Sweden: Our Expatriation Story

This August marks our 4th year in Sweden… Can you believe it? Sometimes, it still feels like we have just arrived. In this article, we wanted to share our expatriation story. The reasons why we are living abroad and why we have decided to stay in Sweden once we graduated from our master’s program. 4 years is quite a bit and there could be so much to talk about, so in this article, we are interviewing each other on why we’re living abroad! This expatriation story is rather simple and even though we could speak about our background for hours, we wanted to make this article simple and straight to the point! We also chose to answer the same questions, so you can compare our answers!

If you want to read more about life in Stockholm since we’ve moved here, have a look here and if you want to get to know us better, check this out.

Expatriation Story: Héloïse

Where are you from? Since when did you want to move abroad?

I am French! I come from a little town between Dinard and Saint-Malo, in Northern Brittany!

Living abroad has always been something attractive somehow. But I think I was waiting for the right opportunity. I studied my Bachelor’s degree in Grenoble, which is probably as far as you can get from Brittany! And subconsciously, I think it was the way for me, to prove myself, that I was able to live on my own and far away from home. This was probably the turning point before moving abroad.

What was your first long term experience abroad?

My first long-term experience abroad happened to be my exchange semester, in 2015, when I went to China! I spent a little less than 6 months in the city of Guangzhou, Guangdong. Looking back at it, I am so happy I have done this exchange and that I went to China. I think China has been an amazing experience and for sure made my move to Sweden less stressful!

When did Sweden come into your life? What made you move to Sweden?

It was actually during my exchange semester in China. Initially, I was not planning on doing a master’s program right after my bachelor’s. I wanted a break between my studies, but this opportunity in Lund university came up and I decided to apply anyways! To be honest, I never thought I would get accepted to this program and so I did not have much hope for it. However, it worked! I never came to Sweden before and barely heard anything about this country “of the North” so it was a bit of surprise when I got the acceptance letter from the university.

I remember the day I moved to Sweden (August 16th, 2016) with just a suitcase and a backpack… It did change quite a bit since then!

Why did you stay in Sweden?

Long story short… I met Erikas! And I also found a job! Back then, just having a job wouldn’t have kept me here and I’d have probably stayed only until my graduation. But then, Erikas also found a job and we were doing good here so we decided to stay a little longer! And just like this, it’s been 4 years!

I think we’ve decided to stay in Sweden because we managed to set up a lot of things, and having 2 full-time jobs here allows us to discover the country and keep on traveling. Living in Stockholm is quite expensive so without the jobs, I’m not sure we would still be here!

Would you recommend living in Sweden?

I would recommend it yes! Living in Scandinavia is a great experience and we’re enjoying it – especially in the summer. The access to nature is amazing and the working conditions are really good too! But I think, there are a few things that one should expect when moving to the Nordics (but we’ve talked about that in many other articles!).

Expatriation Story: Erikas

Where are you from? Since when did you want to move abroad?

I’m from Vilnius – the capital of Lithuania. Was born and raised in this city, however, I was already thinking of moving abroad since I was like 17.

My dad lived in a few different countries while I was growing up, so moving abroad was not THAT big of a deal. In addition, many people from Lithuania choose to study abroad after finishing high school and I was definitely on board as well.

What was your first long term experience abroad?

The first longer experience abroad was a summer that I spent living with my dad in London. I believe it was in 2011, a year before I finished school. I went there with the intention to find a summer job, earn some extra money, and practice my English. Even though that summer didn’t work out quite as I was expecting, it didn’t scare me to move abroad again just a year later.

When did Sweden come into your life? What made you move to Sweden?

So once I finished my bachelor studies in the Netherlands in July 2016, I was already packing my bags for Sweden just a month later. I went there to do my Masters at Lund University.

It was actually a joint decision with a couple of my friends from the previous university. We were looking where we could study next and got accepted to the same program in the same university. Therefore, the move there was rather simple as I already had some friends.

Why did you stay in Sweden?

I’ve met Héloïse during my studies and the things worked out between us. Then, once our studies were coming to an end, she got a job opportunity in Stockholm and I decided to move there as well. After a while, we both got settled here, found jobs, and started enjoying the Swedish way of life. It is very easy to get comfortable here since you can easily go by without knowing Swedish (at least in Stockholm). In addition, the beautiful nature and great work-life balance make you stay for a while.

Would you recommend living in Sweden?

I would definitely recommend coming here and trying to live here for at least a year. While Sweden offers a bunch of great perks and is definitely one of the best countries in the world, it’s not for everyone. Many people simply don’t feel included here and leave. Either you love it or hate it I guess. Either way, living here is a fantastic experience, therefore enjoying what this country has to offer, should be on every expat’s bucket list.