Annabel12

Public transport is quite good here - I live in rural area but there's a bus to town every hour, trains are also very good but expensive like everywhere else (you get inter flight for the same money). Driving is a dream as there's very little traffic comparing to UK.
If you wanted to work at uni in Oslo (let's say part-time) you could live in Sweden near the border - I'm 2,5 hrs away from Oslo and locals work there this way. For 3 nights a week you could stay in Oslo, then back here for the rest of the week. Maybe not very convenient in long term but good way to start here... Or you could live near the border on the other side - there's a big, popular cross-border shopping centre in Charlottenberg, Varmland - guys from Norway, mostly Oslo, come here for shopping every week as food, tobacco and alcohol is much cheaper here. It's 1 hr 45 mins from Oslo by car so you could live halfway through. I have no idea how much you'd pay for the house in Norway in the countryside though - it's surely much cheaper then town as rest of Norway is a bloody forest If the salary is THAT good there must be a way to win it

Ugo51

wow, never really thougth of cross-border commuting
I guess I'd prefer to live in the country I work in

Annabel12

There's no real border so it doesn't matter - driving from Oslo I didn't even know I'm still in Norway or already in Sweden In regards of working/living in those countries there's plenty of goverment agreements so it's easier for people to do it this way. In Varmland it's very popular - they live/work in Norway Mon-Fri and come back here for weekends so it's actually living in 2 countries at the same time
Living in Norway and shopping in Sweden is a good option though and well worth it. Also it's not too much effort as you can do it every other week

Ugo51

I suppose I will have to check jobs offers in Norway then

lattmjolk

To anyone considering moving to Sweden:

First of all - if you don't like the concept of solidarity by taxation, you obviously don't want to move to any of the nordic countries.

If you don't like the Swedish mentality however, which I personally can fully understand, there is no reason to discard Sweden as your home. Now how can this be? Well, you see, Sweden is full of immigrants. If you live in any of the bigger cities you can pretty much chose to befriend only people from whichever part of the world you like. Also, if you are a sociable person, I'm sure you'll find some gems among us cold, rigid, judgemental Swedes as well.

Provided that you buy into the Swedish social model, where your contribution to the common good is dependent on your economic resources, Sweden is a great country in which to build whatever life you want (in my own humble opinion, of course). And should things not go as planned, if for example you get chronically ill or unemployed, this social system ensures you get the help you need to live a decent life after all.

If you want a more objective review of Swedish society, I suggest reading this page:
http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/sweden/


/Anders, native Swede since birth

Ugo51

I do agree.
In fact the personal aspect would be the least of my worries because it's simply impossible not to find a single person you like.
Let's say that if that's the case than the problem is you, not the country

At the moment I find more worrying when people tell me immigrants have difficulties in progressing with their carrer (I know a well-reputed researcher at Karolinska who had to leave after 9 years because there was no way for her to progress with her carreer and to get a tenured position) or that it's difficult to build up your savings because of high taxation.
Don't get me wrong, I do understand and approve the nordic concept of making your contribution to the society at the best you can, only I'd need to know how much is requested fro me, because I would also like to be able to afford my own personal well being.

Gordon Barlow

In my observation, Norway and Sweden have figured out a close-to-perfect work-life balance. That's not really what hustlers want, so if you consider yourself a hustler, with a go-go-go mentality, those countries may not be for you. I can't speak to Finland and Denmark.

My observation is based on my son and his friends and workmates. He's in his late 30s, a Norwegian resident of ten years with two children and no wives (Scandinavian women, a Caribbean man... marriage is not really a priority!). At the moment he's taking a 12-month Sabbatical, doing casual work in Sweden while his girlfriend goes to college; they come back home every second weekend. Life is good.

Ugo51

I'm no hustler, I just want to make sure I can save up something at the end of the month and pay up a house mortgage

Gordon Barlow

I assume you don't mean a house mortgage in Sweden, so where is this house that you own, and why would you want to earn money in a different currency from the one you pay your mortgage in?

Ugo51

why not in Sweden??

Ugo51

Inevitably, your answer prompted me into looking why it would be so wrong to have a house mortgage in Sweden (I have no idea how the mortgage systme works over there) but I couldn't come up with anything

Gordon, why were you assuming I didn't mean a house in Sweden?

lattmjolk

I'd like to give you an indication of what your personal economy could look like here. You'll have to answer some questions though.

• What is your line of work?
• How old are you?
• Where are you planning on living (big or small city, countryside) and in what form (apartment, townhouse, house)?

/Anders

Ugo51

I'm completing my PhD in biochemistry so I'm either looking for a research position in univerisity or industry. My girlfriend is assistant producer for a theater company.

I'm 28, she's 23

We're planning to live in a city, starting in a flat and, if we'll decide to settle, to buy a house

lattmjolk

Here's my educated guess. I live in Stockholm myself so I do know what it costs to live here, and I'm pretty sure all my assumptions are to the negative, both regarding your wages and costs.

I'm setting your wage at 30 000 SEK/month, which by the way is the median wage in Sweden 2013 (wages in Stockholm are higher), and hers at a low 24 000 since I haven't got a clue what she would make.

This calculation would give you about 10 000 SEK left over each month for pure leisure. This is after the costs for the apartment (monthly fee to the "bostadsrättsförening", interest, amortization), unlimited public transportation, food, phone, news paper, union fee and all other living costs. It also includes monthly pension savings of 2000 SEK for each of you above the state pension and contractual pension through your union. In all, this means you should have pensions of at least 85% of your final wages when you retire. Your mortage will be payed off in full by then.

Here's what you get materially:

• Three room apartment (bostadsrätt) in a suburb close to Stockholm, about 30 minutes travel door-to-door to a work place in the center of Stockholm.
• A new VW Up!, including all running costs, depreciation and fuel (15 000 km per year).

Sources (how good is your Swedish?!):
http://www.hemnet.se/
http://www.ekonomifakta.se/sv/Fakta/...-ut-din-skatt/
http://www.konsumentverket.se/Vara-o...udgetkalkylen/
http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.as...n/Stockholm-21

Gordon Barlow

It just seemed a bit precipitous to buy a house as soon as you arrived, that's all. Unless there's a real bargain on offer, and/or you are ready to commit yourself to staying in a new country for a reasonable length of time, renting is always the best option for the first couple of years.