There are a million (at least...we haven't actually counted...) places on the web right now that have instructions on how to behave to protect yourself and others from covid-19.  It varies so much from country to country and, as you may have noticed, Sweden is getting a way bigger share of the media attention for its pandemic strategy.

Whether you think the strategy is right or wrong...and will we ever really know?... here is a summary of what we think is the advice we should all be following if we live in Sweden:

Though language learning is mentioned, many expats told us that they perceived they were excluded from job opportunities not for lack of language ability because they were foreign – on the surface, clear discrimination – but when we dug down deep, we could see another cause, one you can read about in our guide to the State of Expat Life in Sweden 2018!

“Sometimes all the planning in the world won't prepare you for it, but as long as you know where your nearest coffee house is everything falls into place!”

We at New in Sweden (NiDS) worked with news and analysis provider Mundus International and Swedish language tuition provider Swedish for Professionals to uncover the details of expat life in Sweden. We have quizzed expats that are here, the HR staff that organised their move and the Relocation Agents that supported them during the process. We dug deep to find out the full story about emigrating here and hope that new arrivals can then make much more informed decisions about their move to Sweden.

Our guide to the state of expat life in Sweden is out now. It covers the main challenges expats are experiencing right now and the reasons for them, the support that is and isn’t provided at a personal level and what help is out there. We have a separate report that looks at what expats told us in comparison with other surveys, the political environment and what needs to change for expat life to improve. Get your copies of both here. 

It is easy to confuse the very formal, organised Swedish state with the very informal nature of society.  Being new here almost guarantees you’ll get them confused at some point! Here are eight things you can do that should help you avoid the most common mistakes:

Shoes are strictly worn outside and in certain public settings. For instance, if you happen to find yourself in court – do NOT remove your shoes. However, if you're in a library or hospital, you will notice that certain areas are no shoe zones. Look out for helpful signs and strange blue plastic things in baskets on the floor – they are for covering your shoes with if you don’t want to take them off.

If you happen to be male, maybe even a southern gentleman and decide to hold the door for some unsuspecting woman, she might consider it to be an insult. Sweden has come a long way when it comes to gender equality and the current generation of young to middle aged women do not want to be treated differently at all. However, holding doors and offering to help someone who is carrying something (especially a buggy) is fine.

Physical banks are becoming a thing of the past in Sweden and cash is disappearing. Do not expect to receive much service even if your bank happen to have such a location and do not expect them to handle cash, except if it is coming out of an ATM. Getting used to on-line banking will help you.

One of our resident Swedes says: “Swedes are like coconuts – hard shells with fluid insides. Sort of.” You may well notice that when talking to a Swede that you don’t know that the person usually reacts to your communication with a perplexed look. That's just the Swedish default mode. Keep on talking and you'll see them relax and get into the swing of chattering.

Things such as surströmming, nubbe and crayfish are sometimes presented as being part of mythical traditions that must be dealt with in accordance with strict regulations. Not even swedes know how to deal with crayfish and most of them hate nubbe. Go with the flow, it's not an exam.

This is just dangerous. Let's say you're walking in the bicycle path and a bike rider turns a corner and hits you. You will be to blame. Even to the point of being responsible for paying his or her medical bills. It's called negligence and the Swedes don't mess around.  Plus it will hurt.

 
If you now have even more questions about life in Sweden, get in touch with us :)