The 5 things I dislike about Sweden

As you might have seen on the blog, there are so many things I love about Sweden. But also, about living abroad. I really like and enjoy most aspects of being an expat in this Nordic country. Though, there are 5 things I really dislike about Sweden. To find out, just keep on reading! I reckon some of the following things are applicable to other countries or experiences, yet at the same time, it depends on who you are and where you come from.

Paying everything by card

I wish I could pay my 2€ ice cream with just a coin! Of course, it is possible – sometimes – but the majority of stores in Sweden either only accept credit cards, or just encourage you to pay by card. Easy, yes! But when you grow up saving coins/notes to pay some small things with, it is a habit that you keep!

Long winters

I think you could have guessed this by all the things I mentioned in various blog posts, I don’t like winter. I don’t like the cold and I don’t like the winter darkness. And in Sweden, winters are long, veeeeeery long. But to survive them, I wrote this guide, and that’s good help!

Systembolaget

As many would say, it is amazing because you find all kinds of alcohol in one place. Probably yes. But, here is why I dislike it:

Why do you need to go to at least 2 stores for your weekly groceries?!
The opening hours – till 19 on weekdays and 15 on Saturdays, while closed on Sundays.
It is expensive! It is a state-owned store, which means high taxes.
There are no cold drinks. So if you want to just grab a beer (or something else) for the way, then you’ll have to drink it warm!
In smaller cities, there are a very limited number of stores (no worries, if you move to Stockholm, you’re safe!)

Learning Swedish

That’s a confession from me to you. I love learning languages, truly. But I hate learning Swedish. We are going to Swedish classes (SFI) twice a week for a few hours, but still, it feels like I cannot say anything, and even worse, I understand nothing. It is very frustrating and I never experienced it in previous language learning processes. As a result, I am not in the best mood when it comes to going to a Swedish class. More about it just here!

Not having Swedish friends

– As a foreigner – It is very hard to have friends who are Swedish. You can have a lot of acquaintances but, real friends, no. Or at least it takes time, a lot of time. After over 2 years in Sweden, including the past 8 months being in Stockholm and working here, none of our friends are Swedes. They’re from everywhere else but Sweden, and that’s a bit of a shame, cause we are “stuck” in this non-Swedish environment.

So here are the 5 things that I dislike about Sweden. I don’t think it would make me move to another country (at least for now), but these are the little things I’d love to either improve or work on to make my life a little nicer every day!