3 ms·

I moved to Sweden about 12 years ago from New Mexico. However, I was single. I am married now, to another American, with two small children. (BTW, I consider m

by dalke 8y ago

I moved to Sweden about 12 years ago from New Mexico. However, I was single. I am married now, to another American, with two small children. (BTW, I consider myself an immigrant, not an expat.) The questions you ask are entirely too generic. Moving to a large city like Stockholm is different than moving to a small one like Skurup ("When in Europe, visit Skurup"). Moving to Norway or Denmark is yet different again. Moving as a self-employed person is different than moving as an employee of a large company. Moving as a single person is different than moving as a family. I will therefore answer generically. I found "Culture Shock: Sweden" to be helpful, though it's 15 years old now and almost certainly dated. There are vlogs on YouTube about people from the US moving to/living in Sweden, e.g., https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=moving+to+Sweden https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=moving+to+Swede... . Perhaps check them out? There are many other web sites which offer advice for those moving here, including pages hosted at universities for visiting professors. Regrets? No, not really. Anxiety or second-thoughts? Yes, absolutely. My family? My parents lived in Ecuador when I was young. My g'parents from Canada lived in Cuba when my Dad was young. It wasn't a problem. I was single, so not a problem with the rest of the family. My wife moved here after we got married. She misses much more of US foods than here, so uses services like (the currently closed) https://tastyamerica.se/ https://tastyamerica.se/ . Done differently? That's a hard one. Oh - get a first-hand apartment rental contract early on, rather than second-hand/sublet for a few years. The housing crisis hit hard a couple of years after I moved here. Housing is very difficult right now in the big cities of Sweden. If you aren't employed by an organization which will help its employees find housing, then start looking now. And fraud is rampant in the online housing offers. There are also American clubs, like http://awcgothenburg.com http://awcgothenburg.com . Larger cities have American schools, if your kids are in high school age (for example) and you want them to continue in English, with a US-oriented education.

njepa 8y ago
Unfortunetly I think it is hard to recommend Sweden to anyone these days. People have made huge amounts in the housing market and anyone getting there now is going to pay for it. Maybe Malmö is still good to make a life in, but it would still require careful consideration. At least Sweden, but maybe even Scandinavia, really isn’t what is was ten years ago.
- dalke 8y ago
  Since the OP is moving to Sweden, there's no point in making a recommendation, is there? It's hard to know what the OP is asking about. The housing problem outside the big cities is much less of a problem. Even negative in some places. For all we know, the OP could be moving to Skurup. FWIW, we moved to Trollhättan because the housing situation in Göteborg was untenable. It only took a few months to find a place here. To be fair, we also had good timing, but my point is that there is more to Sweden than the big cities. It's hard to recommend Silicon Valley as well, but people keep moving there. ("No one goes there anymore. It's too crowded." - https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/08/29/too-crowded/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/08/29/too-crowded/ ). Is there anywhere like it was ten years ago?
  - njepa 8y ago
    > Since the OP is moving to Sweden, there's no point in making a recommendation, is there? "to a Scandinavian country". Presumably that means looking some sort of quality of life. I would say that Sweden is probably the worst among the Scandinavian, or Nordic, countries in this regard at the moment. > The housing problem outside the big cities is much less of a problem. Even negative in some places. This has mostly changed in recent years. There are only three counties (kommuner) with a housing surplus at the moment. They are in the middle of nowhere. > FWIW, we moved to Trollhättan because the housing situation in Göteborg was untenable. Sure, the situation is easier, but not necessarily easy for a foreigner. People select bigger cities because there are less compromises. As someone having lived in Sweden for awhile you presumably know better what you want and what to expect. For someone just arriving in Sweden it is going to be much harder to make an informed decision when moving to one of these smaller cities. From what I can tell the housing queue in Trollhättan is still 3 years, but it might of course be less in reality. > It's hard to recommend Silicon Valley as well, but people keep moving there. It isn't hard to recommend Silicon Valley if you are there to make a career in the tech industry. They have the highest salaries, the most opportunities and the best services. I wouldn't personally move there, because I don't find it appealing, but for someone who is looking for just they would end up in the more favored group. > Is there anywhere like it was ten years ago? Everywhere changes, the important part is what is changing. Ten years ago you could for example look at the passengers on a train in Sweden and most people would be on relatively equal terms. Some people might make more money, have better education or professions. But that would a least in theory be based on merit. Making the same thought experiment today would result in many people over 45 becoming a SEK millionaire in the last 10 years by doing nothing. And few under 30, who isn't there children, being able to attain a similar life as they have. I think that is a huge change. I might certainly be true of other places as well, but much of the appeal of Sweden is egalitarianism which in my opinion is essentially a joke today. Moving to Sweden today would to a large extent put you in the less favored group.
dalke 8y ago
Correction: the slogan is "When in Europe, don't miss Skurup", not "visit Skurup".

by dalke 8y ago

njepa 8y ago

Unfortunetly I think it is hard to recommend Sweden to anyone these days. People have made huge amounts in the housing market and anyone getting there now is going to pay for it. Maybe Malmö is still good to make a life in, but it would still require careful consideration. At least Sweden, but maybe even Scandinavia, really isn’t what is was ten years ago.

dalke 8y ago
Since the OP is moving to Sweden, there's no point in making a recommendation, is there? It's hard to know what the OP is asking about. The housing problem outside the big cities is much less of a problem. Even negative in some places. For all we know, the OP could be moving to Skurup. FWIW, we moved to Trollhättan because the housing situation in Göteborg was untenable. It only took a few months to find a place here. To be fair, we also had good timing, but my point is that there is more to Sweden than the big cities. It's hard to recommend Silicon Valley as well, but people keep moving there. ("No one goes there anymore. It's too crowded." - https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/08/29/too-crowded/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/08/29/too-crowded/ ). Is there anywhere like it was ten years ago?
- njepa 8y ago
  > Since the OP is moving to Sweden, there's no point in making a recommendation, is there? "to a Scandinavian country". Presumably that means looking some sort of quality of life. I would say that Sweden is probably the worst among the Scandinavian, or Nordic, countries in this regard at the moment. > The housing problem outside the big cities is much less of a problem. Even negative in some places. This has mostly changed in recent years. There are only three counties (kommuner) with a housing surplus at the moment. They are in the middle of nowhere. > FWIW, we moved to Trollhättan because the housing situation in Göteborg was untenable. Sure, the situation is easier, but not necessarily easy for a foreigner. People select bigger cities because there are less compromises. As someone having lived in Sweden for awhile you presumably know better what you want and what to expect. For someone just arriving in Sweden it is going to be much harder to make an informed decision when moving to one of these smaller cities. From what I can tell the housing queue in Trollhättan is still 3 years, but it might of course be less in reality. > It's hard to recommend Silicon Valley as well, but people keep moving there. It isn't hard to recommend Silicon Valley if you are there to make a career in the tech industry. They have the highest salaries, the most opportunities and the best services. I wouldn't personally move there, because I don't find it appealing, but for someone who is looking for just they would end up in the more favored group. > Is there anywhere like it was ten years ago? Everywhere changes, the important part is what is changing. Ten years ago you could for example look at the passengers on a train in Sweden and most people would be on relatively equal terms. Some people might make more money, have better education or professions. But that would a least in theory be based on merit. Making the same thought experiment today would result in many people over 45 becoming a SEK millionaire in the last 10 years by doing nothing. And few under 30, who isn't there children, being able to attain a similar life as they have. I think that is a huge change. I might certainly be true of other places as well, but much of the appeal of Sweden is egalitarianism which in my opinion is essentially a joke today. Moving to Sweden today would to a large extent put you in the less favored group.

dalke 8y ago

Correction: the slogan is "When in Europe, don't miss Skurup", not "visit Skurup".