Why I love Sweden – Top 10 Reasons

Jesús

Written by Jesús

19 Jan 2015

Originally I was going to write only about 5 things… But once I started I just couldn’t stop adding things that I love from Sweden! In no particular order…

1) The girls are incredibly good looking

When I’m abroad, I usually see about a cute girl every day. Here in Stockholm, I lose count every single day. (PS: Most foreign girls tell me that Swedish guys are pretty handsome too! 😉 ). If you like tall, skinny, blonde and blue eyes, Sweden is your country. By the way, I hope that no one gets offended from me giving a compliment to the Swedish beauty!

2) The nature is amazing! And you can access it too!

Sweden is a pretty sparsely populated country, and as such, as huge extensions of territory with only nature. If you love spending time outdoors, you’ll find it very easy to take a kayak and go paddling through the lakes or archipelagos; or go hiking through the amazing mountains in the north (such as the Kungsleden trail). And Sweden has got a law called Allemansrätten, which allows you to roam freely wherever you feel like in the nature, as well as making fires, camping and picking up berries.

3) People do what they want to do…

Because the social welfare system works so well in Sweden, it is almost taken as granted that you will have your basic needs covered. Because of this, people tend to follow their true passion, and do what they really enjoy, as opposed to working just to earn the most money. Besides, even the basic salary in Sweden are pretty high anyway!

4) It is free to study here

Well, this only applies to EU citicens, but even for international students there are plenty of scholarships! I’m not going to lie: The free tuition played a role in choosing Sweden initially. But having had all these amazing experiences in the past year and a half, I would now choose to study here even if I had to pay loads of money for it. The international exposure, contacts, experience and interesting friends that I’ve made are just price-less.

5) The contrast between summer/autumn/winter/spring

Some people complain about the long dark winters…. But I love them! Besides, they are only super long if you go far north… If you are in Stockholm, you may feel the lack of sunshine for a couple of months, but that just means that you’ll appreciate it so much more when the sun comes back! And actually, it is pretty nice  to have a couple of months that are dark a cold, so you can focus on being productive and staying cozy at home without feeling bad. Or… maybe you can take that time to get to know better that good looking person that you met the other day! The spring just makes everyone so happy, and then by winter, Sweden is like heaven. The weather variation keeps you on your feet and motivates you to make the best out of every moment.

6) You can talk with people about almost anything

Because people are very well educated and know at least a bit about every subject. Perhaps, this is also due to the fact that most people take a gap year to travel before their studies and/or work, so that they gain new perspectives from traveling around the world.

7) It is an incredibly developed and modern society

I think I haven’t paid anything cash for at least half a year now in Sweden. All the places (even the buses) accept plastic cards. Technology has reached (almost) all sectors, and Stockholm has the second highest density of tech companies, just after Silicon Valley!

8) Swedish people are Innovators and open to new ideas and ways of doing things

The other day I was in the tube, sitting next to this old woman… When she took her smartphone out, looked for a direction on Google Maps, then changed it to Satellite view, and then ended up with checking out the Streetview option on Google Maps. This would be considered something totally out of the ordinary in most countries… But in Sweden, it’s normal. Sweden is also commonly used as test market to launch new products, due to the population’s high propensity to try out and test new stuff… No wonder that Skype, Spotify, and so many others started here!

9) Lapland is my favourite place in the world

I know I know, I’m always talking about Lapland… But I just love it so much! There is something magical in the air, and whenever I’m there I get a kind of feeling that I’m like living in a Dream… Try to go there one day, you might feel the same way!

10) The Fika Culture

The fika culture is synonymous with coffee drinking, and numerous attempts have been made to describe it. Sweden <3 coffee, and has one of the largest coffee consumption per capita in the whole world! As such, if you choose to come here, you’ll most likely spend some time having interesting conversations over some delicious freshly ground coffee. Perhaps, too, that it will be with one of the people described in point 1) :D.

Jesús

Written by Jesús

19 Jan 2015