4 ms·

I live in Sweden and am totally not aware of this trend. However what is not mentioned is that "summer homes" are quite common in Sweden, usually a little cabi

by dijit 2y ago

I live in Sweden and am totally not aware of this trend. However what is not mentioned is that "summer homes" are quite common in Sweden, usually a little cabin somewhere further out from the city that a person or family owns. In my case my girlfriends family shares a house on the coast in Smålland, which even has functioning power and water (rare among these types of vacation homes). I think being able to get away from the noise of the city makes city living significantly more tolerable, I nearly lost my mind when I lived in London for 4 years because anywhere remotely affordable was just loud, and you always felt like you were under someones feet. Taking time away from the noise to get a proper uninterrupted nights rest makes a lot of sense, but I think you also need the reprieve of having personal space. Not that any city in Sweden is even remotely close to the noise levels or population density of a city like London, especially in the parts I could afford to live. This article feels a little bit like lifestyle porn, in that very few people are actually doing this, and it sounds exotic ("just like the scandinavians!") but the reality is actually better than what's depicted and less 1-dimensional.

lifestyleguru 2y ago
Where this Scandinavian attitude comes from? That people want to be like them, to live like them. Some kind of inverted double-jealosity psychological marketing trick?
- dijit 2y ago
  Well, that's easy. People are not globally aware enough to seperate Norway, Denmark and Sweden into seperate societies. So it's easy to confuse/combine the Danish "Hygge" (meaning: Cozy), Norways wealth, and Swedens generous social systems (especially as they relate to summer vacations and parental leave/rights). As such, Scandinavia (where Sweden is for some reason the most popular stand-in name for Scandinavia - probably because it used to dominate the region) is seen as a mythical place where everyone is happy, wealthy and that the lifestyles are cozy. Yes, there's some marketing in that, just like there's marketing in the idea that the US is free when it's ranks pretty poorly in freedom globally, or that the UK is a world power, when in reality it's about as globally important at this point as South Korea or South Africa (which, is not an insult as they are medium powers on the world stage and not insignificant). Remember, companies operating globally from any given country will lean in to what they think that country is known for. You can see it a lot with "Swiss-Made" products, especially privacy products, when in reality there aren't any decent privacy laws in Switzerland- people just remember the banking sector permitting numbered accounts because they saw it in media. -- so these things get reinforced over time, by products marketing themselves as "Scandinavian" and then presenting a lifestyle in advertising.
  - fredrikholm 2y ago
    > is seen as a mythical place where everyone is happy, wealthy and that the lifestyles are cozy If you're a (non-wealthy) student from the US, it's easy to see how you'd get that impression based on what its like to be that person in both countries. In Sweden, you study full time, live decently and optionally have one job that you do spare time to reduce your future debt that most likely won't be a problem given that it's a (compared the US) small amount of money and you're able to pay it back relatively easily. What I've heard from a total of 3 students from different parts of that states are some variation of: "Outside of my (full time) studies I juggle 2-3 part time jobs, barely making rent and the mountain of debt that awaits me is giving me crippling anxiety". Of course living here is not without its struggles. We, just like the rest of the world, struggle with insane housing costs, stagnant wages for working class people, our food prices are several times higher than in the US despite us making way less etc.
    - Hikikomori 2y ago
      Not only is the amount of debt you have much lower the interest rate is typically lower than inflation, so its much easier to pay off, many don't even make extra payments as its not worth it. None in my class worked while studying, I only took the extra loan part for 1 year as I had savings (if you study you get a grant and the loan is optional if needed). And didn't have to worry about debt from medical problems either.
  - lifestyleguru 2y ago
    Funny because even Scandinavians don't want to live in Scandinavia. They live mostly in Caribbean, Canaries, and Balearic Islands. The only people permanently living in Scandinavia are working and not working poor.
    - anthk 2y ago
      Spaniard here. If that was true, I would hear more about it. And the truth it's the Southern Spain and the islands are full of Brits and Germans.
- lqet 2y ago
  IKEA certainly has an interest in promoting this image.
  - lifestyleguru 2y ago
    Why Dutch non-profit foundation would be interested in this?!
- carlosjobim 2y ago
  Scandinavians are under constant propaganda pressure since early childhood of how their countries and their "systems" are the best in the world. Most of them are incapable of waking up. Quite strange, considering that Germany is just around the corner, and has been more successful in almost every aspect.
  - lifestyleguru 2y ago
    I guess this BBC article is the pinnacle of living in this bubble. Here is a wooden shack in the middle of nowhere, pay EUR 3000 to come over and sleep in it.
  - DanielHB 2y ago
    Born outside of Sweden and living in Sweden now, you have a few misconceptions here. Scandinavians (or at least the Swedish) complain quite a lot about public services and government, so many discussions I have end with "you know that here is better than pretty much everywhere else". My favorite one is people complaining about trains and public transport where both are waaaaaaaaay better than most other countries. Sure it is not Swiss-level of service (I travelled quite a bit in Switzerland trains), but still very good overall. And this carries over to almost everything, healthcare, education, job opportunities, entrepreneurism. Not quite the best at anything, but somehow average to very good at everything. If this "complaining" attitude wasn't a thing you wouldn't be seeing right-leaning political parties rising here. Maybe it is this attitude that keeps the services and institutions working well? I don't know. I remember a former coworker who complained so much about everything Swedish (from culture, to weather, to people, to institutions, to government). He travelled quite a lot but only ever stayed in the big centers or touristy places. He got enamored with China and thought things were so much better there in every respect compared to Sweden, he took a few months off to live there (considering moving permanently) and came back completely disillusioned. Classic case of only seeing the good parts of other places. One thing that he actually complained about that quite surprised me was that the trains in China were overcrowded and people were rude in public transport. That was like the one thing I thought China was better than Sweden (because of their overbuilt infrastructure). Another one that happens a lot when I tell stories about my home country ends up with me saying "what trains? There are no trains!"
lqet 2y ago
> and you always felt like you were under someones feet I lived in a late 19th century building for 4,5 years as a student, and the sound of the steps in the apartment above me also drove me insane sometimes. Every apartment I rented after that was always on the top floor. Much higher quality of living.
- nejsjsjsbsb 2y ago
  Yeah if you live in a house converted to flats, it sucks.
- vladvasiliu 2y ago
  That may work for this specific issue. I've never lived in any dwelling that old, but the issues I've noticed is sound traveling through the reinforced concrete walls. I'm hearing my two-floors-up-neighbor's footsteps, and I can hear him relieving himself at night. Since his floor isn't my ceiling, why would that noise only travel down? I can also hear some neighbor's kid speak loudly at times, and we also don't share any wall. I don't think these noises come through the window, since mine are new and double-paned. Opening or closing a window doesn't change how I perceive these noises. This is the issue I have with living in cities: there's noise everywhere, and you can't get a break even at home. I know there are new standards for noise insulation, and it is possible to build quiet apartments. But this requires new construction, and we all know how often that happens in the big cities.
jovial_cavalier 2y ago
>I live in Sweden and am totally not aware of this trend. That's probably because the author of the article just made it up after watching a handful of instagram reels or something.
- fransje26 2y ago
  > because the author of the article just made it up I had a look at the hotel she mentioned, and found absolutely no trace of cabin rental in the woods on their website..
DanielHB 2y ago
I live in Sweden as well, but wasn't born here. I don't really get all this summer home obsession, especially the really cheap ones with no plumbing. I really appreciate the modern basic needs. Company did a company event in the Stockholm archipelago with sauna and dipping into the cold water. Sure it was fun but like, I wouldn't be able to endure it more than one night without a proper toilet and shower. I can appreciate cozy and isolated places, but lack of power and plumbing is not cozy.
- outime 2y ago
  It's very similar in Finland (they're called mökki here). Even though I'm not native, I do get the appeal of these holidays. It feels like staying in a very natural, raw place without all the modern conveniences. It's a feature, and not for everyone, but I personally love it.
- danielscrubs 2y ago
  It’s a family friendly (almost always families with kids and pets that get summer cabins) way to connect with both family and nature. Board games and books, and a break from tech. It’s just in the Scandinavian culture. It might help to consider the ”friendly but anti social” culture that exists in Sweden as it goes hand in hand with it. Swedish people often call the country: ”the country that is not too much or too little” (landet lagom) with pride. It is quite amusing how different the culture is. But as with all countries, globalism will eat every culture and strip it of identity and replace it with the strive towards owning a jet plane.

by dijit 2y ago

lifestyleguru 2y ago

Where this Scandinavian attitude comes from? That people want to be like them, to live like them. Some kind of inverted double-jealosity psychological marketing trick?

dijit 2y ago
Well, that's easy. People are not globally aware enough to seperate Norway, Denmark and Sweden into seperate societies. So it's easy to confuse/combine the Danish "Hygge" (meaning: Cozy), Norways wealth, and Swedens generous social systems (especially as they relate to summer vacations and parental leave/rights). As such, Scandinavia (where Sweden is for some reason the most popular stand-in name for Scandinavia - probably because it used to dominate the region) is seen as a mythical place where everyone is happy, wealthy and that the lifestyles are cozy. Yes, there's some marketing in that, just like there's marketing in the idea that the US is free when it's ranks pretty poorly in freedom globally, or that the UK is a world power, when in reality it's about as globally important at this point as South Korea or South Africa (which, is not an insult as they are medium powers on the world stage and not insignificant). Remember, companies operating globally from any given country will lean in to what they think that country is known for. You can see it a lot with "Swiss-Made" products, especially privacy products, when in reality there aren't any decent privacy laws in Switzerland- people just remember the banking sector permitting numbered accounts because they saw it in media. -- so these things get reinforced over time, by products marketing themselves as "Scandinavian" and then presenting a lifestyle in advertising.
- fredrikholm 2y ago
  > is seen as a mythical place where everyone is happy, wealthy and that the lifestyles are cozy If you're a (non-wealthy) student from the US, it's easy to see how you'd get that impression based on what its like to be that person in both countries. In Sweden, you study full time, live decently and optionally have one job that you do spare time to reduce your future debt that most likely won't be a problem given that it's a (compared the US) small amount of money and you're able to pay it back relatively easily. What I've heard from a total of 3 students from different parts of that states are some variation of: "Outside of my (full time) studies I juggle 2-3 part time jobs, barely making rent and the mountain of debt that awaits me is giving me crippling anxiety". Of course living here is not without its struggles. We, just like the rest of the world, struggle with insane housing costs, stagnant wages for working class people, our food prices are several times higher than in the US despite us making way less etc.
  - Hikikomori 2y ago
    Not only is the amount of debt you have much lower the interest rate is typically lower than inflation, so its much easier to pay off, many don't even make extra payments as its not worth it. None in my class worked while studying, I only took the extra loan part for 1 year as I had savings (if you study you get a grant and the loan is optional if needed). And didn't have to worry about debt from medical problems either.
- lifestyleguru 2y ago
  Funny because even Scandinavians don't want to live in Scandinavia. They live mostly in Caribbean, Canaries, and Balearic Islands. The only people permanently living in Scandinavia are working and not working poor.
  - anthk 2y ago
    Spaniard here. If that was true, I would hear more about it. And the truth it's the Southern Spain and the islands are full of Brits and Germans.
lqet 2y ago
IKEA certainly has an interest in promoting this image.
- lifestyleguru 2y ago
  Why Dutch non-profit foundation would be interested in this?!
carlosjobim 2y ago
Scandinavians are under constant propaganda pressure since early childhood of how their countries and their "systems" are the best in the world. Most of them are incapable of waking up. Quite strange, considering that Germany is just around the corner, and has been more successful in almost every aspect.
- lifestyleguru 2y ago
  I guess this BBC article is the pinnacle of living in this bubble. Here is a wooden shack in the middle of nowhere, pay EUR 3000 to come over and sleep in it.
- DanielHB 2y ago
  Born outside of Sweden and living in Sweden now, you have a few misconceptions here. Scandinavians (or at least the Swedish) complain quite a lot about public services and government, so many discussions I have end with "you know that here is better than pretty much everywhere else". My favorite one is people complaining about trains and public transport where both are waaaaaaaaay better than most other countries. Sure it is not Swiss-level of service (I travelled quite a bit in Switzerland trains), but still very good overall. And this carries over to almost everything, healthcare, education, job opportunities, entrepreneurism. Not quite the best at anything, but somehow average to very good at everything. If this "complaining" attitude wasn't a thing you wouldn't be seeing right-leaning political parties rising here. Maybe it is this attitude that keeps the services and institutions working well? I don't know. I remember a former coworker who complained so much about everything Swedish (from culture, to weather, to people, to institutions, to government). He travelled quite a lot but only ever stayed in the big centers or touristy places. He got enamored with China and thought things were so much better there in every respect compared to Sweden, he took a few months off to live there (considering moving permanently) and came back completely disillusioned. Classic case of only seeing the good parts of other places. One thing that he actually complained about that quite surprised me was that the trains in China were overcrowded and people were rude in public transport. That was like the one thing I thought China was better than Sweden (because of their overbuilt infrastructure). Another one that happens a lot when I tell stories about my home country ends up with me saying "what trains? There are no trains!"

lqet 2y ago

> and you always felt like you were under someones feet I lived in a late 19th century building for 4,5 years as a student, and the sound of the steps in the apartment above me also drove me insane sometimes. Every apartment I rented after that was always on the top floor. Much higher quality of living.

nejsjsjsbsb 2y ago
Yeah if you live in a house converted to flats, it sucks.
vladvasiliu 2y ago
That may work for this specific issue. I've never lived in any dwelling that old, but the issues I've noticed is sound traveling through the reinforced concrete walls. I'm hearing my two-floors-up-neighbor's footsteps, and I can hear him relieving himself at night. Since his floor isn't my ceiling, why would that noise only travel down? I can also hear some neighbor's kid speak loudly at times, and we also don't share any wall. I don't think these noises come through the window, since mine are new and double-paned. Opening or closing a window doesn't change how I perceive these noises. This is the issue I have with living in cities: there's noise everywhere, and you can't get a break even at home. I know there are new standards for noise insulation, and it is possible to build quiet apartments. But this requires new construction, and we all know how often that happens in the big cities.

jovial_cavalier 2y ago

>I live in Sweden and am totally not aware of this trend. That's probably because the author of the article just made it up after watching a handful of instagram reels or something.

fransje26 2y ago
> because the author of the article just made it up I had a look at the hotel she mentioned, and found absolutely no trace of cabin rental in the woods on their website..

DanielHB 2y ago

I live in Sweden as well, but wasn't born here. I don't really get all this summer home obsession, especially the really cheap ones with no plumbing. I really appreciate the modern basic needs. Company did a company event in the Stockholm archipelago with sauna and dipping into the cold water. Sure it was fun but like, I wouldn't be able to endure it more than one night without a proper toilet and shower. I can appreciate cozy and isolated places, but lack of power and plumbing is not cozy.

outime 2y ago
It's very similar in Finland (they're called mökki here). Even though I'm not native, I do get the appeal of these holidays. It feels like staying in a very natural, raw place without all the modern conveniences. It's a feature, and not for everyone, but I personally love it.
danielscrubs 2y ago
It’s a family friendly (almost always families with kids and pets that get summer cabins) way to connect with both family and nature. Board games and books, and a break from tech. It’s just in the Scandinavian culture. It might help to consider the ”friendly but anti social” culture that exists in Sweden as it goes hand in hand with it. Swedish people often call the country: ”the country that is not too much or too little” (landet lagom) with pride. It is quite amusing how different the culture is. But as with all countries, globalism will eat every culture and strip it of identity and replace it with the strive towards owning a jet plane.