I Moved To A Different Country

It goes without saying that moving to a different country is an exciting experience that a lot of people dreams about. Be it to immerse into a different culture or to have a better economic opportunity, it's definitely a significant life decision.

After months of anticipation and millions of paperworks, I finally made it to the birthplace of Spotify – Sweden.

It was a little over two months ago when my fiancée and I moved to Stockholm. Leading up to that day, countless hours were spent researching on what it's like to actually live here. But little to none has prepared us for what's to come on our first few weeks. Nothing beats experience, as they say.

My aim in this blog post is to give a glimpse on what it's like on my first month here in the beautiful city of Stockholm, Sweden.

The public transportation

As your gateway to the whole place, one of the things that you would notice immediately when in a different country is its public transportation. Its level of reliability plays an important role on the entire experience. While it's not perfect, using Stockholm's comprehensive system of trains and buses daily have been a pleasure. You don't necessarily have to live in the city center since their public transportation system are almost always just within walking distance. And yes, it can take you practically anywhere. I too have experienced multiple canceled bus and train routes already but finding alternative routes has not been much of a trouble.

In addition to being a very walkable city, people in Stockholm love their bicycles. There are bikes literally everywhere. Adults going to work, parents with their kids, or people just casually strolling the city all on their bikes. I love the fact that people here have multiple reliable ways how to get around the city which is an indication of a high-functioning city.

Groceries

Working our way to Maslow's heirarchy of needs, it's time to talk about food. Even with already over two months under my belt, I still intuitively convert everything to Philippine peso. It's no secret that it's expensive here in Sweden, and groceries are no different, especially when I compare it to Philippine prices.

Aside from adjusting my sense of what "reasonable price" is when it comes to grocery items, I also needed to change my expectations on the selections. In our first few trips in the supermarket, we struggled to even secure the ingredients for a simple chicken adobo because there is no white vinegar being sold. We ended up using an apple cider vinegar instead which surprisingly turned out just fine.

Weather

It's already at the tail end of spring when we arrived in Stockholm. As soon as we got out of Arlanda airport we were quickly reminded that this is going to be a challenge, we're not used to this kind of cold. We wouldn't dare going out of our apartment without two to three layers of clothing. Dry skin and chapped lips ensued, which lasted for a good three weeks.

But even then, a lot of my colleagues from work told me that I arrived at the perfect time because summer is just right around the corner. But as someone who is coming from a tropical country, I'm not that thrilled.

Until I experienced it first hand.

The city literally comes alive. The streets are vibrant and filled with people. It seems that there's always something happening around the city especially during the weekends. We've watched horse races, went to several flea markets, and enjoyed street performances. What I also love about this place is that there's always a park in every turn. People laying on the grass enjoying the bright and hot sunny weather is a norm.

Albeit the stressful first few weeks, we're enjoying ourselves so far. This city never fails to amaze us with its beautiful sceneries and architecture that always left us wide-eyed.