anyone have a dc going to study in Sweden, or has any experience of this?

[ssd]

dc is going for a term in Sept to study in Stockholm

has anyone experience of this with their dc's?

any advice at all would be welcome, eg. prices, good places to shop, travelling by public transport

also any advice about how to pay for stuff? not meaning to be silly, but she has a debit card from her bank here which I read is expensive to use aboard, but now sure what else to suggest, she is only there 4 months so it may not be worth trying to open a bank account there?..have read its a very cashless society, she doesn't have a credit card and I think a debit card would be easier to keep track of spending.

[ssd]

bump

[banivani]

Placemarking - might be able to give some Sweden info tomorrow :)

[Au79]

Don’t forget charity shops for winter clothing.

[MimpiDreams]

Get it delivered to her Swedish address.

www.kjell.com/se/sok?query=router

[MongerTruffle]

She will struggle to open a bank account, get a phone contract etc if she doesn't have a personnummer. The problem is that to get one as a student, you have to prove that you will study in Sweden for at least twelve months.
www.skatteverket.se/servicelankar/otherlanguages/inenglish/individualsandemployees/movingtosweden/citizenofeueeacountry/youarestudying/youaremovingbyyourself.4.3810a01c150939e893f4157.html

I've posted about the router on your other thread.

[cortex10]

Is Handelsbanken Bank an option? Swedish bank that has UK branches.

[banivani]

Right, I'm back. :)

Now, I don't know how old your child is of course, but I think that in general you seem to be a bit of a worrier - I mean that in all kindness. I think things will sort themselves out quite promptly once he/she arrives. When you stay in student accomodation there are a lot of other people around that can help and give tips and pointers. Who knows, there might be a left-over network cable in the room. In any case, those are easy to buy and I'm sure your child will know what to get. :)

Without knowing the exact adress of the student housing it's hard to give tips on shops etc. I'm assuming that your child will buy an SL-card to get around, and if s/he's thrifty enough can always travel a bit to shop at a Lidl or so. I don't know if I think Sweden is that expensive for food - it's def more expensive to eat out, but there might be special student places that are cheaper.

As for bank accounts, I think it would be smart to make sure there's a Visa or Mastercard connected to your UK account. It's not impossible to get a bank account when a foreigner. You had some tips, I'll add a direct link with more links to info from banks at the bottom:

www.su.se/english/education/student-life/banking-information-1.144438

Winter can be very cold, but can also be mild - bit harder to advise there. Generally speaking though our houses are warm and dry and we use our central heating ;) so indoors will be ok. Shoes might be a problem, if it snows you need good stuff - but at the same time all youngsters slip around in Converses all winter so whatever. Not a bad idea to have some thermals available, that said Uniqlo are opening in Stockholm in the autumn so shopping can be done there if you like the stuff.

I'd prioritise access to money. Everything else will sort itself out once here!

[ssd]

thanks so much for all replies!

and yes, I am a worrier, very true!

the router thing I think I will leave for her to sort out herself.

she has opened a monzo account herself so thats good

shes going to Stockholm uni for one semester

[banivani]

Is she worried at all or is it just you?;) Because her worries and yours might not be the same - if she has any questions we could always try to answer them. Stockholm's uni has a campus, but I don't know if all teaching is done there at all (didn't go and don't live there but not far away). Housing is spread out for sure so she might not be on campus all the time.

Found a forum where exchange students chat, maybe that could be helpful? www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=116

[PhilODox]

I doubt she'll need her own router!
I don't know about Sweden per se, but in university accommodation (without WiFi) there's usually an outlet in the room- she will need an ethernet cable (try and get a longish on, in case the socket is down the back of a wardrobe or something) to connect her laptop/pc to. Ethernet is an international standard, I'm fairly sure, so any cable bought here will work there.
There's a 'living overseas' board too, where Sweden-dwelling MNers might be able to confirm.
I hope she has a wonderful time- a very exciting opportunity for her!

[ssd]

I'm the worrier!!

thanks for the link and I'd forgotten the overseas boards here!!

[ssd]

the uni accommodation says she's need either a router or a network cable to access wifi