Sweden
 

Hello there. I am about to move to Sweden - for good. There's just one little detail to resolve: WHERE to? I would think anything south of Stockholm should be extremely nice, but I was hoping to find some absolutely smashing beauty of a place. Size doesn't matter. What matters is atmosphere, nature, romance and entertainment. I would love to move to Blekinge or Skaane, Smaaland also. But where exactly in there would I find what I am hoping for? Pretty buildings and young crowd a must, ocean a big plus. Any theories welcome!

Hi Chris! Blekinge, Skaane and Smaaland are different. Do you want forrests, farms or the archipelago? Many Swedish people prefer Osterlen (http://www.gk-simrishamn.se/osterlen/eng.htm). I don't think you will find young crowds there... but atmosphere. Young crowd in Lund where there live a lot of students. By the way, the ocean is outside Norway. But we have a great archipelago here too.

Thanks for your reply. Well, you see, I would like to find a little bit of everything. I have bought all the books on Sweden I could find, and it seems to me that Blekinge offers forest, farms, AND islands etc. Or did they exaggerate a bit? Some towns that seem especially nice from here are Karlskrona, Ronneby, and Ystad in Skaane. Or are they? I would love to hear your opinion. Also, what do you think about Malmoe? Is that an attractive city to live in?

Dhris, I live in Stockholm and before that I used to live in Gothenburg and I have never been to those cities. Only Malmoe trainstation... I know that Blekinge offers farms, forests and archipelago. It's not an exaggeration. Why don't you make a trip to Sweden and see for yourself?

Hello, Elisabet!
Yes, I definitely will take a trip. However, I will have very little time to find an apartment, because as I leave the U.S., my car and my things will leave in a container and arrive in Sweden within a few weeks. So, I should decide where I will concentrate my search. Anyway, thanks for your advice, so long, Chris

Hi. I see that you live in Sweden. I will be on a family vacation arriving July 11 in Stolckholm. We are trying not to spend a fortune. Can you recomend a specific tour company, or a certain way to travel for 2 adults and 1 10 year old and 1 17 year old. We have 15 days to travel.

Hi. I see that you live in Sweden. I will be on a family vacation arriving July 11 in Stolckholm. We are trying not to spend a fortune. Can you recomend a specific tour company, or a certain way to travel for 2 adults and 1 10 year old and 1 17 year old. We have 15 days to travel.

Sandra, I don't know what to answer. Travel or sightseeing? Elisabet Jensen

Chris, have you looked into the tax levels in Sweden? Look before you leap. Their taxes will blow your socks off. Nice people, too much government, and a winter that lasts forever.

Elisabet, I will be sightseeing for 15 days. Do reccommend taking the train mostly, or renting a car. Also, is Trondheim worth a visit?

Sandra, are you going to be in the Stockholm area or travelling in Sweden? Stockholm has good apublic transport system and there are sightseeing boats and buses. See the information on Sweden House. They can answer any question about Sweden and Stockholm.
http://www.stoinfo.se/england/index.html
Rent a car or the trains? It depends on what and where you will be going. We have clean trains as someone mentioned at Fodors. With a car you can drive more freely. Try to see the archipelog in Stockholm and if you have the time, try to see the midnightsun above the artic circle. Take the train to Narvik, Norway and sit on the right side. Fantastic scenery! I don't know what is more expensive, to rent a car or take the train. Maybe someone from the US can tell write about that...? Elisabet

This reply to your post may be more tourist oriented and less "where to live". My husband and I just returned from a week in Scandinavia. We flew into Stockholm Arlanda from Paris, took a taxi (345 SEK) to the Silja Terminal. Got on Silja Symphony for overnight 14 hour cruise to Helsinki. Walked Helsinki for a day. Back onto Silja Symphony for overnight 14 hour cruise to Stockholm. It was great. Rooms were luxurious, food excellent, tax free shopping a big deal on the boat (do it before 1999 when it goes away). We then spent 5 days in Stockholm at the Grand Hotel at our company business conference. Stockholm is beautiful, and we walked everywhere, saw the Vasa, Gamla Stan, etc. From Stockholm we flew to Oslo for one afternoon and night. Then, the best part of the trip, was the "Taste of Balastrand" which is similar to "Norway in a Nutshell". This is the most scenic train route in northern Europe. Oslo-Bergen train at 7:42 a.m., get off at Myrdal at 12:25 p.m. and immediately onto the Flam train for a 50 minute descent into the Flam valley, waterfalls, scenic. Onto the Sognefiord Express boat for a cruise through the fjords. Our evening hotel was the Kvickne in Balastrand. Absolutely breathtaking, and I have traveled a lot, stayed at the best hotels all over Europe, and I was very, very impressed with the mountains, fjords, hotel, people. If you travel through Norway, take that extra day and stay in Balastrand. I could go back and stay a week in that hotel. Every view is beautiful. The next morning, Sognefjord Express boat picked us up at the pier and we traveled to Bergen. Overnight in Bergen, home next day. Not cheap, but I don't intend to travel cheap on my vacations.

I would suggest you get the book Culture Shock: Sweden from your local book store and read up on the cultural differences. I read it and it helped for just the few days we were there.