This might be the most shocking part of moving to Sweden.
When you might have met Swedes abroad of they have have moved to your city and your thinking ummm I wonder how Sweden would be to live. You have to understand Swedes behave different when abroad. Ok I will get a few basics you need to know, otherwise you will be considered the weird foreigner.
1) 'hej hej!' Learn it, practice it, you will be saying this allot. This is all that is required when you accidentally bump into your neighbour. No how you doing? come in for a cup of tea? and most certainly do not introduce yourself omg, they will call the police on your ass.
2) Most Swedes do not even think about being social, unless they are drunk. Yes you read correctly. Without alcohol they are going to be shy, cold, empty, etc etc etc and many other stereo types you have heard about Swedish people.
3) Summer time Stockholm is ghost town. The Swedes will ALL take their vacations in the summer, which means the majority of people walking around in Stockholm are tourists thinking ooooh isnt it calm and beautiful here? Yes! people nobody is there! They are all in their summer houses.
4) Closed and shallow. Yes the Swedes are very closed people, you cannot ask for someone elses number for example as in Sweden when another local knows their telephone number you can find out where they live, how much they earn, how many pets they have, how many houses they own, what car they drive what their income is ect ect. Yes you read correctly, there is NO privacy in Sweden, in fact its in the countries constitution NOT to be allowed privacy. You can understand how spotify came from Sweden now? They first started copying and making publicly available what people need to pay, then they got shut down and they came up with the charge per month idea and rest is history.
Anyhow, the result in this no privacy law makes everyone closed and scared to socialise.
5) Women. The Swedish women can appear to the outside world as extremely flirtatious, inviting in fact. You will no doubt at some stage if your a man get talking to a woman and get the impression this woman is highly into you and its time to make a move on her. Well sorry guys think again. Swedish women are naturally flirtatious but it doesnt mean they want you. Its just the way Swedish women are. This i have heard from many people is the biggest misconception.
6) Thinking of finding someone in Sweden and settling down? Think again. Its not uncommon for people to be 3 to 5 years single. Why? Sweden has even a word for being together without marrying due to the lowest marriage rates in Europe. In Sweden, even if your not married, if a woman lives with you and you break up your relation after a year or so, she is entitled by law to 50% of your home. YES even if your not even married! How about that for being different? So again you can understand why people are even more careful who they allow into their lives.
7) Feminism isnt a concept here its the strongest here than anywhere else in the world. The government is mostly women, leaders and influences are mostly women. Most companies have at least 50% women and often more in the workforce.
8) Fika is important. Sweden takes pride in taking breaks at work and places an emphasis on family and work life balance. The most highest taxes in Europe reflect this.
9) Learn Swedish. Without being able to speak Swedish, there will only be so far you can socialise, even when surrounded by drunken Swedes
10) Take care of your appearance. There is no other place in the world that places such a high importance on their appearance more than Sweden. Go to the gym, eat healthy, talk clean and be a good upstanding citizen, you will be judged heavily on how you behave here, its a small city and people talk.(even more when they drunk)
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Finding a home
Well your thinking of moving to Sweden? Well one thing you should consider is where to live. Whether your buying or renting its all very different from the UK where im from.
First I will discuss the rental market then discuss buying a place, ending with an idea on where to live.
RENTING:
If your moving to Stockholm you will need to find a rental contract. This will be difficult because you will have on any given day of the week 20 to 1000 people also looking for a place to rent.
You have to forget whatever rules or logic you think you need when looking for a place and understand the basics.
1) You will need to beg for your apartment.
YES you read correctly, unless you get lucky and rent from another expat who thinks like you, if they are Swedish they most likely think like a local and this is the interesting part. You must sell yourself, it is a renters market. You and 100 people are all interested in the same apartment. So sell yourself well, this means tell them why they need to pick you? And if you meet them you better treat it like a date, dress up well, look clean and be polite. finding a place to rent is like finding a date. (But dating is even more weird! We will get to that in another post).
2)Its not uncommon for the landlord to ask for more deposit than the rent. Like I mentioned is a sellers market, as a renter your begging for a place to stay.
3) Prices. Be prepared to pay between 10,000 SEK and 16,000 SEK for a simple humble studio or 1 bedroom apartment. for this money you will most likely have your bed, kitchen, sofa (if it can fit one) and total living space in one room. So student living basically. You can also rent cheaper but then your competing with students to do a flat share and again will be around 7,000 SEK a month.
So yes an average of 16,000SEK (or €15,000) a month will give you the opportunity to live like a student. Welcome to Sweden!
4) ALWAYS sign a contract and make sure you read and understand the terms clearly before signing.
5) Without a social security number you might as well be a bin laden twin and be waving an ak47 when you meet the landlord. NO WAY will they rent to you, you have the plague and ebola without a social security number so get that sorted BEFORE looking, otherwise no contract, and thus no apartment.
BUYING:
Same rules apply, you are begging to buy also. Its a sellers market. You will be competing with maybe 5 to 50 buyers who all want to buy the apartment just like you do. You will always go into a bidding war, so whatever price you see advertised is not the price you will be asked to pay in the end.
on a good day expect to pay 20% over the asking price, on a bad day expect 60-100% more.
It happens FAST, so do have your finances in place otherwise you will be wasting everyones time.
WHICH AREA?
Stockholm is the most highly segregated city I have ever experienced in the world. I mean really different. People will judge you immediately on where you live.
Stockholm is divided up into several areas, there are Ostermalm, Sodermalm, Kungsholmen, Gamla Stan, Vasastan, City and then everywhere else.
Ok I will give you the low down on each of these areas.
Ostermalm:
This is the apparently posh area, prices here are the highest in Stockholm and you will have to sell your liver just to afford a small tiney 20sqm apartment. All the apartments are very old victorian style french looking buildings. This is where all the embassies are located and celebrities ect ect you get the impression? But this is also where allot of plastic surgeons are based and where dog ownership is high so you will find allot of poop on the footpaths and rats running around. Most women have fake boob implants and fake lips, but yet the locals find this area posh. Its odd. You have to book everything in advance here and all the restaurants are pretty pricey. For some reason its cool to hang out at hotel bars and cafes spending €6 for a little scoop of ice cream.
Sodermalm:
This is the working class and hipster area. Very chilled and all fashipn types are here. You can wear your hoody without getting a second look, in fact you can be a goth, swinging the rapper look, hippy, casual any look fits in well here, except a suit, then you look like your lost.
Kungsholmen:
Here is more the modern day working class peoples area, you have allot of nice local cafes and bars and you will see its a less pricey area than the rest but yet only 15 minutes walk away from Ostermalm, go figure, like I mentioned its highly segregated. You will find the same beautiful buildings in Kungsholmen than in Ostermalm but mixed with allot of buildings without character. Some nice parks here and areas for children to play. Overall Kungsholmen has it all really.
Gamla stan:
Prices here are similar if not more than Ostermalm. Its where the Royal family have their palace and its the old town. Very high tourist area. Its where ALL of the tourist shops are, I have been to the same shop 5 times and they still ask me where im from. Yes allot of tourists visit this area so they dont bother remember you. Houses are very insta friendly and some interesting small footpaths. It has the nobel museum and hosts a lovely christmas market during the season. 100 years ago you couldnt pay people to live here, now its seen as the old tourist district and its expensive. Downside is the walls in the apartments are VERY thick, which means getting any cell phone coverage means you might have to step outside to use your phone. Yes its that bad in some apartments.
Vasastan:
This area is actually more central along with the city areas. It boasts some of the most diverse population ethnically in the centre, there are even some fast food shops in arabic and has a wide range of people living here. So if your looking for a wide mix then Vasastan is for you.
City:
This is the area closest to the train station. You will probably see more taxis than anyone else, its going to be the dirtiest of all stockholm as the foot traffic is the highest and drug dealers and immigrants have been known to roam around and lounge. having no job but still driving expensive cars. I think you get the idea. Still has all the restaurants and hotels you would even need during your relocation.
BONUS INFO.
Parking in stockholm is like seeing a unicorn running past in your local forest. It could happen but....
Most likely wont. If you must insist on bringing your car to Stockholm, you will pay allot and not necessarily have a spot when you do decide to use your car. Unless you pay x5 or x10 for a more expensive indoor garage. Another tip, DO NOT say hello to your neighbour, they dont wanna know you its Sweden! :)
First I will discuss the rental market then discuss buying a place, ending with an idea on where to live.
RENTING:
If your moving to Stockholm you will need to find a rental contract. This will be difficult because you will have on any given day of the week 20 to 1000 people also looking for a place to rent.
You have to forget whatever rules or logic you think you need when looking for a place and understand the basics.
1) You will need to beg for your apartment.
YES you read correctly, unless you get lucky and rent from another expat who thinks like you, if they are Swedish they most likely think like a local and this is the interesting part. You must sell yourself, it is a renters market. You and 100 people are all interested in the same apartment. So sell yourself well, this means tell them why they need to pick you? And if you meet them you better treat it like a date, dress up well, look clean and be polite. finding a place to rent is like finding a date. (But dating is even more weird! We will get to that in another post).
2)Its not uncommon for the landlord to ask for more deposit than the rent. Like I mentioned is a sellers market, as a renter your begging for a place to stay.
3) Prices. Be prepared to pay between 10,000 SEK and 16,000 SEK for a simple humble studio or 1 bedroom apartment. for this money you will most likely have your bed, kitchen, sofa (if it can fit one) and total living space in one room. So student living basically. You can also rent cheaper but then your competing with students to do a flat share and again will be around 7,000 SEK a month.
So yes an average of 16,000SEK (or €15,000) a month will give you the opportunity to live like a student. Welcome to Sweden!
4) ALWAYS sign a contract and make sure you read and understand the terms clearly before signing.
5) Without a social security number you might as well be a bin laden twin and be waving an ak47 when you meet the landlord. NO WAY will they rent to you, you have the plague and ebola without a social security number so get that sorted BEFORE looking, otherwise no contract, and thus no apartment.
BUYING:
Same rules apply, you are begging to buy also. Its a sellers market. You will be competing with maybe 5 to 50 buyers who all want to buy the apartment just like you do. You will always go into a bidding war, so whatever price you see advertised is not the price you will be asked to pay in the end.
on a good day expect to pay 20% over the asking price, on a bad day expect 60-100% more.
It happens FAST, so do have your finances in place otherwise you will be wasting everyones time.
WHICH AREA?
Stockholm is the most highly segregated city I have ever experienced in the world. I mean really different. People will judge you immediately on where you live.
Stockholm is divided up into several areas, there are Ostermalm, Sodermalm, Kungsholmen, Gamla Stan, Vasastan, City and then everywhere else.
Ok I will give you the low down on each of these areas.
Ostermalm:
This is the apparently posh area, prices here are the highest in Stockholm and you will have to sell your liver just to afford a small tiney 20sqm apartment. All the apartments are very old victorian style french looking buildings. This is where all the embassies are located and celebrities ect ect you get the impression? But this is also where allot of plastic surgeons are based and where dog ownership is high so you will find allot of poop on the footpaths and rats running around. Most women have fake boob implants and fake lips, but yet the locals find this area posh. Its odd. You have to book everything in advance here and all the restaurants are pretty pricey. For some reason its cool to hang out at hotel bars and cafes spending €6 for a little scoop of ice cream.
Sodermalm:
This is the working class and hipster area. Very chilled and all fashipn types are here. You can wear your hoody without getting a second look, in fact you can be a goth, swinging the rapper look, hippy, casual any look fits in well here, except a suit, then you look like your lost.
Kungsholmen:
Here is more the modern day working class peoples area, you have allot of nice local cafes and bars and you will see its a less pricey area than the rest but yet only 15 minutes walk away from Ostermalm, go figure, like I mentioned its highly segregated. You will find the same beautiful buildings in Kungsholmen than in Ostermalm but mixed with allot of buildings without character. Some nice parks here and areas for children to play. Overall Kungsholmen has it all really.
Gamla stan:
Prices here are similar if not more than Ostermalm. Its where the Royal family have their palace and its the old town. Very high tourist area. Its where ALL of the tourist shops are, I have been to the same shop 5 times and they still ask me where im from. Yes allot of tourists visit this area so they dont bother remember you. Houses are very insta friendly and some interesting small footpaths. It has the nobel museum and hosts a lovely christmas market during the season. 100 years ago you couldnt pay people to live here, now its seen as the old tourist district and its expensive. Downside is the walls in the apartments are VERY thick, which means getting any cell phone coverage means you might have to step outside to use your phone. Yes its that bad in some apartments.
Vasastan:
This area is actually more central along with the city areas. It boasts some of the most diverse population ethnically in the centre, there are even some fast food shops in arabic and has a wide range of people living here. So if your looking for a wide mix then Vasastan is for you.
City:
This is the area closest to the train station. You will probably see more taxis than anyone else, its going to be the dirtiest of all stockholm as the foot traffic is the highest and drug dealers and immigrants have been known to roam around and lounge. having no job but still driving expensive cars. I think you get the idea. Still has all the restaurants and hotels you would even need during your relocation.
BONUS INFO.
Parking in stockholm is like seeing a unicorn running past in your local forest. It could happen but....
Most likely wont. If you must insist on bringing your car to Stockholm, you will pay allot and not necessarily have a spot when you do decide to use your car. Unless you pay x5 or x10 for a more expensive indoor garage. Another tip, DO NOT say hello to your neighbour, they dont wanna know you its Sweden! :)
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