Tag Archives: relocating

Growing up in Sweden

Growing up in Sweden

What does it mean to be a child in Sweden? Growing up in Sweden has many benefits.

Learn about school and vacation, family and leisure time, culture, hobbies and joining a club. What is Swedish children’s literature and do all parents work? Is there a support system for the young and how many children really play an instrument?

www.sweden.se shares the full story on Growing up in Sweden.

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You know you’re a TCK when …

You know you’re a TCK when …

Most people who are TCKs are unaware of it. I constantly stumble over new twitter connections revealing they have just found out about Third Culture Kids and that they actually are one – or rather ATCK – Adult Third Culture Kid. It is very often followed by a sigh of relief; that’s why I’m me! When I talk about TCKs in my workshops I rarely meet people who are familiar with the term; even though they are expats.

Three days ago I found an article on the funny yet true side of the TCK story – 31 statements along the line “You know you’re a TCK when …” . Tons of posts and pages of this kind can be found on the Internet, but this post is really worth sharing!

I tweeted it, put it on Facebook and Google+. Here is the link if you’ve missed it!

Feel free to add in the comments if you think of more signs!!

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Top Ten Tips for Moving to Sweden

Top Ten Tips For Moving To Sweden

1)      Securing employment in Sweden can be a bit of a challenge. Often, the language barrier can be an issue, but as a native English speaker you will have an advantage among other expatriates.

2)      Many English expatriates opt to become teachers at international schools. Having a British Post Graduate Certificate in Education is an asset as well as an intermediate level of Swedish. However, the qualifications will vary depending on your teaching level and school board.

3)      You can find work online through company websites or through Arbetsförmedlingen, which is the largest job placement website in Sweden. You may also find work through Stepstone, Thelocal.se or Monster, which are also popular search engines.

4)      Similar to other Scandinavian countries, the Swedish healthcare system is funded by taxpayers; however as with many other nations, the public health care system does not cover optometry, dentistry, or orthodontics to name a few.

5)      Prescription medication must be provided by a physician, and it is provided through your personnummer then sent directly to the network of drugstores across the country. Thus, it is very important to receive this number as you will need it for many things.

6)      When visiting a doctor, you may be required to pay a small fee of about 150 to 300 SEK. After 1,100 SEK have been paid within one year, further healthcare will be provided free of charge.

7)      Primary education in Sweden is mandatory for children between the ages of 6/7 and 15/16 and it s free. Children can attend pre-school (förskola) between the ages of 1 to 5. Pre school is very common in Sweden as it aids in the child’s development and learning.

8)      There are also a few options available for private schooling. Within greater Stockholm, you will find Sigtunaskolan, which offers boarding for boys and girls. Another notable private school is Lundbergs skola, which is located within proximity of Kristinehamn.

9)      Higher Education institutions offer programs taught entirely in English or in Swedish. Sweden is home to many internationally recognized universities such as Uppsala University, Lund University and The Stockholm School of Economics.

10)   You may also choose to learn Swedish through private institutions such as Folkuniversitetet or you may seek Swedish courses at a higher education institution. However, Swedish courses at a university are not publicly funded. Alternatively, many private firms offer Swedish language training to expatriates.

 

This post was sponsored by Overs; a UK removals firm, specializing in removals to the UK, Europe and  worldwide. Get in touch and see how we can help you: http://www.overs.co.uk/

 

Compare cost of living tool for moving abroad

Moving abroad and local cost

Are you thinking of expatriating? If you haven’t yet decided whereto local cost of living might have an impact on the decision. Even if you know which will be your new expat country it can be interesting to find out the local price ranges.  Expatriating or not; perhaps you are just interested in comparing cost of living in different countries and locations.

Cost of living calculator

On expatistan.com you can enter cities for comparison to get an overall percentage of how much cheaper or more expensive a city is to another. You can also get down to details as how much a bottle of milk is. The website service is based on user input of prices. Why not help adding prices to the cost of living comparisons?

 

Expatriate life in lyrics

Today I’ll provide a link to one of my favorite musical songs. It describes the life of an expat mother, but an expatriate life of past times and of much hardship. Expatriating today can be tough too, but hopefully not on all the levels Kristina experiences.

Listen to Kristina

From the musical “Kristina from Duvemåla” by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulveus (the Bs in ABBA).

10 Quick tips on how to plan your stay when living abroad or traveling

Living abroad or traveling – tips for exploring and sightseeing

When I arrive in a new place I’m always eager to explore the surroundings. Sometimes I already know what I would like to see, sometimes I don’t have a clue. One thing I know though is that I don’t want to leave feeling I have missed out on places and things to discover simply because it “just didn’t happen”. This is an advice I always share with expats getting ready to leave for a new destination; do not go back without stories to tell, and memories to savor!  We all know that time flies so start planning your stay abroad! Below I’m sharing some of my tips to help exploring a new location. They are not only valid for living abroad but work for traveling and vacation too!

10 Quick tips on how not to miss out on places to go when living abroad or traveling

Here are a few tips for your inspiration
on planning what you want to experience in your adopted country and to get you going!

  • Start right away
  • Try apps such as Stuck on Earth or let Google World Wonders Project inspire you.
  • Stock up on guide books – still my favorite source for inspiration, and excellent to save as memories. Notes in them makes it more personal!
  • Ask people for tips – in person or on internet forums.
  • Local papers – ads and what-to-dos sections can provide ideas even if you don’t master the language.
  • Don’t limit yourself to searching the Internet – there are lots of accounts on
    Twitter providing tips on cities and regions. Facebook and Google+ works too! Instagram needless to say offers travel eye candy!
  • Take into account how long your expatriate / travel adventure is planned to last.
  • Make a list of want-to-sees, top priorities first.
  • Schedule trips and visits for your stay. Actual dates are great but “in May”, “by end of summer” and “3 things off the list in a month” works well!
  • Be realistic! Don’t overdo it but make sure you do do it! Happy discovering when living abroad!tips for expats on living abroad and traveling

Learn a few words before you travel

Knowing at least a bit of the local language is important to adapt to a new culture. Learn how to greet before your move, and how to say thank you, and teach your kids too. This is a good start when arriving. I remember my mother taught me how to say “play” in German, on the ferry, when I at the age of seven went to Germany for the first time. It was a very good word to know to start playing with other kids on the boat.

Also for vacationing purposes it is fun to know a bit of the local language. When I was working as an Italian teacher the basic courses usually involved a lot of tourist conversations – food, restaurants, travelling, shopping, accommodation. And the text books contained quite a few pretty pictures 😉 .

Some try to learn the language before they go, some start once they get there. I have done both. What about you? What worked well?

 

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International women #IWD

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Accompanying spouses need to take on many new roles. Let me introduce to you

  • the Moving Queen
  • the Relo Expert
  • the Resilience Champion
  • the No. 1 Assignment Glue

Many employers and relocation organizations count on them. What about acknowledgement? I once heard of a spouse that received a “thank you” from her husbands employer. She said it was easily done but meant a lot to her.

What are your experiences?

Expat hand-me-downs

Living a life where you meet people from different cultures and parts of the world equals living a life of constant discovery and learning. You taste new food, learn about other views of life and take part in  fascinating traditions. I have written about Cinco de Mayo and Cheese fondue, of Fredagsmys and Midsummer. I have also pointed out, to myself, that a lot of traditions are food related :). I love trying new dishes, and gladly collect recipes from friends called Martha, google and … well, closer friends too.

Naomi has also been thinking about food secrets and hand-me-downs. If you’re an expat you know that it’s not only easily stored artifacts like recipes that is left behind when nomadic people set off on their next adventure. You can read about Naomi’s thoughts here and learn what some people have shared on their expatriate journeys.

Do you have any treasured expat hand-me-downs? Did you leave something behind?