What I’ve noticed as I read about American expats (I follow several) is that in most cases they are self employed writers or artists or other creative. I work for a global tech company so I could probably continue working remotely overseas but I imagine it would be very difficult to find the same job on my own even with the appropriate work permits.
If you want to live overseas, working for a global tech company puts you in a terrific position. Getting them to transfer you is the easiest route, especially with a cushy relocation package.
There are a few inaccuracies here. Mainly that Swedes are unreasonably lucky to live down south with their long hot summers. And secondly, Swedes chat! They are all talk and no action. They can’t stop running their mouths, but ask them to take responsibility, ‘just get on with it’ or simply say what they think, you’re out of luck.
Regards, a Finn living in Stockholm.
P.s. Swedish health care is very good, look up the numbers. Over 10% of the population has foreign background*, and we only spend half as much as the US, and health outcomes are much better.
* that’s a little gem for our American friends, I’ll let you yanks unpack it ;)
Let me add a couple of observations to this very good report from Laura. I'm an American who lived in Sweden for over ten years, worked for the Swedish state, and speaks Swedish fluently. I started out really liking it there, in part because I think I was in love with the _idea_ of Sweden (as are so many Americans): free health care, free education, free access to nature, low crime rates, etc. But after several years, it started to lose its shine for me. I worked in the education sector, and I saw that the level of quality there was not nearly what it could be; I also saw that the quality of healthcare was actually not very good--though when it's free, it's hard to complain.
Also (and here I disagree slightly with what Laura says) things are EXPENSIVE in Sweden: housing is crazy, owning a car costs a lot, public transportation is terribly expensive, food is very costly, and the cost of eating out is just nuts—especially alcohol. If you are comparing prices there to the US at the present moment, it may seem reasonable, but you should realize that other parts of Europe are much cheaper. And salaries in Sweden are not high at all, so people who are not employed as bank executives have to be quite frugal.
But the thing that caused me to leave Sweden (it wasn't the climate, though of course that is a massive disadvantage, and decisive for many) was the culture. Laura describes this accurately, in my view: people do not want or need you. It is extremely difficult to find Swedish friends, and once you do, they will generally not treat you the way you might want friends to treat you. For example, I actually had lots of friends in Sweden, most of whom were very happy to see me two or three times a year. And then, they usually didn't want to talk about personal topics. In other words, acquaintances are common, but real friends are extremely rare. I found that having few good friends during the long, dark winters was a depressing experience.
That said, I still love many things about Sweden (I talk about them sometimes in my own Substack). It's a real love-hate relationship, but isn't that the case any time you've lived in a country for ten years or more?
Thank you for this thoughtful response. It’s helpful to anyone thinking about a move (or reflecting back on one) to have a diverse perspective from our community of non-natives. (The survey is in your DMs if you’d like to take it.)
I’m really curious to know what it feels like on the ground in Sweden at the moment. Yesterday I perused “In Case of Crisis or War,” the updated emergency preparedness pamphlet put out by the Swedish government last week. I’m an American who has lived in Amsterdam for the past nine years, and even here, war feels a bit uncomfortably close, but it’s not being talked about much. Are people talking about it there? What’s the feeling like on the streets? And are Americans thinking of moving to Europe thinking about this too?
I'm actually planning to write about this. But let me say this: The fact that we got the pamphlet at all (and the fact that it is so much thicker than last time, in 2018) is a little nerve-wracking. But if Putin is sane, it's hard to see what he would gain from invading here. Sweden doesn't align with any irredentist dream of his. It was never Russian. And if he is not sane, then nowhere is safe. So, sure, we'll stock up on batteries and buy water and then we'll go about our lives.
Thanks for this comment. A sibling anf partner are planning to retire to Malta. They are there now as a trial. I think there is going to be Big War but I kept my little mouth shut about that since it's not my area of expertise. Otherwise I would have told them to stay in Canada. I am interested to read the replies here.
If I could tag in the comments, I’d tag a few Scandinavian dwellers (who also did the survey): @ Laura Skov, Ariana Hendrix and Lisa Bolin—are people openly worried about a Russian invasion?
I lived in Stockholm, Sweden for two years, but it wasn’t for me. I couldn’t handle the long dark winters. The summers, as brief as they were, were lovely. Socializing in Sweden is also not all that easy. But it sounds like Laura has made a good life for herself there.
Great read!
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Laura did a bang-up job. She has a great perspective on her life and choices.
What I’ve noticed as I read about American expats (I follow several) is that in most cases they are self employed writers or artists or other creative. I work for a global tech company so I could probably continue working remotely overseas but I imagine it would be very difficult to find the same job on my own even with the appropriate work permits.
If you want to live overseas, working for a global tech company puts you in a terrific position. Getting them to transfer you is the easiest route, especially with a cushy relocation package.
There are a few inaccuracies here. Mainly that Swedes are unreasonably lucky to live down south with their long hot summers. And secondly, Swedes chat! They are all talk and no action. They can’t stop running their mouths, but ask them to take responsibility, ‘just get on with it’ or simply say what they think, you’re out of luck.
Regards, a Finn living in Stockholm.
P.s. Swedish health care is very good, look up the numbers. Over 10% of the population has foreign background*, and we only spend half as much as the US, and health outcomes are much better.
* that’s a little gem for our American friends, I’ll let you yanks unpack it ;)
Let me add a couple of observations to this very good report from Laura. I'm an American who lived in Sweden for over ten years, worked for the Swedish state, and speaks Swedish fluently. I started out really liking it there, in part because I think I was in love with the _idea_ of Sweden (as are so many Americans): free health care, free education, free access to nature, low crime rates, etc. But after several years, it started to lose its shine for me. I worked in the education sector, and I saw that the level of quality there was not nearly what it could be; I also saw that the quality of healthcare was actually not very good--though when it's free, it's hard to complain.
Also (and here I disagree slightly with what Laura says) things are EXPENSIVE in Sweden: housing is crazy, owning a car costs a lot, public transportation is terribly expensive, food is very costly, and the cost of eating out is just nuts—especially alcohol. If you are comparing prices there to the US at the present moment, it may seem reasonable, but you should realize that other parts of Europe are much cheaper. And salaries in Sweden are not high at all, so people who are not employed as bank executives have to be quite frugal.
But the thing that caused me to leave Sweden (it wasn't the climate, though of course that is a massive disadvantage, and decisive for many) was the culture. Laura describes this accurately, in my view: people do not want or need you. It is extremely difficult to find Swedish friends, and once you do, they will generally not treat you the way you might want friends to treat you. For example, I actually had lots of friends in Sweden, most of whom were very happy to see me two or three times a year. And then, they usually didn't want to talk about personal topics. In other words, acquaintances are common, but real friends are extremely rare. I found that having few good friends during the long, dark winters was a depressing experience.
That said, I still love many things about Sweden (I talk about them sometimes in my own Substack). It's a real love-hate relationship, but isn't that the case any time you've lived in a country for ten years or more?
Thank you for this thoughtful response. It’s helpful to anyone thinking about a move (or reflecting back on one) to have a diverse perspective from our community of non-natives. (The survey is in your DMs if you’d like to take it.)
I’m really curious to know what it feels like on the ground in Sweden at the moment. Yesterday I perused “In Case of Crisis or War,” the updated emergency preparedness pamphlet put out by the Swedish government last week. I’m an American who has lived in Amsterdam for the past nine years, and even here, war feels a bit uncomfortably close, but it’s not being talked about much. Are people talking about it there? What’s the feeling like on the streets? And are Americans thinking of moving to Europe thinking about this too?
I'm actually planning to write about this. But let me say this: The fact that we got the pamphlet at all (and the fact that it is so much thicker than last time, in 2018) is a little nerve-wracking. But if Putin is sane, it's hard to see what he would gain from invading here. Sweden doesn't align with any irredentist dream of his. It was never Russian. And if he is not sane, then nowhere is safe. So, sure, we'll stock up on batteries and buy water and then we'll go about our lives.
Thanks for this comment. A sibling anf partner are planning to retire to Malta. They are there now as a trial. I think there is going to be Big War but I kept my little mouth shut about that since it's not my area of expertise. Otherwise I would have told them to stay in Canada. I am interested to read the replies here.
If I could tag in the comments, I’d tag a few Scandinavian dwellers (who also did the survey): @ Laura Skov, Ariana Hendrix and Lisa Bolin—are people openly worried about a Russian invasion?
I lived in Stockholm, Sweden for two years, but it wasn’t for me. I couldn’t handle the long dark winters. The summers, as brief as they were, were lovely. Socializing in Sweden is also not all that easy. But it sounds like Laura has made a good life for herself there.
Fit is an alchemy: you can’t force it or fake it. What’s right for one is less right for others.