Moving to Sweden presents quite a bit of change from my life in Canada. In Canada I have owned my own car since I was 17 and thus had a lot of freedom and independence. Here in Sweden, to buy a car I will need my Personnumber (Swedish ID) which I still do not have as there is a fairly long process of getting one, which one can only get when one lives in Sweden. I will talk more about the administrative tasks in the next post and the issues that arise.
I started off talking about owning a vehicle because it is a key mobility tool. It allows me to access a lot of things that are a struggle without one. Moving into my apartment for instance would have been a great hassle. Thankfully I was lent a car for four days to use as I moved into my apartment in Molndal (the suburb city I live in). As a mobility device let’s call it, a car helps me get groceries, travel for errands, and visit friends. The current situation for me to get groceries is a 15-minute walk (one way) and carrying a bunch of groceries takes a lot of energy, and I get sweaty normally just walking for 15 minutes let alone carrying groceries. Thus getting groceries is a mental and physical challenge which I need a certain amount of energy to accomplish…. but I need the energy from the food to accomplish it. Well, there is a Bible verse that says By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground. I can say that is true for me here in Sweden. Then for travelling about the city, there is a tram and bus system that gets you around the city, but definitely not at SkyTrain speeds for my Vancouver friends.
The primary thing I appreciate about having a car is being able to get out of the city, and into nature. Now I can no longer offer people drives, I have to be the person asking for a ride. Seeing that I am an introvert and like hiking with one or two close friends or by myself, this poses a challenge and I have not really gotten outside of the reach of city transit very much. Thankfully the Archipelago is accessible via ferry service from Gothenburg.
Although at times I am very tired due to all of the walking, and carrying groceries and occasionally I have tripped and torn my hands up, I thankfully am now at a good fitness level. I have to thank my newfound friends who got me out of the house for the whole day a few weeks back and we went exploring the islands. That day I was out and about and besides sitting in transit was on my feet all day walking here or there.
There are a few other things that are different about Sweden compared to Canada/The US. For instance, everyone walks which helps burn the fat from all the candy they consume. There are also very few fast-food restaurants. Even food like Chipotle, Pita Pit, or Thai Express doesn’t seem to really have much of a presence in Sweden. This requires more meal and food planning. There is a food delivery service where people will even bike your food to you at the park but I haven’t tried it yet. I do miss my sushi, pho of Vancouver and Thai takeout of Fredericton. There are some things to learn still :). One other thing about Sweden is that the pace of life here is slower. People take the evenings and walk, they take the weekends and relax, they even have the whole month of July off. It is a different pace and I do enjoy that in a lot of ways. See you next time 🙂