Reasons Why Sweden Is An Amazing Country To Live In

I have fully admitted in a previous post that when I was moving to Sweden… I didn’t actually know very much about it! Since that is not something I recommend that you do, here are some reasons why Sweden is an AMAZING country to live in:

1. The “Relaxed” Lifestyle & A Work-Life Balance

In the western world, we are used to the constant grind that comes with our work life. Hours upon hours, tasks upon tasks, breaks are for the weak.

In Sweden, they follow the idea of lagom (living a balanced lifestyle). As a teacher, this was definitely seen in the workplace: taking time for fika everyday, leaving work or taking a day off was encouraged if feeling stressed or unwell, the school curriculum was very open and there were very few mandatory exams. Afterwork drinking was part of the culture, and our school even had a room or two you could nap in!

2. The government takes care of you in health, education and life!

Sweden follows a socialist-style of government. As a result, with higher taxes, education is payed for (even university!), healthcare is practically free (no more than $30 a visit!), parental leave is 480 days long, welfare benefits provide everyone with their basic needs to survive. People are so well supported you will not see a homeless person when you walk the streets of Stockholm!

Uniquely, and unlike the rest of the world, the Swedes really trust their government. While the government doesn’t necessarily impose rules (ex. during COVID, the government didn’t require people to wear masks), they pose “recommendations,” which most of the Swedes will, in fact, follow.

3. They looove parents and kids

Aside from each parent getting an impressive 240 days long of parental leave, Sweden also offers exceptional supports for families. For example, if your child is sick and you need to stay home with them, you still get payed for that day off! You will never see as many families and kids in Europe as you see in this country. There are playgrounds at every corner, and very cool ones, might I say, with farm animals, ziplines, mini climbing walls and more. While at school, children are given warm, freshly made lunches. Not to mention, school is completely free! Every month, families are given an allowance of around 1000 SEK for each child until they are 16 years old. As you can see, not a bad place to start a family!

4. Kids and young adults are paid to go to school!

I know what you’re thinking… how is this possible? When students go to gymnasium (high school), they are paid monthly a small allowance for showing up to class! Similarly, university is also free for students and they still get a monthly allowance to help support them during university!

5. Gender equality

If you’re wondering who in the world has got this covered? It’s Sweden. You see policemen on the side of the road? Half of them will be women. If you see paramedics in a truck? Half of them will be women. If you go to the hospital, there will be an even amount of male workers as female workers. Sweden has evidently put in the effort to encourage and provide opportunities for men and women to enter these gender driven professions. Additionally, Sweden has the smallest pay gap between men and women among the nordic countries, at only 10.5%. This means, 90% of the women get payed as much as the men do!

6. Five weeks of vacation for everybody!

Whether you are a teacher, a nurse, a lawyer, or corporate worker, all professions are entitled to 6 weeks of vacation right when a person is hired! You don’t have to build up to this time off after x years of work, it’s given to you right from the start… and as it should be!

7. Forests and lakes are basically your backyard!

Even within the city centre of Stockholm, beautiful forests and hiking trails are within 15 minutes of your home! In fact, Stockholm is a city built ON thousands of islands! So even if hiking is not your thing, swimming in the sea and all the wonderful lakes (or skating in the winter) is also an option! Even better, access to the islands is easy by the boats that tour around the islands everyday.

8. Everyone speaks English… and probably 2 or 3 more languages FLUENTLY!

It really is incredible that a whole country is able to speak 2 languages so fluently! Even beyond Swedish and English, most people also know a third language just out of their own interest. It’s impressive that even if you only knew Spanish or French, you would probably be able to get around in this country somehow. Once you live in Sweden, you also become inclined to learn another language! Even though Swedish is quite difficult, you could learn enough to say something to somebody here or there sometimes.

9. Environmentally friendly

As you can imagine, a country that has so much access to nature also cares about preserving that nature! As a result, Sweden is very environmentally friendly in all regards – recycling is taken very seriously, they burn their garbage for energy to power the city, a majority of Swedes will buy eco products, and energy efficient products fill their homes. Most of the energy used throughout Sweden is renewable energy and environmental education begins from preschool. Many people will use public transport or bike to work instead of taking their own cars. Now Sweden’s goal is to have 0 net greenhouse gas emissions by 2045!

10. Swedes are ahead of the game in technology

Have you ever had of having service and wifi on the subway? What about being on a bus ride and finding out it has free wifi to connect to? Aside from the internet, Sweden is a completely cashless country. Apps and your phone are used for most, if not all, services such as going to the bank, doing taxes and more. Additionally, Sweden’s transport system is amazing – high speed, quiet trains, well connected throughout the city.

11. Opportunities, opportunities, opportunities galore!

Sweden is the home of Spotify, Skype, IKEA, H&M, the Fjällräven backpacks, and more! It was, at one point in time, the 3rd biggest music producer in the world. Everyday there are up and coming inventions coming from this country – so how do they do it?

There are incredible support systems to open a small business in Sweden, from an education level to a financial level. A lot of money is given every year by the government to startup businesses as grants. As a result, their economy is booming, minds are creating and people are coming out with some amazing inventions! For example, the airbag for bikers – no more helmets needed!

I highly suggest when you go to Sweden to eat out as much as you can. With all the immigration in the past couple of years, people have set up family-owned cafe’s and restaurants of all sorts of cuisines that are absolutely delicious! It truly is some of the best food I’ve eaten and I dream about it everyday. You can read about some of my cafe, restaurant and bar recommendations here.

12. You are free to be who you want to be

In Sweden, you can truly be you and express yourself as you would like to.A big reason for this is their individualistic culture – everybody is concerned with themselves and their family, often not concerning themselves with the people around them.

They are LGBTQ+ friendly, not a very religious society, and have thousands of immigrants from all over the world, especially the western part of the world. Most importantly, the Swedish government is against any forms of discrimination such as racism or homophobia. If this something you experience, they have your back and will fight for you until justice is served!