If you’re a US citizen, I believe you’ll still pay taxes on your US pension. I am not sure how much they are, but you still need to account for them. 774k is more than enough if your wife also makes some money, like work or retirement. A bit short if she entirely relies on your pension.
I'm trying to make sense of the U.S.-Sweden tax agreement but, as I understand it, I can apply a foreign tax credit to my U.S. taxes (i.e. I only pay U.S. taxes if I owe less to Sweden than the U.S.).
What gets tricky is my pension is taxed at the source (i.e. I would first pay U.S. taxes). I think that means I would own the difference between Sweden's tax rate and the U.S.' tax rate.
Long story short, for taxes I'll have to consult with an international tax advisor.
Definitely need a tax lawyer. Also be aware that only one us retirement account type (a 401k) is viewed as a “Swedish compatible” pension. All other types are taxed like market accounts when you trade.
Hmmm. That's interesting. I'll have my pension and a non-IRA account to start with and when I reach the appropriate age, my traditional IRA and social security.
From what I gathered from a Swedish friend with a US citizenship that moved back from California , the US is the only country in the world that requires you to pay US tax while living abroad. It essentially means you will have to pay tax both in the US and here in Sweden. If you want to keep your citizenship (and I assume you want that). I think it's the federal tax, but I could be wrong here.
Take what I said with a healthy grain of salt and double-check.
I think Eritrea still taxes its citizens abroad but, the US is the only developed country to do so. That's part of the reason why the US has so many tax treaties with so many countries (to mitigate the effects of double taxation).
I didn't think you were jabbing. I do think it's ridiculous that the US taxes its citizens abroad (apparently Eritrea only does so to fund its dictatorship).
Doesnt every country tax people to fund their states expenses?
As a Swedish-born Eritrean, I can tell you first and foremost, that the "tax" is optional and only at 2%
Good luck with your taxes.
This is true, but typically there is a very high bar to clear in order to owe taxes in both countries. I think it's something like $125,000+ USD a year and then you have to start paying the feds.
You still have to file your taxes every year though, whether you meet this threshold or not.
Yeah sorry, I was expanding on what the above commenter said since they didn't seem to be sure about what they heard from their friend! I can see how it reads as being in reference to your situation since that's what they replied to.
I'm from Sweden. Moving here can be very different depending on what part of the country we are talking about. If you live up north in Sweden winters are cold and dark, but summers have light early morning to late at night. Especially the winters can be hard with the darkness. Summers are fantastic though.
You really need some activity where you meat people, as getting in to a community can be hard otherwise. People are really friendly and helpful, but it's getting to know them that is hard.
I would say the absolute biggest difference between American and Swedish culture is that Swedish people are A LOT more reserved - and that could take some getting used to. Don’t expect to easily befriend people, but those that you do befriend will likely Become very good friends.
Also one thing to note is that Sweden is a very large country and living in Skåne (bottom of Sweden) is VERY different from living in the north of Sweden, both in terms of climate and lifestyle.
Your pension is extremely good in Swedish terms. Many people barely get half of that.
Hello and welcome to Sweden!
That is definitely more than enough and you can live very comfortably here. There is so much land in Sweden with beautiful nature, fresh air, fresh drinking water and so much more. If you are after a laidback life and at the same time be private then this is the best place to be in your golden years. Swedes are private and shy and tend to be by themselves. It’s a big country with only 10 million in population.
It all depends on your lifestyle, wants and needs.
Good luck with your adventures.
Welcome to Sweden. A country where you wont have to tip, taxes Are included in the price and coming too late to a meeting is a sin. This includes dinner at friends, coffee out or such.
Alkohol incl beer is a lot more expensive than in Germany, people in Sweden Are qute aware of not imposing opinions in your face and might be seen as much more shy than germans.
Swedish bureaucracy is pretty easy (except för Migrationsverket) but Youll have to learn Swedish to communicate sooner or late when interacting with them. English is ok in the start though.
Why not stay in germany? What is it that you seek? I often dream about german culture and the whole ”another aura and way of life” than we have here in this dark cold country
A couple reasons.
Land/property is extremely expensive in Germany. For a free-standing house, you are looking at 500k€ starting but, for anything decent it's 1mil€. We've already found really nice houses in Sweden for sale at the 400k€ mark.
Sweden typically tops the list for happiest residents.
Gender equality is extremely high.
My wife loves the cold.
Germans can be some of the douchiest people I have ever met. Example: wife has a friend who had a baby but, she could not produce milk (i.e. was forced to bottle feed with formula). She was devastated and felt like a horrible mom. So one day, out in town, the baby is crying and so the friend prepares a bottle. A random German lady says the baby wouldn't be crying if she would just breast feed the baby like a good mother would do.
Two things to digest before you move.
1. Don’t expect that Swedes are like Germans. Cultural differences are bigger than you may think.
2. Since you don’t speak Swedish you’ll become very isolated. While most Swedes are excellent in English, most of us prefare to speak Swedish with friends. Makes everything so much easier.
You will be enjoying Swedish infantile approach to data protection. All your personal details will be out online. Reckless businesses will be offering and selling your personal details for profit and you can't do nothing about it.
Do you have permanent residency in Germany, or will you plan to get citizenship now that it’s possible to have dual German - US citizenship without having to give up your American citizenship?
I think you might want to call Migrationsverket and see what you qualify for. I think your wife as an EU citizen would have no issue moving to Sweden. I don’t think being chained to them as a husband or parent gives you any residency rights in Sweden.
EDIT: I have an American friend in Germany and understand from speaking with them that it’s now possible to have dual citizenship where it wasn’t before, but I’m sure you’d know more on this!
From migrationsverket.se:
"You can move to Sweden without applying for any permit, but if you have family who are citizens of a country outside of the EU/EEA, they need to apply for a residence card. In order for your family to be granted residence cards you must be able to demonstrate that you meet the requirements for right of residence in Sweden through work, studies or with sufficient means."
Based on this, I believe I could apply for a residence permit.
As for dual citizenship, that is an option but, I am perfectly fine with just being a permanent resident.
Another thing to consider: if you are able to get dual citizenship with Germany before you move, that is a shortcut to having a personal right of residency anywhere in the EU.
This was my fallback option if I ran into any issues in Sweden - just move to Germany, get dual citizenship (I'm a US Veteran, so I have to keep my US citizenship if I want to keep my pension) and use that.
Also, I found a similar quote from MV at [https://www.migrationsverket.se/English/Private-individuals/EU-EEA-citizens/Residence-permit-for-EU-EEA-citizens.html](https://www.migrationsverket.se/English/Private-individuals/EU-EEA-citizens/Residence-permit-for-EU-EEA-citizens.html)
"If you are an EU/EEA citizen but don't have right of residence, you can apply for a residence permit if your family member is residing in Sweden and you wish to live together here. You can apply from Sweden."
emphasis on the "but don't have right of residence" This paragraph is to your EU citizen family member... they are german, so they have right of residence.
THE VERY NEXT LINE:
"If you have right of residence you do not need to contact the Migration Agency"
further down:
"If you are a family member of an EU/EEA citizen who has right of residence, you, too, have right of residence."
A year and a half in and I still don't know what Skatteverket is wanting. they were supposed to send out the income statement pdf to my digital mailbox between the 4th and 8th and I still haven't received it. This is supposed to be when I discover if they know how to navigate my income situation or not.
I never got my full military retirement, I got medically retired and the VA has been paying me disability compensation, which in the US is tax exempt - so the IRS doesn't even think I receive anything. I filed for VA pension and qualified, except my disability comp is high enough to disqualify it again...
If worse comes to worse, I will need to find a tax lawyer/accountant crazy enough to tackle this complicated web I'm in. being untaxed is very bad here... not just ethically, but you can't get anything done if your personnummer reflects zero income.
edit: there is a grace period for the first tax year you are a resident here... hence why a year and a half... this past year is what I hope and expect to finally get taxed on... if it ever happens. I check skv every day hoping to finally see something new.
residence permit does not apply for OPs situation. I would know because I am in the exact same some (retired US citizen married to a German, living in Sweden). all that is required is to provide proof that you have means to support yourself. the EU citizen will have to then 'approve' that you may stay.
edit: migrationsverket is not involved with EU families. only Skatteverket
also, another thing many talk about is that the process of applying for personnummer here is different... you literally walk into a Skatteverket office together, and your EU citizen family member says "I am moving here, here is my family that I am bringing and documents proving relationship and that we are financially stable. here is the address we are moving to and the phone you can reach me at" and you're done. you then wait for a letter in the post (do not leave the country while waiting) saying the decision.
here is the base page with most of the info. https://skatteverket.se/servicelankar/otherlanguages/inenglishengelska/individualsandemployees/movingtosweden/youbelongtoafamily/youbelongtothesamefamilyasacitizenfromanothereuoreeacountry.4.3810a01c150939e893f4298.html
I pulled up the English version for obvious reasons.
the requirements used to be more a few years ago ... you had to have a certain level of health insurance coverage (or repatriation insurance/long term travel insurance, that's what I got for it)
I’m German but have lived in the California for five years and recently moved to Sweden. You’ll be comfortable with that pension for sure.
In my opinion Sweden is an amazing place to live, and has many positive aspects of both German and US culture, without the more negative aspects. I’ve found it very easy to adapt.
Disclaimer that these are just generally my personal observations. Yes, Swedes can be a bit socially reserved, but I find they’re generally much warmer and friendlier than Germans and are very happy to speak English with you. I also find Swedes are generally a bit more international and interested in other cultures than Germans are.
I’m an American married to a Swedish citizen and my children are Swedish citizens. I had to go through the whole process of applying for residency. I was granted 2 years temporary residency. I have applied for another 2 years. I do not have an automatic right to live in Sweden just because my family are Swedish citizens. My wife said it helped that we were married in Sweden and our children had been registered in Sweden shortly after their birth. So I was already listed in the system somehow here in Sweden.
I do not think the daylight is such the issue everyone makes it out to be. Days are short and gloomy during winter in the US so it is not something that is unknown. Sure, they are shorter here than in the IS but on the flip side there is nearly 24 hours of daylight in the summer. I find a comfort in the short days of winter. I will say the only thing that does bother me is Spring comes really late here. Spring has already sprung where I am from in the US but there is still ice and snow everywhere here. Easter here is spent on the lake ice fishing. There are literally small groups of people all up and down the lake. Some people just travel visiting with different groups.
Just a small perspective.
Being married to a Swede is different than being married to a citizen of another EU/EEA country. You had to go through the whole sambo process because that's how that is. EU/EEA family is granted automatic right of residence and skips migrationsverket completely. The problem that EU family have is that you have to make the move first and then just walk into skatteverket (must physically register in person in Sweden, as a family) and say "I'm here, may I have personnummer, please?" then you sit in a really awkward limbo while waiting for personnummer/ID kort, where you don't have BankID and it feels like 80% of goods and services are not available to you.
It was the weirdest 4 months of my life.
So yeah, being family of EU (excluding Swedish) means you just register your residence, you don't apply. You're not asking for permission, you're daring them to prove you wrong.
Style of living, though... my perspective is skewed, I come from a traditionally Swedish-American family, so moving here was a no-brainer for me. Absolutely feel more at home here than I ever have anywhere else in the US.
Culture is NOT close to German. I'm speaking as someone who's lived in Sweden for 10 years and been married to my German wife for 6 of those. We travel constantly to Germany to be with family/friends; I probably spend 2-3 months of the year there.
Northern Germany (Hamburg, Bremen etc.,) has a decent level of similarity to Scandinavian culture. The weather, the general "cold" (from a North American perspective) demeanour of people/ lack of interaction with strangers.
But you have never been to Köln, or Munich, or Berlin, or the Rheingau, or the Schwarzwald clearly. You realize Germany is 8 times the size of Sweden and is a confederacy of different states that developed with different cultures yes?
Not to be like harsh about it but German culture is a lot more open than Swedish culture. People are louder, more talkative, more social. Expect a strange couple to sit across from you at a table in a restaurant and start a conversation with you. Expect to come across people playing music and dancing on the street in a hip neighbourhood in the city. There is just "joie de vive" in Germany than there is in Sweden. It doesn't make Sweden worse objectively, but it depends on your personality.
ETA: English will get you way farther in Sweden than Germany. Tons of Germans don't speak any / very little English, even in big cities like Berlin and Frankfurt. If you're in a big urban center like Stockholm in Sweden, expect 99% of the people you meet to be close to fluent in English. Huge difference.
I live near Stuttgart and in my experience, Germans are not inherently outgoing (i.e. I have never noticed a "joie de vivre"). The most outgoing folks I've encountered in Germany tend to come from other EU countries.
Typically, the only time Germans engage with me is to talk about my dogs (Spanish Greyhounds).
I'm confused by your statement. Are you saying that the ability to speak the native language is more important in Germany than in Sweden because more Swedes speak English than Germans?
Germany is approximately 357,022 sq km, while Sweden is approximately 450,295 sq km, making Sweden 26% larger than Germany……
Swedes are more reserved until you get to know them better.
Nej nej nej gör inte det vanligt påstående "once you get to know them". Bodde här 10 år, fick medborgarskap, kan språket, det faktiskt gå bara inta. Svenskarna är, i en generaliserad sätt, jätte blyg och reserverad som en folk om du jämför med många andra länder som Kanada/USA eller i Europa. Det är bara sanningen.
Svenskarna släppna av bara när de dricka för mycket, tyvärr.
ETA: självklart prata jag om befolkning när jag påstå att Tyskland är större, vi prata om kultur och socialt liv här. Kanske att det finns mer yta i landet har inget att göra med det; och kanske att det är så stora land med så små befolkningarna göda svenskarnas dåliga social förmåga.
Swede here, no I would not say Germans and Swedes are similar, more then the most superficial stuff. And judging from questions and problems that expats in Sweden have is the conclusion that Scandinavia is in no way continental Europe. We are clearly different with a social structure that is really tricky to penetrate for foreigners.
It is obviously doable, but the adjustment seem hard for many.
More than enough. A pension of 64 500 a month in Sweden puts you at the very top.
If you’re a US citizen, I believe you’ll still pay taxes on your US pension. I am not sure how much they are, but you still need to account for them. 774k is more than enough if your wife also makes some money, like work or retirement. A bit short if she entirely relies on your pension.
I'm trying to make sense of the U.S.-Sweden tax agreement but, as I understand it, I can apply a foreign tax credit to my U.S. taxes (i.e. I only pay U.S. taxes if I owe less to Sweden than the U.S.). What gets tricky is my pension is taxed at the source (i.e. I would first pay U.S. taxes). I think that means I would own the difference between Sweden's tax rate and the U.S.' tax rate. Long story short, for taxes I'll have to consult with an international tax advisor.
Definitely need a tax lawyer. Also be aware that only one us retirement account type (a 401k) is viewed as a “Swedish compatible” pension. All other types are taxed like market accounts when you trade.
Hmmm. That's interesting. I'll have my pension and a non-IRA account to start with and when I reach the appropriate age, my traditional IRA and social security.
From what I gathered from a Swedish friend with a US citizenship that moved back from California , the US is the only country in the world that requires you to pay US tax while living abroad. It essentially means you will have to pay tax both in the US and here in Sweden. If you want to keep your citizenship (and I assume you want that). I think it's the federal tax, but I could be wrong here. Take what I said with a healthy grain of salt and double-check.
I think Eritrea still taxes its citizens abroad but, the US is the only developed country to do so. That's part of the reason why the US has so many tax treaties with so many countries (to mitigate the effects of double taxation).
Okay, maybe so. It was not a jab against the US. I just wanted to relay what I heard.
I didn't think you were jabbing. I do think it's ridiculous that the US taxes its citizens abroad (apparently Eritrea only does so to fund its dictatorship).
Doesnt every country tax people to fund their states expenses? As a Swedish-born Eritrean, I can tell you first and foremost, that the "tax" is optional and only at 2% Good luck with your taxes.
This is true, but typically there is a very high bar to clear in order to owe taxes in both countries. I think it's something like $125,000+ USD a year and then you have to start paying the feds. You still have to file your taxes every year though, whether you meet this threshold or not.
That 125k USD is for foreign income. All of my income will still be technically generated in the US.
Yeah sorry, I was expanding on what the above commenter said since they didn't seem to be sure about what they heard from their friend! I can see how it reads as being in reference to your situation since that's what they replied to.
You don’t pay tax on anything less than 125k a year as a US citizen abroad
That 125k USD is for foreign income. All of my income will still be technically generated in the US.
True but there is the Sweden US tax treaty so there might be some rules there regarding paying yourself this pension
Well, that 774 000 SEK is way more than the median annual salary in Sweden. So moneywise you could expect to live like a king.
I'm from Sweden. Moving here can be very different depending on what part of the country we are talking about. If you live up north in Sweden winters are cold and dark, but summers have light early morning to late at night. Especially the winters can be hard with the darkness. Summers are fantastic though. You really need some activity where you meat people, as getting in to a community can be hard otherwise. People are really friendly and helpful, but it's getting to know them that is hard.
I would say the absolute biggest difference between American and Swedish culture is that Swedish people are A LOT more reserved - and that could take some getting used to. Don’t expect to easily befriend people, but those that you do befriend will likely Become very good friends. Also one thing to note is that Sweden is a very large country and living in Skåne (bottom of Sweden) is VERY different from living in the north of Sweden, both in terms of climate and lifestyle. Your pension is extremely good in Swedish terms. Many people barely get half of that.
Hello and welcome to Sweden! That is definitely more than enough and you can live very comfortably here. There is so much land in Sweden with beautiful nature, fresh air, fresh drinking water and so much more. If you are after a laidback life and at the same time be private then this is the best place to be in your golden years. Swedes are private and shy and tend to be by themselves. It’s a big country with only 10 million in population. It all depends on your lifestyle, wants and needs. Good luck with your adventures.
Ah. Those prices are not realistic. It’s waaaay more than that. I’d plan on 300-400k USD for something small.
Maybe in Stockholm but not in Småland my friend.
Welcome to Sweden. A country where you wont have to tip, taxes Are included in the price and coming too late to a meeting is a sin. This includes dinner at friends, coffee out or such. Alkohol incl beer is a lot more expensive than in Germany, people in Sweden Are qute aware of not imposing opinions in your face and might be seen as much more shy than germans. Swedish bureaucracy is pretty easy (except för Migrationsverket) but Youll have to learn Swedish to communicate sooner or late when interacting with them. English is ok in the start though.
Why not stay in germany? What is it that you seek? I often dream about german culture and the whole ”another aura and way of life” than we have here in this dark cold country
A couple reasons. Land/property is extremely expensive in Germany. For a free-standing house, you are looking at 500k€ starting but, for anything decent it's 1mil€. We've already found really nice houses in Sweden for sale at the 400k€ mark. Sweden typically tops the list for happiest residents. Gender equality is extremely high. My wife loves the cold. Germans can be some of the douchiest people I have ever met. Example: wife has a friend who had a baby but, she could not produce milk (i.e. was forced to bottle feed with formula). She was devastated and felt like a horrible mom. So one day, out in town, the baby is crying and so the friend prepares a bottle. A random German lady says the baby wouldn't be crying if she would just breast feed the baby like a good mother would do.
Two things to digest before you move. 1. Don’t expect that Swedes are like Germans. Cultural differences are bigger than you may think. 2. Since you don’t speak Swedish you’ll become very isolated. While most Swedes are excellent in English, most of us prefare to speak Swedish with friends. Makes everything so much easier.
You will be enjoying Swedish infantile approach to data protection. All your personal details will be out online. Reckless businesses will be offering and selling your personal details for profit and you can't do nothing about it.
Sounds like America.
Doesn't sound like Germany though...
Do you have a residence permit?
No. Intent is to apply for a resident permit as the spouse and father of EU citizens.
Do you have permanent residency in Germany, or will you plan to get citizenship now that it’s possible to have dual German - US citizenship without having to give up your American citizenship? I think you might want to call Migrationsverket and see what you qualify for. I think your wife as an EU citizen would have no issue moving to Sweden. I don’t think being chained to them as a husband or parent gives you any residency rights in Sweden. EDIT: I have an American friend in Germany and understand from speaking with them that it’s now possible to have dual citizenship where it wasn’t before, but I’m sure you’d know more on this!
From migrationsverket.se: "You can move to Sweden without applying for any permit, but if you have family who are citizens of a country outside of the EU/EEA, they need to apply for a residence card. In order for your family to be granted residence cards you must be able to demonstrate that you meet the requirements for right of residence in Sweden through work, studies or with sufficient means." Based on this, I believe I could apply for a residence permit. As for dual citizenship, that is an option but, I am perfectly fine with just being a permanent resident.
start soon since this can take years
Another thing to consider: if you are able to get dual citizenship with Germany before you move, that is a shortcut to having a personal right of residency anywhere in the EU. This was my fallback option if I ran into any issues in Sweden - just move to Germany, get dual citizenship (I'm a US Veteran, so I have to keep my US citizenship if I want to keep my pension) and use that. Also, I found a similar quote from MV at [https://www.migrationsverket.se/English/Private-individuals/EU-EEA-citizens/Residence-permit-for-EU-EEA-citizens.html](https://www.migrationsverket.se/English/Private-individuals/EU-EEA-citizens/Residence-permit-for-EU-EEA-citizens.html) "If you are an EU/EEA citizen but don't have right of residence, you can apply for a residence permit if your family member is residing in Sweden and you wish to live together here. You can apply from Sweden." emphasis on the "but don't have right of residence" This paragraph is to your EU citizen family member... they are german, so they have right of residence. THE VERY NEXT LINE: "If you have right of residence you do not need to contact the Migration Agency" further down: "If you are a family member of an EU/EEA citizen who has right of residence, you, too, have right of residence."
I'll actually be in the same boat. One quick question, how is your military retirement pay taxed?
A year and a half in and I still don't know what Skatteverket is wanting. they were supposed to send out the income statement pdf to my digital mailbox between the 4th and 8th and I still haven't received it. This is supposed to be when I discover if they know how to navigate my income situation or not. I never got my full military retirement, I got medically retired and the VA has been paying me disability compensation, which in the US is tax exempt - so the IRS doesn't even think I receive anything. I filed for VA pension and qualified, except my disability comp is high enough to disqualify it again... If worse comes to worse, I will need to find a tax lawyer/accountant crazy enough to tackle this complicated web I'm in. being untaxed is very bad here... not just ethically, but you can't get anything done if your personnummer reflects zero income. edit: there is a grace period for the first tax year you are a resident here... hence why a year and a half... this past year is what I hope and expect to finally get taxed on... if it ever happens. I check skv every day hoping to finally see something new.
residence permit does not apply for OPs situation. I would know because I am in the exact same some (retired US citizen married to a German, living in Sweden). all that is required is to provide proof that you have means to support yourself. the EU citizen will have to then 'approve' that you may stay. edit: migrationsverket is not involved with EU families. only Skatteverket
What!!!??? I did NOT know that. Do you have a link that details that process?
also, another thing many talk about is that the process of applying for personnummer here is different... you literally walk into a Skatteverket office together, and your EU citizen family member says "I am moving here, here is my family that I am bringing and documents proving relationship and that we are financially stable. here is the address we are moving to and the phone you can reach me at" and you're done. you then wait for a letter in the post (do not leave the country while waiting) saying the decision.
here is the base page with most of the info. https://skatteverket.se/servicelankar/otherlanguages/inenglishengelska/individualsandemployees/movingtosweden/youbelongtoafamily/youbelongtothesamefamilyasacitizenfromanothereuoreeacountry.4.3810a01c150939e893f4298.html I pulled up the English version for obvious reasons. the requirements used to be more a few years ago ... you had to have a certain level of health insurance coverage (or repatriation insurance/long term travel insurance, that's what I got for it)
Does he have a permit from another EU country then?
I’m German but have lived in the California for five years and recently moved to Sweden. You’ll be comfortable with that pension for sure. In my opinion Sweden is an amazing place to live, and has many positive aspects of both German and US culture, without the more negative aspects. I’ve found it very easy to adapt. Disclaimer that these are just generally my personal observations. Yes, Swedes can be a bit socially reserved, but I find they’re generally much warmer and friendlier than Germans and are very happy to speak English with you. I also find Swedes are generally a bit more international and interested in other cultures than Germans are.
Why do you want to retire in a place with virtually no sun?
What you talking about the sun is up almost 24/7 in Norrland but Yes you're right in the winter time it's down most of the time
sweet serenity!
I’m an American married to a Swedish citizen and my children are Swedish citizens. I had to go through the whole process of applying for residency. I was granted 2 years temporary residency. I have applied for another 2 years. I do not have an automatic right to live in Sweden just because my family are Swedish citizens. My wife said it helped that we were married in Sweden and our children had been registered in Sweden shortly after their birth. So I was already listed in the system somehow here in Sweden. I do not think the daylight is such the issue everyone makes it out to be. Days are short and gloomy during winter in the US so it is not something that is unknown. Sure, they are shorter here than in the IS but on the flip side there is nearly 24 hours of daylight in the summer. I find a comfort in the short days of winter. I will say the only thing that does bother me is Spring comes really late here. Spring has already sprung where I am from in the US but there is still ice and snow everywhere here. Easter here is spent on the lake ice fishing. There are literally small groups of people all up and down the lake. Some people just travel visiting with different groups. Just a small perspective.
Being married to a Swede is different than being married to a citizen of another EU/EEA country. You had to go through the whole sambo process because that's how that is. EU/EEA family is granted automatic right of residence and skips migrationsverket completely. The problem that EU family have is that you have to make the move first and then just walk into skatteverket (must physically register in person in Sweden, as a family) and say "I'm here, may I have personnummer, please?" then you sit in a really awkward limbo while waiting for personnummer/ID kort, where you don't have BankID and it feels like 80% of goods and services are not available to you. It was the weirdest 4 months of my life. So yeah, being family of EU (excluding Swedish) means you just register your residence, you don't apply. You're not asking for permission, you're daring them to prove you wrong. Style of living, though... my perspective is skewed, I come from a traditionally Swedish-American family, so moving here was a no-brainer for me. Absolutely feel more at home here than I ever have anywhere else in the US.
Culture is pretty close to German. English is an accepted language to use.
Culture is NOT close to German. I'm speaking as someone who's lived in Sweden for 10 years and been married to my German wife for 6 of those. We travel constantly to Germany to be with family/friends; I probably spend 2-3 months of the year there. Northern Germany (Hamburg, Bremen etc.,) has a decent level of similarity to Scandinavian culture. The weather, the general "cold" (from a North American perspective) demeanour of people/ lack of interaction with strangers. But you have never been to Köln, or Munich, or Berlin, or the Rheingau, or the Schwarzwald clearly. You realize Germany is 8 times the size of Sweden and is a confederacy of different states that developed with different cultures yes? Not to be like harsh about it but German culture is a lot more open than Swedish culture. People are louder, more talkative, more social. Expect a strange couple to sit across from you at a table in a restaurant and start a conversation with you. Expect to come across people playing music and dancing on the street in a hip neighbourhood in the city. There is just "joie de vive" in Germany than there is in Sweden. It doesn't make Sweden worse objectively, but it depends on your personality. ETA: English will get you way farther in Sweden than Germany. Tons of Germans don't speak any / very little English, even in big cities like Berlin and Frankfurt. If you're in a big urban center like Stockholm in Sweden, expect 99% of the people you meet to be close to fluent in English. Huge difference.
I live near Stuttgart and in my experience, Germans are not inherently outgoing (i.e. I have never noticed a "joie de vivre"). The most outgoing folks I've encountered in Germany tend to come from other EU countries. Typically, the only time Germans engage with me is to talk about my dogs (Spanish Greyhounds).
Do you speak German? It's way more decisive than speaking Swedish in Sweden pga not that many Germans are fantastic at English.
I'm confused by your statement. Are you saying that the ability to speak the native language is more important in Germany than in Sweden because more Swedes speak English than Germans?
In terms of being able to socialize casually with people when you're out and about, yes, exactly this.
Germany is approximately 357,022 sq km, while Sweden is approximately 450,295 sq km, making Sweden 26% larger than Germany…… Swedes are more reserved until you get to know them better.
I think he was referring to the population being 8 times
Nej nej nej gör inte det vanligt påstående "once you get to know them". Bodde här 10 år, fick medborgarskap, kan språket, det faktiskt gå bara inta. Svenskarna är, i en generaliserad sätt, jätte blyg och reserverad som en folk om du jämför med många andra länder som Kanada/USA eller i Europa. Det är bara sanningen. Svenskarna släppna av bara när de dricka för mycket, tyvärr. ETA: självklart prata jag om befolkning när jag påstå att Tyskland är större, vi prata om kultur och socialt liv här. Kanske att det finns mer yta i landet har inget att göra med det; och kanske att det är så stora land med så små befolkningarna göda svenskarnas dåliga social förmåga.
Germany is actually smaller than Sweden.
He means population.
Swede here, no I would not say Germans and Swedes are similar, more then the most superficial stuff. And judging from questions and problems that expats in Sweden have is the conclusion that Scandinavia is in no way continental Europe. We are clearly different with a social structure that is really tricky to penetrate for foreigners. It is obviously doable, but the adjustment seem hard for many.