pifacesi72

Hi evreyone.

My name is Simon.
I have been reading through some of the threads on this site and believe this is the place where all my questions can be answered, hopefully!!
My girlfriend and i are considering moving to Sweden, in fact we're almost certain about it...almost certain.
We have given ourselves two years in which time i intend to learn the language (at a language school) my girlfriend is part swedish and has a good grasp of the language and has a swedish passport so not too worried about that bit.
My big query is about working. I run my own business, i am a freelance motion graphics designer and videographer making corporate and marketing videos.
Is there a market for this kind of work?
What could i expect to get paid for this type of work?
Is freelancing a reasonable career choice or should i be thinking about fulltime work?

Thanks so much.

Simon.

Catchafire

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I lived in Sweden for a couple of years, coming from a IT background I could only find work in dodgy restaurants and building sites. But married the girl!

But if you want my completely uninformed advice, can you run your business remotely? Working from home? Cheap flights via Ryanair to the UK.

pifacesi72

Hi Catchafire

Thanks for the welcome. Yes, flying back to the uk is something i have thought about and yes i do and can work remotely. I do also intend to try and secure some international or European clients but it would also be great to have some clients in Sweden as that is where i will be living.
I have already decided that if i can't get a few clients or jobs before i get there then it may be a no no.
I know that they have a great design school there called Hyperisland but it seems that a lot of the students end up going to other countries such as England to get work. I don't know whether this is because there is no work in Sweden or just the urge of the individual to experience working in another country.
Anyway, for me, i think moving to sweden would be about finally starting a family and settling down and jumping from the uk to sweden every other week might take the wind out of me.
I'm just trying to find out as much as i can before making the choice final choice to move.

Nekkid

Hi Simon,
You seem well placed having your own business and being able to get clients elsewhere, i have no idea if that sort of thing is in demand in Sweden i'm afraid.
What i will say is that you need to have an exit strategy and just rent a place to live here to give it a go. The social aspect of Sweden is extremely difficult for a reasonably sociable Brit to come to terms with. Dont expect to have the sort of social life you had in the uk. If you have one in the uk, I don't know! We were lured here by cheap property and the promise of a country idil eight years ago and are returning to the uk next year with a desperate need to be surrounded by people who 'get' us. I.e. Brits! Oh, and if you appreciate good food, prepare to be dissapointed!

edp

Hi Simon, there is probably a market for that sort of business but I suspect you find it hard to compete. I know people who employ someone who does your sort of work for a music competition so there is the work. I hope i'm not being too unfair but Sweden is pretty cliquey. 'Why would we need video editors when we have great video editors here, and ours look better in their skinny jeans and hipster glasses'. Depending on where you move to I would suggest there are quite a lot of places you can go for help if you want to start a business and look for contacts. My town of about 50000 people seems to have 10% of the population working on local business development. Of course that is also a good way to recycle the tax bucks. Success in Sweden is about slickness. If you look like a business, you are a business. As Nekkid says, the social life is hard. I get blanked in the street frequently by people i have spoken to. I never thought of myself as an objectionable person, but clearly i am. If I had known what Sweden was like, I wouldn't have come. Its not that its an awful place per se, it just takes a specific mentality to enjoy it. I am far too 'willy nilly' in my attitude.

Gordon Barlow

My son is 38, and living with his girlfriend in Stockholm while she spends a year at a college there. He is a semi-converted hippy, and was/is willing to work at anything he can find. His first day of looking, he found a job driving a delivery truck. They both speak Norwegian, which no doubt helps with their social lives. His attitude may or may not count as "willy nilly"; I'm not sure what that means! They go back to Norway every second weekend for family reasons, and spend a lot of time together, just the two of them.

Maybe liking Sweden (or Stockholm, at least) depends on what one is looking for. Maybe he is findiong what he is looking for, and you didn't. I'm genuinely interested in knowing what you think the reason might be for the difference. You certainly don't seem to be an objectionable person - and I can't believe you are! He and she have only been there two months; do you think they have a shock coming, when the newness wears off?

pifacesi72

Hey guys, thanks for your reply's.
I understand what you're saying edp and i was never under any illusion that going there and starting up a business or looking for a job in this industry was going to be easy but i believe i have a reasonable amount to offer.
I have been working in the video marketing business for 10 years, i have worked across tv and web, i don't just edit, i direct, design, motion graphics...anyway, i have a lot of experience and i live smack bang in the middle of London so i know about competition and cliques...east london can be very cliquey.
As far as socialising goes, i'm not a big going out person to be honest, i go out maybe once or twice a month and that would be for a meal or to someones house...for a meal, we also have a few friends and family in Sweden so myself and my girlfriend should be fine.
i'm also taking swedish lessons at the moment and intend to be able to have a reasonable conversation in Swedish, as long as it doesn't get into heavy philosophy or politics straight away!!!
I will plan this heavily and will try to gain one or two clients over there before i go...English or Swedish. Either way i intend to give a go, i love Sweden and its an adventure and you only live once right?!?!?!

Nekkid - I'm sorry to hear it didn't work out for you...i've heard many stories about brits who have gone over and it wasn't the dream...this is why i'm trying to do as much research and talk to as many people as possible so that i can be as prepared as i can...i also intend to be going over to Sweden (Stockholm) to see friends and to hopefully, if possible, network with others to gain some business over there...we'll see...if you don't try you don't get i guess. It may not even happen if i feel it is unrealistic after all my research is done...we'll see.

Thanks again guys and any more info on living and running my business in sweden you can give me will be seriously appreciated.

edp

Hi Gordon, I live in the centre/north so i think there is some difference to that and a big city like stockholm. My life is a lot better than it was a year or so ago. Now I have some friends and a job and i play music so i get some gigs from time to time. Its definitely better but not really what i am looking for. I made a bold move to leave a corporate job in search of the simple life, retrain in something outside of the office but ended up in what i perceive as a massively rule driven and complicated society where your life is less your own than it might be elsewhere. One needs to guarentee a lot of money in Sweden to live just to cover your ass if you pardon the expression. A lot of my attitude is probably down to personal disappointment really at taking a gamble to improve my life for the better and finding myself in a worse situation with greatly reduced life chances. I am not keen on vain people, i am not materialistic, i don't like to look to the state and for the state to look to me and in all those senses Sweden is not really the place for me. But i shall be here for the foreseeable future because i am not living until i have got as much out of it as i can!

Gordon Barlow

Well, I'm glad things are looking up for you, at least. My son and his girlfriend bought an old caravan in Oslo and towed it to a camping ground outside Stockholm. They've been living in it for the past three months, for very little money and living the life of Riley. Of course it's rapidly becoming too cold to live there, so they have found an affordable flat in the City to see them through the winter months. Back in Norway they lived simple lives in a forest cabin, again for not much money, and they will return to it when the Swedish contract is ended. Maybe a forest cabin is the way for you to go - as cheap to heat in Sweden as in Norway, I would think. Of course it depends on just how far north you are! And how high above sea level!

Good luck with it all.

edp

Thanks Gordon, its like everything just a question of attitude. The trouble comes when depression sets in through atrophy. I have thought of moving into a cabin in the woods but it would be hard to do that here so it would have to be further south. Most of my ´trouble´comes from my partner. I very much want to stay with her as we get on so well. I am an inveterate wanderer and don't have solid roots in one place so i am free to move but my partner has lived in the same town all her life, had the same job the last 10 years, has all her family within spitting distance, walks 50 metres to work and has the innate Swedish attitude that you should try as much as possible to mitigate any possible negative outcomes - i.e don´t take ANY risks. I would find it hard to take the responsibility to take someone away from that. i am happy to take the responsibility to screw up my own life but someone else´s is a different matter. Also i often hear that Eagles song Desperado ringing in my ears. Someone is renting my house in the UK and therefore paying the mortgage so I am treading water yet slowly moving forward!

skylarkpilot

I moved to Sweden in 2011 and started my own business in 2012. It was a slightly uphill battle as Swedish tax and company rules are a bit different. My aim for this year was to improve my business by 50%. In fact it improved 120% and next year could do better again. My situation is a little different however as I have a pension from the UK to fall back on to pay my daily bills.
Networking here is as important if not more important than it is in the UK. Swedes can be incredibly 'provincial' and tend to assume that no matter where you learnt something and no matter how well you've done, you're not as good as a Swede. Sometimes you have to hold your breath and count slowly to five. On the plus side, if you get a job in Sweden simply being incompetent is not a reason for dismissal. It is a land of contradictions. Check out the Arbetsformedling web page (like a national job centre). Lots of jobs on there by area. That may give you some idea of the potential for work/competition.

pifacesi72

Hi Skylarkpilot

Thanks for the reply. Its great to hear your business is succeeding, slightly beyond your expectations it seems which is great!!! What is it that you do?
I'm sure you're right in terms of networking and i am currently learning the swedish language in the hope that i will find it slightly easier to deal with the business side of things when i get to Sweden.
I have heard so many stories about running and starting a business in Sweden and i won't pretend that it doesn't sound scary, especially on the tax side of things!!!
I had a look at the Arbetsformedling website and i'm not sure how much competition is out there in terms of what i do, i know it exists but i'm not sure it is shown fully in terms of jobs on here but i shall keep my eye on it. There are other jobs related somewhat to what i do so there may be a few options to consider if i can't find freelance work immediately.

But hey, nothing comes easy and i'm up for the adventure so i am determined to go no matter what but all this information from people and individuals such as yourself is very much appreciated. Thanks again.

skylarkpilot

Hi Pifacesi,
My business is hiring out sailing boats. No-one else was doing it and I didn't want a full time occupation. Been there, done that.
When I was setting up I found the new business advice centre in my local town. Apparently most large towns here have one. The advice was free and given by a very nice lady who had experience of setting up a couple of businesses herself.
I also arranged a meeting with my local tax office so that they could explain some basics on rules, returns and VAT (Moms here).
Believe me, some of their rules make absolute sense. Others are absolutely crazy, just like the UK.
Good luck if you decide to give it a go.