Living in Scandinavia?

[Otingocni]

Hi,

Has anyone here ever lived in Denmark, Norway or Sweden for several months or more (aside from those born there)?

I'm interested in living there. I've heard a couple very negative stories about them, but they didn't seem very credible.

I've been to Scandinavia before (although not for very long), and my impression was very favorable. I also speak Danish fluently, and can understand Swedish and Norwegian.

Does anyone have any stories/experiences related to the subject, positive or negative?

[BigRay]

I have spent a decent amount of time in Scandinavia, particularly Norway, and absolutely loved it. I found the people to be very friendly (and beautiful ;D) and the countries to be extremely safe. I seriously considered going to grad school in Norway at one point. Here are some things to think about though...

1. Living legally
I can only speak for Americans, but it is extremely difficult to get a living and working visa there. Sweden may be the easiest of the bunch. I have an old college roommate who lives in Stockholm and he was able to get all his paperwork done. It helped him considerably that he lives with his Swedish girlfriend. His job there also helped obtain the proper working visas.

2. Cost of living
I'm sure you know that the cost of living is extremely high in Scandinavia. In addition to high prices for everything, taxes are also extremely high. However, social services such as education and health care are among the best in the world and are given to all. Also, the percentage of locals with summer homes in the country is extremely high. They are rich in natural beauty, and they all seem to appreiciate and take advantage of it.

3. Winters!
I have never been to Scandinavia in the winter, so I don't have first hand experience with this. But from my experiences in the summer, with practically constant daylight in Oslo, Bergen and Stockholm and no nightfall whatsoever further north, I can imagine the constant darkness in the winter can be oppressive. Oh yeah, and it's cold, too.

Other than that, I think you will find most things very similar to back home (again, I am referring to US and Canada). Knowing Danish is a big plus, but the education of people there is quite high and they all seem to speak perfect english, too. Movies are often shown in the original language with subtitles. Food is terrific (particularly if you like seafood, like me). And all the goods and services you would expect are readily available.

Best of luck to you, and please keep us posted here if you do make it over there!

Cheers,
Ray

[Patrick]

Couldn't agree more with Ray's points. Especially 1 & 2, you should look into what requirements there are, I believe there is a language test in Sweden, but if you can speak Danish you won't have any problem with that type of thing. Ray is also right on that it helps to have a girlfriend/boyfriend living there or from there.

I'm not sure what you're referring to as to negative stories, but I've heard many people's impressions that the people there are a little less open and not as friendly. I've also heard that a lot of folks find it difficult to make friends and meet people and that people there don't always hang around with tons of 'friends' and have fewer but closer, long-term friends.

If I can remember there was someone on this board I beleive that mentioned they had lived in Sweden... maybe they'll jump out of the weeds and help us out.