(edit title) Moving from US to Sweden Midwest to Solna Options

[dreamfool]

Husband needs to move to Sweden for a job - the company is in Solna. The job pays about the same as what he gets here in the US (about USD 5800/SEK 39940 a month), but we all know living standard in Sweden is much higher. In fact, his new employer tells him he probably will be on welfare. I don't know what that means, but it sounds scary. There have been a lot of unknowns, and I figure it is easier to ask someone local/moved there from the US for their opinion.

1. He has some financial obligations which amounts to about USD 400/SEK 2720 a month. Do you think he can survive with his salary, after paying the high tax in Sweden, if living a modest life?

2. I do not have a job offer in Sweden, nor I speak a word of Swedish, how likely will it be for me to find a job as a foreigner? I work in the Information Technology field (so is my husband).

Thank you!

[Svensksmith]

Do you have any kids? What is his financial obligation in the States..can he clear it up before the move? How long is the stay in Sweden? Do you have any savings?

Our family moved from the Midwest to Sweden several years ago for a year long adventure. My wife and I both found jobs but they didn't amount to much, however, we did not have a house payment. We had some savings and we got by, but it was touch and go.

Getting a job w/o Swedish is tough. Are you willing to do menial work?

Good luck and enjoy your experience.

[PDX]

Wait, what's the story here - who is pointing a gun at your head? Is there a possibility that he could take another job instead of the one being offered? Solna has lots of industry and well-paid jobs are plentiful.

Regarding yourself, you should be able to have a chance at finding work at one of the bigger companies (e.g. Ericsson), but that depends on your specialization.

~~~PDX~~~

[Valdemaratterdag]

Husband needs to move to Sweden for a job - the company is in Solna. The job pays about the same as what he gets here in the US (about USD 5800/SEK 39940 a month), but we all ... (show full quote)

Husband needs to move to Sweden for a job - the company is in Solna. The job pays about the same as what he gets here in the US (about USD 5800/SEK 39940 a month), but we all know living standard in Sweden is much higher. ... (hide full quote)

I've read this post several times and have read it to my (Swedish) wife. I still don't understand it. Are you saying that you've been told that you can't survive on approximately $70,000 per year? After taxes, that's probably going to be about $50,000.

My wife and I live on about $30,000/year, and we're not that frugal, own two cars and a house. Have you broken down your expenses to see why you can't make it? I'm not familiar with Solna, but is it possible that renting an apartment and transportation costs are so high that you can't make it on 50 thousand a year? I'd be shocked if that were the case.

Please clarify.

[nightryder7]

Hi dreamfool,

I would say that you will be fine on that kind of salary. You won't be living lavish, but fine in Stockholm. If the new employer tells him that he will be on welfare, it sounds like he's messing with your husband or something... I don't understand what he means by that.

IT is probably one of the best fields to be in as a foreigner in Stockholm. So I think you shouldn't have a problem, but it depends on what area of IT you specialise in of course. A good starting point to look at jobs in Stockholm is indeed.com

I think your biggest concern should be with finding a place to live. It's not like the US or most places in the world where you can just find somewhere in a week or so. Do some research on the Stockholm accommodation situation and prepare yourself for a difficult task.

Good luck!

[Yorkshireman]

In Sweden the average salary for IT Specialist is around 40.000:-/m and less experienced is 33.000:-/m according to 2011 data. And this is well above any level for welfare! . He would only pay around 28% tax in total, so not too bad!

You could always try asking for a net-pay agreement, depending upon if he gets the same doller amount now as he is offered for working in Sweden, that way the company takes the hit for additional taxes ... but only do it if you are losing income due to higher taxes!. In addition to that, try to get them to pay for relocation, and finding an apartment as that will be the most tricky!

[dreamfool]

Do you have any kids? What is his financial obligation in the States..can he clear it up before the move? How long is the stay in Sweden? Do you have any savings?Our family mo ... (show full quote)

Do you have any kids? What is his financial obligation in the States..can he clear it up before the move? How long is the stay in Sweden? Do you have any savings?

Our family moved from the Midwest to Sweden several years ago for a year long adventure. My wife and I both found jobs but they didn't amount to much, however, we did not have a house payment. We had some savings and we got by, but it was touch and go.

Getting a job w/o Swedish is tough. Are you willing to do menial work?

Good luck and enjoy your experience. ... (hide full quote)

Svensksmith - We do not have kids, but he does have a kid in Sweden (and that is reason of this move). Financial obligations are mainly student loans and ongoing child support, so unfortunately nothing can be done to them (have done some work on the student loan, still a lot left...). We have a house together in the US which is currently rented out that pays for the mortgage and we rent an apartment now. We have a little bit of savings but really want that to be our emergency fund, so want to make sure that the salary is sufficient enough for us to live on.

I prefer not to do menial work since I am a working professional that have some specific set of skills. I can't say I make a lot of money, but enough to have a comfortable life and would like to continue that standard of living.

Wait, what's the story here - who is pointing a gun at your head? Is there a possibility that he could take another job instead of the one being offered? Solna has lots of ... (show full quote)

Wait, what's the story here - who is pointing a gun at your head? Is there a possibility that he could take another job instead of the one being offered? Solna has lots of industry and well-paid jobs are plentiful.

Regarding yourself, you should be able to have a chance at finding work at one of the bigger companies (e.g. Ericsson), but that depends on your specialization.

~~~PDX~~~ ... (hide full quote)

PDX - The story is, he works for an international corporation here and is transferring to the branch in Solna, and it is a major step up. He has not tried the other companies, but chances are, he wouldn't be given the same kind of opportunity.

I've read this post several times and have read it to my (Swedish) wife. I still don't understand it. Are you saying that you've been told that you can't survi ... (show full quote)

I've read this post several times and have read it to my (Swedish) wife. I still don't understand it. Are you saying that you've been told that you can't survive on approximately $70,000 per year? After taxes, that's probably going to be about $50,000.

My wife and I live on about $30,000/year, and we're not that frugal, own two cars and a house. Have you broken down your expenses to see why you can't make it? I'm not familiar with Solna, but is it possible that renting an apartment and transportation costs are so high that you can't make it on 50 thousand a year? I'd be shocked if that were the case.

Please clarify. ... (hide full quote)

Valdemaratterdag - Thank you for sharing your information. My husband told me that he would have to pay 60% of tax in Sweden (I don't know if someone told him that or what though), and that is why I am concerned about the high tax.
I know nothing about Sweden or been there, so I have no clue about what this whole thing is about. My husband has lived & worked in Sweden for a brief period of time, but he doesn't seem to have more information other than "things are very very expensive". That sounds scary to me, especially if I don't have a job for a while and we will only have his income.

Hi dreamfool, I would say that you will be fine on that kind of salary. You won't be living lavish, but fine in Stockholm. If the new employer tells him that he will be on ... (show full quote)

Hi dreamfool,

I would say that you will be fine on that kind of salary. You won't be living lavish, but fine in Stockholm. If the new employer tells him that he will be on welfare, it sounds like he's messing with your husband or something... I don't understand what he means by that.

IT is probably one of the best fields to be in as a foreigner in Stockholm. So I think you shouldn't have a problem, but it depends on what area of IT you specialise in of course. A good starting point to look at jobs in Stockholm is indeed.com

I think your biggest concern should be with finding a place to live. It's not like the US or most places in the world where you can just find somewhere in a week or so. Do some research on the Stockholm accommodation situation and prepare yourself for a difficult task.

Good luck! ... (hide full quote)

nightryder7 - Thanks for the encouragement. I just want to make sure that we are not going to be struggling with coming up money for food...

In Sweden the average salary for IT Specialist is around 40.000:-/m and less experienced is 33.000:-/m according to 2011 data. And this is well above any level for welfare! ... (show full quote)

In Sweden the average salary for IT Specialist is around 40.000:-/m and less experienced is 33.000:-/m according to 2011 data. And this is well above any level for welfare! . He would only pay around 28% tax in total, so not too bad!

You could always try asking for a net-pay agreement, depending upon if he gets the same doller amount now as he is offered for working in Sweden, that way the company takes the hit for additional taxes ... but only do it if you are losing income due to higher taxes!. In addition to that, try to get them to pay for relocation, and finding an apartment as that will be the most tricky! ... (hide full quote)

Yorkshireman - Thank you for the information ~ really appreciate the numbers and advice!

[Opalnera]

Hi dreamfool, I would say that you will be fine on that kind of salary. You won't be living lavish, but fine in Stockholm. If the new employer tells him that he will be on ... (show full quote)

Hi dreamfool,

I would say that you will be fine on that kind of salary. You won't be living lavish, but fine in Stockholm. If the new employer tells him that he will be on welfare, it sounds like he's messing with your husband or something... I don't understand what he means by that.

IT is probably one of the best fields to be in as a foreigner in Stockholm. So I think you shouldn't have a problem, but it depends on what area of IT you specialise in of course. A good starting point to look at jobs in Stockholm is indeed.com

I think your biggest concern should be with finding a place to live. It's not like the US or most places in the world where you can just find somewhere in a week or so. Do some research on the Stockholm accommodation situation and prepare yourself for a difficult task.

Good luck! ... (hide full quote)

This is very good advice. You should not have too many problems getting work in IT without Swedish. There is a shortage of qualified and experience workers in that field and companies both big and small are happy to employ English speakers (any nationality but a native speaker is certainly an advantage).

As said above your real major issue will be finding a place to live. If he has a child here (I don't know if he is Swedish but if he is the father of a child who is Swedish then he has the right to citizenship) then perhaps you should think about buying something. www.hemnet.se

If your husband has Swedish citizenship and you have been married for more than 2 years you should be entitled to PUT which would mean you would be entitled to Swedish welfare including CSN (money for studying). So perhaps pursuing post graduate studies might be an option if you don't want to work straight away. It's not much money (especially if you don't take the loan portion), 699 kr a week I think. But university is free so... some food for thought.

[brownkitten]

You should be alright.

Renting in Solna is pretty decent - compared to the rest of Stockholm. But start looking now. If you have the money, I would even look into buying, so you avoid the whole renting nightmare.

Solna is close enough to the center and well connected to the center of the city with public transport.

I'm not 100% with the taxes, but with ~40k a month salary, you will be in a high tax bracket - maybe around 30 - 35%?

So let's say your husband has a take home of 28, 000 - to be on the safe side. Here's what your expenses would be - I'm going to use the higher side than average. I'm also going to leave out having a car. It's not so common here, ridiculously expensive and you can be fine without one.

Rent/ house expenses - 10,000 - 12,000 (you can pay more, you can easily pay less, but this is good to budget for)

Groceries - 4,000 (my boyfriend and I only spend ~3,000 at most, but we eat out a lot.

Transport - 1,600 (monthly transport card for two)

Us loans - 3,000 (or something like that..?)

Phone - 800 kr (I pay about 400 kr a month for mine, some people pay more, but also you can do prepaid, which is about 300kr a month)

Not sure if I'm missing any of the majors here but that comes to a grand total of ... 21,600. Leaving you 6, 400 leftover for fun and activities. You guys should be alright.

With your skills you should be able to find work in your field. Just be warned, it takes time here. The average foreign job seeker takes about 7 months to land a job. So plan for 4-6 months of no income from yourself.

You should also be aware you will have some initial expenses when you move - i think its like $200 to apply for a visa, I forget how much an ID kard costs. You will likely have to give a sort of deposit when you find a place.

You can search salaries for location/job/experience here: http://www.scb.se/Pages/SalariesSearch.aspx?id=259066

And here is where you can find the specific tax bracket you will fall in depending on where you work: http://www.skatteverket.se/privat/skatter/...html#lontagare

Hope that helps!

[HannahSwain]

...I forget how much an ID kard costs.

400 kr.

[aino]

dreamfool, looked at the contract your husband gets and confirm with someone they are quoting his salary after social taxes (which is the normal way to quote salary here in Sweden). That's why people say his tax is 30-35%. A bunch of taxes get taken out (think US equivalent of Social Security, FICA, payroll) before the 40K/month quote. If they are not doing it this way, they are somehow pulling your leg somewhere. Otherwise 40K is quite a decent salary and you'll be fine. The welfare thing may have just been a crack about the fact that here everyone gets medical insurance and similar (for almost no extra money once taxes are paid - at most 900 SEK a year extra in medical costs).

[DamnImmigrant]

DreamFool, Welcome To Paradise!

Living in Solna will mean a 27.83% income tax rate (explained later on).

Dreamfool, you need to STOP thinking like an American when it comes to taxes! In the US, taxes seem to be some kind of black hole. In Sweden your taxes provide you with quality services. Medical, Daycare, and Schooling (including college) and even some of the safest roads in the world, are all paid for from your taxes.

The medical coverage is a co-pay system with an upper cap on the co-pay. You pay about 100 kronor every time you see a doctor. Once you have payed about 900 kronor, there is no further co-pay until your next yearly cycle begins. General doctors, specialists, mental health doctors, therapists, ... are all included; Medical transport (including helicopter), included; wheel chairs and prosthetics, included; prescription medicine is based on a capped co-pay and is also included. My wife's ambulance ride, 5 day hospital stay, pacemaker installation cost us about 500 kronor in co-pay. No pre-existing conditions. It is coverage that in America, you MIGHT be able to purchase insurance for if you paid $3,000 per month. I have NEVER encountered rationing here in Sweden and every time my children needed to see a doctor, we NEVER waited more than 6 hours for an appointment and when we arrived at the doctors office we were being seen within minutes! Very efficient.

In the US this type of healthcare system was called an HMO.

Some people NEED to believe that Sweden has the highest taxes in the world so they can hate this "socialist country" BUT you cannot look at the tax rate, you have to look at WHAT you are getting for your taxes!

I would like to point out that Sweden is FIRST AND FOREMOST - A CAPITALIST COUNTRY! It constantly ranks in the top 10 in the world. Sweden has socialized certain institutions like daycare, healthcare and education but that does NOT make it a Socialist country!

DreamFool, you said, "but we all know living standard in Sweden is much higher" but you missed out on the greatest thing about Sweden. It is the fact that we have one of the HIGHEST STANDARDS of living in the world! Most number of golfers, second highest number of boats, highest number of second homes "cabins", 5 weeks paid vacation, an 8 hour work day and a culture that prefers families to be home together sharing the evening meal. Real crazy ideas huh? Did you know that the WHOLE OF SWEDEN IS ONE GIANT NATIONAL PARK! You can own a forest but you cannot keep people from traveling through it! There are rules that need to be learned when walking through the different areas.

Now about those insane taxes you have been hearing about.

Taxes are based on where you live. Where you live determines what TAX TABLE is used to determine your taxes. If I am reading the tax tables correctly, your decision to live in Solna means that you would use TAX TABLE 30.

Tax tables 29 - 37 are found in this pdf file: http://www.skatteverket.se/download/18.710...57085/40333.pdf

Google translate should be a big help.

Tax table 30 shows an income of 39,940 kr/month lies between 39,801 and 40,000 and will result in a tax of 11,114, which is a 27.83% tax. Nothing else is taken out by the government. You may and probably will have other deductions taken out as YOU so choose. Depending on where you live and your monthly income, your income tax could be as low as 27.00% (table 29 tax 10,783 = 27.00%) up to but no higher than 33.64% (table 37 tax 13,435 = 33.64%). It turns out that even though Solna is officially part of Stockholm and even though Stockholm has the highest taxes in Sweden, Solna has some of the lowest!

Your husband should be able to help you get your foot in the door at either the company he is working at or some other company that they are doing business with. Unfortunately in Sweden, it is not WHAT you know but WHO you know that helps you get a job.

Like @Valdemaratterdag - my wife and I live on about $30,000/year, and we're not that frugal and we own outright one car and 2 houses and bought a "condo" that is still owned by the bank ;-(

Did I mention NO MORE CREDIT SCORES?!?!? In Sweden you either have credit or you do not. If you do not, it is because you screwed up your finances somehow.

[Mpf]

On nearly 40,000kr a month he will pay higher taxes on a portion of his salary but could survive quite happily on that wage I suspect.

[Shibumi]

The medical coverage is a co-pay system with an upper cap on the co-pay. You pay about 100 kronor every time you see a doctor. Once you have payed about 900 kronor, there is n ... (show full quote)

The medical coverage is a co-pay system with an upper cap on the co-pay. You pay about 100 kronor every time you see a doctor. Once you have payed about 900 kronor, there is no further co-pay until your next yearly cycle begins. ... (hide full quote)

The co-pay cap is currently 1100 Kr/year for doctor visits.
The prescription medicine co-pay is currently capped at 2200 Kr per year with a sliding scale that starts at 1100 Kr (i.e. after 1100 Kr you start to pay less than 100% of the medicine costs and never more than 2200 in a year)

The prescription cap is computer based, so it's automatic. But for the doctor visits, make sure you ask that your co-pay be registered on a högkostnadskort which is a folded paper strip with spaces for stamps and co-pay amounts. The first doctor you see should provide you with it and you get it stamped each time you get healthcare. When the total adds up to 1100 Kr, you get a plastified card (from whatever doctor's office brought you up to the 1100 Kr limit) that says you don't have to pay any more co-pays for the rest of the year. The following year, you start over with the paper strip.

[Pursuivant]

I think the "being on welfare" jibe is related to those statistics that most Swedes live under the "poverty threshold" of USA. Difference is, in USA you have to pay this, that & all the rest from your salary whereas in Sweden its "all included". Say like a Swede will give you a long weird look if you ask how much they have saved for their kids' college fund. Whats that? Education is free? Also, things do cost, so "driving 3 SUV's and living in a mansion" would change to "taking a bus and living in an apartment" - which is what "normal people" would do in Sweden, but Americans would give the weird looks on... less toys maybe as well, a 60" plasma tv screen isn't exactly the first purchase in mind..