5 ms·

I have no idea how true this is, but my friend who claimed to have verified his research most thoroughly and was hell bent on attempting this against everyone's

I have no idea how true this is, but my friend who claimed to have verified his research most thoroughly and was hell bent on attempting this against everyone's advice for he wasn't the outdoors man by any means, asserted the entirely legal possibility of building a cabin north of the arctic circle in Sweden and providing you could self sustain yourself out there for five consecutive winters the law would fairly automatically give you citizenship. I thought to put this here just because it's such a romantic notion regardless and I'd love it to be true, but I fear my dear friend was never less than a true romantic soul himself and it may have been a genius line with the ladies fed up with London living...

Grustaf 6y ago
Citizenship after 5 years is far from automatic, and living north of the Arctic circle doesn't help your case I'm afraid... But on the other hand, if you sustain yourself chances are you can live your whole life there without anyone noticing.
- jfk13 6y ago
  Although depending how good you really are at the "sustain yourself" bit, you might find that "your whole life" isn't all that long.
  - m12k 6y ago
    Reminds me of Pratchett: “Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life.”
- jacquesm 6y ago
  I've been there. There definitely would be people noticing unless you went far away from the roads. There aren't a whole lot of people living there but they're there and they are quite aware of what is going on.
  - Grustaf 6y ago
    Been where? There are definitely places in Sweden where you can spend years without being seen. The population density in Upper Norrland is 3 people per square km... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Norrland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Norrland
    - jacquesm 6y ago
      Quite a bit north of the arctic circle, moving from Finland to Sweden and then back down again.
gerikson 6y ago
The requirements for Swedish citizenship are clearly spelled out here: https://www.migrationsverket.se/English/Private-individuals/Becoming-a-Swedish-citizen/Citizenship-for-adults.html https://www.migrationsverket.se/English/Private-individuals/...
- danaliv 6y ago
  "You must have lived in Sweden for five years with right of residence." (Emphasis added.) Seems there's an important detail here.
  - disabled 6y ago
    Many Americans tend to think that you can live/work/retire almost anywhere in the world, but particularly western and Northern Europe (“eastern Europe” is viewed with derision by Americans, even though once these countries become part of the European Union, they become westernized pretty fast), as long as you have a “high paying job” (that an individual can work remotely) and “are willing to pay the taxes”—-and in some cases “are willing to learn the language”. It is quite offensive. But, it is a prime example of American imperialism/colonialism at its best, when the American empire is not only in hardcore decline, but literally crumbling, if not collapsing. Also, I love all of the Americans in the past few days who are trashing both the European Union (who did not suspend AstraZeneca vaccinations) and the European Union countries that have suspended the AstraZeneca vaccine for a week, most likely, at the absolute longest. By the way, those EU countries made that decision independently from the EU, so maybe you should not be trashing the EU here. We also have other vaccines in our arsenal to fight this. We also trust our officials, and we have a culture of doing so. We are willing to pay taxes not only for a stable government, but a stable society. Yes, the EU did mess up with the procurement of vaccines, but we will get through this. We have handled the pandemic better than America has (I am also American...). Oh yeah, to the Americans reading this: the EU, and its founding and its precursor organizations were designed for “what to do after your empire fails”. I suggest Americans maybe try to learn about this. Otherwise they are going to have more of the same, as in rulers like Trump or worse.

Grustaf 6y ago

Citizenship after 5 years is far from automatic, and living north of the Arctic circle doesn't help your case I'm afraid... But on the other hand, if you sustain yourself chances are you can live your whole life there without anyone noticing.

jfk13 6y ago
Although depending how good you really are at the "sustain yourself" bit, you might find that "your whole life" isn't all that long.
- m12k 6y ago
  Reminds me of Pratchett: “Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life.”
jacquesm 6y ago
I've been there. There definitely would be people noticing unless you went far away from the roads. There aren't a whole lot of people living there but they're there and they are quite aware of what is going on.
- Grustaf 6y ago
  Been where? There are definitely places in Sweden where you can spend years without being seen. The population density in Upper Norrland is 3 people per square km... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Norrland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Norrland
  - jacquesm 6y ago
    Quite a bit north of the arctic circle, moving from Finland to Sweden and then back down again.

gerikson 6y ago

The requirements for Swedish citizenship are clearly spelled out here: https://www.migrationsverket.se/English/Private-individuals/Becoming-a-Swedish-citizen/Citizenship-for-adults.html https://www.migrationsverket.se/English/Private-individuals/...

danaliv 6y ago
"You must have lived in Sweden for five years with right of residence." (Emphasis added.) Seems there's an important detail here.
- disabled 6y ago
  Many Americans tend to think that you can live/work/retire almost anywhere in the world, but particularly western and Northern Europe (“eastern Europe” is viewed with derision by Americans, even though once these countries become part of the European Union, they become westernized pretty fast), as long as you have a “high paying job” (that an individual can work remotely) and “are willing to pay the taxes”—-and in some cases “are willing to learn the language”. It is quite offensive. But, it is a prime example of American imperialism/colonialism at its best, when the American empire is not only in hardcore decline, but literally crumbling, if not collapsing. Also, I love all of the Americans in the past few days who are trashing both the European Union (who did not suspend AstraZeneca vaccinations) and the European Union countries that have suspended the AstraZeneca vaccine for a week, most likely, at the absolute longest. By the way, those EU countries made that decision independently from the EU, so maybe you should not be trashing the EU here. We also have other vaccines in our arsenal to fight this. We also trust our officials, and we have a culture of doing so. We are willing to pay taxes not only for a stable government, but a stable society. Yes, the EU did mess up with the procurement of vaccines, but we will get through this. We have handled the pandemic better than America has (I am also American...). Oh yeah, to the Americans reading this: the EU, and its founding and its precursor organizations were designed for “what to do after your empire fails”. I suggest Americans maybe try to learn about this. Otherwise they are going to have more of the same, as in rulers like Trump or worse.