LostInTheWoods

Thanks for the welcome Aaron (see comment for “Cold Nights, Strong Liqueur and Finding a New Home.”).

I moved to Sweden from the UK about 18 months ago. In terms of living with the "Swedish model" I guess I politically lean towards it anyway. I believe that if policy is to the benefit of the many, there are fewer problems to deal with. Taxes are generally high, but you get what you pay for.

I am currently studying swedish here (paid for by state, and thus my taxes), but this is my choice. Although I do feel if you move to a country that does not speak your mother tongue, you should be obligated to learn it, also there are so many benefits and I can not think of any reasons why not to. I think the only time you are forced to learn is if you are from outside the European Community and you wish to work here.

My girlfriend is swedish, and she lived in the UK with me for several years, and in that time I have been coming here quite frequently, and I have had no trouble with the culture, it is very similar to the British but with a few subtle differences. I'll blog about these as I hit them, but an obvious thing is that the Swedes have something to celebrate every month.

I get the feeling that the most important thing here is the safety and health of everyone, and the most important people in society are the most vulnerable, children. Childcare is free here in Sweden, and the education system spends the first couple of years teaching children life skills (sharing, tolerance, working together etc) before spelling tests and mental arithmetic, which I think is an excellent idea.

As I may have blogged elsewhere (I can't remember what I did this morning, let alone weeks ago when I wrote most of the posts to date), I think the move was a positive one for me, and I know for sure it was for my girlfriend (known as Ren in these parts). But never a day goes by where I don't learn something new, usually in a painfully embarrassing way.

That is all.

LostInTheWoods