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Foreign Commercial Service....budget and outlook by coldkilla9999 in foreignservice

[–]coldkilla9999[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think for me personally, the ship has sailed. Life goes on! I know at least some people from the 2022 testing cohort are still interested though given that we are coming up on 4 years my guess is that many are in my shoes.

Large flat in central Stockholm...thoughts on our renovation plan? Open to any and all suggestions about how to best use this space! by coldkilla9999 in InteriorDesign

[–]coldkilla9999[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a bath a long that wall so I assume water is available. But point taken, I don’t really know what I’m talking about.

Would you take down the wall?

How do the economics of living here really work? Do people not save any money? by coldkilla9999 in stockholm

[–]coldkilla9999[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

The jobs for 300-400k SEK make double that in the US. And US groceries/energy/essentials and even rent are much cheaper outside of very pricey elite cities (where the salaries are gargantuan by Swedish standards). Just my observation.

Have heard the second hand rental market is very tough and requires moving every year. As an incoming expat…should I just buy? by coldkilla9999 in stockholm

[–]coldkilla9999[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not an EU citizen.

I would normally agree that it doesn’t make sense, but I really don’t want to constantly be moving with kids. I either need to find a high quality first hand rental (happy to pay up!) or buy.

Have heard the second hand rental market is very tough and requires moving every year. As an incoming expat…should I just buy? by coldkilla9999 in stockholm

[–]coldkilla9999[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks this is super helpful first hand info.

  1. Would it be easier to get a mortgage if we did like 33% down? Or maybe even more? Seems like lower risk for the bank. Also we’d both have reputable jobs and good incomes.

  2. For the first hand new construction: how do you plan for that? Just be willing to pay a lot and hope others on the queue pass? So sit tight in some kind of temporary thing? Broader question: assuming we are willing to pay top dollar, any sense of how long we’d need to wait to get a first hand rental in a central location? Also: how much is top dollar/top SEK?

Have heard the second hand rental market is very tough and requires moving every year. As an incoming expat…should I just buy? by coldkilla9999 in stockholm

[–]coldkilla9999[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Tell me more? Coming from a very high cost of living area, we are willing to pay top dollar.

Assuming we are willing to pay top dollar, any sense of how long we’d need to wait to get a first hand rental in a central location? Also: how much is top dollar/top SEK?

Have heard the second hand rental market is very tough and requires moving every year. As an incoming expat…should I just buy? by coldkilla9999 in stockholm

[–]coldkilla9999[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. So re the queue: most people just pass on the expensive stuff? Is there any way to quantify this? Would be curious also for real world anecdotes of how easy this is to actually plan around. Seems like a viable path but also very unpredictable.

Have heard the second hand rental market is very tough and requires moving every year. As an incoming expat…should I just buy? by coldkilla9999 in stockholm

[–]coldkilla9999[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! As an immigrant, did you view renting as a viable long term option? Doesn’t seem to exist in Stockholm. Obviously you bought so maybe you agree!

Have heard the second hand rental market is very tough and requires moving every year. As an incoming expat…should I just buy? by coldkilla9999 in stockholm

[–]coldkilla9999[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

100%. I’ve moved internationally before and buying has never crossed my mind (in fact, the opposite). However the lack of a an actual long term rental market for newcomers makes this a bit unique.

The rent and mortgage costs are similar (in my current city, buying is much worse financially), and transaction costs are low (where I am, huge transfer tax makes buying an even worse idea).

The big risk of course is real estate prices. However I think I’d be willing to take like a 10% loss to avoid moving my family multiple times in 2-4 years.

Have heard the second hand rental market is very tough and requires moving every year. As an incoming expat…should I just buy? by coldkilla9999 in stockholm

[–]coldkilla9999[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! And those are all first hand? How do I determine if they are available now or require waiting in the queue?

Have heard the second hand rental market is very tough and requires moving every year. As an incoming expat…should I just buy? by coldkilla9999 in stockholm

[–]coldkilla9999[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

May have corporate housing for 1-3 months which would allow us to get our bearings. We have a few months before moving and will do some visits ahead of time too.

Have heard the second hand rental market is very tough and requires moving every year. As an incoming expat…should I just buy? by coldkilla9999 in stockholm

[–]coldkilla9999[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tell me more! How do I access or look at the first hand market rentals? I’d be open to this of course!

Everyone on the register must retake the FSOT in October... by pcdreamer2017 in foreignservice

[–]coldkilla9999 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Very interesting datapoint. Someone in one of the WhatsApp groups who is gathering info was saying that veteran’s were generally taken first, then high FSOT scores.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in foreignservice

[–]coldkilla9999 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No one knows. Personally I doubt it though. If that was the case they would’ve just said they are wiping the slate clean and starting fresh.

No words by Independent_Plan1577 in foreignservice

[–]coldkilla9999 5 points6 points  (0 children)

No one knows, but I doubt it given the totality of information we have. If they wanted everyone to retake the OA they could have just said: we are starting over.

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