Sweden is Hiring!

Zynks

Hi there,
Unlike Ireland, Sweden is doing very well at the moment. I have been there many times and love the country. In my view the quality of life there is second to none, specially if you have a family.

Anyway, I follow some of the local press and found this page that is published every six months describing the job areas where there is shortages.

If you are looking for a job, I suggest you have a look and see if your area is listed: http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Work/Get-a-job/Labor-shortage-list/

As for reasons to hesitate, here are some views:

- It is a non English speaking country - true, but most Swedes speak English better than most of us
- Winters are very cold - Yeah, otherwise skying and ice skating and many other outdoors activities couldn't be pursued
- Taxes are high - yes, but not much more than here, and there you get HUGE payback for your taxes, such as subsidized childcare, great roads with no tolls, excellent public transport infrastructure, decent health service, etc...

Now, if you decide to go ahead, I highly recommend this book to help you figure out your hosts: The Xenophobe's Guide to the Swedes

Good luck with the hunt!

Bandana boy

Zynks wrote: »

- Taxes are high - yes, but not much more than here [/URL]

Sweden is a lovely country but your definition of not much needs recalibrating ,You also do not mention that the cost of living in Sweden is much higher for many incidentals.

That said Schools and Health Service second only to probably Norway

http://www.ekonomifakta.se/printDiagram.aspx?pid=389&epslanguage=en

Zynks

Bandana boy wrote: »

Sweden is a lovely country but your definition of not much needs recalibrating ,You also do not mention that the cost of living in Sweden is much higher for many incidentals.
[/URL]

My argument is based on personal experience. I spent six months there in 2004 while paying taxes in Ireland. I identified a person with almost the same salary as me and similar family situation (2 kids, mortgage, etc). The take home salary for him was maybe 10-15% lower than mine, but when we added differences in child care, schooling, road tax, etc, the conclusion was that he was clearly better off than me (>20%) in terms of disposable income.

As for the higher cost of living for many incidentals, yes, it is true, but also many things can be cheaper. Alcohol is the one that stands out as more expensive.

Taxation is broader than in Ireland - there is much higher corporation tax, they have a wealth tax that brings in a few bob, and a strong control of the alcohol distribution (Swedes are actually happy about that, to my surprise, they think they get good quality and value). Ireland is strongly dependent on personal income tax and I suspect the share of income tax as part of the pot is much higher here.

Don't get me wrong, taxes are not low there, but they get far more value for money in Sweden.

briano

Bandana boy wrote: »

Sweden is a lovely country but your definition of not much needs recalibrating ,You also do not mention that the cost of living in Sweden is much higher for many incidentals.

That said Schools and Health Service second only to probably Norway

http://www.ekonomifakta.se/printDiagram.aspx?pid=389&epslanguage=en

I have been living in Stockholm for the last year, to be honest the cost of living is higher is some areas, such as Alcohol and red meat, it is balanced out by other parts being much cheaper, such as public transport and medical expenses.

It's no cakewalk over here to get a job, there is a lot of paperwork and queues in the tax office. Also, depending on the area you want to work in, not having swedish can be a disadvantage.

Fluorescence

One of the reasons I'm learning Swedish at the moment . I could easily see myself living there for a few years.

Delancey

Childcare in Sweden is a fraction of the cost here and it has a health service that actually works - 2 good reasons alone to go there.
Booze is very pricey and there are few off-licences so queuing for drink is a big deal.
I've visited there and thought it was great.

Tabnabs

Kick start your search here
http://www.thelocal.se/jobs/

A good site to read about what's going on in Sweden especially as it's written in English!

briano

Delancey wrote: »

...there are few off-licences so queuing for drink is a big deal...

Actually, there are loads about, but they are strict about closing times; 7 on weekdays and 3 on Saturdays, so it is pretty common to see people stocking up.

patrickcyril

Hi. I recently moved to sweden. I already have my docs. However I recieved redundancy from my last job in ireland this week and I'm wondering if I need to pay tax in sweden on it. Any ideas?
regards, patrick

pilgrim pat

hi any of you lads still in Swedan?