I emigrated to Sweden AMA

[FatCatThinCat]

For @SquirrelFan and anyone else with an interest in my very boring life.

What do they think of Norwegians and their independence from Sweden?

What about uni? Do lots of kids go? Do they live away or stay at home?

What about pensioners? Care of the elderly? Do people sell their homes to pay for care? I assume inheritance tax is high?

What age do kids walk to school alone?

Nothing to ask but this is so interesting!
I'm a bit obsessed with cold northern places (am in southern Europe ) and DD and I are planning a Scandinavian journey!
Thanks OP!

I’m really enjoying this thread.

Op, I moved to Norway 6 years ago and it’s very, very similar to Sweden. Although Norway has a more small village feel to it which has its advantages and drawbacks.

Me and DH went to Sweden in 2017 and both loved it.

We spent a couple of weeks in Stockholm and was very impressed with the public transport. The buses actually run on time but then there is so much less traffic than here. We also thought it was pretty cheap.

We found food to be expensive. A cauliflower was £4. We found most foods much more expensive than the UK even things like bread. Eating out was ridiculously expensive even as vegetarians so we ended up cooking almost all of our meals

We also could not get over how expensive the museums are especially as most London ones are free.

I was very surprised by the amount of homeless in Stockholm. It was even worse than London and lots of them were obviously drunk.

We then drove up to Orrviken and spent a couple of weeks there. We did the drive up in 2 days stopping off at various points. Could not believe how empty the roads were.

I absolutely loved the fact that it was so light but I would never cope with the winters. I absolutely loathe the dark mornings and afternoon/evenings here. I would love it to be permanently light

@moresugarpls Can I ask my same question to you too? But about Norway instead of Sweden?

Is it true that a lot of companies/businesses use English as their working language, so an English-speaker can work there easily with speaking excellent Norwegian?

As a vegetarian, how will I get on if I visit Sweden?

Any hidden gems I should see in Stockholm?

@moresugarpls - fancy an AMA for Norway? I'm nosy!

@meatpiewoman they are really health conscious there. You'll have no issues

Is Sweden on the green list these days?

Thanks for the interesting thread, OP!

I've holidayed in Sweden and loved it. Whenever DH and I discuss emigrating, Sweden is certainly in our top 5. We're both German and learning Swedish doesn't look too difficult. I do worry about certain cultural differences though.

How do you feel about tax returns being accessible to anyone who fancies having a nosy? It seems like a huge invasion of privacy and would probably really bother me. Do Swedes really not mind?

I’ve also often heard that culturally, Sweden places a lot of emphasis on conformity and fitting in (even more so than Germany) and that individuality is not usually prized. Is this true in your experience? I love how the UK (unlike so many other modern societies) seems to still champion individualism and quirkiness and wonder if Sweden would be quite the culture shock in that respect.

@wizzywig I've looked this up tonight. Sweden is on the Amber list. Denmark is green. Sweden isn't letting Brits in at the moment, Denmark is if double vaxxed.

We've just booked a week in Denmark for November, hoping that things have changed and we (or at least Swedish DP) will be able to nip across the border to give his Mum a cuddle.

Some sources seem to suggest that to go into Sweden from Denmark is fine with no travel history requested, but that seems mad compared to UK travel regs so not getting our hopes up.

How does Sweden differ from Norway, culturally?

You've got me wanting to emigrate too!
Im in oz so won't happen but is immigration easy to do?

Really interesting, thanks OP.

This has been really interesting OP, thank you.

I wish I’d known all this and moved there when the children were younger - I love the sound of less pressure re schooling and exams (DD has GCSEs this year and is quite stressed).

@MeatPieWoman

As a vegetarian, how will I get on if I visit Sweden?

Any hidden gems I should see in Stockholm?

Me and DH are vegetarian and we had no problems at all. There are a couple of veggie restaurants in Stockholm and most restaurants seemed to cater.

The main problem we found was the cost of food. Eating out was ridiculously expensive and even self catering cost a fortune. As I said, in 2017 a cauliflower was £4

Do you know (or maybe someone else does!) what the immigration restrictions are like, especially after Brexit, for Brits? Can we move, buy and own a house, work without a visa, open a bank account?

@fuzzymoomin

Is it true that a lot of companies/businesses use English as their working language, so an English-speaker can work there easily with speaking excellent Swedish?

Yez but they seem to do most of their recruiting from abroad. It's quite hard to find a job like this inside Sweden.

@felulageller

What do they think of Norwegians and their independence from Sweden?

What about uni? Do lots of kids go? Do they live away or stay at home?

What about pensioners? Care of the elderly? Do people sell their homes to pay for care? I assume inheritance tax is high?

What age do kids walk to school alone?

I don't know much about Swedish and Norwegian relations. They do seem to think the Danes are all crackers, probably because they tend to be the more exuberant nordic nation.

Lots go away to university. Lots of kids also go away to college at 16. Uni students normally have their own student flat in halls for the duration of their studies and they're good quality. Students don't have to slum it here.

I don't know much about elderly care. I know they had similar issues to th UK with covid. You see a lot more frail elderly people out and about here which I think is partly down to the outdoor way of life and partly because of that fierce sense of independence I mentioned earlier.

I don't believe inheritance tax exists in Sweden. But I may be wrong.

Where I live most kids get dropped off and picked up until the end of primary. This is because most parents work so kids get dropped off and picked up at very different times.

@MeatPieWoman

As a vegetarian, how will I get on if I visit Sweden?

Any hidden gems I should see in Stockholm?

Supermarkets are pretty good. You get a massive selection of pulses and nuts and seeds. Not sure about restaurants though. They don't have massive menus like the UK. It would be unusual for a menu to just be 3 of 4 choices here and I've not noticed vegetarian being one of them.

I've never been to Stockholm so I've no idea. All that I've heard rumours that there is a British fish and chip shop.

@wizzywig

Is Sweden on the green list these days?

Don't know, but travellers from the UK are still banned.

No question but I love Sweden and I'm very jealous.

@PurbeckStone

Thanks for the interesting thread, OP!

I've holidayed in Sweden and loved it. Whenever DH and I discuss emigrating, Sweden is certainly in our top 5. We're both German and learning Swedish doesn't look too difficult. I do worry about certain cultural differences though.

How do you feel about tax returns being accessible to anyone who fancies having a nosy? It seems like a huge invasion of privacy and would probably really bother me. Do Swedes really not mind?

I’ve also often heard that culturally, Sweden places a lot of emphasis on conformity and fitting in (even more so than Germany) and that individuality is not usually prized. Is this true in your experience? I love how the UK (unlike so many other modern societies) seems to still champion individualism and quirkiness and wonder if Sweden would be quite the culture shock in that respect.

They really don't mind tax info being public. Our neighbour wasn't the least bit embarrassed when he mentioned DH's salary, ie he'd looked it up. But the world is changing and I think swedes are waking up to the fact that information is power.

Yes Swedes are very conformist. But this is definitely changing. Young people, the internet and immigrants are driving factors.

[quote ImInStealthMode]@wizzywig I've looked this up tonight. Sweden is on the Amber list. Denmark is green. Sweden isn't letting Brits in at the moment, Denmark is if double vaxxed.

We've just booked a week in Denmark for November, hoping that things have changed and we (or at least Swedish DP) will be able to nip across the border to give his Mum a cuddle.

Some sources seem to suggest that to go into Sweden from Denmark is fine with no travel history requested, but that seems mad compared to UK travel regs so not getting our hopes up. [/quote]
It is mad but that's how lots of people are circumnavigating the restricts. Fly to Denmark then catch a train to Sweden.

@AreYouReally

How does Sweden differ from Norway, culturally?

Don't know as I've not been to Norway. Sweden is a very popular holiday destination for Norwegians.