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Oldgoatblood
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Fri May 03, 2013 5:16 pm
Posts: 9
PostPosted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 11:04 pm 
 

I am seeking to relocate to one of these godless north countries , Sweeden or Norway

Seeking advice or tips on the pro's or con's of either country I am particularly

looking in the area of Hosnfoss Norway or Gothenburg Sweeden , any thoughts

of advice from people actually living in Norway Or Sweeden ?

Also searching for Black Metal Musicians that is too a factor , any help is greatly appreciated!

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UPDATE 8/8/2013*
------------------

I am located in U.S.A I am just trying to get information on both countries job wise and living cost

looking in to the worker visas for both countries learning the language is a *must and a requirement for both so before I go learning

either Norwegian or Swedish I want to be 100% sure where I decide to go .

I understand being a musician will "not pay the bills" but it's a devotion I have and I know I will find my place

being a musician myself. Another main reason for leaving is the lifestyle here in the U.S.A is polluted with mainstream bs and a

terrible economy , time to move on . Thank you all for your tips and advice In particularly about the farm program did not know that

existed , more tips / advice are welcomed .


Last edited by Oldgoatblood on Thu Aug 08, 2013 4:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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InnesI
The Goat Fucker

Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2013 3:19 pm
Posts: 2187
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 7:57 am 
 

From where do you relocate? If you are within the EU then there is nothing stopping you from getting on the first flight to Sweden. I am not sure how that would work with Norway since they are not a EU country.

In general the countries standards are similar as well as the language and customs and people in general.

If you have a small starting budget then Sweden is better from an economical standpoint. While not cheap, in comparison to other countries, but Norway is way more expensive because they are the richer of the two (because of the oil). But then again if you get a job in Norway you also earn more. Quite a lot of Swedes close to the border work in Norway and live in Sweden. If you're looking at Gothenburg the distance is to far though.

The language is a factor as well. I'm sure you can get a job without any knowledge of Swedish or Norwegian but I imagine its a lot harder if you don't know the language. Unless of course you are of a higher profession like a scientist or a university lector where you can get by with your English.

If you're just looking to study then in Sweden you just have to apply and see if you get in based on your grades. It costs nothing to study in Sweden so you wouldn't have to worry about your money to much. I do not know how the Norwegian system works.

Looking for musicians if obviously easier withing the bigger cities.
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Cursarion
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 6:56 am
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Location: Finland
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 9:02 am 
 

^ All the European treaties are quite complex, but I don't think there's a difference since Norway's part of Schengen Area as an EFTA member.
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waiguoren
Veteran

Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 8:23 am
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Location: Umeå, Sweden
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 10:04 am 
 

Even if you do speak Swedish, without a special skill it's doubtful that the Swedes will hire a non-Swede over a Swede, or over a Norwegian or Finn. And yeah, as has been mentioned, if you are an EU, Norwegian or Swiss citizen you can study in Sweden (and Denmark) for free. I think it used to apply to everyone as I know Americans could study for free there too but that gravy train ended in 2010 I think. Also, by studying for 'free' you still need to prove that you have enough funds in a bank account in your name to live/survive in Sweden for the entire time you are studying there, or else you won't get a residence permit. You also need comprehensive health insurance. The Swedish government says you need 7300kr a month to live in Sweden, minimum.
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HellishHound
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2013 9:37 am
Posts: 370
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 10:09 am 
 

Oldgoatblood wrote:
Also searching for Black Metal Musicians that is too a factor , any help is greatly appreciated!


I don't know you, and I don't know your reasons, but this line right here makes me think you want to move to Scandinavia just because your a fan of black metal and want to be in a black metal band. If that's case, there are a lot more factors involved with this and you definitely shouldn't move just because of that. If it's not the case, carry on.
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InnesI
The Goat Fucker

Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2013 3:19 pm
Posts: 2187
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 11:44 am 
 

HellishHound wrote:
Oldgoatblood wrote:
Also searching for Black Metal Musicians that is too a factor , any help is greatly appreciated!


I don't know you, and I don't know your reasons, but this line right here makes me think you want to move to Scandinavia just because your a fan of black metal and want to be in a black metal band. If that's case, there are a lot more factors involved with this and you definitely shouldn't move just because of that. If it's not the case, carry on.


But really, if that's TS sole reason I think he should go for it anyway if that's what he really wants. Just don't think there is any way in which being in a metal band will make life easy and the money coming in. Most people, even in well known metal bands, still work a regular job.

I have a friend who's from Brazil who moved to Stockholm years ago. He told me once that a friend of his wanted to do the same as he, move to Sweden and "make it as a metal vocalist". Sure, my friend is an awesome vocalist, and he is in a band that has gotten some recognition lately (mostly because of their guitarists other bands) but he just laughed when his friend told him that. You pretty much don't make money being a metal musician and he still has to work a full time job to be able to bring money in to pay the bills.


Moving away from everything you know can be the best thing you will ever do however. Even if its not for forever. I have done it before and it was the best thing I ever did. Nothing wrong with chasing the dream but be sure to know what it means, what it really means, to relocate to another country to try to pursue it.
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ravagingthemassacred
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:30 am
Posts: 160
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:58 pm 
 

I'm also interested in this topic. I would probably be WWOOFing (volunteering on farms in exchange for room & board). Does anyone know about laws and such I need to be aware of when pursuing a situation like this?

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waiguoren
Veteran

Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 8:23 am
Posts: 2741
Location: Umeå, Sweden
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 2:25 pm 
 

ravagingthemassacred wrote:
I'm also interested in this topic. I would probably be WWOOFing (volunteering on farms in exchange for room & board). Does anyone know about laws and such I need to be aware of when pursuing a situation like this?


I just googled it, you have to pay to volunteer on a farm?

http://www.wwoof.se/about/general-faq/

Anyway, they don't help with visas, it says there you have to contact your embassy about it (as an American). In general though it's not that easy for Americans to work in Europe, with regards to work permits/visas.

I knew an American lady who did something similar in England, picking apples or some such job, I can't recall if she enjoyed it or not, think she just said it's 'hard work'.
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ravagingthemassacred
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:30 am
Posts: 160
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 2:54 pm 
 

waiguoren wrote:
I just googled it, you have to pay to volunteer on a farm?

http://www.wwoof.se/about/general-faq/

Anyway, they don't help with visas, it says there you have to contact your embassy about it (as an American). In general though it's not that easy for Americans to work in Europe, with regards to work permits/visas.

I knew an American lady who did something similar in England, picking apples or some such job, I can't recall if she enjoyed it or not, think she just said it's 'hard work'.


You have to pay to join the WWOOF website- it helps you to connect easier with farms. So it's like a service fee. The website is mainly a service that helps workers/farms network with each other. (Some guidelines do go along with it, but it is a pretty casual thing. I've been doing it for the past 3 months.)

How much you enjoy it depends greatly on the farm you end up at (and of course, how much interest one has in farming related things). Some farms are just looking for free labor and will take advantage of their workers. Vice versa, some 'workers' are just looking for a free place to stay and will neglect their tasks. But so far I've not run into any negative situations.

Thanks for the tip about the embassy. I will look further into this. It seems though like it would not be the same thing as needing a worker's permit/visa, since you're not being paid in money - you're pretty much volunteering with some non-monetary benefits. So maybe whatever one needs for vactioning/traveling would be fine? (Is only a passport needed in this case? I've never traveled outside the US and don't know.)

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waiguoren
Veteran

Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 8:23 am
Posts: 2741
Location: Umeå, Sweden
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 3:07 pm 
 

ravagingthemassacred wrote:
So maybe whatever one needs for vactioning/traveling would be fine? (Is only a passport needed in this case? I've never traveled outside the US and don't know.)


Yeah, best to contact your embassy. In general though, Americans can go to most countries in Europe visa-free for 90 days as far as I know, no visa just a valid passport.
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ravagingthemassacred
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:30 am
Posts: 160
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 3:13 pm 
 

waiguoren wrote:
ravagingthemassacred wrote:
So maybe whatever one needs for vactioning/traveling would be fine? (Is only a passport needed in this case? I've never traveled outside the US and don't know.)


Yeah, best to contact your embassy. In general though, Americans can go to most countries in Europe visa-free for 90 days as far as I know, no visa just a valid passport.


Okay well 90 days isn't very long. Yeah, I'll be contacting them.

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ravagingthemassacred
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:30 am
Posts: 160
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 5:12 pm 
 

Oh just wanted to say, another excellent way to help prepare and help you find a specific location, and get all the practical info you talked about (plus realistic cultural info etc.) is the City-Data website and it's forums.

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Oldgoatblood
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Fri May 03, 2013 5:16 pm
Posts: 9
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 5:41 pm 
 

Is there a link to this city data forums site ?

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ravagingthemassacred
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:30 am
Posts: 160
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 7:34 pm 
 

forum:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/europe/

unfortunately I just learned City-Data is primarily a US website, so there aren't individual city pages for any places outside the usa, it looks like. Still, the forum should be helpful.

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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4258
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 9:27 pm 
 

What can you do?
It's really easy to get a job in Norway.
It's really hard to get a job in Sweden.
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Oldgoatblood
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Fri May 03, 2013 5:16 pm
Posts: 9
PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 2:15 am 
 

I hear it's the opposite according to online statistics , are living cost really lower in sweden the norway ?

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Celtic Frosted Flakes
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2013 10:49 am
Posts: 400
Location: Senegal
PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 9:21 pm 
 

Wages are higher in Norway, living is cheaper in Sweden.

Good luck finding a job here in Sweden though, or any metal musicians for that matter. Everyone over here would rather listen to whatever was on Eurovision than any metal whatsoever. And so many fucking muslims, jews and christians.... I am moving to Finland as soon as I can, this country might have been glorious 1500 years ago but it has definitely gone to shit.
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693
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Dec 23, 2009 3:55 am
Posts: 693
PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 9:59 pm 
 

I recommend seeing a doctor before moving to the northern regions. As a lot of the immigrants in northern countries suffer from extreme seasonal depression. This may sound like a joke, but a person that like dark music like BM, should not move here before talking with a doctor. For a lot of people this may sound like a joke, but there are so many immigrants that suffer in Norway and Sweden.

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Svarthavid
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 6:44 am
Posts: 129
Location: Norway
PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:27 pm 
 

I am a Norwegian myself, and I really love my country. Don't know if this concerns you, but many people I've talked to on the Internet over the years seem to live in the misconseption that black metal is a really big thing around here. Truth is, it isn't. Most Norwegians aren't even aware that black metal is one of our biggest exports to the outside world. Most of us don't like winter either, including me. But I think you'll find a band if you move to one of the bigger cities like Oslo, bergen or Trondheim. At least there were many bands looking for vocalists back in the day when I browsed Norwegian metal sites and such, but I haven't really been into metal the last couple years, but I guess the demand for musicians are equally as large. Like some have said before, you really have to work full time next to making music to make a living.

If you want a change in culture, it may both be a hit or miss, maybe depending on how old you are. You will find a lot more atheism around here, people in general laughs at religion except our imigrants. Norwegians in general are less social than Americans, at least that's the impression I have gotten over the years. actually, much less social than like, any other countries I've visited in my entire life. We're really a bunch of intraverded fucks! :P a bit hard to explain but I can elaberate if you want. Our youth is pretty Americanised culture wise, we watch American shows on TV and use a lot of American slang, eat hamburgers and girls in their early teens are druling over Bieber. Speaking of junkfood, if you come here, you'll notice that about everything concerning junkfood, and a lot of other things for that matter is about half the size than in America. Everything is smaller around here. I don't know if this is of any help, but the economics and such are pretty much explained by others here. I guess I'm just trying to write down how I see Norway. If you have any questions or anything to say, ask away, and I will elaberate or answer as best I can.

Edit: 693 is absolutely right. This also concern a lot of regular Norwegians. even I become much more gloomy during winter.
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urhest
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Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2007 2:59 pm
Posts: 78
Location: Denmark
PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 11:36 am 
 

Well, for a dane with a dad living in Stavanger, I would recommend Norway.

I've myself, been in a situation with no job for over a year and almost lost a house through bankruptcy (but did get a huge debt, nevertheless) and my dad, who've been living i Norway for the past 9-10 years, recommended me several times to move up there because of the jobsituation. The wages are much higher than DK if you get into the oilindustry, but you have to be lucky to do that if you are a "mere" craftsman. Unless you're an engineer or have other desireable skills, it's quite impossible. A lot of the immigrants from the eastern blocks that comes to Norway usually end up cleaning for a living (whether this is urban legend, I don't know, just heard from several people who worked up there).

As for the darkness in the winters, no one should really take this lightly. I myself have been living in Greenland and Iceland and experienced it on myself on what the darkness do to your mind. Being locked inside an apartment, because of the cold, the snow or the wind really do something to most people. Offcourse other are better to cope with it, but my mood really changes for the worse and even people here in Denmark suffers from it and we have no way near the coldness or the darkness they have in Norway, Iceland or northern Sweden. But offcourse, it's not like you shoot yourself the minute you land in a plane in Olso :). We're all diffenrent :)

But both Norway and Sweden are some of the most beautiful countries you'll ever see, as the same goes for Iceland in the summer. Love Scandinavia!

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Celtic Frosted Flakes
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2013 10:49 am
Posts: 400
Location: Senegal
PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 11:54 am 
 

If you DO move to Sweden, OP, make sure it's not the south of sweden. I live there. *shiver*
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waiguoren
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Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 8:23 am
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Location: Umeå, Sweden
PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 1:21 pm 
 

In exactly ten days' time - wait, why do we put time there? I don't like it. In exactly ten days I'll be on the plane to northern Sweden. What a pain in the ass it is trying to find housing in Sweden, I've been trying for months and have still found nothing, so that's something to take into account, too, is the hassle of housing. There is a bostaden site I have been using, basically it's not first come first serve in the traditional sense when you apply for available housing, it's first serve as in who has been registered on the bostaden site the longest (I registered in April this year), so even if I am the first to apply for an available apartment (and you can only apply for a maximum of three available apartments a day), if some guy applies who has been registered on the site longer than me, the apartment gets offered to him. I'd say on average each apartment gets about 80-90 applications within the first two hours after they go up, and a lot of the people applying have been registered since 2011(!).

So yeah, not fun at all, I've signed up to stay in a hostel for my first month. Sharing a kitchen is annoying, sharing a bathroom is crap, sharing a room with three other people is hell. I'll be in hell soon enough, no idea how I am supposed to pick my nose in peace and quiet while living in that situation.
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talvikki77
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Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2012 3:20 pm
Posts: 183
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 1:59 pm 
 

Wow, good luck with the housing situation, waiguoren, and the whole trip and all. Sounds like going back to college - and I was lucky to live alone for most of college.

When I was just finishing school, I planned to move to Sweden eventually. Mainly I just didn't want to be in the US cause of the conservative political climate. Dunno why I didn't consider France, since my French is much better than my Swedish. I didn't want to go to Finland cause Finnish people are mean (I am one, and we are the most disagreeable people on this planet). People in Sweden by contrast seemed quite nice, and I speak rudimentary Swedish, so I thought I'd pick it up quickly. And Sweden has (I hear) excellent support for parents and a very good education system, so that's where I wanted to go to start a family. I'm a Finnish citizen so I figured the hardest part would be finding a job, otherwise I was set. The other thing I wanted to do was go to grad school in China or Taiwan. But then..crap happened, and I am still stuck in the US, and it now seems very unrealistic to pick up and go to the other side of the world. I would love to. But I'm rather risk averse, and having a child and all the problems I've had since then have only made that worse.

But. Maybe. This thread is getting me thinking, maybe I should start thinking about it again.

Anyway, good luck to waiguoren and the others who are actually embarking on these adventures!
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Celtic Frosted Flakes
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Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2013 10:49 am
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Location: Senegal
PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 2:04 pm 
 

You don't really need to speak swedish in sweden, english will do just fine.
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talvikki77
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Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2012 3:20 pm
Posts: 183
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 3:35 pm 
 

Even for getting a job?

Although, I don't even know what sort of job I could get, since my most marketable skill is...speaking Chinese. My work experience is all over the place. I did work as a teacher for three years, I guess I could teach English.
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Celtic Frosted Flakes
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2013 10:49 am
Posts: 400
Location: Senegal
PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 3:53 pm 
 

Well I've had math teachers who more or less only spoke arabic. They are really into this whole quota-filling thing over here.
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talvikki77
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Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2012 3:20 pm
Posts: 183
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 3:58 pm 
 

You mean quotas of immigrants or of teachers?

The more I talk about this, the more I'm thinking it's an excellent idea. Now how am I going to explain to my parents and my boyfriend that I want to take my five year old daughter away from everything she knows and move to the other side of the world?
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4258
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 5:04 pm 
 

You have to take what Celtic says with a packet of salt. I don't know what he's on about, but it's not helping anyone.
He might be Finnish?
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Celtic Frosted Flakes
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2013 10:49 am
Posts: 400
Location: Senegal
PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 5:17 pm 
 

100% Swedish, but not 100% serious... She did hardly speak swedish though.
And I meant quotas of immigrants, cultural enrichment is a giant fad right now. Maybe it's different further north in the country though.(I should hope so, seeing as I'm moving there as soon as I have the funds.)
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Oldgoatblood
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Fri May 03, 2013 5:16 pm
Posts: 9
PostPosted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 7:03 pm 
 

A lot of interesting replies to the thread , I am thinking
of possibly moving and leaning towards Sweden more
because of the economy living cost from what I have seen
are much less then what they are in Norway , But still have not
made my choice 100% , can anyone tell me living in Sweden
how the underground Black Metal scene is out there ?

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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4258
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 7:54 pm 
 

Having access to the internets, it'd be way easier to research the black metal scenes and contacting musicians, than to just walk around randomly in a Swedish city trying to spot and contact metalheads on the street, or whatever it is you are planning.

Me as a Swede living in Stockholm can't help you either. It's not like I strike up a conversation with the local black metal shop assistant everyday I go to the grocery store and we chat about how there is an absolute need for foreign metal musicians to move here and join all the bands that are just waiting for them.

I don't know, but it seems you have some really strange expectations about life in Scandinavia. If you want to live here, get a job and a place to stay BEFORE you move here. After that, it's up to you what happens.
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Oldgoatblood
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Joined: Fri May 03, 2013 5:16 pm
Posts: 9
PostPosted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 6:50 pm 
 

It was just a simple question you either know or you don't , if I was asked the same question about the metal scene here
in the U.S. I would be able to tell you exactly how it is instead of having a smart alec rhetorical answer .

It is a primordial rule ( and common sense ) you first look for housing and job before relocating anywhere
which I have done research , but nonetheless was only asking for some insight that is all .

Apparently you don't know which is Ok as well no harm in asking !

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waiguoren
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Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 8:23 am
Posts: 2741
Location: Umeå, Sweden
PostPosted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 6:41 am 
 

Well, I arrived in Sweden yesterday. Not too sure about the metal scene here up north so can't help you with that yet, I mean you see metalheads walking around here and there (bizarrely enough the one guy I saw wearing a Manowar tee couldn't take five steps without spitting on the ground, go figure, spitting for the power of STEEL no doubt). There are flyers for shows posted up around town, seems to be more hardcore punk than anything else, but obviously I'll keep my eyes peeled.

Otherwise it's pretty nice up here, Swedes are pretty laid-back and friendly for the most part, their English is great btw so no worries there, getting booze is tricky, the systembolaget was a madhouse yesterday, people stocking up no doubt. You'd definitely want a job before coming here, I just can't see someone who doesn't speak Swedish and without a skill in high demand getting a job easily here, for example, in say England you'll see a lot of immigrants working at stores and what-not, not so much here, it's young Swedes doing those jobs mostly. Maybe Stockholm or Gothenburg or Malmo is different though.

And yes, the average Swede chick is pretty hot, in case you needed confirmation.
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4258
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 8:37 am 
 

waiguoren wrote:
Well, I arrived in Sweden yesterday.

Välkommen!
Where are you, and what are you doing here?
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Oldgoatblood
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Joined: Fri May 03, 2013 5:16 pm
Posts: 9
PostPosted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 7:27 pm 
 

@ waiguoren

Excellent very good insight ,what did bring you to Sweden good to hear you made it out there
what city are you staying at was the housing difficult to find !?

regards ...

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InnesI
The Goat Fucker

Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2013 3:19 pm
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 3:36 am 
 

Celtic Frosted Flakes wrote:
You don't really need to speak swedish in sweden, english will do just fine.


To get around - sure, to get a job - not so much unless you have higher education. With only English you can probably either get the low paid jobs such as being a cleaner or perhaps working at a fast food joint or, as I said, a job that requires higher education (scientists of all sorts, university lecturer etc). For the normal jobs in between I's say it would be hard to get by with only English.
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Celtic Frosted Flakes
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 3:28 pm 
 

Yes, but most foreigners who come here usually come here to study. Umeå, Lund etc... In that case English works fine.
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InnesI
The Goat Fucker

Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2013 3:19 pm
Posts: 2187
PostPosted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 5:54 pm 
 

Celtic Frosted Flakes wrote:
Yes, but most foreigners who come here usually come here to study. Umeå, Lund etc... In that case English works fine.


I wouldn't say most foreigners come to Sweden to study, however if they do English will indeed do just fine.
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Turner
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Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2002 2:04 am
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Location: Australia
PostPosted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 12:29 am 
 

lol, this sure is an odd thread

if you aren't a member of another EU state, don't speak the local language, or at least have a degree/qualification that'll offset your lack of swedish, you don't have much of a chance in this day and age. based solely on this thread, your level of english is less than that of most swedes, so you'll need to be offering something skill-wise they don't have. there's a blanket rule across the entire EU stating that employers are required to sponsor immigrant employees from outside european countries. in order to have that sponsorship approved, they need to show that there is not a single person within the EU with your skill set. keep in mind that levels of education in northern europe (particularly scandinavia) are ridiculously high - almost everyone has an undergraduate degree, a fair number have more than that, and the overwhelming majority otherwise have done some kind of 3-year training in a particular trade/skill. and on the unskilled end they already have a solid bank of immigrants from places like eastern europe and the balkans, none of whom need to jump through the same hoops to live there, and can pour beers/sit at a supermarket checkout just as well as you. or refugees fleeing current crises in africa and the middle east - they'll sure need sympathy visas a whole lot more than you do.

essentially, it's a terrible time to be an economic migrant, particularly an unskilled one. if you've already made it to the US (i'm gonna take a stab in the dark and assume it's not your home country) i'd suggest giving it a shot there and maybe not criticising their "mainstream bs" so much - many don't even get that much of a chance.

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waiguoren
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Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 8:23 am
Posts: 2741
Location: Umeå, Sweden
PostPosted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 3:39 am 
 

Opus wrote:
Välkommen!
Where are you, and what are you doing here?


Hejsan! I'm up in Umeå, so studying obviously as it seems Umeå and Lund are more student towns than anything else, but the studies start this week, so up to now I've basically just been hanging out with these Swedes I met and this Greek metalhead and his friends. Got to go grocery shopping today as this steady diet of kebabs, pizza and MAX burgers will be the death of me.

Still no luck with the housing but it's been just over a week, already been to the emergency housing department at the university but have heard nothing back, so will be going there again tomorrow. The hostel is fine and all it's just the sharing a room part which sucks, and the springs creak on all the beds, so it's a constant noise of dudes snoring, groaning and hideous creaking sounds in there at night.

Well, everyone here seems to speak English, and good English at that, so you won't even be able to teach EFL here as you can in a lot of countries, but if you want a humble and down-to-earth job you can just get a big bag and collect empty cans, you get one krona a can, more for big bottles I think. There's a boat on a river here that is basically a huge bar, there are always empty cans and bottles out there, but sadly as summer is pretty much over the boat's last night was, well, last night. That or you could try opening your own kebab stand I guess, and get orders wrong a lot of the time.

EDIT: Sorry I can't give you more advice about working in Sweden, as I figured I would not be able to find work here in any case as I have the skills of an unskilled baboon to begin with so I'm relying on savings for the next two years, but as an 'international' student as far as I know you can legally work in Sweden, but first and foremost you'd need to be able to speak Swedish (I haven't met any 'foreigners' who have been here a while who do not speak Swedish so far), which, as an English speaker you could learn easier than, say, Finnish or Japanese for example. It's a nice country with friendly people though so I can see why you might want to live here (I have no idea about Norway, but just remember that Norway is more expensive, and Sweden can be pretty expensive, especially if you drink and/or smoke). Maybe look into coming to Sweden for a few months to a) See if you like it, and b) To learn Swedish at a Swedish class, and see what happens from there. I did know an American guy before who did that, he wasn't into metal or anything just interested in learning languages. He's a bit of a nutjob though so I no longer stay in touch but if you do seriously consider doing that (going to Sweden for a few months just to study Swedish) send me a PM and I'll send you a link to his facebook and you can try messaging him for details.
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