As I am sat writing this article I am officially celebrating one year of living in Sweden. Can you believe it? And although I do miss home, there are so many things about life in Sweden that I absolutely love. The Swedish lifestyle is definitely very different to that of Australia, and the way people see life too. Although, I don’t want to sugar coat it. There are so many things about living as an expat in Sweden that are incredibly difficult – some of them worth it, some not so much! I have tried to keep this post quite balanced but more than likely the good will outweigh the bad! So, let’s get started shall we!
Taking a “fika”
Fika is so much more than just an afternoon coffee and cake. Fika to Swede’s is that moment in the morning or afternoon when you can sit back and take a breather with friends or colleagues. It is an opportunity to step back from work or studying and just be in the moment. To me, fika is so much more than this even. It epitomises how well the Swedish lifestyle seems to have grasped the idea of a work life balance. It is one of my favourite things about living and working in Sweden.
And let’s not forget the cakes! The traditional Swedish pastries are something I am definitely not accustomed to as and English/ Australian expat living in Sweden. Chocolate balls (chokladbullar), cinnamon buns (kanelbullar) and raspberry jam buns (hallongrottor) are some of the more common Swedish desserts known around the world. But it is a wonder some of these other delicious treats aren’t also more popular globally! Lussebullar are a type of saffron bun only served at Christmas. Semlor are a type of sweet bread with almond and cream inside. And the best for last – dammsugare (literal translation is “vacuum cleaner”) and an arak soft biscuit covered in bright green marzipan and dipped in chocolate. I could go on forever about mazarins, toscakakor, vaniljhjärtor and kärleksmums. But it’s probably good I leave some for you to try when you move to Sweden!
Summer is the most important time of the year
Moving to Sweden, I had heard that most Swedes take 2 – 6 weeks off over the summer for their annual holiday. However, I did not realise the scale of it. The majority of businesses are closed or work with a skeleton staff throughout July and August. This when the staff take off abroad off to their summer houses for the season. This comes down again to the work life balance of the Swedish lifestyle. It is almost expected that you will take time off over the summer. Usually this is to travel or spend time with your family and friends while the warm weather lasts. Having spent a winter here and realising how long they actually are, I am completely with them on this one.
Summer in Sweden is also the most beautiful time of the year. It is the best time to get out and explore all the islands with the days starting around 4am and ending at 11 in the south. The nature here in Sweden in the summer is unbelievably beautiful. It makes the perfect time for sailing, hiking and just being outdoors. Which brings me to the next point.
Swedes spend more time in nature
In Sweden they call it “Friluftsliv” which translates to outdoor life, or free air life, or open air living depending how you split the word up. No matter whether its summer or winter, the Swedes love to be out enjoying nature. Friluftsliv can refer to any time of outdoor activity including hiking, cycling, skiing, swimming in a lake and taking a sauna with friends. Prioritising time outdoors is one of the best things about the Swedish lifestyle. Living in Sweden this last year as an expat I can definitely say that my priorities have shifted this way too. We now spend almost every free weekend out on the islands on the West Coast, picking mushrooms in the forest or hiking through meadows.
The winter here is much longer than they tell you
Everyone says winter in Sweden will be long and dark and difficult to get through. But what they don’t tell you is exactly how long it will last. When november came and we hadn’t seen the sun in 6 weeks all I was hearing was “just wait until January”. This made me hopeful that even if it was still cold we would at least be able to spend some time outdoors in the few hours we had daylight. But January came and went and there we were still surrounded by mounds of snow in the middle of March.
Luckily, as I said before, friluftsliv is a big part of the Swedish lifestyle, and the more cold dark days, the more snow we had. This meant we were able to go skiing almost every weekend throughout the winter. Sometimes this meant driving up to Sälen or taking the train to Umea. Sometimes it was as simple as taking our skis down to the local tracks 5 minutes from our house!
Swedish bureaucracy makes life as an expat in Sweden VERY difficult
I say difficult, but I more mean frustrating, time consuming and sometimes completely useless. Whether you are applying for a visa, signing up for national health insurance, trying to open a bank account, or even just sign up to the local supermarkets members program, there will likely be many many phone calls to different people who will all tell you complete different answers. The problem is not only that, but also that most websites only have limited information in any language other than Swedish. No matter how simple it seems, everything ends up being a process for an expat living in Sweden. It’s my biggest frustration about living here, but something that will always be worth putting up with in the end.
Making friends as an expat in Sweden is not as easy as you would think
Swede’s are known to be quite reserved and happy in their friend groups which can make it quite difficult to make friends when you move. I am lucky here to have met quite a few people through the blogging and instagram world. However, making friends with the locals here can be DIFFICULT. The majority of friends I have made are mostly internationals in the same situation. Those Swedish friends I do have mostly come through my Swedish partner’s friend group. Unless you are working or studying, it can be hard to meet people out of nowhere.
I recommend joining some Facebook groups for expats in Sweden, or even your own nationality. I have met many people through both the Brits in Sweden and Australians in Sweden Facebook Groups, as well as Gothenburg Girls Gone International, expat in Sweden and Gothenburg, and a Gothenburg photography group. Facebook is a great way to reach out to those in the same situation as you. You will often find most other expats living in Sweden will be more than happy to meet up!
Finding work in Sweden is hard without professional experience or the Swedish language
Moving to Sweden, I had just finished my Bachelors in Visual Communication and a Graduate Certificate in Digital Marketing. With these qualifications back home in Australia, I was set to find a great job and start to settle down. Moving to Sweden, it has been rejection email after rejection email stating I have too little professional experience, all their clients are Swedish so I need to be fluent in the language, or simply that they have hired another candidate. Something I have heard many times here is that jobs in Sweden are often filled before they are posted. Here it can be much more about who you know rather than what you can do. Most jobs are filled by people in the network. This means that is is much better to reach out to a company you are interested in working with rather than applying for job postings.
I was lucky to have found a job I really like in the hospitality industry. My job is one that requires only a basic level of Swedish. I am actually very happy to have this job as it gives me the opportunity to interact with so many people every day and really work on my language before I start studying again and thinking about a more professional job. It is definitely not what I thought I would be doing here. However, when you change your perspective and begin to see all the positive things you can get out of any experience, it really feels like the best thing to be doing right now.
Not all Swede’s love to speak English
It’s a bit of a rumour that all Swede’s have perfect English and love to speak it. Living here you start to realise it is a very different story. Sure, many people do have perfect English, but so many people are just as nervous to speak it as I am to speak Swedish. This means that visiting, you can get away with only speaking English, but living here it becomes increasingly difficult.
My biggest insecurity being an expat living in Sweden this past year is not knowing the language. In this strange way, it has completely changed my social persona. Where I would usually happily chat to someone in a store or a stranger in a queue, I now find myself shying away. Almost too nervous and almost embarrassed that I can’t speak Swedish. It is something you don’t really think about, but it can be incredibly draining and personality crushing to be constantly surrounded by a language you do not understand.
Learning Swedish is one of the most important things you should do when moving here. Life in Sweden is much easier to navigate when you know the local language. I also think that it is important to respect the local culture this way, and an easier way to fit in and feel at home in the long run. SFI, the government run Swedish program for migrants, is a free and great way to get started with the language!
Travel here is DEFINITELY underrated
We have spent the majority of weekends throughout the last year travelling around the country. Being new here, I have been ecstatic to learn more about our local area, as well as that further out in Sweden. Living here, it is the perfect opportunity to discover the more unknown destinations in Sweden that you might otherwise not visit on a longer holiday. There is something magical about travelling in Sweden. I think mostly because it can be so hard to find information about the best places to go that when you get there you are usually the only people. Every destination feels like your own magical secret hideaway. The more we travel here, the longer my list of places to visit gets. I am even more excited to be spending the next few years living in beautiful Sweden.
This year in Sweden has been a rollercoaster of emotions. It has been a year of incredible memories exploring a new country, hard times struggling with visas and the language, and eye-opening to discover another culture in a way you only can from living in a new country.
- The Best Christmas Markets Near Gothenburg (2024)
- A Weekend in Falkenberg – The Best Things To Do
- The Best Boat Trips from Gothenburg
- The Best 3 Day Öland Itinerary
- The Perfect 2 Day Lund Itinerary
- 12 Weekend Trip Ideas for Southern Sweden
- The Best Day Trip to Brännö and Galterö Islands
- Spring and Summer: Allergy Season in Sweden
