At the beginning...hjälp mig!

Hallå blogosphere, it is I, Claire. I am here to start my first blog to document my learning and transition from an American into Swedish culture. Its bound to be an emotionally and mentally draining experience but not without plenty of excitement and rewards!

So first off, who am I? I am a 26 year old Midwestern US resident who has never lived anywhere else but where I was born. I know no other languages, I experience very minimal diversity, and my knowledge of geography is sorely lacking...shh!

I am engaged to be married to my best friend and New York resident, Thom. We met online via a computer game and have dated long distance for about 3 years.

Why do we want to move to Sweden? Well, for a couple reasons really. First of all, we are both looking to have an adventure. While that might not be a sufficient reason for two seemingly well adjusted adults, we are itching to experience a new culture and learn a new language. So for all intents and purposes, we are in training to be come expatriates (or expat for short)! An expat is simply a person who currently resides in a country other than where they were born. 

From the research we have done in making this decision, we feel that Sweden aligns beautifully with many of our core values as well as offering a milder transitioning experience in comparison to other countries. 

Some fun facts about Sweden:

1) They have a much higher emphasis on bike riding vs car driving. Thus they consume less oil than the US.

2) They are more eco friendly as well as focused on a more minimalist lifestyle.

3) Higher taxes (Around 30%) but that means we can enjoy the full access to health care, medicine, transportation, parks, etc!

4) Paid parental leave. Paid. PAID. And parental = mom and dad! Let that soak in. 

5) 5 weeks of vacation is standard. 

6) While Swedish is their official language, a huge portion of the country can speak English. (But that doesn't mean we shouldn't learn Swedish!)

7) Swedish currency is the Swedish krona. Abbreviation kr. Example: I have 20kr vs $20. The USD to SEK conversion is 1 USD = 6.93 SEK

Sweden experiences all seasons and has quite nice summers even if the winters are a bit harsh. (Although I'm pretty used to that as a Minnesotan native. 

Stockholm, Capital of Sweden

So in these early stages, we will be investigating the basics. Jobs, apartments, language classes, and other such things. But for right now, our jobs are to start learning the language, the culture, and what is involved in the transition process. How do we become citizens? Do we need work visas? What does any of this even mean? I for one, haven't the slightest clue. Time to exhaust my Google resources!