Things to know before moving to Sweden

Ahh, relocating to a new country! It's overwhelming, life changing and something everyone should have on their bucket list. In your case, dear reader, Sweden beckons. The land of beautiful people, exquisitely designed furniture (also: IKEA) and stroller pushing daddies. But is that the reality? Or is Sweden just a bunch of depressed people and horrible weather. Well, let's find out!

As a resident swede, let me be your guide to the country of high taxes and even higher living expenses. Moving to Sweden is kind of a big deal so let me drop some wisdom in your ears.

It helps to be rich if you're moving to Sweden. And I'm not even joking. Things are expensive here! Well, at least compared to most of the rest of the world. If you’re moving here from another Western European country you're probably already used to spending a fortune on a Big Mac. Otherwise, have your adrenaline shot prepared because you're about to go into shock when you find out the prices here. So take my advice and get a cozy Swedish job, it will help your finances and our mighty Swedish unions will prevent you from ever getting fired.

The question of money naturally brings us to the question of housing. Unless you're a millionaire or you love the idea of being in debt, you can forget about buying an apartment in a nice part of town. So what about rentals? In Sweden, people love queues so naturally if you want a rental you have to get in line. And for a nice apartment we're not talking about a couple of months, Swedes happily (well…) wait 10-15 years for their chance at rental bliss. So if you're moving to Sweden that all sounds pretty bleak, right?

And it would be, if not for a little site called Hemavi.com. What do they do? Well, they'll fix you up with a roommate! To which you might say “Well, I had a roommate once and all he did was blast Norwegian black metal and worship Satan. Why would I ever want a new one?”. Well, here's the thing. Hemavi not only has a huge selection of rooms and roommates, it uses the magic of algorithms, neural networks and advanced AI to hook you up with the roommate of your dreams. If you study all day and go to bed at nine, you will be paired with another nerd who shares your love for higher education. If you worship Bob Marley and have a passion for botany, Hemavi will hook you up with someone who also appreciates the finer things in life. Hemavi really is a one-stop-shop for all your housing needs.

But Sweden is more than money and housing, so much more. You want nature, we got nature. Sweden is a big country but very sparsely populated. That means a lot of empty space and it's in this empty space where we can find nature. And the king of Swedish nature is the majestic moose. When the moose is not busy killing innocent drivers it works as a kind of unpaid tourist magnet. Maybe the moose is what made you aware of Sweden, maybe not. Whatever it was that made you wanna relocate to Sweden, I want to welcome you with open arms. Keep checking this blog for everything worth knowing before moving to Sweden. You can also give us a holler on Facebook or Instagram.