I think that people in general really overestimate what it takes to emigrate anywhere. They just have no concept how different things AND people are elsewhere. They totally ignore the fact that the difference isn't just a different language and a few cultural quirks. It's going deeper. Between countries with different languages it's an often vastly different way of thinking, different values and different preferences far above regional differences. I'm not saying this in a judgemental way. I'm not judging other cultures. I'm just saying expect huge differences and prepare to be open for new ideas that are going much deeper than you expect.

I also emigrated to Sweden (from another EU country, but a more southern one). I absolutely love it here. I made a lot of friends, get invited over a lot (for lunch, dinner, fika) and can't see the reserved people comment. That said, I learned to speak Swedish and try my best. It isn't fluent, but I try real hard. I also plunged myself into everything this town has to offer. Football club, folketshus (village home), I help at the church, museum and am a member of the sports club. I jumped in. I have little contact with other immigrants from my country. So the stereotype? That's on you. They are awesome friendly humans and very willing to meet new people. Just leave your home country at the border, where it belongs.

This is probably going to be an unpopular opinion but this person sounds so negative and exhausting. It sounds like they have went there not expecting to compromise on anything. I mean how do you manage to turn free or very cheap healthcare into a negative? Surely even having to wait a bit to see your regular physician is still better than not being able to afford to get treatment at all ?

I love how people think all Americans assume everything is better here than in other countries. That's a pretty big generalization to make especially with the way Europe is glamorized to us to make it seem like it's so much better than America. Different countries have different cultures. Not all of us here in American are condescending a holes. I've traveled the world, I can appreciate what they have to offer. I've lived in Europe and I didn't find it all that much different than living in the states.

I moved from New York City to Berlin. The health care point is weird: yes, care would be better in America. Here, though, there's very little deductible. I paid maybe $200 for a week in the hospital. In big cities, it's difficult to have a car. Same with NYC. The public transport, though, can be excellent & cheap ($55 a month for a pass in Berlin). And yes, German is a difficult language. For me, it might come down to politics. The political system is broken & far too much of America is controlled by idiots (see the David statue controversy). Europe values intelligence, and for that reason alone there's no way I could go back.

An interesting read. To me, this article says a lot more about the problems of American mindset than those of the people of the Nordic countries. Being a Nordic person myself (but trying to limit my bias), I agree on the darkness and the cold climate, the hard-to-get-to-know locals and other things being issues for people trying to settle here. But what I also see is Americans are just too spoilt, too materialistic, too entitled, too whiney, too demanding and unable or unwilling to comprehend and accept thr "hygge/lagom" concept necessary to survive in this part of the world. The author of the article does, in a way, admit to this by saying "the few Americans who managed to thrive over here are curious, adventureous and open-minded". So it's the typical American mindset, without generalising too much, that is the issue here, after all.

As a British immigrant to Canada 56 years ago I can honestly say this is true for most immigrants and not just for Americans. Even if the language is the same the culture isn't, and you have to learn the new ways to fit in. We came here when I was 22, and I'm now 78. I still miss quite a few things from my home in Northern Britain. Spring is spring there and I won't see it here for another 6 weeks, flowers I loved can't grow, and I get seasonal affective disorder aka SAD every six month prairie winter, and I miss my extended family, always will. Unless you're leaving a terrible situation like war or famine changing countries is a wrench, and even then it's not easy. But at least when you emigrate you chose that, not being forced to move due to circumstances beyond your control. Even those who made that choice might decide it was a mistake and go home again. The familiar can be a huge comfort to the soul. My advice would be never burn your bridges because you might need them again.

An immigrant here - generally, the younger you are when you move, the better. If you move somewhere to attend school/undergrad it's the best way to learn culture and figure out if you want to stay there further. Moving as an adult with adult expectations will be much harder in any country, even similar places. We see this all the time - older immigrants who stick to their same cultural circles and do not assimilate well

Hold up a second. You have to wait weeks or months for a doctor's appointment? That's supposed to be extreme? I've got pretty decent insurance, and I can't get an appointment in less than a month at BEST. Usually, the wait is more like two months -- sometimes more. Does this guy think you can just call their primary for a checkup and be seen the next day here?

Easy solution: move to Canada. 80% of the population lives within 200km of the US boarder, half of the population is South of Seattle. We also have about zero school shootings on average every year.

Reminds me of an acquaintance who moved to Hawaii from the mainland U.S. after a few vacations there, and ended up hating it because it was very difficult to integrate into regular life there, she was viewed as an outsider, plus being so far away from friends and family in the U.S. Overall, it was a large cost to eventually move back.

Sweden have loosed a lot during a past few years. 1.Healthcare is really bad, 2.You will work in here just for food and rent. 3. Weather(depression) 4. Too many ”low educated”refugees with the criminal bacground

I have to disagree with nearly everything in this article. I live in a rural area, and I moved here to marry a Swede, so my experience is different. That said, I find the country to be fantastic compared to the US. I didn't move here expecting it to be the US in the North. I am not materialistic, either, although I do enjoy nice things. I love my car, my house, my family, friends, workmates. I have had setbacks, especially because I have a specialized education that made finding a job challenging. But I finally did find one, and I couldn't be happier. The life here is wonderful. Sure, we pay taxes, but we get significantly more for our taxes. If you want to make a butt-ton of money, live like you did (assuming you had a good paying job that included health insurance), dodge bullets, fight for overpriced housing, and stick to the cities, more power to you. Stay in the US.

I think it is very sad that you all haven't found the peace here you wanted. . I have lived here for 33 years. Yes, it's not USA, and things are different. It should be, its not USA How many have bothered to be fluent? Yea, taxes are high, dark winters and prices are well HIGH, but most educated jobs pay well, Speaking and writing in Swedish is almost required for all jobs. Look for the similarities instead of the differences. Often I hear ex patriots speaking English in the shops while therir kids are bilingual. If the kids can learn so can you. Most Americans I meet speak poorly and blame it on that everyone understands English, well, yea they do, But show respect and speak in Swedish, you will find Swedes are more receptive and great people, and will want to practice their English. And you will be able to speak English anyway

So what you're saying is that Americans prefer the ability to own own own. Ownership is an illusion. This post kind of comes across as winey and entitled. Why move somewhere and expect the same lifestyle as back home? Getting used to riding a bike and eating healthy food sounds like an amazing change of pace.

This may be the most useful piece I've read on Bored Panda. Most of them are just fun bubble gum prose. Of course I have my bias as an expat American and enjoy this subject. I've been living in central eastern Europe; mostly in Montenegro, Hungary, and Ukraine (yes I'm involved in the war effort). I would move back to the States or Australia before moving to "expensive Europe". The former communist countries have a lot of problems with their bureaucracies, but over this way I've been able to live comfortably on investment income while enjoying higher quality dining and cultural experiences, because it's a lot more enjoyable. I think this part of Europe is more friendly and much more fun. (I've at least been to every one of the 40-some countries of Europe at least once, but most many times.) I'm one of those Yanks that is adventurous and loves the new experiences. I doubt I will ever return to the States, not because the life isn't better, but because it's still too familiar.

Incredibly the writer admits to wanting to live like an American in another country! As a military veteran I lived in Germany and guess what? I had no problem finding an off post apartment, making friends, etc.. Then i retired to Finland with my Finnish instructor after 20 yrs service in 97. Been here over 25 yrs and got an apartment easily, drivers license within a week and paid only about $15.00. Of course before hand i had gotten an International drivers license in USA and with that and my stateside drivers license was issued a license good for 25 years. Health care is of a high standard. I should know as I worked as a nurse in several hospitals over here until I retired again. We never ask for medical insurance because if they are citizens of EU, the State covers most of the bill. I paid about $300 for an emergency appendectomy and that included a semi-private room, all the medications, lab tests, x-rays, scans and the surgical team. my taxes are NOT mutch higher than USA taxes.

Moving anywhere takes adjusting. some more than others. It can be difficult to move to another state in the USA. North Carolina is not like South Carolina. Vermont is not like its border state New Hampshire. It's more like Oregon. Texas and Florida are similar - guns, god and beer. It's emotional -excitement and fear.

The grass is greener where you water it. We dream of escaping because the work to simply exist (let alone maintain democracy) is really difficult, especially these days. I don't blame people for wanting to flee, but disabled people, ill people, the elderly, etc. can't. Most countries won't take disabled immigrants. We need to water our own grass or it will die.

One thing we need to stop...is referring to people as "Expats". You're immigrants. Period. The very people demonized by so many governments, but always seen as coming from places like Syria, Mexico etc. I'm a German living in France. I'm not an "Expat". I'm an immigrant. Life can be hard, and even more difficult with language barriers and different cultures/values. But that applies anywhere you go where you're not a native. Comparisons don't apply, because the US and Sweden are continents apart.

I had to roll my eyes at this post. Of course living somewhere else is going to be very different than u.s. and the comment on anything other than Canada will be different is accurate. Not sure what they were expecting when making the decision to move to a very different nation and global position but simple research would have illuminated them on the darkness times of the year and the social structures of Scandinavian cultures. Big tip - embrace the darkness. As a Finnish Canadian myself I get the best of both worlds. And really I just want to add Finland has been voted happiest country in the world six years in a row so there is something to being up there. This guy sounds like he should have just joined a sports team. How does any adult anywhere make friends really..

Live in Northern Minnesota first. I spend most of the Winter trying to calculate how fast I would die in relation to the temperature. If that doesn't happen to you, you might be ok in other sunless wastelands.

This sounds much like culture shock. In a different country, things will be different - who would have thought. Well, yeah, it is important to speak the language of the country you live in. Yes, it takes time to adjust your taste buds to foreign food. Apparently, owning a car / obtaining a driving license will be more difficult than in the US, a culture in which you are not a person if you don't own a car. And what is wrong with living more frugally?

I can see the emotional distance, difficulty in sharing, etc. My grandma's grandparents were swedish immigrants. We don't tell each other anything (maternal line, anyway).

i wonder how Europeans do when they move there. I know Sweden (and Norway) is very popular in the Netherlands. One thing.. i dont get the car thing? So many cars in Sweden???? I never noticed there are less cars in Sweden than anywhere else??

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Pssss stop acting like a uncivilized, wasteful American. You'll do MUCH better.

Hmm... I'm Swedish and I have to say that the people that complain the most are usually Americans. No, not all of us regard your country as heaven on earth. We also don't need to know that you're American in every conversation. We can tell and usually not in a good way. Stop complaining and move back to 'the land of the free' if it offends you that we don't see it like that.

Question: I was just looking at a go fund me set up by a guy on fb for his MEDICAL EXPENSES. He lives somewhere in Europe and he's battling kidney cancer. Just wondering what's up with your perfect FREE healthcare system? Why is this poor dude trying to get his meds and fix his dinosaur car over there in Utopia???