I remember when I started writing this “blog” over a decade ago (yes, it has been that long). At first I did not know what purpose it would serve, over the years its been a place to rant, vent, document moving to a new country but the overall focus has really been about it becoming the main source of my poetry (over half a million views!).
I did not want to have too many places focusing on different themes. When I first moved to Sweden, I had a blog on an English-speaking website that certainly drove many people to my writings there, but this would always be the place of choice. So here I am writing something again about my first decade in Sweden.
I remember the summer of 2010 well. I had been living in London for over a decade and had become tired of it. London was and still is, the best city I have ever lived in and one that I will forever call home. It is just that as you get to your late thirties the daily travel, commuting, planning of life and above all constant bustle gets you to a point where you need to evaluate the reason of why you are living in one of the most expensive cities in the world just trying to survive. That year was the during the recession and times were indeed very tough. My daily travel alone was close to 3 hours both ways and my salary barely covered my expenditure. So I decided once and for all to get out of not just London but the UK itself.
My employers were very gracious, allowed me to take my job and work remotely in times where remote working was frowned upon. But I had thought about Sweden for around half a year, many personal reasons were the key driver and in the winter of 2010, I packed my life up in two quite oversized suitcases and move to an unknown land.
I had been to Sweden a few times before, 1994, 1998 and 2004. It is a country I had no real affiliation to, but it was a country that I knew would be both a challenge and a reward. First, I could not speak the language at all but had no issues in learning (still having lessons to this very day) as most of the country speaks very good English. So my first real question was where to settle. Of course, I did not want to jump straight into the void of moving to Stockholm, so I moved to a much smaller city.
Back then, each day was so new and vibrant, it was like I was discovering an unknown world. Walking through new landscapes, looking at fresh foods, the sights, sounds and smells were all so fresh it was amazing. I would happily blog or even do the old Audio casts of the difference between life in the UK and Sweden. For sure, I was not the only one there were dozens of people like me that were documenting their change in life through word, audio and even video (yes Svenskamush!)
The first winter here was harsh. In the city I was living in, it began snowing early November and did not stop until June. At the height, the temperatures were as low as -27 degrees Celsius. My winter clothes that I purchased in the UK were totally useless and I had absolutely no protection at all. Lesson one was quickly learned. Yet even in these times the length of winter, the dark nights with only a few hours’ daylight, it was all so new and magical.
Going to a Swedish pub for the very first time was an experience, not only in prices, but just the mentality of bars opening at 4pm compared to 11am back home. The shopping, landscape, buses, train journeys, everything was just new and exciting.
But somewhere along the way, it all got stale.
The other people in our “newbie” group stopped writing, the audiocasts stopped getting published, the vloggers moved back home. Suddenly, it all felt a little routine. Just like London a few years before, the exciting and magical journey was withering. The novelty of being the “Only British guy in the village” soon became no longer exciting. But there was the upside, strangers turned to friends, friends turned to colleagues and vice versa. Then suddenly I lived in Stockholm. I moved here on Halloween 2014 and to this day am still here.
Stockholm was fresh to me for a while but the time that this atmosphere lasted compared to when I first arrived in Sweden wore off quickly. I found a lovely little area to live in just 10 minutes from the centre, but somehow it all felt routine again. The same journey to work, the same bars watching football, the same route home.
Stockholm suddenly felt like Groundhog day.
Work has meant that I have several clients in several countries and that is always something that keeps me on my toes. But during these times of uncertainty, I realised that London, Norrköping & Stockholm all have two things in common. Firstly, I found them vibrant and wonderful, secondly; the novelty wears off at some stage.
Nobody can clearly say where the future lies, but whilst I am where I am, there only is one clear resolution. That is to find something new again, something that lights that internal fire within once more, for that is how life is. When the exciting becomes routine, you just have to start something that will reignite that passion.
So yes, expect some more Swedish, UK & Spanish related experiences soon!
