the door is open to go (unlike many countries, where, with apologies to Chazz Palmintieri), sometimes the government says, “now youse can’t leave.” Quite frankly, I’d wish if the malcontents would in fact leave, as the USA is better off without them…

 

[Burt_Macklin]

So yes, I am very serious, the USA is the greatest nation on earth. People here in the USA don’t realize how good they have it, and if they want to flee for Sweden, Zimbabwe, Ecudaor, or anywhere else in between, the door is open to go (unlike many countries, where, with apologies to Chazz Palmintieri), sometimes the government says, “now youse can’t leave.” Quite frankly, I’d wish if the malcontents would in fact leave, as the USA is better off without them…

You know, for being all about freedom the American experiment is very difficult to opt out of. The US is one of only two countries in the world to tax you on foreign earned income, the other being freedom loving Eritrea. The only way to get around the rule is to renounce your citizenship, something that isn’t possible to do until you get a new one. So leaving isn’t as easy as you make it out to sound.

 

[Coatimundi]

Yes, Contramundum, I am very serious, the United States is the greatest nation on the face of the earth. Are you serious, disputing that?

PolarGuy, I am as patriotic as anyone, and love my country. I want to believe that others would love us as well. We have so much to offer! However, this doesn’t mean that other countries are necessarily inferior to the US.

Do all countries have something to offer? NO. Does North Korea, now? Stalinist Russia? Many regimes throughout history? Sorry, no. Many do – but people are not exactly flooding into tiny, corrupt nations in Africa, South America, etc. They’re leaving there for the USA.

People are flooding into European countries for the same reasons they flood into the United States: economic opportunity, political freedom and physical safety. Here in the US, we don’t often hear about the vast problem of illegal immigration to Europe, but it is on a scale no less than what the US faces. Be careful that pride in our homeland doesn’t lead you to wrongfully put down other nations.

When I was 20, I wondered about living in another country. The appeal of the exotic, the possibility of the grass being greener, etc. It was never more than a pipe dream, so I commend Crosscut for being undertaking extensive research and planning. In the end, he may end deciding to stay in the US. Moving overseas is exciting, but carries risks and costs. As someone else has recommended, have a lifeline set up to bring you home if things do not work out.

 

[Crosscut]

Just go for it!

You sound just like me a few years back. I really wanted to try something new and had the itch that refused to go away. My husband and I decided to try to move to Asia, wherever an opportunity arouse. So after a few months of sending job applications he got a very good offer in Malaysia, and we decided to move, together with our 2 young children. (I know many people say they want to do this before they have kids, but it is completely doable with them as well.)

It is such an adventure to go abroad to a completely new place. It takes time to adjust and it is not always easy. But I am so glad we did this, and we are not in a rush to go back yet.

I hope things work out for you and that you get to experience this adventure.

Thanks Contra!
Since I have never done anything like this before, my mind immediatley jumps to drab thoughts like, what do you do with all your stuff? How much do you bring with you? Do you leave it all behind? I imagine you leave most of your belongings behind.

 

[Xantippe]

Thanks Contra!
Since I have never done anything like this before, my mind immediatley jumps to drab thoughts like, what do you do with all your stuff? How much do you bring with you? Do you leave it all behind? I imagine you leave most of your belongings behind.

I would definitely encourage a young American moving abroad to just take clothes and necessaries and figure everything else out there. You can always go to IKEA, right? You’ll probably be dealing with a tiny living space, so less is more, and American sized stuff isn’t necessarily going to be worth hauling over the Atlantic.

I had something like a 125 lb. allowance when I left for Peace Corps service. My family sent me a lot of stuff and I acquired a lot of stuff there, but I definitely would have been more or less OK with the initial 125 lb., and that was a pretty rough situation (Russia in the mid-90s) and there genuinely were necessities of American life that you just couldn’t buy. But contemporary Sweden is presumably much more civilized. If you’re going with a fiance, it should be possible to streamline even further. (I’d pack a jar or two of peanut butter just in case, if you like that sort of thing.)

 

[Crosscut]

Yeah, you are right. Its not worth it to lug tons of carp over.
Ill probably just focus on my clothes.

 

[Xantippe]

You might want to do some searches on “American stuff you can’t buy in Sweden.”

thelocal.se/discuss/index.php?showtopic=63209

That generated a very interesting set of search results.

It sounds like the consensus is that clothes are expensive over there, so that is a good thing to bring. Plus, come to think of it, it may be annoying to struggle with unfamiliar sizes while you’re just acclimating.

 

[Xantippe]

Electrical stuff requires special scrutiny before taking it abroad.

science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/science-questions/question430.htm

Within days (maybe even hours) after my incoming Peace Corps group arrived in Russia, one of my colleagues plugged a laptop into an outlet and fried it. He had used an adapter, but I now suspect that he used the plug that adapts the shape of the plug to the local standard but not the adapter that changes the current. (Apologies if I screwed up any of that terminology.)

And that was when laptops cost real money…

 

[ATeutonicKnight]

Yes, Contramundum, I am very serious, the United States is the greatest nation on the face of the earth. Are you serious, disputing that?

Books have been written about this, but, just off the top of my head, there is no other nation now or in world history with the USA’s traditions of democracy; fair and (generally) honest government; helping other nations in physical or economic danger; leaders elected by the people and for the people; military answerable to elected leaders rather than the other way around; bounteous spiritual, material, and economic opportunity for anyone willing to work for it (and many who won’t); tradition of standing up to and defeating tyrants and evildoers (like Hitler; communism, and Muslim extremists, etc.); scientific advancement (i.e., no USA = no heavier than air airplanes, no moon landing, etc.). Millions of people make it their lives’ goals to leave their homelands and just get to the USA. No USA? The Japanese warlords enslave 1/4 of the world in WWII, and its an open question whether USSR defeats Nazism (and if it does, how wonderful for freedom lovers to have Russia control all of Europe). No other nation offers the ability to work as you choose; worship as you choose; and travel as you choose, as does the USA. There are many “free” nations which will likely never elect a black man, or a Catholic, as their leader, but the US has done both.

And we did all in less than 250 years.

Do all countries have something to offer? NO. Does North Korea, now? Stalinist Russia? Many regimes throughout history? Sorry, no. Many do – but people are not exactly flooding into tiny, corrupt nations in Africa, South America, etc. They’re leaving there for the USA.

So yes, I am very serious, the USA is the greatest nation on earth. People here in the USA don’t realize how good they have it, and if they want to flee for Sweden, Zimbabwe, Ecudaor, or anywhere else in between, the door is open to go (unlike many countries, where, with apologies to Chazz Palmintieri), sometimes the government says, “now youse can’t leave.” Quite frankly, I’d wish if the malcontents would in fact leave, as the USA is better off without them…

Your American nationalism is quite disgusting, in all honesty. There is no nation that is superior to another. “That’s crazy!” you might be thinking. But listen to what I’m saying: no nation, no country, is superior to another. What makes a nation? Its government? Its politics? No, the people who live there. They are what makes up the nation. So you saying we’re the greatest nation on earth is saying we as Americans are superior to everyone else, and that is why everyone else hates America: We’re so full of ourselves that we think we’re superior. Now, is our government superior? You can argue that. Is our culture better? You can argue that, too. But you cannot say the nation is superior, because that means we’re better than everyone else, and that is a sin.

 

[PolarGuy]

TeutonicKnight, be my guest: Be disgusted all you want; I’m disgusted by unappreciative haters, but I notice that you have not actually refuted any of what I wrote about the US.

And you can’t, because it’s all 100% factually true.

Your definition of a nation is simplistic. A nation is many things: Its people are a big part. But so too are its history; its culture; its government; and its achievements. Many of those things come from the people. Well, if those things come from the people and the achievements, government, etc., are superior, then it sure looks as if its people are superior too. As Bill Parcells said (and I’m really quoting all sorts of people, aren’t I??), you are what your record says you are: And the USA’s track record compares favorably to literally every nation on the earth, bar none.

So be a hater: I’ll take the people of the USA over the people of any other nation in (morally bankrupt, now-cowardly, anti-Semitic, causer-of-2-world-wars) Europe; broken, petty fractured South America; even-more-messed-up and petty and broken Africa; or Asia for that matter, than anywhere else. Why? Because our achievements as a young, not quite 250-year-old nation say so.

And if you’d rather leave, we don’t need walls to keep our people here. To all the whiners who say, “this is why we hate the US!” I respond: That’s because you’re just jealous. That’s the American way, too: We don’t like whiners, and we don’t like losers either (because Americans as a whole are neither, and our accomplishments say so).

PS I don’t see the haters saying “this is why we hate you!” when your country has a mudslide; a hurricane; an earthquake, etc., 1000+ are dead, and the USA delivers aid/food/medical care.

 

[PolarGuy]

It’s not easy to leave the USA because of tax laws? Waaaaa, waaaa, waaaaa. We don’t build walls to keep our people in like the communists did (and still do).

 

[PolarGuy]

Here’s a nice story, courtesy of mamarocks.com:

"There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French & American. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying, “Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intend to do,
bomb them?”

"A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: “Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?”

---

I’ll answer: More than Sweden does…or France…or even (still) Russia or China.

Bye. Gotta engage in another American pastime: Watching football (AMERICAN football, where guys hit other guys and there are cute dishy cheerleaders on the sidelines; not sissy European football AKA soccer, where the players run around for hours and the score ends 1-0).

 

[GEddie]

Bye. Gotta engage in another American pastime: Watching football (AMERICAN football, where guys hit other guys and there are cute dishy cheerleaders on the sidelines; not sissy European football AKA soccer, where the players run around for hours and the score ends 1-0).

LOL! That was classic.

ICXC NIKA

 

[Xantippe]

There’s a funny mock-chauvinist radio ad locally where they talk about how great it is to live in America, where you can buy a burrito as big as your thigh along with a diet Coke, and nobody bats an eye.

 

[Xantippe]

Our houses are soooo big that you can lose family members in them (or at least spend half the morning walking around going “yoohoo” while they do the same).

Also, if you lose your house for some reason, you can always move into your car.

Also, our police are more heavily armed and more lethal than some countries’ militaries.

Also, drive thru frozen daiquiris are an awesome idea. Everything should be drive thru.