(edit title) Moving to Stockholm from Australia Wife with job offer husband no job Options

[khadfield]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post. I have been offered a job at Karolinska as a postdoctoral researcher (32 000 SEK before tax). It will be for 2 years (possible extension). I have not accepted yet because 1. the pay is significantly lower than I receive here in Aust and we have a mortgage which even with renting the house will require me to contribute from my swedish wage towards expenses in australia 2. I am very worried about the state of the job market/economy in sweden as my husband will need to get a job to help with living expense etc in sweden every day I check the exchange rate aust dollars to SEK and today it seems the SEK is sliding against the dollar
Does anyone have any advice or a current perspective on how things are traveling in terms of unemployment and how hard it might be for my husband to get a job with no swedish? He doesn't care what he does and would be happy to work in a pub/cafe or any other job but without swedish how feasible is this? I have read every forum possible and everyone says how hard it is for english speakers with no swedish to get a job as there are plenty of others with swedish. The Euro crisis is making me very jittery and wondering why on earth I am considering at all leaving Australia!

Thanks! Kate

[Willy]

The usual answer about jobs non-Swedish speakers is: very hard, but not impossible.

EDIT: I can't read, missed the part about the mortgage.

[khadfield]

Hi Willy thanks - I keep hearing that it is very hard. We have a mortgage in Australia so we need both of us to be working because i will have to contribute from my swedish salary to finances in australia. it will make life easier and less financially stressful if my husband can get a job (doesn't matter what it is as long as it pays!)

[chazza]

. The Euro crisis is making me very jittery and wondering why on earth I am considering at all leaving Australia!

You are setting yourself up for some serious financial stress there Kate. How would you handle the worst case scenario: your husband isn't able to get work - 32K is only just enough for 2 people to live on in Stockholm and you can't make the gap with the mortgage back home ?

How would you cope with that ?

If you couldn't then why would you leave Australia indeed. If you could then go for it !

Sweden is not the land of milk and honey btw, however there are good things one of which is that it's only 2 hours away from Rome, Paris etc.

Seriously tho, jobs are hard to find even for those with swedish. of course not impossible but nowhere near as easy as rocking up to places in Australia and banging on doors till you get something. It just doesn't work like that here.

[PDX]

Looks like an almost maximum risk proposition, only children are missing from the picture

If you need this postdoc experience for your career and it is only for two years then why not leave husband in Australia to work and take care of the house? He could visit you occasionally.

~~~PDX~~~

[jan.petras]

I ask each and every Australian that wants to leave Australia for Sweden or other EU countries one question:
Why?

Seriously, I really want to know.
For me, Australia has always been the dream destination.
It's the dream, Canada, but warm.

Why would anyone want to leave Australia? I want to move there and I strongly need reasons against.

[PDX]

Read the post again. She/they are not leaving AU, she just wants to do a 2 year postdoc contract at Karolinska, which is right at the top of the world in its area.

I don't think you will find reasons to not to move to AU, I've only heard people complain about wildlife/insects and heat, but that was not in urban city location. Go while you can

~~~PDX~~~

[Mo]

what qualifications does your husband have - what is his field of work - some are fairly straightforward - IT others are very tough

[khadfield]

Hi Mo my husband currently works in a government position as part of the roads and transport department serving customers (it is a bit more than that but essentially he has the customer service stuff down pat!) but unfortunately he doesn't have a specific qualifications that are transferable - no uni degree but he does have counseling qualifications (hard to do without the swedish!). We don't want to leave Aust but do want to experience another country and Karolinska is the absolute pinnacle of medical research could leave him at home but perhaps that might be a bit lonely for both of us. Thank you all for your input - my head says it is a ridiculous situation given our financial commitments but my heart says what a lot of fun and potentially a great experience! I had a feeling the job situation for my husband would probably be an issue :-(

[khadfield]

PDX - we live about 5 minutes from the center of Sydney and have many spiders, snakes etc :-) Can't escape them here but you learn to live with them! I would highly recommend any one moving here although I am bias it is truly one of the best places in the world - just not for research careers!! :-)

[Migga]

Sweden already have a surplus of unqualified or lowskilled workers that don`t speak swedish. Your husband would be competing with a large group who also don`t have a problem working in a pub, cafe or restaurant. Just so you are aware.

At the same time it`s a once in a lifetime to get the chance to do ones research at the karolinska Institute. It`s one of the top universities in the world, in it`s field. It`s also ranked 32nd in the world, 6th in Europe and 1st in the Nordic.
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/worl...12/top-400.html

[Opalnera]

Hi there

I am Australian (from Brisbane) and have been living in Sweden nearly 2 years now. It sounds like a wonderful opportunity that would be difficult to pass up.

For people who wonder why we Aussies would want to leave such a wonderful place for...Sweden. Let me first tell you, Sweden isn't that bad and secondly for us experiencing a new culture and having the opportunity to travel to beautiful European cities for the weekend is something we can only imagine.

32,000 is a pretty modest wage in Stockholm, but you could definitely support two people on it without a car and living in a really small apartment and still have money for holidays. Now for the mortgage back home, is there a possibility you can sell your place without losing money or can hubby stay behind and few more months and move in with a relative or friend and save a little money before he leaves to cover the difference?

The economy is pretty stable here, Swedes were burned in the past and as a result are very conservative and have kept their own currency. One thing I would warn about is that we Aussies have become spoiled creatures, dinners out every week, often more than once, beers at the pub, expensive concert tickets, don't think twice about buying new clothes all the time, most couples and families have more than one car. You have to throw those ideas out as being "better" and accept Sweden for what it is and get yourself a bicycle!

It is possible for him to find a job if he is persistant and a little lucky, but it's good to be a little wary. I definitely think this is an opportunity worth making sacrifices for because at the end of the day, if you own a house or whatever yeah yeah great but living in Sweden for 2 years would be an amazing experience you would remember for the rest of your life.

[David S]

I'm an aussie (Brisbane boy as well), been here in Sweden 12 years. My feeling is that this is an opportunity for you that is too good to miss, so find a way to work out.

Yes, your husband will have trouble finding a job, so I'd assume he is not going to get one and then work out a solution from there. (Still try of course!)

Sounds to me like the biggest issue is the Oz mortgage. No possibility of jacking the rent up more? Working your ass off *before* you leave Oz to get some savings to help cover it?

32,000 is definitely enough to live on here in Stockholm for a couple, a lot really depends on your accomodation costs. You may qualify for student apartments which are cheaper, speak to Karolinska.

Regarding the issue of Sweden vs Australia, despite making Sweden my home, I still think Oz is the best place in the world to live - it's just so damn far from everywhere else. The cultural exposure you get in Europe is fabulous. Sweden is also a great place to have young kids, with fab parental leave etc. Not to mention four actual seasons!

And you can hope on a plane for a last minute trip and be at the beach in 35 degrees for only a few hundred bucks.

It's a great opportunity Kate, do what you can to make it happen. It'll be tough, especially for your husband, but it will be worth it.

[khadfield]

Hi David, thank you for your advice - Sweden must be pretty good for you to stay for 12 years :-) Just to clarify my wage will be 32 000 SEK BEFORE tax and I have been told it is about 30% tax so will come down to about 21 000 SEK roughly if my calculations are right. Does that change your view of living comfortably? Yes the mortgage is the main issue and we will try and rent for as much as possible and we are trying to save as much as we can to make it work. You are right is an awesome opportunity. We are keen to explore Europe so want to be able to do that without killing ourselves. I am thinking that the best way to go into this is to assume my husband won't be able to get a job so all my calculations have been based on that.

[byke]

Is there any chance of getting a place at a UK medical institution instead?

Some of them rate much higher on the times educational scale and would also give a much greater opportunity for your other half to be able to get a job, in part due to the language and in part due to a much more progressive multi cultured society.

The pay may also be better ...