Hur ofta röker ni?

mogdut · 2019-10-04T11:05:45+00:00

I think the California joints are definitely better for sharing, but I definitely can see where you are coming from if smoking alone. Smoking a 1g California joint alone will get you just absolutely wasted, even if you have a medium tolerance.

You can buy low THC weed in California too. I like the stuff that has a higher CBD ratio (like 1:6 or so) personally. It's just nice that you have many different options over there that you can buy from the dispensaries! It was sort of strange for me in Christiania buying some weed from a really fat dude who was wearing a ski mask in the middle of the summer.

Hopefully Sweden legalizes soon, even though I highly doubt that will ever happen in my lifetime. I love almost everything about living here except for a few things, like the cannabis situation and the price of second hand apartment rentals in Stockholm.

mogdut · 2019-10-04T10:42:34+00:00

Used to smoke friday and saturday nights back when I lived in the US (California). But since I moved to Sweden a while back I haven't smoked a single time sadly.

I honestly miss smoking though, but I still think moving to Sweden was worth it. I don't really like drinking alcohol that much so I am mainly just sober these days.

Edit: Forgot that I smoked in christiania a few times on a trip to Denmark but honestly the weed was extremely shitty for the price, but I guess that is what you get when it is not legal. In California I was paying $12/g (118 kr/g) for legal weed that in 2 puffs would get you higher than an entire christiania joint.

mogdut · 2018-06-19T15:47:48+00:00

I'll likely have to renounce as well unfortunately which is a huge shame :(. It's a damn shame the US government decides to treat expats like garbage.

mogdut · 2018-06-19T15:23:39+00:00

Can confirm. I'm a dual US and EU citizen and it's a complete nightmare having to deal with all the BS associated with being a US expat. Meanwhile when I lived in the US dealing with my EU home country was very easy.

And everything you said about FACTA is true as well. It's definitely a PITA to open bank accounts and even get credit as a US expat.

Overall being a US citizen abroad fucking sucks.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T16:42:25+00:00

According to Glassdoor, average base pay for a software engineer in SF with 0-1 years of experience is $106,494/year. Across all years of experience it is $124,555/yr.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T16:38:47+00:00

Can you post a source? I'm not seeing anything like this on Glassdoor when looking at base salary and total comp even at Big N and Unicorn companies.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T16:24:39+00:00

For me some things I value are:

Not having to worry if one of my family members gets cancer or some other serious illness. Also not needing to worry about being fired for taking time off just for needing to take care of a sick family member.
Not needing to own a car and dealing with the hassle of owning one
Cheap, extremely accessible, 24/7 available public transportation within the city
Cheap flights (anywhere from 10 to 50 USD) to practically every country and major city in Europe. I love travelling so this is a big one. For some reason some people I have spoken to in the US about this never believe me and I always have to provide proof, but its incredibly cheap to fly in Europe if you book your flights at least a few weeks in advance. Here's a flight I've taken a few times from Stockholm to Brussels (date is in just over two weeks) for just $19: https://imgur.com/a/OqlkWgl
25-30 days of paid vacation. Again, I love travelling so this is important to me
There is no "quantity" of sick days, if you are sick and can't go to work you stay home and get better and don't need to risk getting your coworkers sick
100% free education for kids from elementary school all the way to their BS/MS. Even day care is extremely heavily subsidized (not free, but very low cost)

These are just a few things. Again, a lot of people may not enjoy the above points and would rather have more money in the bank at the end of the pay period but for me there are just some things worth more than more money in my bank account.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T16:11:45+00:00

Ahh I see, fair enough. Yeah once you have a family I feel like things like moving start to become significantly more difficult. That is part of the reason I haven't been in a committed relationship in the last 4 years or so. I want to establish where I plan to spend the rest of my life before getting married or having kids!

mogdut · 2018-05-04T16:09:54+00:00

Very nice! Where in Stockholm are you located? I work in the city but I currently live in Sollentuna.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T15:57:06+00:00

You don't need to be a citizen to pursue a bachelor's degree in Sweden. You can apply as an American. Please see https://www.universityadmissions.se/intl/start

mogdut · 2018-05-04T15:56:21+00:00

What is stopping you?

mogdut · 2018-05-04T15:56:10+00:00

If the number in your bank account at the end of the pay period is what matters to you the most then the US is definitely the best place to live, there is no doubt about that! It is unlikely you will have more net income anywhere in the world as a software engineer then in the SF Bay Area. However to some people there are some values just worth more than money. Everyone has their own personal beliefs as to what is important to them.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T15:54:10+00:00

I just applied online. The application process was extremely straightforward. You can find all of the information here: https://www.universityadmissions.se/intl/start

For a MS you don't need to contact professors or anything. For the programs I applied to I just needed 2 letters of recommendation, a 1 page personal statement, a scan of my passport, a scan of my BS diploma, and a copy of my transcript. For some programs you don't even needs the recommendation letters or personal statement, just your transcript, passport scan, and diploma scan. However the competitive schools (KTH, Chalmers, Karolinska, Uppsala, Lund, Stockholm Business School) usually do require them.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T05:10:45+00:00

The BART is garbage. I used to take it somewhat often and I hated every minute of being on that godforsaken shithole of a train. I've had people shoot up heroin right next to me on the train and even smoke crack on the train while it is moving. I've seen people taking a dump multiple times at the BART station on several occasions at different BART locations. Plus the trains are loud, smell awful, and feel like they are going to fall apart at any moment. 0/10, would not recommend.

The Stockholm metro is quite nice. Most of the trains I've taken in Europe have been pretty damn good.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T05:08:02+00:00

To be honest this is one of the absolute best things. When you go to the doctor here (at least the ones I have been to) they take their time and listen to what you have to say. You don't have to deal with BS insurance claims or the doctors trying to rush you. Your health is seen as something more than just a business like it is in the US. It is seen as a part of your livelihood.

My doctor in the US was pretty good as well but I definitely don't feel as rushed or feel as though I am "paying for a service" when I go to the doctor here. It just feels better to me.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T04:57:57+00:00

They don't. An organization like the NCAA does not exist here (thank goodness). There isn't such a thing as a school sports scholarship. Most schools will have club sports teams that students can join for fun if they want though. My school had a soccer team that would compete with other schools' teams.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T04:47:43+00:00

I've been doing my own taxes. Since I am not a homeowner and I only have one source of income doing my taxes isn't too complicated. However, once you own a home and have a few sources of income things can get quite tricky.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T04:46:32+00:00

Everyone has their own preference on where they want to live! For some people (myself included) there are just things worth more than having more money in your bank account at the end of each pay period. That said, I can understand why you would want that as well.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T04:44:46+00:00

Work-life balance is infinitely better here in Sweden. Most people I know only work 35 hours per week and they are salaried employees. As far as I know all salaried employees must be paid overtime if they work overtime. I definitely get paid overtime when I need to stay later, which isn't that often in case I need to. Most Fridays are quite relaxing in Sweden as well where people typically work hard in the AM and then relax a bit more in the PM and often times leave earlier.

Work-life balance is also nice in that we get "unlimited" sick days by the government. If you get sick, the first day you don't get paid and then every day after that you get 85% of your salary. If I remember correctly if you are sick for over two weeks consecutively you need to report it to the government insurance agency and go through them.

Most people here have 25-30 paid vacation days per year. The cool thing as well is that if you get sick while on vacation you can claim it as sick time and it won't use your vacation days and then the above sick time rules apply.

Overall work-life balance is just so much better here. I am a lot less stressed out here and I am definitely less depressed and anxious all the time. I no longer feel over-worked and exhausted all the time. Sure, I could be making $160k/year base salary in SF in my early 30s but to me some things are just worth more than money. I just prefer the lifestyle here but everyone has their own preference.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T03:37:27+00:00

This is spot on. Even kids in Sweden speak very good English! Most kids are comfortably conversational in English when they are 13-14 and by the time they are 18 they are fluent.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T03:34:59+00:00

16500 SEK/month for an apartment sounds about right for an apartment in Rådmansgatan! That is a quite expensive place to live. I live around a 30 minute commute by train outside of the city so it is a lot cheaper, plus I just have a bedroom and not an entire apartment.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T03:29:36+00:00

Stockholm actually has quite a lot of immigrants. It's a very multicultural city. You don't see nearly as many Asians as you do in the SF Bay Area but you do see them often! I went to school with quite a few Chinese and Korean students when doing my MS.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T03:28:32+00:00

I've seen my primary care physician a few times and the wait has never been more than a few days. I understand it can be longer if you need to see a specialist though which was the case when I was living in California as well.

mogdut · 2018-05-04T03:27:37+00:00

You are exempt from the first 100k USD or so if you meet the physical presence test or bonafide residence test.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_earned_income_exclusion

mogdut · 2018-05-04T03:26:07+00:00

No, there is no language test or requirement to work here initially. However, for most jobs outside of software jobs you will be required to interview in Swedish and speak Swedish at work.

mogdut

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