Is anyone from Sweden? Moving and looking for advice, connections

[Rekreativc]

Hi!

I will be moving to Sweden in the next couple of months with my GF and that's why I'm looking for fellow mustachians there. Is it possible to live frugally in Scandinavia?

I would also like to hear from fellow mustachians about your experiences when moving to another country. Is it possible to do on a budget?

I've made a website where I'm documenting my journey: www.helpmemovetosweden.com

Thanks for all your advice and (hopefully) encouraging words!

[Mrs WW]

I live in Sweden, on the west coast. I've lived and worked in both the US and Sweden throughout my adult life. What is it that you want to know? Maybe if you pm me I can get into more detailed answers than I'm comfortable with on the forum.

As for living frugally - off course you can! There are so many advantages to living here compared to the US, and the taxes really are not that bad. This year I payed a total of 21% on a good salary.

[FriendlyLibrarian]

I definitely want to keep lurking on this topic as I'm intrigued by the idea of living in Sweden, it sounds delightful. Aside from the cold, I'm not a fan of the cold, but perhaps Sweden is worth the cold?

[Paul der Krake]

Not Swedish and not living in Sweden myself, but my parents did move to Stockholm from Britain two years ago, so I go and visit every now and then. I had to move between countries all the time when I grew up, and Sweden is definitely one of the easiest. Everybody speaks English, people are helpful and used to foreigners. The state provides free Swedish language courses to foreigners, definitely take advantage of that. The cold isn't so bad, it's more the lack of daylight that can be hard to get used to. I hope you like fish, when I'm there I eat smoked salmon at every meal, breakfast included. The key when you move anywhere is to adapt your diet to take advantage of whatever is cheap there, MMM has a blog post about this:
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/12/15/high-cost-of-living-its-a-state-of-mind/

Moving between countries: keep possessions to a minimum, be flexible, adapt quickly.

[Rekreativc]

Thanks for all replies!

Since I've started that website it has just been one good news after another. I've had the pleasure of talking to several Swedes already and each conversation gets me more excited. Everyone has been so encouraging and supportive, it seems like moving countries is only a big deal because my head makes it so.

As for fish: At the moment I'm more of a meat-lover, but I am aware that fish will have to become a standard part of my diet there. Not that I don't like fish at the moment, but I definitively prefer meat. So that's something to work on :)

For now I really just want to get the word out and hopefully start talking about jobs at some point. I really hope that the blog will provide enough connections that I wont have to apply to random positions in the near by area. If you know anyone in IT in Sweden, please let them know about me and my site! :)