February 14, 2012
Published: 11 Jan 10 14:47 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/24318/20100111/
The Swedish Institute has slammed as “nonsense” an index released last week which ranked Sweden as the most expensive country in the world.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
A Stockholm woman fed up with male passengers on public transport taking up the space of women sitting next to them, has started a blog snapping secret pics of straddle-legged commuters and posting them on the internet. READ (29 COMMENTS) »
A suburb of Mjällby, southern Sweden, known by locals as ‘Negro Village’ for forty years, will be changing its name after a storm of recent attention. READ (9 COMMENTS) »
A 27-year-old German man has been living at the Gothenburg Landvetter airport for two months having no wish to return to Germany and nowhere to go in Sweden. READ (12 COMMENTS) »
Every second Swede is at risk of developing dementia, according to a new study from Umeå University, which concentrated on the 85+ population in northern Sweden. READ »
After a 28-year-old woman was pulled off her bicycle and raped by an unidentified assailant in Malmö over the weekend, and police are fearing it could be the work of a budding serial rapist. READ (12 COMMENTS) »
Families of children in Sweden suffering from narcolepsy caused by vaccination for the swine flu can expect some form of compensation, Swedish health minister Göran Hägglund said on Sunday in response to new calls for help from parents. READ (1 COMMENT) »
The new leader of the Social Democrats Stefan Löfven has indicated he's ready to negotiate with the government over the future of nuclear power despite a previous party decision to phase out nuclear energy in Sweden. READ (2 COMMENTS) »
One in five Swedes believes that people rise from the grave after they've died, a new survey has shown. READ (14 COMMENTS) »

As diverse as Sweden is, there are a few societal norms that are distinctly Swedish. Understanding a handful of them will hopefully prepare you culturally before you relocate. When you're invited home to a Swede, you better be on time and take your shoes off, writes expat Lola Akinmade-Åkerström. Read more »
Sweden is a country where almost everyone can speak English. So why bother to learn Swedish? Edina Varnagy from Hungary managed with English for a whole year but then found that Swedish could open doors – to a job, a social life and greater understanding. Read more »
"The ice dripped in the winter sun. It was the first day when the light had been intense enough to cause dripping in the sunlight. To hear it was an extraordinary wakeup call. The cycle was happening again as it always does, always will (or so we think). I imagined that on my summer island, the bees..." READ »
|
|

fin
adjective
Fin means anyhting from sweet to proper. When someone says, Du är så fin it's quite a compliment.
More news from Germany at thelocal.de
More news from Switzerland at thelocal.ch
More news from France at thelocal.fr
More news from Norway at thelocal.no
Sweden – Up North, Down to Earth is a book about Sweden today. A country of natural beauty and open space, and a society focused on equality, human rights and sustainability. Meet regular and astonishing Swedes, supercars and indie rock bands, vampires and royalties.
Buy your copy of Sweden – Up North, Down to Earth from Sweden Bookshop
Register now for:
> Free use of noticeboard
> Special discounts
> Weekly news roundup
> Unlimited use of discuss
516 jobs available
217 new jobs this week
0 new jobs today
Your comments about this article:
The comments below have not been moderated in advance and are not produced by The Local unless clearly stated. Readers are responsible for the content of their own comments. Comments that breach our terms and conditions will be removed.
Obviously they have never heard of Sweden and could not find it on a map
Media should be punished for spectulated storyies. They are no different to banks, just telling lies all the time. This stupid skandia ad below is very annoying.
I know there is rivalry between Sweden and Norway but come on...
We have had (in the 10 years) visitors from: U.K.,USA, Spain,France, India, Greece, Holland, Germany, Russia, Siberia,New Zealand,Denmark, Norway, Finland, Poland.....they ALL love it here. So I am not alone in my view that Sweden is a wonderful place to live
You are not alone
Heres another Brit that concurs with your view of Sweden
@BrittInSweden - This has nothing to do with rivalry. Norwegians know Sweden is cheaper too as the ones living close to the border regularly cross the border to do their shopping here. It's just a stating something which is common knowledge to everyone just as many Swedes go to Norway to work as they know they'll get a higher salary.
@Keith #5083 - It's refreshing to read such a positive experience on the local instead of the usual rants, I'm happy for you. :)
To quote International Living "At International Living, we take a different approach...
We know from experience that there are a host of places around the world that are cheaper...healthier...safer...freer... than you ever thought possible." - YES, but your writers have clearly never actually been to these places.
Oslo is an expensive town, so I heard, I'm sure some remote town may be cheaper.
When they say, the most expensive country in the world, they should compare it in other countries.
Can you imagine accommodation in Sweden with all its facilities is only double or tripple to that of Pakistan?
Its really nonsense to put Sweden on top.
Anybody want to send her an email her address is:
shaskins@internationalliving.com
I am an American that is married to a Swede....and it is true that most American's, even "affluent American's....like GWB" cannot find Sweden on a map and 90% of the time they mistake Sweden for Switzerland.....so THIS IS A SIMPLE GEOGRAPHICAL ERROR!...
Here is a funny one...I was at a dinner party with a bunch of doctors from Stanford University and one of the doctors said "hey Sweden is where The Sound of Music is from!" No sorry, that's Austria!! Sorry....they didn't teach you Geography.
Average apartment in Oslo is around the same price as in stockholm! (to buy: around 3-4 million, to rent around 5-8000 a month)
Average shopping at the grocery store in oslo is around 300NOK, stockholm its around 300SEK. People often make the mistake of comparing prices based on a beer or cigarettes which are extremely expensive in Oslo if you dont know where to go! But the norwegians get paid so much more than they do here (disregard all the teenage guest workers who work at Lidl, Im talking about the average!)
18700 SEK is what you can get if you're unemployed.
http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressroom/scb/pressrelease/view/loenestrukturstatistik-2008-32-600-kr-genomsnittsloen-foer-tjaenstemaen-inom-privat-sektor-297209
You will get a pretty big apartment for 4M SEK in Stockholm city or 2 or more apartments if you dare to go outside city.
http://www.gp.se/jobbstudier/jobbpengar/1.30744
Maybe so, but Sweden is still very expensive.
There's a tradeoff. Apparantly the big VATs that drive up prices help fund the great public transit and other public services.
Also I have to say I don't find the public transit great. On paper yes, great, in practice the trains are cancelled or late way too many times.
And lest someone say that it's the "new" Swedes that are not law-abiding, I would say that according to my (admittedly very non-statistical) observations, that most of the turnstile jumpers look distinctly Nordic.
Wow - talk about a problem! How will you remain your culture?
Get over the index - the simple truth is that it is not what your Kroner buys in Norway but your average salaries and what they will buy you in your home country!
Just wonder is there any other country in Europe or the World which charges tax on tax?
On top of this I find most things here organised pretty well, especially when it comes to the welfare of children. Lots of parks, inexpensive childcare, free health care and education. And income taxes are not high here compared to Germany or even Australia (where I come from). The general cost of living is also not that high. I think it's the exchange rate which kills it. I know my parents will freak out when they come to visit later in the year.
wages higher in norway, too?
and about the guy from nyc: let's swap? i'd take a place in ny, you can have one in sweden. deal?
Sweden has mediocre wages coupled with a tax system designed to maintain a lower middle class socio-economic lifestyle.
Sweden is a relatively expensive country by world comparisons when everything is factored in, certainly more expensive than my country, but its no way the most expensive country in the world. It seems that this "study" is flawed.
.chortle.
.
Thomas Carlhed who works for the Swedish Insitute is nothing but a propagandist for the government of Sweden. His organization gets paid 225 million SEK a year to say whatever the government wants it to say.
What it really boils down to is looking at the purchasing power of the countries citizens. That is their wage in relation to expenses and then whats left over.
Norwegians win with more disposable income. Norway is wealthy due to oil but it will run out and they have no plans on what to do when it does.
Sweden's industry is leaving due to an unfavorable business environment...since its industry that pays for the welfare state the welfare state is cracking apart due to extremely high unemployment (the 8 percent figure in reality is over double that).
Norway is equivalent to what Sweden was like in the 1970's in terms of the strength of its economy. Sweden today is Norway's future. Denmark is the closest of the three countries to get the balance right in order to compete in today's global economy.
Sweden's obviously not the only country that could learn from Denmark and the Netherlands... the problem is that most countries' politics are embarrassingly inbred.
The question isn't how much a hamburger costs, how much one pays for a glass of milk or a liter of fuel. The issue is buying power per hour worked. What life quality is purchased for a month's wages. Frankly, I'd rate Sweden below the USA, and a close friend of mine from the Indian middle class would say the same of his home country. Like most critiques from the outside, rather than contemplate it and possibly correct it, the Swedish Institute, like Swedes would rather ignore it or point the blame elsewhere.
30 out of 200... I can believe that.
Is the figure for a tourist eating out and going by bus or train, staying in a chain hotel ?
For a native living on the national median wage … with or without children ? Renting a house; an apartment ... ?