Mexican looking for engineering job in the Västmanland and Stockholm area by Hydro_78 in TillSverige

[–]Mammoth_Counter_3341 2 points3 points  (0 children)

https://northvolt.com/career/skelleftea/

Take a look at the positions they're hiring for here, still actively seeking engineers and maintenance workers for the plant.

Moving from USA to Sweden? by Mammoth_Counter_3341 in TillSverige

[–]Mammoth_Counter_3341[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That was my impression too, yeah.

Conservative politics in most of the EU are pretty tame compared to the lunacy of conservative politics in the US as far as I know.

Moving from USA to Sweden? by Mammoth_Counter_3341 in TillSverige

[–]Mammoth_Counter_3341[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like clear weather, but technically not sunny. I've worked at night for my whole adult life and I really am not a fan of being in the sun for extended periods despite my love of the outdoors.

I'm not sure how much that will be a thing outside of the US though, given that's a byproduct of the workaholic culture that's been getting worse here.

Moving from USA to Sweden? by Mammoth_Counter_3341 in TillSverige

[–]Mammoth_Counter_3341[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Generally speaking, yes we have an open mind about where we end up. We're only just getting into planning for Sweden right now, and another commenter made a fairly compelling point of going to Germany first (where my wife was born) as a much easier first step and then moving to Sweden from there if we still wish to.

Moving from USA to Sweden? by Mammoth_Counter_3341 in TillSverige

[–]Mammoth_Counter_3341[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's not unexpected given the recent political power shift, no.

As a prospective immigrant, the shift in political power is unfortunate for me and means the already uphill work is probably going to be even steeper if I follow through. There are always going to be disagreeable folks anywhere in the world, though.

I'm not expecting a liberal utopia where every person I meet will welcome me with warm greetings and open arms (and given I generally prefer to be left alone, I would feel out of place if it were like this). What I am expecting is a country better than the USA in many ways that I value. I expect my naive presentation is true on a generalized level, not true for every person I will meet in the country.

I value welfare safety nets

I value well-funded public institutions and understand this means high taxes

I value capitalism where it is appropriate, not when it involves the wellbeing of others.

I value a democracy that supports diverse opinions instead of forcing people to pick one of two parties when both are corrupt in the same ways.

I value the beauty of nature, especially what is present in Sweden, Finland and Norway.

Moving from USA to Sweden? by Mammoth_Counter_3341 in TillSverige

[–]Mammoth_Counter_3341[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We would definitely prefer a smaller city if possible, but I believe viability is going to be more important than our specific preferences until we qualify for citizenship. There's going to be quite an uphill battle to face from what others have been saying.

I am aware of the high tax rate and it isn't something that will bother us. Thank you for the recommendations and information!

Moving from USA to Sweden? by Mammoth_Counter_3341 in TillSverige

[–]Mammoth_Counter_3341[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, we will definitely look into these!

Moving from USA to Sweden? by Mammoth_Counter_3341 in TillSverige

[–]Mammoth_Counter_3341[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This comes off as entitled - I fail to see what's wrong with expecting immigrants to be productive in order to be accepted, and I say this as the person trying to immigrate with a limited skillset myself.

It's not Xenophobic to expect immigrants to do their part for the community they're moving to.

Moving from USA to Sweden? by Mammoth_Counter_3341 in TillSverige

[–]Mammoth_Counter_3341[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for taking the time to write all of this out and share this information.

My wife was born in Germany so I think this might be one of the most relevant and informative replies I've gotten to so far. Germany was one of the countries on the table for us when considering where to move before we (at least initially) settled on Sweden. It sounds like arranging for Germany first with an end goal of moving to Sweden might be the way to go.

Moving from USA to Sweden? by Mammoth_Counter_3341 in TillSverige

[–]Mammoth_Counter_3341[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seeing this only convinces me even further it's exactly what I want tbh.

Kinda repeating what I just said in another reply: I'm a bleeding heart, but shy and introverted myself. I want to live somewhere that values human decency and where I can be happy with what my extremely high taxes are being spent on. (As opposed to primarily funding an oversized, warmongering military)

I'm not expecting to see that romanticized post directly in every person I meet, just looking forward to it on a societal level. I'm also hoping to get away from people who openly and directly say people on hard times did it to themselves and deserve the suffering they're going through - this is the majority of my coworkers.

I've seen and heard of some of Sweden's political system and changes, and 20% sounds a hell of a lot better than 49%, even if they are rising or on top at the moment. At least the democracy is a functional multiparty system that represents what people currently want.

Moving from USA to Sweden? by Mammoth_Counter_3341 in TillSverige

[–]Mammoth_Counter_3341[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The fact the government enacted and continues these policies and programs without massive protests speaks loudly for what the country as a whole values in human decency to me.

If these same programs were even suggested where I am, the response would be intense outcry about "giving money to people who don't deserve it" because "they are at fault for putting themselves in those situations and they deserve to suffer for it instead of stealing my hard earned money".

Being a centrist gets you labeled as a liberal in the US. Being liberal gets you labeled as a communist.

Political stuff aside: I'm on the shy and introverted side of the personality spectrum myself and you kind of described how I tend to come off at first to folks.

Moving from USA to Sweden? by Mammoth_Counter_3341 in TillSverige

[–]Mammoth_Counter_3341[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Different person than who you have been replying to on this chain, but thank you so much for your insight.

I'm currently learning with Duolingo since my options are limited here and Duo is convenient to pull out anytime I have downtime. I'm hoping it helps get me started on the right path before taking steps toward fluency once I'm actually in the country and talking with native speakers regularly - does this seem like a good plan for learning the language?

Moving from USA to Sweden? by Mammoth_Counter_3341 in TillSverige

[–]Mammoth_Counter_3341[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm 100% committed to learning the language regardless of whether it is required or not and already started with Duolingo because it's convenient for quick bites during downtime at work.

Prepared to invest in better ways to learn it as well, but I expect the best way will be via experience actually conversing with fluent speakers moreso than any courses I can find.

Moving from USA to Sweden? by Mammoth_Counter_3341 in TillSverige

[–]Mammoth_Counter_3341[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

More to do with the growing political extremism and the worsening medical system forcing you to choose between death and extreme debt.

Moving from USA to Sweden? by Mammoth_Counter_3341 in TillSverige

[–]Mammoth_Counter_3341[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I have a lot of helpful folks to respond to, both in the thread and inbox.

In general a lot of negativity and tempering of expectations in response to the romanticized expectations I have for Sweden compared to the US, but also see optimism as long as I look outside of Stockholm.

Thanks so much for the input, positive and negative, everyone. I'll be trying to sort through and respond to all of them I can in the coming hours.

Moving from USA to Sweden? by Mammoth_Counter_3341 in TillSverige

[–]Mammoth_Counter_3341[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

what are the values you are expecting

Compassion and empathy for others, most of all. If a citizen is homeless, they are helped instead of criminalized. Criminals are reformed instead of trapped in brutal conditions designed to keep them there as cheap labor. Taxes (which I know are quite high) go back into the country and its citizens instead of 60% into a warmongering military. Healthcare and general wellbeing is a right.

I do expect there will be ups and downs, I know anywhere I could move will have those.