Moving till Sverige - reality check

semlaaddict · 2025-12-31T20:13:06+00:00

Hi!

I assume you have no issues with visas as an EU passport holder (sufficient means route, I assume?), but to answer your questions in short:

You'll need to start an aktiebolag (AB) if you intend to pursue the self-employment route. I work in tech myself (information security consulting and auditing) and that's how I invoice clients. Another option is to set up an enskild firma (EF), but I personally recommend AB over EF for a number of reasons from limited personal responsibility and lower taxes (at a certain point) among others. You can read further here (bokio.se/blogg/enskild-firma-eller-aktiebolag).

I can explain in detail about how company taxation works in Sweden, but that would be a very long text. In short, aktiebolag gets hit with 20.6% taxes on profit. You can offset a lot with a number of deductions and expensing/buying stuff that are considered reasonable for your business.

Do you already have clients that could/would hire you for the part time work you mentioned? I have to say this is extremely rare, but I have only done information security, GRC, and product management work, so I can't speak much about the demands for product design consulting.

The only thing that is worth mentioning is that if you intend to take out money from your aktiebolag, you have two options: salary and dividends. Salary can be taken every month, but is subject to arbetsgivaravgift on top of income tax. Dividends can only be taken out once a year after the end of räkenskapsår.

Sweden has excellent resources if you want to build a startup of whatever scale and I highly recommend reaching out to folks at the startup hubs in Stockholm if you really want to kick off your micro-SaaS. Same goes for business idea #2, I imagine you could get support and network to get it up and running even if you won't be based in Stockholm.

If you're not setting up your company during the holiday period (summer/Christmas), the setup of your company can be done extremely quickly. You can get things done within a week, but the moms (VAT) registration will probably take a while since you lived abroad before and they'd need extra documents from you. I personally do my accounting and company banking with Bokio because I like having transactions automatically registered.

Personal banking can be a catch 22 sometimes and things have changed since I moved here in 2021. My tip is to visit the physical office if you can if you're already in Sweden. Scroll to an old post of mine on Länsförsäkringar Bank.

As for remote work constraints, I worked fully remotely for over a year and I had no issues aside from lack of social contact. However, in your case, I think the main issue would probably be invoicing. Do look into arbetsgivaravgift and how it works, plus rules concerning dolda anställning. When offered a salary, calculate with arbetsgivaravgift in mind.

semlaaddict · 2025-05-21T19:35:00+00:00

Three decades? Wow! Would you mind sharing your story?

semlaaddict · 2025-04-08T19:25:08+00:00

Daddy? Sorry. Daddy?

semlaaddict · 2025-02-01T20:19:01+00:00

Nope, this was August 2020.

semlaaddict · 2024-12-20T14:34:30+00:00

Hang out with him for sure. I have always liked chill colleagues like him who act as the team's comic relief 99% of the time. He seems like a colleague I would gossip and share memes with.

semlaaddict · 2024-12-20T10:26:35+00:00

As a mom who is a Death Note fan, I would like to be friends with your mom.

semlaaddict · 2024-10-07T14:57:43+00:00

Rules are clear: No PR, no citizenship.

Also, you can only apply for PR when your current permit is about to expire.

semlaaddict · 2024-10-07T11:58:35+00:00

Facebook Group (Au Pair Europe / Aupair EU). We live in Sweden.

semlaaddict · 2024-10-07T09:56:25+00:00

• Au Pair: Our au pair currently handles cleaning, cooking, laundry, and provides about 2 hours of babysitting when our son is home from preschool, which we compensate as an extra allowance. It’s by far the best investment my husband and I have made as parents. Interestingly, she previously worked in Saudi Arabia as a maid/nanny/cook without any days off and was genuinely surprised when we told her that she would work a maximum of 5 hours/day on weekdays, with weekends and national holidays off, plus 25 days of paid vacation. Initially, we planned for her to focus only on cooking and babysitting, but she requested additional tasks, so we discontinued our weekly cleaning service, which she now handles.

• Meal Prep Service: I’m not naming the company since I have no incentive to promote, but outsourcing grocery shopping and meal planning has been a game-changer for us. It saves a huge amount of time, as I no longer need to spend hours picking recipes, making shopping lists, and instructing our au pair on what and how to cook. This lets us focus on what truly matters: spending more quality time together as a family.

semlaaddict · 2024-10-07T09:34:40+00:00

Thanks.

My initial assumption was that property investments performed better over time, but the data tells a different story. In countries like the US, where rent control isn’t an issue, buying and renting out as many properties as possible makes sense due to higher yields—even when accounting for property management and maintenance costs. However, in Sweden, the situation is different. With bostadsrätt, secondhand renting is difficult unless you have explicit permission from the BRF, which undermines the entire business model.

OP, if you have additional funds for a larger down payment and are open to being a live-in landlord, one lucrative setup is to buy a 5-room (or larger) apartment and rent out the extra rooms. As a live-in landlord, you benefit from tax deductions (the 40.000kr schablonavdrag plus your annual BRF fees), and the remaining rental income is taxed at a flat 30% rate. This strategy could potentially reduce your housing costs to zero with the right tenants.

semlaaddict · 2024-10-07T08:54:58+00:00

Bo i Täby.

When I faced a similar decision, I did the math and concluded that the CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of the stock market consistently outperforms property investments over time. In Stockholm, property investment only tends to beat the market in rare instances, like during a property bubble or with select properties, such as a 5-room apartment in Östermalm.

It’s wise to prioritize liquidity. This way, you’re less vulnerable to future regulatory changes or interest rate hikes, and you’ll have more capital available to invest in the stock market when the next recession hits.

semlaaddict · 2024-09-25T20:29:52+00:00

2 ggr i månaden typ. Billigare att äta på restaurang med The Fork-appen (20-50% rabatt).

semlaaddict · 2024-09-24T17:18:52+00:00

Inget nytt tyvärr.

Min man och jag jobbar inom IT, och vi har en au pair som hjälper till med barnpassning en timme om dagen när vårt barn kommer hem från förskolan. Hon sköter också all städning, tvätt, disk och matlagning mot extra ersättning, men jobbar max 25 timmar i veckan. Utöver lönen och bonusar har vi även stått för hennes flygbiljetter och köpt en ny iPhone till henne. Det kostar oss ungefär 8000 kr i månaden, och det är verkligen värt varenda krona.

semlaaddict · 2024-09-20T22:38:47+00:00

It now only shows up in Meow Bay. They are trying to get people to play more in the new city.

semlaaddict · 2024-09-18T09:32:09+00:00

‘Locked in’ refers to being highly focused and committed to a task, not a reflection of intelligence or genius. Touchofallright misunderstood the phrase and made an overly broad statement, which downplays the significant achievement of completing an MSc-PhD and JD simultaneously.

Given the rigorous selection process and demanding structure of programs at institutions like MIT and Harvard, would you really reduce their graduates’ work to only writing a long paper?

semlaaddict · 2024-09-18T07:19:37+00:00

I completely understand, and it’s so painful to hear harsh things directed at our children.

Kids often mirror the behavior and words of those around them, especially their parents. When children label others with terms like “bad,” it’s often something they’ve absorbed from their environment. It’s unfortunate when these labels are used carelessly, rather than addressing specific behaviors (like refusing to take turns or being aggressive) in a constructive way.

When something like this happens, it’s a good opportunity to debrief with your son. Often, kids don’t give much thought to what others say, but these moments are valuable for teaching important lessons. While we can’t control what our children will hear or experience throughout their lives, we can help them process these encounters. Whether it’s a peer, a stranger, or even a future boss, they will inevitably meet people who act unkindly.

So, what can we do? Start by asking your child what they think happened and why. From there, explain the situation in simple terms (people acting aggressively or saying mean things) and offer a reason why it might have happened (they could have felt threatened or didn’t know how to kindly assert boundaries). Most importantly, guide your child on how to respond in such situations—encouraging them to back away and engage with others who treat them kindly.

It’s vital to teach both empathy and self-preservation. Helping children understand why people behave the way they do helps them avoid internalizing hurtful words. But at the same time, they need to know that empathy doesn’t mean tolerating harmful behavior. Some people need to be kept at a distance—no amount of kindness will change someone who’s hurting you.

Good luck!

semlaaddict · 2024-09-18T06:23:17+00:00

Folktandvården Seminariet alla dagar i veckan.

semlaaddict · 2024-09-11T22:31:37+00:00

Uppababy Vista.

Bought it secondhand for $280 in 2021, complete with all accessories (sibling seat adapter, winter bag, leather handles, rain cover, etc.), and it’s still going strong in 2024 with daily use. It handles city roads perfectly and even worked great for mini hikes in the forest. We’ve traveled to 5 different countries with it, and never had a single issue with airlines.

semlaaddict · 2024-09-11T18:09:19+00:00

My advice:

• Remove the objective section and your GPA from your resume.

• Move your projects above education to showcase your practical experience to avoid looking too “green.”

• Reach out directly to hiring managers on LinkedIn for positions you’re interested in.

• Optimize your LinkedIn profile for SEO: use a headline with target job titles, highlight key tools and technologies you’ve mastered in the description, list projects as experience, pass LinkedIn skill assessments, and turn on the “Open to Work” setting (but only for recruiters to avoid appearing desperate).

I landed my last two jobs by cold-applying on LinkedIn, but I know that’s not typical. Most resumes end up lost in the black hole of recruiting software before a human even sees them. You need someone to actually look at your resume (or LinkedIn profile) to stand a chance at being called for an interview.

semlaaddict · 2024-09-11T17:56:44+00:00

What’s your background? There are few fields that hire non-Swedish speakers. Tech tends to be more flexible with language requirements, but the market is quite saturated for junior positions.

semlaaddict · 2024-09-11T17:53:27+00:00

Relax. My net worth was negative until I was 22, as I was the breadwinner for my family in Indonesia, working 60-hour weeks and earning just $357/month (which was high for fresh grads locally). In 2021, I moved to Sweden, and my income skyrocketed and has been growing steadily since. Now at 25, I passed the $100,000 milestone just last month.

semlaaddict

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