Potential opportunity to work in Stockholm - any advice?

[justfindingmyway]

Hi all! I work for a company with a branch in Stockholm. Somebody has recently resigned and they’ve approached me to consider taking his role. I currently work in London, am 35, no kids and am single, so in terms of ‘ease’, it would be fairly simple to uproot.

After a previous relationship that really knocked the wind out of my sails, I find myself wondering about my future with both excitement and, if I’m honest, terror, as I don’t know where it will lead me.

I haven’t discussed any finer details with the company yet, such as living arrangements etc, and it may not become viable, but what I am looking for, is advice from someone who has done the same, or something similar?

My Swedish colleagues seem great, but I do not work with them day-to-day.

Part of me thinks maybe it’s what I could do with right now, but I also have trepidations as I understand it isn’t the easiest to make friends. I assume the same may be the case for meeting a romantic partner. And, when I visited, it seemed very safe and steady but perhaps not too exciting.

Any advice would be gratefully received, thanks :)

A lot of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is set in Södermalm.

We went through this process a couple of times, but it was more complicated with small children and me as a trailing spouse.

We did a year in the US, but turned down a move to Copenhagen as we couldn’t make the figures work - we would have been significantly worse off and we decided whilst it would be a nice place to live, that didn’t offset the finances. Quite a few people also turned down that move, I think HR finally realised they had to up the offer.

DH also did quite a lot of work in Norway, and loved the culture - leaving the office on time, doing lots of outdoors stuff. Hopefully Sweden has a similar outlook.

Yes, it's definitely great for a work-life balance. You work 9-5 generally and people are very active when they are not working. Cycling everywhere, swimming, hiking, climbing, canoeing, paddle boarding, skiing, ice skating etc. This is what I love the most about living in central Stockholm, it's so versitile and it mostly feels like a small town, but one that has everything you need and more.

Do it! And if you stay long enough…EU citizenship here you come 🥳 🇸🇪 🇪🇺

I live in the Netherlands, FWIW, and have done for the past 9 years. Culturally it bears a lot of similarities to the Nordics. Amazing infrastructure, decent healthcare, lots of opportunities generally and a good quality of life overall. You will definitely notice the difference compared to the U.K.

I recommend Östermalm as a great place to live. Lots of other ex pats from all over there - makes for a great cosmopolitan atmosphere. There’s no pub culture as such, more of a drinking one! but plenty of after- works at most businesses, as well as meet ups for running at lunch times, that should help you to settle in and get to know Stockholm quickly. I personally don’t like Uppsala or Västerås so much. As Pp say, public transport is excellent. Apart from cheapish lunch places, eating out at a good restaurant is more expensive, as is a visit to the hairdresser! I’ve found clothes and cosmetics to be similarly priced to UK. Go for it, it’s a great experience!

Thanks for the advice, all 😄 MN coming through for me again!! This is all useful to know for my decision making, if the offer becomes tangible 😄

I'm also a Swede but living in the UK (here for 30 years). I also say go for it. The positives in work culture is that you will get a lot of benefit like subsidised lunches, most big companies have their own gyms or cooperation with a gym nearby so healthcare through work is very common, may even be law. Otherwise work culture can be a bit non committal as in no one wants to make decisions so you'll have to get used to lots of meetings about small things😀

You have regular coffee and cake breaks (fika) morning and afternoon. Lunch is also usually a social affair where you go outside the office together and eat proper lunch at a nearby cafe or restaurant. AW is a funny swenglish term meaning After Work where you go out for a drink after work, usually on a Friday. Sometimes just adhoc but some companies organise and pay for it.

For driving, insurance is done on the car rather than the owner so it's easy to borrow a friends car for instance. Tricky very tricky to park in the centre of Stockholm and even the near suburbs these days. You can pay for monthly parking spaces, which can be a bit expensive. May be another perk of your company though.

Finding friends can be tricky as you say but as others have said, lots of expats in Stockholm and lots of things going on at least in the summer.

I also say go for it!

Hiya, thank you for your reply, it’s appreciated. Ahh, cool! I hope you are enjoying the UK. One thing that sounds really cool is the outdoor lifestyle you have in Sweden, so experiencing that would be cool. I can’t say the winter would be good for me though, I have had a rough few years and my mental health has taken a hammering. I’ve heard the summer in Sweden is wonderful and you have your midsommer celebrations soon? Please excuse my spelling! I have also been advised about Lagom from my colleague

Absolutely do it!!!