Geografi & Svenskamerikaner (Swedish Americans)

Geography (Geografi) 

One thing that has always been on my mind as I ponder the future move is what will it be like? And by that I mean, how different is Sweden from Minnesota geographically, culturally etc..? Minnesota and Sweden are both about halfway north within the temperate zone with latitudes of 45 N and 59 N respectively (Latitudes for St. Paul and Stockholm).

The time difference is +7 hours so while people in Minnesota are having their dinners around 6pm, people in Sweden will be catching some Zzz's at 1am.

I found some nifty graphs depicting the temperature flux from one month to another throughout the year. Looking at the temperatures it appears the averages seem to match up quite well for each season! Although Stockholm appears to have slightly cooler summers, but the winters seem to be the same! Ive read blogs of some expats moving to Sweden from Southern United states and I cant imagine they take well to the long cold winters. Here in Minnesota, we are used to our winters lasting from November to April! So luckily, the weather will be home sweet home!

Stockholm Annual Average Temps (Highs, Lows)

Minnesota Annual Average Temps (highs, lows)

Swedish Americans (Svenskamerikaner)

When the Fiance and I first turned our jokes about moving to Sweden to a real goal on our list, I started searching all over the internet for information and first hand experience. I recall one critical internet gentleman saying to me "Why would you want to leave the greatest country on earth to live in a socialist commune?" . He explained that if I wanted to experience that Scandinavian culture, to simply move to Minnesota. That way I would get to experience the culture and the weather without ever having to leave God's chosen country. I laughed as I was mildly amused that I in fact already lived there...for my whole life...then I stopped being amused.

I had no idea that Minnesota was suppose to be the culmination of American-Scandinavian culture! We have this saying in Minnesota called "Minnesota nice". Basically all it means is that we are always nice...regardless of how we really feel. We dont want to make scenes or cause troubles, so we keep our genuine thoughts to ourselves if they are at all negative.

So that got me thinking, why does Minnesota have this relocated Scandinavian culture. A few quick Google searches (Thank you Wikipedia!) informed me that Swedes began to immigrate to the United States in about 1800-1900s. They did so because of the low cost and high quality of farm land (particularly in the mid west). And where did a majority of these Swedes go to? Minnesota! The land of similarities! Oh, you betcha!

The distribution of Swedish Americans according to the 2000 census (Taken from Wiki)

Health and Education

Another thing to consider would be the socioeconomic differences between the two locations. One thing us Minnesotans can boast about is that we were ranked the 3rd healthiest state in the United States in 2013! We have high rates for physical activity, high graduation rates, and low obesity rates. Not only that, but the Twin Cities was ranked as the #1 bike friendly city in the country! I know the Swedes are big biking fans, so is there some connection do you think?

 I did a search to see how Sweden fared as a country, and I discovered that it is the 9th healthiest country in the world! (United States, 33rd). Thats pretty good and its definitely a step in the right direction as far as relocating goes. And their education system has been ranked as one of the top as well! I dont feel any loss going from our US system over to the Sweden system.



 Those are some of the main positive driving factors into our decision to move, but there of course are other reasons as well. But in an attempt to keep the blog as positive as possible, I dont feel the need to delve into the other aspects as much. Ill simply abbreviate it and say that we are growing tired of US politics.

Skål Vikings!

And on a final note...Minnesota also has a Scandinavian namesake  football team, the Vikings! It is typical to see people say things like Skol Vikings! Which is skål in Swedish and simply means cheers!

Cheers!!!