Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Great websites for people moving to Sweden

I've been getting a lot of emails recently from people planning to move to Sweden. I enjoy hearing from everyone and getting a wide variety of questions - so I'm not complaining, I just thought I would post some web sites I thought were pretty helpful when I was planning my move to Sweden. If anyone knows of any more that they like, please let me know! I imagine most people have come across these sites before, but just in case:

www.amerikanska.com - While the title implies this site is best suited for Americans, there are a lot of different expats on there who can help with questions about Migrationsverket.

Amerikanska was around when I moved to Sweden, which was AGES ago. It used to be a bit more lively, before they shut down the political discussion board, but in the end it has had staying power. Check it out!

Mumsinsweden.com - This website is sadly closing down, but it has been a great resource for parents moving to Sweden. Everyone is hoping there will be a replacement before the doors shutter at the end of the year. Until then, try to check it out to contact other parents or parents to be in your area.

thelocal.se - The Swedish news in English, or the most hated web site by old school British ex-pats in Sweden. Many people love to hate the local. And to anyone looking forward to moving to Sweden I would advise not reading their discussion section, and staying off the forums. If you are looking for an all out bloodbath just post 'Looking for work when moving to Sweden' and watch the shitstorm begin. Remember, people who are unemployed spend a lot of time on the Internet.

ams.se - This is the place where they list a lot of job ads. People swear it is impossible to find a job on here, but I have gotten 3. One where I was selected from 100 candidates, and didn't have any personal connection to the company - so it IS possible. You want to go to platsbanken. Other great job sites are monster.se and stepstone.se

blocket.se - This is Swedish Craigslist - you can do apartment hunting here, buy used baby stuff, pretty much anything. Watch out for housing scams though. If the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Also, don't be afraid of writing in English. In my housing searches I find a lot of people renting out their homes and apartments are actually other ex-pats moving around the world. Either that or they are a Kenyan scam.

tradera.se Swedish Ebay, this one you have to bid on. Not great for finding apartments (Well actually I have never tried) but good for finding all other types of used and new stuff.

And thanks again for all of your emails and questions, don't hesitate to contact me if you are wondering about anything. Also check out my blog links to other ex-pasts and their experiences. We all have different ideas of the good, the bad and the ugly. But most of all, Good Luck and Enjoy!




5 comments:

  1. you can get your news via http://sverigesradio.se/sida/default.aspx?programid=2054 or http://www.svt.se/2.42317/english. they are tasked with providing news to residents who might not speak swedish as well. this obviously includes english but also arabic, finnish ect.
    the reason thelocal is so disliked is because they often dont live up to the standard of being objective and they mostly rehash stuff they read elsewhere.
    while public radio/tv websites might look dubious to some they hardly take orders from the government. they recently cost a minister their job.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks anon for the link, I love those sites but hadn't realized they had an english page. These sites are both better direct sources for Swedish news.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi, I love your blog, and would like to contact you further. I have a few questions for you about midwives in Sweden. I am a 20 year old American student studying at Karlstad University. I am making a documentary for one of my classes, and this topic sounds so interesting to me. Do you have an email?
    -Scarlett

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi! I am at the moment building a website to provide people who are moving to Sweden with the information that I think would have been useful to me when I moved there. If you want to take a look at it, it's http://allaboutsweden.com

    Great blog btw!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi,
    The website list in mentioned in blog is really helpful for Swedish news. For those who are planning to move in Sweden, Actus Flytt is one of the best packers and movers company that facilitates relocation services all over Sweden. You can have further details on http://www.actusflytt.se/

    ReplyDelete