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The TRUTH About Moving to Sweden: 4 Immigrants Share Their Tales

Three Star Vagabond

5,380 views

I talk a lot about Sweden in my videos, but my perspective is always from the inside as a Swede myself. Time to see what four immigrants have to say about Sweden instead!

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This is a collection of observations and tips from four different people who have lived in Sweden for several years. They all come from different parts of the world - Italy, Chile, Hungary, and the US - and they all have slightly different views on what the good and the bad things are about Sweden.

Topics covered in the video range from dealing with Swedish bureaucracy, especially with getting a Swedish personal number, to moving to Sweden with a pet, to the job situation in Sweden.

But a lot of other topics also popped up, such as Swedish weather, Swedish mentality, Swedish childcare, the Swedish language, and Swedish food. And also the housing situation in Stockholm, and whether or not Scandinavia really is a place where people are happy.

This is a mix of personal anecdotes, helpful hints, and different views of life in Sweden. If you're curious about life in Sweden, or if you're even thinking about moving to Sweden, then this is definitely the video for you!

20 Comments

@svartmetall48 4 months ago

I lived in Sweden for 8 years. My wife became Swedish while we were there. We enjoyed our time there, but we struggled due to the accommodation shortage, the weather and also the social avoidance of the Swedes. We did, however enjoy the infrastructure, the nature, the layout of the cities, the cleanliness, the safety and also the comparative lack of inequality. I also loved that I could trust the government, and genuinely felt they did care about society moreso than in many other countries. I miss many things about Sweden, but in the end accommodation and weather were the two things that made us leave.

@stenwillander5426 4 months ago (edited)

The Hungarian guy sounds more American/native English speaker than me (born & raised in US).
I’m very impressed.

@elainen8672 3 months ago

Min mormor var svensk and I guess I just understood that her personality was HOW SWEDES WERE! She loved us to pieces and was proud of us, but she definitely didn't act like my friends Italian grandmothers! The older I get the more Swedish I act and feel...and boy...I've been to Sweden twice and spent time with relatives-and they are so like my mormor!

@puppydogowl 4 months ago

One summer, my mother and I visited our home country. She had to take care of some paperwork at a government building, but the bureaucracy was terrible. We went from office to office, and everyone kept sending us to different floors—but they were all just passing the buck. As soon as we showed up at a new office, the staff would be confused about why we were there, claim someone was on a lunch break, or tell us we were in the wrong department. By the way I am from a Balkan country and only lived there a little bit as a kid before moving to America.

@belgar3652 3 months ago

great video :) been in sweden for 2 years and love it so much. Your videos are great help.

@Fizzgig1982 2 months ago

I’m an American-Swedish citizen fluent in the language and relocating solo for one year was crazy difficult for ME. My biggest issue was that I had to move 8 times that year in 2014 b/c there was like -15% housing availability in Stockholm. Back to 🇺🇸 now, but I love to visit 🇸🇪.
Swedish pet tips (NA for me): neighbors will report people if they leave dogs home alone for longer than 6 hours, and a modified dog seatbelt is required for all car transportation.

@rotemagmon 4 months ago

Thank you for the insightful video!

@vvp1002 4 months ago

Nice idea to interview expats about move and live in Sweden. In my case and my age I have never ever planned to visit Sweden 😅

@Gert-DK 3 months ago (edited)

3:01 It is exactly the same with the personal number here in Denmark. I have heard it can take several weeks in Sweden, it actually surprises me because here in DK it can go very fast, sometimes even same day if you have supplied the all information correctly. It can take 3 to 5 days if they are busy.
But the physical card usually takes between 1 and 2 weeks, again if you have submitted all relevant information.
My GUESS is that the faster process is due to the Danish State heavy use of AI. Because of a small workforce, we are forced to use AI, but that is my personal GUESS.

Winter tip: Never start a project in the summer, that can be done during winter. You need to be active during winter, so save some projects or parts of a project for the winter.

Ask your neighbour what kind of clothes and shoes is best.

12:14 This is so true, it is where you meet the natives. You need to be active to get friends, and meeting them where they are, is the best way.

Start learning the language immediately. Without the language, you risk living in your own small bubble and then get isolated. Listen/watch national and local news EVERY day, make it a habit.

@TheClumsyScout 3 months ago

Great information.

@TheGramophoneGirl 4 months ago

I agree with dry hands lol. I was in Sweden during the winter and my hands were almost red raw from being dry in the cold. I got an amazing cream from the pharmacy though, that really helped them. But yes, don't under estimate the dryness of the cold winters.

@ToniaLuisa 4 months ago

Very interesting video, thank you so much for making it! Thank you to the interview guests, as well 🙂
I am considering moving to Sweden at one point, or at least trying it out for a while. It's such a lovely country! I'd probably move to a smaller place though, where there are hopefully not suuuper long waiting times for things like the personnummer and a förstahandskontrakt... (?)

I loved listening to all of them! And watching your beautiful facial expressions ♥😊

@Swedishmarvelfan 4 months ago

this was a very good video:)

@luboslavfrastia3251 3 months ago (edited)

shortly, two topics: DARK VERY LONG VINTER and SOCIAL ISOLATION....make your research to know more. Sure Swedes are polite, very nice at work place, but that ends at 17:00 when they close the office door and you will not hear from them EVER AGAIN. For them professional life and personal life are two totally different universes, which do NOT MIX. I live in Sweden 18 years. Mostly expats and foreigners make circles. And sorry 3-4 years being in Sweden do not make you knowing the culture. You need fluent Swedish and spending time to really know. If you get closer to a swede, or in case he /she is in international setting (without other swedes around) they often openly admit that Sweden is lonely even for them.

@tyrsno9309 4 months ago

The person nummer has to be done smoother its a huge drawback that hinders skilled workers to move here. Despite the fact that there are 156 critical professions lacking workers.

@MC-abides 4 months ago

En dag min van, min familj ska flytt i Sveriege. Hej frän US

@RickLisle_226 4 months ago

Great to hear what some ex-pats feel about living in Sweden. As someone who moved to Italy, getting a "codice fiscale" (the equivalent of the personal number) is so quick and easy because once you have one, the government can track you and you can pay taxes. Everything else is a nightmare here.

@ChristopherGronlund 4 months ago

This was a very cool video. Were I younger, it's a country I'd consider moving to. I mean, I did when I was younger, but now there are so many online resources that make it easier to learn about -- including a video like this 😀

@mister.t.o.s.c.b 4 months ago (edited)

This, if you ask me, is a clip for the swedes out there. Good work!Use your swedish ears! Migrating to sweden is not too easy. The"problems" are elsewhere. And.... yeah. . The winter.... why do you think we, the swedes, are the way we are, huh? 😊👍