I have been very vocal of how incredibly wonderful and beautiful Sweden is, and I am standing by it. So it’s probably odd to hear me say that there are any drawbacks of living in Sweden. There is lots I am and will miss about this country. However, each country has its downsides, even if they are tiny ones. And I feel that if you don’t see them, or don’t realise them, then you are probably missing something in the picture.
There are a couple of drawbacks of living in Sweden. I thought it was important to share them to give you the full picture of what living in this (great!) country is like. And if you’ve lived in any of the Scandinavian countries, I am curious if you’ve had a similar experience to mine – do let me know in the comments!
So let’s go – the very few drawbacks of living in Sweden.
Dry Air
This probably sounds super trivial to some of you. Why would we care about this?? I thought I had good skin until I landed in Stockholm in winter… The dry air wreaked havoc on my skin, eyes, hair… Initially, I had no idea what was going on. And then I realised that I needed to apply not only more moisturising cream everywhere (well, not my eyes, obviously), but I also needed something more potent.
What helped my poor skin? As always, Madara Organic Cosmetics came to the rescue. I also sourced out local brands that were tailored for the Swedish climate, for example Lumene. Once Spring was in full swing, the air got better and so did my skin. And when winter came around again, I was already prepared for the dry air attack 🙂
A good tip: if you’re coming to Sweden from a country with high humidity, get yourself cosmetics with hyaluronic acid in them. It helps to keep the moisture in your skin.
Very short autumn and winter days
Here’s the thing. I actually didn’t mind the short winter days too much. I would even say I’m quite used to them. However, what many people really struggled with was the lack of sunlight. And amazingly, last December was very exceptional because Stockholm didn’t have a single hour of sunlight for a MONTH. I appreciate that it can be depressing, not to mention maybe a tad unhealthy. We all need Vitamin D from the sun after all. And I know people were affected by this extraordinary lack of sunlight.
If you didn’t know, Sweden has a day dedicated to celebrating the light! It’s St Lucia’s day, and it’s on 13th December.
Again, I didn’t mind the lack of sunlight. Having grown up in Poland, and lived in England, I am quite used to grey days. However, if you’re thinking of moving to any of the Scandinavian countries, I would consider how the lack of sunlight may affect you. It’s unfortunately one of the drawbacks of living in Sweden.
The need to book your washing machine
… yes, you read that right. In order to do my washing, I needed to book a washing machine. Why is that? In a typical block of flats, and there is lots of them in Stockholm, you wouldn’t have washing machines in the flats. All washing machines are in the basement. And so if you want to do your washing, you need to pre-book one of these washing machines.
If anybody knows why this is the set up in Stockholm, I’ll be keen to learn!
In the (wonderful!) apart-hotel I was staying in, we were allowed to book a washing machine only a day in advance. This meant you had to have enough knickers to last you in case you asked to book a washing machine for tomorrow and none of the three was available :). This ‘booking’ set up may be a bit surprising to anyone who has a washing machine readily available.
Amazingly, I never heard of anyone’s washed clothes disappear. Nor did my washed clothes vanished. Though this may not be surprise since not many people fit in size XS that I wear 😉
“So how much did I actually pay?”
The last thing that drove me nuts a little was around the money. Because I didn’t move out of the UK while I was working in Sweden, I kept my British bank accounts. This meant that I paid for everything in Swedish Krona but I never knew how much I actually spent in British Pounds. I would discover this a couple of days later when I was checking my bank account.
This was quite annoying. Not impossible to live with, but definitely annoying. And naturally applies to any country other than your own that you are staying for longer in, not only Sweden.
These are the few things that I found a little bit frustrating. And not all the time! As I’ve said before, Sweden is simply phenomenal. I wouldn’t mind moving there if the right opportunity presented itself. But I feel it is good to know the great things and the drawbacks of living in Sweden, or any country for that matter. Otherwise, the culture shock that you are bound to experience will be even worse.