Taxes are an investment into society, at least in the Scandinavian model. The reason Sweden is so great to live in is because they invest in their society. A society we all would want to live in is not free, nor cheap. Maybe not all of the taxes are spent wisely. But the upsides far outweighs the downsides.
Taxes work better the more trust there are between people in the society, problem is that the trust in our society is quickly deteriorating at the moment.
Investing a vast amount of tax payers’ money on the military, which is currently happening, is a huge disappointment. Money down the drain, without a shadow of a doubt. And not even have a referendum regarding the NATO membership. After 200 years of ”neutrality” i e no wars. Yes, many of us are, definitely, losing our trust in society and in politicians.
@CandidZulu The short and concise version is that politicians haven't really adjusted pension since the days of Göran Persson, and what his government adopted back then made sense back then, but these times it makes sense to adjust pensions according to how things are now. And regarding the spiel about taxes in relation to trust, I agree with the general statement but I feel it's important to point out that right-leaning parties in Sweden have worked tirelessly to sow distrust between the different groups of the populace. It used to be that the poor were untrustworthy, nowadays it's mostly immigrants that are untrustworthy, meanwhile those most busy kicking down are constantly involved in sketchy things brought into the light by media. Nothing new there, I guess.
No one is making men stay at home with their kids. It's just that their paternity days can't be made into maternity days. Dads can work, childcare is huge and cheap in Sweden.
both mothers and fathers work and pay taxes, why shouldn't they be offered equal benefits when they become parents? how to use the benefit is up to each individual
@@absolutehonor141 Actually, parental leave is for the sake of the child. At least that applies to Norway, which has the same philosophy around the phenomenon, and therefore fairly similar rules to Sweden. I have the impression that young people do not understand this, they think it is a right given for their sake, and not for the child. It should be consideration for the child that was most important, and not the parents' "rights". In some cases, for various reasons, it is best for one parent to be at home throughout the entire period, and the one who is punished if the father is not capable in taking leave is the child. Therefore, in Norway, you can apply for the mother to take the father's quota if the father is too ill to take care of the child, or if the father has not accrued rights.
@@absolutehonor141 They are offered equal benefits, the benefit is individual not collective. How use it - or not use it - is your own choise. But you can not transfer YOUR benefit to another person. I can see nothing wrong in this...
@@tompao7832 You can indeed transfer paternity days to the mother or vice versa, just not all of them; there's a certain amout (I forget how many) that is reserved for each individual.
Swedish born and raised. Moved to the US at age of 30. Married US hubby for 30+ yrs. Stepmom in the US. Now retired. Moved to France w hubby 5 yrs ago. Stefan, you will always be an American. You will logically never have childhood friends in Sweden as you didn’t spend your childhood in Sweden. In Sweden it takes years to graduate from being an acquaintance to becoming a friend. Group mentality and close-mindedness I ascribe to my American experience more than my Swedish. Swedes do their own thing without caring what other ppl think. Booze monopoly is a government revenue generator in Sweden and considered for the common good. So is high taxes on tobacco and petroleum products. Jantelagen doesn’t preclude you from excelling - it discourages you from bragging about it. Swedes don’t talk about money and personal windfalls. That’s considered bragging and is met with disdain. US taxes plus health care including maternal care and free major surgery and hospital costs + other insurances + child care expenses + paid parental leave + paid care of the disabled + unemployment benefits + all other costs that bankrupt average Americans + social security = all included taxes in Sweden. Everyone pays in to the “national insurance system” and everyone receives benefits when and as required. Less crimes, less homelessness, less untreated mental disorders, probably less family and social troubles over all. Stefan, Sweden does not discourage hard work, you are welcome to work as much as you wish and to get ahead as far as you’re able - and keep it to yourself. Not to mention that cost for home, auto and other insurances are lower in Sweden than in the US, so is internet & phone service and banking. It would be interesting to compare actual individual costs as well as costs born by the public between the US, a free market economy favouring corporate welfare versus Sweden, a democracy favouring social welfare. Learning a new language is not an easy task. I had to go from in-Sweden-learned- school-English to becoming American in my 30s. Now in my late 60s I’m studying French. I consider myself fluent in English which I will never be in French, but it’s fun learning! Keep it up Stefan!
Less crimes, less homelessness, less untreated mental disorders, probably less family and social troubles over all. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> So much WRONG and FALSE and oudated facts there that I feel there is good material for Stefan for extra few hours and some 6-7 more RUclips clips that utterly dispose this and inform people of nowadays hars reality od Sweden. Sweden does not discourage hard work, you are welcome to work as much as you wish and to get ahead as far as you’re able - and keep it to yourself. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> This SO WRONG AND FALSE !!! Please Stefan expose this how workers and companies are penalized and discouraged when officialy try to work more than 200 hours a month
It takes forever to go from acquaintance to friend.... Swedish born and moved to the US at age 5.... now grown and moved to Stockholm 2 years ago with my own family and kids so they could learn the language. Have not been invited to one crayfish or midsommar yet even though we are starting to make friends now and have been over for some dinners. The experience is probably different for younger people but when you have a family you don't have as much time and you kinda need to make friends with families so you can all hang. Love so much about Sweden but this part is a bit boring (the social side of things). In the US you have random people inviting you to BBQ's that you've met once at a gas station.
A well-thought-out comment that shows that you not only know both countries (as well as a third), but you are also able to see the big picture. You can think several steps ahead, and understand cause and effect. As a Norwegian with an interest in different cultures, and with life experience, it was very nice to read your comment.
I rather pay higher taxes than see my neighbour who dont earn as much as me die of cancer because he or she don´t have a health insurance that will give that person the same treatment than people with better insurances. I think the american way are just plain cynical.
you don't need taxes as high as sweden has to have a free healthcare (which sweden does NOT have - which is not a bad thing i believe a reasonable fee for visiting a doctor is a good thing). some 15 years ago a "right wing" government here in czechia instituted a 1.33 USD fee for visiting a doctor and a 2.66 USD fee for a day spent at the hospital. they lost the next election over this issue. so for a long time we've been back to a completely free healhcare which may not be as good as in germany for example but it's still very high quality (much better than most of our neighbours and judging by anecdotal evidence also much better then the UK's NHS). we also have a 6 month maternity leave + 2 to 4 year parental leave (the mother (or father) can choose how long she (he) wants to stay at home with the child). and our taxes? as a sole trader i pay less then 15% of all my income and it covers income tax, social security and health insurance - and there's no need for any accounting - i just keep track of the total invoiced income and at the end of the year i declare it and pay. employees (+ employers) pay much more, but it's still a good deal to pay my first wife her alimony in the form of employment - she gets 80 cents on every dollar it costs me and her social security, health insurance and income tax is payed - it also counts towards her retirement pension. there's one thing that's apparently taxed less in sweden than in czechia - cigarettes. i was so surprised to find out how cheap cigarettes are in sweden. in czechia they raise their price twice a year. soon i'll be paying more in cigarette sales tax than in income tax :D.
"Jantelagen" is really just a way to tell people that they should be humble. I guess it is formulated in a strange way, so that it sounds like it is trying to knock down on people, but the basic idea is that people shouldn't be arrogant, and that they shouldn't brag about their achievements.
@@TinksiehTinkAre you serious? I was married to a Swede, they got mad at him when I had to file for divorce (mental health issues he refused to get treatment for), I got to keep the family (they won’t talk to him at all anymore), and I’ve been roped into family reunions happening in Sweden while I’m in Seattle online. I have standing invitations to stay at all their homes whenever I might go there (I haven’t had time yet; kids from a prior marriage and my own graduate school), and they say they can’t wait to introduce me to all their friends.
@@TinksiehTinkFor the Japanese for eg that bit is super easy. They don’t brag either. Showing skilfulness in a discreet way is so much more elegant than talking about how good you are (just look at Trump) 😉
As a Swede who wasn't very popular in high-school and thus didn't make many friends. It's one of the things I find most troubling with Sweden. It can be so damn hard to find real friends.
Grattis! Jag flyttade til Borlänge när jag var 20 år! (1997)! Vi ville prova min hemstad Buffalo ett tag så i 2009 flyttade vi hit. Vi kommer att flytta tillbaka så småningom. 😊😊😊 Jag känner mig mer svensk än amerikansk faktiskt. ❤
Regarding learning languages after the childhood years, I think it is very individual if you become fluent in the new languuage. I had a colleague, an American young woman, I think she was 23-24 when she moved to her Swedish boyfriend and took a job at the company I was working for. After four, five months she spoke fluent Swedish with no accent. It was fascinating to see her grasp the language so fast. She was truly bilingual.
I think it is really good to force fathers to use their parental leave. Rasing a child is a shared responsibility. If a man choose to become a father, then he should take his responsibilty raising the child and being there for him/her
Regarding forced paternal leave (and don't consider this a silver bullet argument but rather a complementary perspective) is that by forcing paternal leave you help those that would've wanted to take paternal leave but had to choose not to just to avoid "rocking the boat" at their job. In many situations we're forced or coerced into making choices implicitly by those that have power over us (such as employers) which in practice limits our freedoms. You can draw comparisons to people avoiding calling in sick to work back in the US to avoid being shafted. Sure, we enjoy a high level of job security here in Sweden but what rights you have that are stipulated by law and what happens in practice doesn't necessarily always align, even in Sweden. Some would find solace in telling their employers they "have no other choice than to go on paternal leave" whilst others would rather not to. As said, it's not a silver bullet argument but rather a complementary perspective on how people's life would change (for both parents and children) if paternal leave would be mandatory.
7:46 don’t know where you found that fact, but it’s been well over 15 years that fathers get 240 days and the mother 240 days of parental leave!! And 90 of those days can NOT be moved over to the other parent!!!
Yeah, it's such a bad system. They really should let us choose for ourselves. In my case it wasn't really about it being an economic benefit having my wife stay at home, it was about me being able to work from home and get more time as a family. During those 90 days my wife barely got to see our daughters on the week days because of her daily commute to work.
Hejsan! I’ve been following your videos for the past 3 years, I’m also an American learning Swedish. I want to say it’s been fun hearing your accent progress, your Swedish sounds more Swedish now with an accent but your English now also has a Swedish sound to it. That’s all, tack för videon!
@@auroraborden3376 this is true, I am a Swede in US and the best compliment I ever got was: I asked my husband at the time what he wanted on his hotdog when we were visiting in Sweden, because you just have to try it as it’s very different from US hotdogs. And the guy at the hotdogs stand said “ WOW your Swedish is so incredibly good for being an American” this made me laugh and say, no I am just a Swede with a really bad American accent! Still one of the best to this day!!!
As a reverse of your situation, I am Swedish and move to Maryland in USA in 1993, I would love To pay the taxes that Sweden and you should compare cost of living versus taxes for a more true picture. Maryland being one of the most expensive states to live in. Housing costs, car insurance premiums, healthcare premiums , healthcare out of pocket costs (dr visits and medication) when I retire I want To find a Swedish version of a 1 bedroom condo so I can spend few months a year at home. I was always the outcast 😂 In Sweden because I would try to start conversations with strangers… so I definitely fit in here more but yes I am both an extrovert and an introvert I appreciate both!!!
I believe when it comes to speak a new language the key is to overcome the barrier of accepting new sounds. Take the letter "A" for instance. Really listen to the ways how swedes sounds when we speak words. Also "R". Embrace the actual sounds we make. There is a comfort barrier (that small kids dont have), a sense of awkwardness, because it feels strange to make some of the sounds. Also when it comes to different sounds that include "sj", "sch", "ch", "sk" and so om... If you really want to be fluent in swedish it is the little details that makes the difference - and you need to dare to sound silly (silly in a consept of an american sound palette). On the other things you said, you are spot on! Welcome to Sweden!!
Välkommen! I don't know if it's because of the context and I'm just imagining, but you have a very very suttle swedish accent =). I hope you take it as a compliment ;). Also, the best description of the difference between swedes and americans social wise that I've heard is this: The distance between a stranger and a friend is closer in the US compared to sweden, but the difference between a friend and a close friend is actually closer here (sweden).
Swedes who, for some reason, don't have childhood friends or lose them along the way might have a very limited social life. It might be difficult for people who just moved here or immigrants to get invited to a "midsummer's party" but honestly... It's not that much easier for a swedish person who doesn't have the connections needed. It is hard, for many, to find themselves into a party or group of friends like that. My guess is that those who has a midsummer's party, have old friends and still invited new people sometimes can get very popular.
Stefan I don't usually comment your videos, but after living in Sweden for 4 years I agree 100% with all your points. Great analysis. I shared a lot of your thoughts (I'm Argentinian though). Thanks for the video!
The culture of the country which one gets raised in will always influence one's personality. After nearly 30 years as a German in England my German friends say I am very British, but here in England people say although I am assimilated very well, my Germanness comes through.
You have a very deep level of self understanding when it come to your values (not being sarcastic.) I wonder if some of these things, like for example free health care in Sweden, would be of a greater value to a woman? Speaking as a Swedish woman that gave birth to one child in Sweden, and my second child in the US it was way more stressful not having free health care. I'd say that it had a very negative impact on my overall quality of life while living in the US. A lot of other things were absolutely amazing, but health care is such a big thing.
Congrats, Stefan, to adapting so well and it truly looks like you are thriving. This is for all of Stefan's listeners: Hustling is really huge in Sweden, but not a necessity to get by. One of the most common forms of getting ahead is taking courses of which there traditionally are myriads. Caring for your health by being physically active is also very normal. To me it looks like everyonedoes something. Perhaps with all available electronical devices becoming a little less common. Choirs, dancing, watersports, wintersports, indoor sports are all very common. And for decades we've had the mottoe "Lifelong learning". But I give you that Swedes are a bit shy of being "different". I'm a native Finn and feel it is a huge difference - in Finland it was common that "original" about a person was a compliment for a person that it would be interesting to know better, in Sweden an "original" is a weirdo (with the same degree of originality, though), that you'd like to avoid. Swedes want to agree with you, not to cause a heated discussion, in Finlad you feel dishonest if you let a comment pass, that you actually don't agree with. And it doesn't cause a debate, it is so normal. Try to express an uncommon opinion in Sweden and see what happens, like if you truly feel it is a relief that it is a bit more chilly now, every Swede will agree, but you could also sigh: it's a pity that the warm days are over, every Swede will agree. But you have to be first one to utter this opinion, not in opposition to the previous speaker. Such banal opinions and still Swedes will not tell what they truly think (a generalization, of course). BTW Swedes are actually very chatty, but you need to let them speak Swedish of course, and every chat with strangers "should" start with complaining about something you agree about. If they ask where are you from, don't forget to immdiately ask them from which place in Sweden they are from, why they have moved or not wanted move, every second question should be made by you. 😀
Most people have no clue about taxes. Sweden has a little over 40% in taxes of the national GDP. The US has around 30%. The US really need to raise their taxes by 30% (to a 40% level as Sweden) not to go bankrupt, its that bad. That’s fact, just look it up. The reason the US does not go bankrupt is because of the USD, that has an inherent value no other currency has. They can just print more of it. 😂 So the interesting thing is that the US needs to raise the taxes to a “Swedish” level just to not go bankrupt. No free college or healthcare or maternity leave included there. To have the same level of benefits in the society as in Sweden, and not go bankrupt, the US would need to raise the taxes to absurd levels. Where does all the tax money go in the US?? Decades of bad economic management. It’s not something that has happened now during Biden, Trump or even Obama. So.. question is, how long the dynasty of the USA will last? Sweden at least has a much more responsible take on the economy.
I wonder if the issue of 'mandatory' paternal leave comes from a sense that men perhaps feel less entitled to take it, or if there may be pressure felt by men at work not to take it? So making at least some leave mandatory could be a way to make sure that men aren't pressured into not taking it
Completely agree! :) Btw Swedes LOVE to think about themselves as of truly individualistic people whereas they are extremely repetitive (meaning: collectively repeating same patterns of other people) in their behaviour, clothing, things they buy, places they travel to and so on.
Yeah... as I wrote: "whereas" and "they like to think about themselves". Hence, Swedes are NOT acting as individualistic as they would like to think of themselves.
@@DK_se you claim Swedes are not individualistic as they like to repeat themselves but that’s not what individualistic means. You can be both individualistic as well as being repetitive as one is talking about your view on the individual role in society while the other is how you behave.
@@markusolofzon repetitive in a meaning that they are unconsciously repeating and align with behaviour of others :) Not that they are repeating on and on one's own routines...
Interesting that you describe yourself as on the blue side of the political spectrum. At least you have a spectrum! I counted 8 parties on the range from left to right. This is a tremendous advantage over the U.S. where they are limited to two parties only. Looks to me like the Swedes have a better political system.
@@ge_mig_nat_som_kanns Not really. Swedens blue is right wing, and the Swedish red is left wing. But that's compared to Swedish politics in itself. If Swedish politics are compared to US, some of our right wing (blue) parties would be considered US- lefties. Is that what you meant?
when it comes to parental leave, I think that all new parents should be offered the same benefits, regardless of their gender, then it's up to each person if they want to use the benefit.
On paternity leave, I would tend to agree, "instinctively" so to speak. But then I think of my late father, who unfortunately got a very shallow relationship with his two sons, and a much closer with our younger sister. The difference? He made career when my brother and I grew up, and we learned to know our grandparents, who looked after us, much better than our father. When our sister was born, he had given up on the career making, came home before Mother each afternoon and made our supper. To my luck, Father and I catched up when he grew old. My brother, on the other hand, didn't. And his daughter barely knew her grandfather. When I compare, I must say that it had been good for all of us, if Father could have told his boss _"You know, I have to take these three months. They mustn't be squandered!"_ P.S. It's been a pleasure following you these years. The algorithm presented me some of your very first videos. And after a year or so, I subscribed. Your English intonation has definitely become swedified. And by now, I even think your body language has become Scandinavian. 😊
Regarding taxes. Are they really higher i the USA, if you compare apples to apples? The USA has a lot of government "fees", because "taxes" is a dirty word on the USA. *You even have to pay a fee to file for bankruptcy!* Most of those "fees" are on a local level, so they vary depending on were you live, but my guess is that wherever you live in the USA, if you have normal interactions with the government, use a normal amount of government services, over a few years, you likely would pay as much taxes+government fees in th USA, as you would pay taxes+government fees in Sweden. If you subtract the taxes that have the same function as obligatory insurances paid for by employees and employers in the USA, it is even more likely pay less in Sweden (the difference is that these insurances is administered by the government in Sweden, but administrated by private parties in the USA, even if the US government force them to be payed) There are only three kinds of government fees in Sweden (that I know of): 1. If you like a copy of a government document, the adminstrative unit providing the copy, can make you pay for the paper + ink/toner needed, but nothing for the labour. 2. If you go to a government provided healthcare service, you pay a small fixed fee (that amounts to at most 5% of the real cost, at most 150 SEK per day, and at most 1.400 kr during a one year period). This is to prevent misuse of the Swedish healthcare system, the fee often doesn't even pay for the administrative cost to process it. This fee is highly critisised, but it is a simple procedure to have the government pay the fee, if you really can't afford it (usually through Socialtjänsten). Of course, the government administrative cost to process that the government payed the fee for you, is several times higher than the fee itself. 3. A lot of groups in Sweden doesn't have to pay for public transportation (e.g. if you are more than 65 years old, you don't have to pay a ticket for a fare within an area slightly larger than your municipality), but most of us have to pay for a ticket, although the cost is subsidised.
I can think of a few more, such as application fees for building permit, passport, drivers license. Dental care run by the regions (folktandvården) is only financed by taxes until you turn 23, after that it's partially subsidised. Municipal services like fresh water, sewage and waste pickup are billed like any private service and so are city owned parking lots and some toll roads. Not complaining, just saying that a lot of services are not free even though they're run by agenicies that at are financed by taxes.
I'm Swedish, father of two and third on the way and I agree with you on the mandatory paternity leave although it is the wrong term technically. You are not mandated to take parental leave, you have a set amount of time reserved for each parent and each child wich can't be utilised by the other parent and then you have a set amount of days that are shared and any one parent or even grandparents etc can use. But you don't have to use it. But yes, imo this should be entirely up to the family to decide for themselves. Currently it's 90 days that are reserved for each parent wich they can use or loose.
You're getting paid parental leave(mostly from the government), why would you have a choice of whoever gets to stay at home(you're not working). In other countries ppl could only dream about staying at home with their kids and still get a salary.
(amerikan) Jag var i sverige för ett år å ett halvt för att plugga nyligen å det var den roligaste tiden hag hade i hela mitt liv. Men att studera i sverige var också min plan som jag har haft i många år, typ jag ville bo i sverige i framtiden. Men efter att ha pluggat där, nä inte längre. Jag tycker inte att svenskar är tysta som alla säger. Jag tycker att dom är rätt sociala, men bara när man pratar med dom. Och det blir bättre när man kan svenska redan. Men jag vill inte längre för att jag är bara annorlunda med svenskar i allmänhet. Ibland är vissa ämne svårt att komma upp med att prata om, andra gånger har dom helt olik humör om vad som är roligt. (Inte bara svenskar, det har varit också finskar, tyskar, polskar, osv som är svåra att prata med) Fast dom har nåt sånt mentalitet att "nä, vi är svenskar. Vi gör inte det där", att det typ limiterar deras aktioner mot andra folk. Exempelvis, jag var ute med en vän å hennes mobil dog å vi cyklades tillsammans efter blommor till nån som hon vet. Och allt började stänga runt den tiden och jag ba.... varför inte bara fråga nån? Butiken du söker efter är rätt specefikt. Sen flera minuter gick förbi å jag bara sökte efter en man eller en kvinna som såg gift ut, och huzzah! Första mannen jag hittade som tur. Alla oss 3 pratade å skratade, han sa ett litet skämt också, å vi hittade butiken typ 5 minuter innan den stängde. En annan gång var jag ute med en vän och pubben var helt fullt med folk, ingenstans att sitta (Vi kollade inte på borden innan vi köpte hamburgare). Och han ville inte sitta men randoma folk. Så jag ba ok.... men det finns ingenstans att stå å äta, det går bara att sitta, och borden har grupper och alla spelar Guess The Song, bara sitta med en grupp. Det blir roligt. Och det var roligt med gruppen vi hade suttit med lol Jag gillar inte den "nej, vi är svensk" saken för att undvika vissa (lätta) situationer. Massa folk säger det. Och dom får göra det för att det är deras kultur, men jag ser inte poängen att limitera sig själv på det viset att prata med nån
Jag gillar inte heller hur många svenska tjatar in den mentaliteten att vi svenskar är osociala och tråkiga. Som en självuppfyllande profetia . Gör det du själv känner för och va den du själv vill vara istället. Jag är svensk och vågar prata med fråmlingar mer än genomsnittlig svensk. Kanske därför folk ofta kommer fram och frågar mig om vägen.
Tack! Det är alltid både intressant och uppfriskande att få höra en inflyttad persons perspektiv på kuturella olikheter. Det kan också vara en generationsfråga och inte minst en fråga om utbildniingnivå som avgör i vilka kretsar man umgås. När det gäller politiska åsikter håller jag helt med dig trots att jag är uppvuxen i socialdemokratiska kretsar. Tack för dina fina videor!
I absolutely agree with you that parents should be able to decide how much parental leave they each take. While mandatory leave is being discussed, I do think that most Swedes also recognize the family's ability and right to choose what's best for them. (Also the American accent his hella charming)
I lived in Stockholm in 2001 and had a Thanksgiving get together with thirty Swedes, Americans and Canadians. It was one of the best Thanksgivings ever. I met them via a website called Amerikanska - back when social media didn’t exist.
Fun fact about swedes consumption of alcohol beverages: a paradigm shift is already in the making. especially how alcohol sometimes can be sold. Yard sale or gårdsförsäljning as we say here in sweden.
I’m confused. What are exactly European values? That’s not a thing. Anyway. I do have examples where Americans are followers and pretty much boxed in to group thinking. They are such sheep to political parties and brands. With politics you follow a specific party, here is your check list. Love your videos :)
Living in the US for about a year I noticed that a lot of social interactions are very superficial compared to Sweden. Not as genuine I'd say. But Swedes can be a bit more "closed off" to interactions with new ppl also so it's a bit of a mix I guess 🤔 I've made several friends the last 20 years in all kinds of places and even spent midsummer, christmas etc with some of these friends :) In general though I think you're right about the fact that it might be harder to get invited to parties/holidays here compared to the US.
Note that poloticsl blue in Sweden is red in the US and vice versa. Also last I voted i saw a list of about a 100 "parties" most of which are malcontent parties like the Dobald Duck (Kalle Anka) party. Congrats Stefan!
6:46 I agree with you there, Stefan. And it's something that I've personally found rather difficult, since I am a rather "individualistic" person myself, who values personal freedom very highly.
It’s true as you say about the Swedish friendship. It’s seems like we want more time to feel really safe and free with our friends, so we want to know them really well. We want to know them at many levels. If a country was a astrology sign I suppose Sweden would be cancer and USA gemini (gemini can really speak good, about everything, but not so profound and ”deep”). The sign cancer are very sensitive, caring and can be shy - hiding under their shell 😊
It might be a small portion of cowardice also... even tho Swedes don't exactly like roles, in a group that know each other, everyone knows who will take the most space in a situation. If invite from many groups you can get "the life of the party"-person or some other "role" that there might not be room for more than one person to have. So they rather see the event being quite average but comfortable for all, than bring all the people they like and maybe have an amazing time, if it comes with the risk that people won't get along and fights or guests getting upset. You would think people have their own responsibility to make the best of any situation but in this Swedish case, the host take on the task to ensure no awkward situations between guests will happen in the first place.
I still feel very lost in Sweden when I try to understand how I can influence discussions about how community money should be spent. Do you have any insights on how it works inside Sweden? How can I request a law or regulation change?
Very well put. These are all good things we Swedes admire and want to learn from Americans. We generally see it as a good thing to be inclusive and extrovert. We just don't know how to make it happen. We need local role models like yourself.
Hi. I think it's quite interesting that sometimes in the video you actually speak English like a true Swedish person, so maybe you're going more Swedish than you think when it comes to the language. You were speaking of how if you learn the new language as a big kid or an adult it would never be perfect, but I think your Swedish sounds pretty good, at least from my Norwegian point of view as Norwegians tend to speak both Swedish and English with a very strong Norwegian accent, or actually sounds like you speak Norwegian except the words are not Norwegian. I think Norway has almost the same system with the government running the sale of alcohol and the baby leave and such, and also the Jantelag which we call janteloven is the same, but I do think people should be able to make some decisions for them selves like the one with how much leave the father should take off, but I think it's already forced upon the father's in Norway. It could be good for the bond with the kid, but it might affect the income of the family, so it's a double edge sword. I think it's really messed up in the US that not all people can have a real choice to get to higher education 8f their parents don't have any money, and it's very often the black communities that is affected by this, not because black people are dumb, but because a lot of black people are poor and never get the chance to be other than poor because they can't qfford higher education and also that their health is not that good. It's a lot of other people too that are poor in America and there are a lot of homeless people that don't get any kind of help. In Sweden and Norway the free health care and social system and also the education system help prevent a lot of poor people and there are hardly any homeless people because they can not get help, more that the people living on the street is doing it because they chose drugs or alcohol over a place to live. The last two years the situation has changed a little as more people with regular jobs has to ask for social economic help because of the prices going up and interest rate and inflation, but it's about to go back and those people that have jobs will be able to go back to the way things were before, but they might not think as bad of the people that still struggle and maybe offer them help instead of talking badly about them. In America the politicians tend to be very personal in the way they speak about the other candidates, like Trump vs Harris or Biden, they call eachother names and such and politicians in Sweden and Norway would never say things like that, they might say things like "your politics is not right, but if we had the power it would change...bla bla bla" They wouldn't say "you're such an old man and therefore you can't be in your right mind", or "you're so fat and have a squeeky voice". Politicians in Norway at least would speak nicely about them as humans, but not agree with their politics. Last year someone asked a politician in Norway who they would take with them to their cabin for a weekend and they responded with one of the politicians from one of the parties that has the opposite view of politics, I bet that Kamala Harris would never invite Trump or someone from that side of politics to go to the cabin with them. I think that is a very Scandinavian thing to do and it could happen in Sweden too, but I think Sweden is a little more competitive about politics. In Norway you would see the people from the different parties laugh and make jokes and even in a political debate they would thank eachother for the duell and giggle and smile instead of sending eachother the "I'll destroy your life" look. 😂
The american values about personal freedome really are a great idea. And should be adapted in Sweden and internatially. I feel like these trends are already changing, and in the future will be more prevalant in Sweden. Hopefully...
I just want to jump in and say, it's possible to buy few selections alcohol at the supermarket (open at the weekend) too. The system bolaget do have biggest selections of liquor.
We have a saying... ränderna går aldrig ur zebran...which means it´s practically impossible to errase things you´ve learned as a child. Modify it yes, but not completely change (your soul and in to heart and bones). Interesting to hear your thoughts and self reflections. I myself is very much typically "Swedish". Not really true what you said about the accent though. I didn´t learn to speak Spanish (and other languages) until my late teens and a lot of Latin americans are often confused when they meet me because I look very Swedish but speak "better" than them as they would say...and I am far from a genious. I just love languages (or am I very Jante to say this....? ;) ) Maybe it just has to do with being able to pick up the "music" of languages or a lot of listening or really paying attention to the sounds and imitating. And most of all... training the muscles in the face structure which that particular language uses (that´s scientifically prooven I think). I used to be a teacher at SFI so I´ve encountered a lot of accents but also many adults who learned to speak like a Swede.
The social butterfly syndrome might come more natural to Americans than Swedes, but as a Swede and former expat I can attest that you have to be social when you come to a new place, far from home. You can probably attribute 80% of that behaviour to being an expat, when you are an expat, and only 20% to being an American. However, if you are not an expat you won't see a Swede socializing like an American. The midsummer party is complicated. It is difficult to invite someone who is not very close, but it is not because you only want very close friends at your party but more likely because you inherently assume that everyone already has a party to go to. After so many years in Sweden you must know midsummer parties are generally planned by easter, and if you haven't asked a friend by then you can't because you don't want to hear a no from a friend and you don't want to force a friend to make a tough choice. This sounds ridiculous, but I believe this is true. I am OK with making more money than my wife, but I would prefer her to make as much as I do, or even better if she makes more. I believe this sentiment differs from the opponents of equal pay, who I believe thinks of it as they have to make less for it to be equal. Many Swedes agree with you on the parental leave issue, and it has reverted to a more leniet sharing over the last two decades or so. People don't want this sharing to be forced, even though they would probably share it equally even if it wasn't.
I'm going to be a little rude with the dictionary. Screw that "Jantelagen" thing. Countless times I have met manipulative people who avoid hard work, pretend to be sick when you need them most. It has happened to me many times that many people at work talk a lot and do less, when the deadline comes, they rely on others. That's not ok. Jentelagen makes sense when working as a group and when the whole group contributes. Unfortunately, many cannot work in healthy environments and have excellent jobs, but in some jobs we should praise Hard working people, people who stand out, not with words, but with actions. Many do not see it or pretend not to see it, and want to have the same status, so injustice can affect someone because of that.
Jantelagen är något helt annat. Det handlar om att människor inte ska få vara sig själva utan tvingas in i en kälkborgerlig mall. Det är bara dålig utbildning som gör att människor tror att jantelagen är något BRA. Läs Sandemose och se vad han verkligen skriver om Jante. Varför talar den här killen inte svenska vid det här laget? Dålig stil att bo här i åratal och bara tala engelska.
A relative of mine was the first man to use the non-gender-specific parental leave option back in the 70's. There was even a newspaper article about him.
Yet that’s exactly what informs your opinions and gives you your lived experience expertise. It’s impossible to fulfill the responsibility to move society forward if others can’t connect to your expertise that’s behind the participation choices you’ve made.
You might be able to claim German and Italian citizenship through descent. Italy should be easy although Germany might be a tougher claim. Quad citizenship would be quite the flex
I respect your political views, as one should in a democratic society, but I must push back against the way you’ve characterized the political landscape in the United States and how it has influenced your perspective. It’s clear that there is some misunderstanding here, especially when it comes to the political spectrum and the current state of affairs in both Sweden and the U.S. Historically, being labeled a "socialist" in the U.S. was often used as a pejorative, but today, it has become a widely accepted and supported position. In fact, the Democratic Party has two prominent candidates whose policies align closely with what in Sweden would be considered part of the "red" spectrum-socially progressive, with a strong emphasis on welfare and equality. One such figure is Tim Walz, the Governor of Minnesota, who has implemented several policies that would easily be described as "socialist" by American standards but are seen as common sense in much of Europe. For instance, under Walz’s leadership, Minnesota has expanded paid parental leave to up to 12 weeks, guaranteed longer paid vacations, and provided free school meals for all children, regardless of their family’s income. These are the kinds of policies that ensure a higher standard of living for everyone, not just the wealthy, and they are exactly the sort of social benefits that Sweden’s left-wing parties have long championed. In Sweden, Walz’s policies would align with those of the Left Party or, at the very least, the Social Democrats' more progressive wing. Now, to put this in context with the political colors in Sweden: those who align with the "blue" parties in Sweden fall somewhere between the conservative Democrats and Trump’s version of the Republican Party in the U.S. That’s hardly something to boast about. The Swedish "blue" bloc has historically opposed the social benefits you seem to appreciate, and they continue to undermine them through aggressive privatization, particularly in the education sector, with disastrous results. The privatization of the Swedish school system, pushed by the "blue" parties, has led to a steep increase in costs and a dramatic decline in the quality of education, as evidenced by Sweden's plummeting international rankings. Private schools going bankrupt, leaving students without diplomas, and the prioritization of profits over education are just a few of the consequences. These are the exact kinds of policies that the vast majority of Americans-especially those on the left-would strongly oppose. It’s important to recognize that the U.S. now has a clearly defined progressive left that is guiding the Democratic Party, just as the Republican Party has moved further to the right, embracing more extreme positions. The former is viewed as a force for good, focusing on social justice and equality, while the latter is increasingly seen as representing the interests of the wealthy, often at the expense of the general population. So, when you align yourself with the "blue" in Sweden, you’re actually positioning yourself against the very social benefits that many Americans are now fighting to protect and expand. It’s ironic, given that in some ways, the U.S. is moving to the left of Sweden, at least in terms of resisting the privatization of essential public services like education. I hope you don’t take this as a personal attack, but rather as an invitation to rethink the narrative you’ve adopted. Your understanding of the current political dynamics, both in Sweden and the U.S., seems a bit skewed. The Swedish "blue" bloc is, in practice, more akin to the old Republican Party in the U.S., while the "red" bloc has always aligned more closely with the Democrats. The reason the Swedish right has tried to blur these distinctions in recent years is largely due to the influence of Trump and their desire to distance themselves from his brand of politics. As an educator, I would hope you have the capacity to grasp these nuances-not just in the context of Sweden’s past and present, but also in terms of the current political landscape in the U.S. In conclusion, I must express my disappointment in the accuracy of your portrayal. The situation is far more complex and nuanced than you’ve presented, and I would encourage you to delve deeper into these matters before making such broad assertions. That said, feel free to hold any political views you desire. It doesn’t make me think any less of you or your channel-this is Sweden after all, right? I just hope that next time you try to explain your political views and the reasons behind them, you’re a bit more careful with the facts.
I watched another of your videos where you said being a "sambo" is basically the same as being married. It's not. If you're just living together as sambos for 30 years, as an example, and one of you die the other one won't have any rights to the deceased property. That property will go to the closest relatives of the deceased, which may result in the surviving partner being kicked out of the home. The same would apply at a break up.
I think I was primarily referring to the immigration process before as marriage doesn't give any added benefit to being a sambo in the eyes of migrationsverket.
What i would like to ask you is if Sweden has changed for you personally since the Ukranian war began? as an Australian who tries very hard to not be warped by mainstream media where being pumped with news around how sweden and other nordic countries plus UK has gone downhill since the insurgence of immigrants coming from Ukraine and fleeing gaza strip but its so hard to get an unbiased opinion. I find your videos informative and appreciate your perspective as i feel you are sophisticated in your analysis Glad your happy in Sweden 😊
It's more common to hear Russian on the subway and it's mostly women and children, can't say I've felt any other difference. Except prices went up, but that's not related to Ukrainian refugees. Haven't heard anyone having a problem with them. Even though I I'm sure some people have.
It seems to me as you and your parents have the best of american and european characteristics. All thoughts and conserns you have are also common among swedes.
there are definitely things that need to be fixed in the tax system, but that is another matter, what do you think the tax money should not be used for?
It depends a lot where in Sweden you live, it differs ALOT from county to county, the north is very different from the south, Stockholm is very different from Gothenburg(west coast/eastcoast) etc😁
great content I really enjoy your content and their are a couple of things that I would like to bring up is when you say " I like liberty and to be able to make decisions for your self as long as it dosn't hurt anybody else and its great but isn't america a good exemple of people making personal descisions no matter the cost? get ahead or be left behind ect. the second thing is the sacred systembolaget, I don't know if you know the history of systembolaget and why it came to be, but simply put in the beginning of 20th century sweden had a big drinking problem where a big portion of grown males was alcholic, the working class could even get a part of their pay in strong liquor, and it got so bad "I mean russia style bad" that the state intervened. and in my personal view thats a good thing :) and jantelagen is not much to "standing out" its more "you should not believe that you are better then anyone else" don't brag simply put.
I did change my dialect when i was 19, but didn't when i was 18 both times i lived outside my home dialect place and among swedes from most of the country.
I am a swede and I feel like I am a mix of both individualism and the collective, I would love to have lowered taxrate that would only cover the police officers and firemen, medic education and so on and less taxmoney being tossed at immigration and I don’t actually know the English word for it rn but bidrag we should have less bidrag and a lower taxrate. Socially i would call myself for a extrovert once I get the vibe or even to strangers to as long as we connect and vibe together, for example I have never had any problem with being on dates I can talk to a stranger girl like if it was nothing not nervous and shy at all. My 5 cent as a 25 year old swede!
You are often saying its such a good work life balance in sweden. And i dont feel that. It feels like it gets more and more stressful at work with shorter and shorter schedule. I dont know if its depending of industry (Construction, but when i hear about other industries it sounds simillar) or if you been lucky with finding a good workplace and know people that done the same or if its because its more stressful for women. ( for many reasons, we need to do more to get the same respect as men and still get less payed and if we say that to our boss we get goals to do even more to get raise. And often when a woman tells a boss about a problem that need to be fixed she need to talk about it many times to be listen to because the boss focuses at the woman as if she is the problem. But when a man tells about the same thing the boss is focused (mostly) on the problem he is talking about. And such things takes such energy. And women often do more in the home )Burnout is very common .
First of, congratulations on your 'Swedish birthday' (Is it apt to call it that?). One thing you said about being the social connector (with the example of the party you and your girlfriend hosted) sparked a thought in my head. Let me preface this by saying I'm not trying to discount your explanation - maybe add nuance by posing a question. As much as you can know a guy from his RUclips channel, you absolutely strike me as a social connector. But imagine the place of the party being in the US instead - who's friend group do you think would be the most diverse? Wouldn't you have a large portion of old childhood friends that already knew each other? And your girlfriend might have brought an assortment of who she met at the gym, at work or while studying for the citizen test (if that's a thing)? What I'm getting at is that I think it is a multifaceted explanation, where personality in conjunction with your life situation, has formed your friend group.
It makes sense, I mean only having lived in Sweden for 7 years, I don’t have the same kind of childhood connections that Swedes who have lived here their whole lives have. Expats are perhaps more social connectors as a general rule of thumb! That said when I’m in the U.S. or southern European countries like Spain, at times it seems it’s easier to get invited to new things, even from locals
@@StefanThyron I don't doubt it! I blame 'Jante': Who am I to assume you got nothing better to do than to join my Midsommarfest. I'll stick to invite the old gang that I know don't have anything better to do.
Good thing that the American accent aint much of a problem, but you will stand out as not totally a swede, just like 96% a swede :D according to me alot of the identity are based on the way people speak. And about being able to learn a new language i would suggest to try to mimic the sound, not the word. Atleast that has worked very well to me.
I think you will appreciate the wellfare society more when you become a father and your kids will get free schoolmeals, completely free healthcare and dentalcare, free medication, very cheap preeschool etc etc😊 And of course if you get sick. It is easier to want less of a welfare state if you’re young, strong and healthy/not sick. Elderly care is also a big part of the welfaresystem and this has a lot of health-benefits. Older people are healthier and feel less lonely in Sweden/Scandinavia than anywhere else in the world. (Theres quite a few international studies about this). . And all University education is free btw. (You asked about this in the clip😊).
The Jantelagen had been intrurprated wrong. Its an insight because of where we live you will never be enough. Its not to say you cant be better than anyone else. But you will be respected if you are. No need to brag about it. The extra ordinary work done will be payed back. Its not socialistic, its not communistic, its an appriciation. Its a trust that being humble will be met the same. No need to brag. Results are shown. Evolved to statistics.
The right in sweden and people moving to sweden dont want to have the swedish model 😢 and my home country is becoming very bad fast for the vulnerble and its very sad
It is probably not correct to say that it is part of the Swedish mentality to want to make paternity leave compulsory. Rather, it has to do with claw-fingered politicians from certain parties and is more about patronage
Do you ever feel anti-American sentiment? Are you in tune with that? I know it’s not everywhere , but I always know. You can feel it . Thanks for all of your awesome videos .
Several political parties require that you learn the Swedish language. Normally you think of immigrants from the Middle East, but I have to say that you native Americans have the hardest time learning Swedish. Before criticizing Swedish laws, society and otherwise, it IS a big advantage to master the language. Much of the criticism towards Swedish society is due to ignorance. And I think learning Swedish would make it so much easier to blend into society. Having said that. I like these culture clashes and it's liberating to see things from another person's point of view.
Centerpartiet and Liberalerna are not conservative parties, they’re liberal parties. Especially Centerpartiet. In Sweden the liberal parties are to the right of the middle. . And when it comes to Socialdemokraterna they have been Swedens biggest party for 100 years and in 1940 and 1968 they had more than 50% of the votes so they used to be much bigger than they are today.
Hi! Love your work. Quick suggestion for a video, especially with your half American viewpoint: playing devil's advocate and going through the big "issues" of Sweden such as the huge wealth (inheritance/heritage) inequality, security/gang topic, views on immigration, the darkest sides of swedish greenwashing, hypocrite former neutrality on foreign policy, maybe others I am missing. I am not in any way a Sweden hater nor do I consider all these points valid. I actually quite admire Sweden. But you do come accross them online and from real people. Interested to get your views on it lol
Som jag uppfattat det befinner sig ju demokraterna i närheten utav centern och liberalerna. Vänstersidan verkar inte finnas där då den uppfattas som kommunism. Är så jag tolkat det hela😄
Yeah, but did you add the cost of health insurance to your "low" American taxes, plus the cost of sending your children to higher education, not to mention the cost of daycare to start with. Don't think so, 'cuz then the tax rate comes out about equal. Except that in the USA, if you should lose your cushy job, and break a couple of bones, you've had it. ;-)
Taxes are an investment into society, at least in the Scandinavian model. The reason Sweden is so great to live in is because they invest in their society. A society we all would want to live in is not free, nor cheap. Maybe not all of the taxes are spent wisely. But the upsides far outweighs the downsides.
Taxes work better the more trust there are between people in the society, problem is that the trust in our society is quickly deteriorating at the moment.
So how come pensions are so bad?
Investing a vast amount of tax payers’ money on the military, which is currently happening, is a huge disappointment. Money down the drain, without a shadow of a doubt. And not even have a referendum regarding the NATO membership. After 200 years of ”neutrality” i e no wars. Yes, many of us are, definitely, losing our trust in society and in politicians.
@CandidZulu The short and concise version is that politicians haven't really adjusted pension since the days of Göran Persson, and what his government adopted back then made sense back then, but these times it makes sense to adjust pensions according to how things are now.
And regarding the spiel about taxes in relation to trust, I agree with the general statement but I feel it's important to point out that right-leaning parties in Sweden have worked tirelessly to sow distrust between the different groups of the populace. It used to be that the poor were untrustworthy, nowadays it's mostly immigrants that are untrustworthy, meanwhile those most busy kicking down are constantly involved in sketchy things brought into the light by media. Nothing new there, I guess.
@@CandidZulu Because most ppl have low paying(blue collar) jobs that can't afford putting off more money to pensions.
No one is making men stay at home with their kids. It's just that their paternity days can't be made into maternity days. Dads can work, childcare is huge and cheap in Sweden.
both mothers and fathers work and pay taxes, why shouldn't they be offered equal benefits when they become parents? how to use the benefit is up to each individual
@@absolutehonor141 Actually, parental leave is for the sake of the child. At least that applies to Norway, which has the same philosophy around the phenomenon, and therefore fairly similar rules to Sweden. I have the impression that young people do not understand this, they think it is a right given for their sake, and not for the child. It should be consideration for the child that was most important, and not the parents' "rights". In some cases, for various reasons, it is best for one parent to be at home throughout the entire period, and the one who is punished if the father is not capable in taking leave is the child.
Therefore, in Norway, you can apply for the mother to take the father's quota if the father is too ill to take care of the child, or if the father has not accrued rights.
@@absolutehonor141 They are offered equal benefits, the benefit is individual not collective. How use it - or not use it - is your own choise. But you can not transfer YOUR benefit to another person. I can see nothing wrong in this...
Hear hear, there is always a choice.
@@tompao7832 You can indeed transfer paternity days to the mother or vice versa, just not all of them; there's a certain amout (I forget how many) that is reserved for each individual.
Swedish born and raised. Moved to the US at age of 30. Married US hubby for 30+ yrs. Stepmom in the US. Now retired. Moved to France w hubby 5 yrs ago. Stefan, you will always be an American. You will logically never have childhood friends in Sweden as you didn’t spend your childhood in Sweden. In Sweden it takes years to graduate from being an acquaintance to becoming a friend. Group mentality and close-mindedness I ascribe to my American experience more than my Swedish. Swedes do their own thing without caring what other ppl think. Booze monopoly is a government revenue generator in Sweden and considered for the common good. So is high taxes on tobacco and petroleum products. Jantelagen doesn’t preclude you from excelling - it discourages you from bragging about it. Swedes don’t talk about money and personal windfalls. That’s considered bragging and is met with disdain. US taxes plus health care including maternal care and free major surgery and hospital costs + other insurances + child care expenses + paid parental leave + paid care of the disabled + unemployment benefits + all other costs that bankrupt average Americans + social security = all included taxes in Sweden. Everyone pays in to the “national insurance system” and everyone receives benefits when and as required. Less crimes, less homelessness, less untreated mental disorders, probably less family and social troubles over all. Stefan, Sweden does not discourage hard work, you are welcome to work as much as you wish and to get ahead as far as you’re able - and keep it to yourself. Not to mention that cost for home, auto and other insurances are lower in Sweden than in the US, so is internet & phone service and banking. It would be interesting to compare actual individual costs as well as costs born by the public between the US, a free market economy favouring corporate welfare versus Sweden, a democracy favouring social welfare. Learning a new language is not an easy task. I had to go from in-Sweden-learned- school-English to becoming American in my 30s. Now in my late 60s I’m studying French. I consider myself fluent in English which I will never be in French, but it’s fun learning! Keep it up Stefan!
Less crimes, less homelessness, less untreated mental disorders, probably less family and social troubles over all.
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So much WRONG and FALSE and oudated facts there that I feel there is good material for Stefan for extra few hours and some 6-7 more RUclips clips that utterly dispose this and inform people of nowadays hars reality od Sweden.
Sweden does not discourage hard work, you are welcome to work as much as you wish and to get ahead as far as you’re able - and keep it to yourself.
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This SO WRONG AND FALSE !!! Please Stefan expose this how workers and companies are penalized and discouraged when officialy try to work more than 200 hours a month
And I in case you want to question my experteese, I live as perminant resident and pay taxes in Sweden for 12 years already :)
It takes forever to go from acquaintance to friend.... Swedish born and moved to the US at age 5.... now grown and moved to Stockholm 2 years ago with my own family and kids so they could learn the language. Have not been invited to one crayfish or midsommar yet even though we are starting to make friends now and have been over for some dinners. The experience is probably different for younger people but when you have a family you don't have as much time and you kinda need to make friends with families so you can all hang. Love so much about Sweden but this part is a bit boring (the social side of things). In the US you have random people inviting you to BBQ's that you've met once at a gas station.
A well-thought-out comment that shows that you not only know both countries (as well as a third), but you are also able to see the big picture. You can think several steps ahead, and understand cause and effect. As a Norwegian with an interest in different cultures, and with life experience, it was very nice to read your comment.
A lot of this is typical in the Pacific Northwest, particularly the Seattle area.
I rather pay higher taxes than see my neighbour who dont earn as much as me die of cancer because he or she don´t have a health insurance that will give that person the same treatment than people with better insurances. I think the american way are just plain cynical.
Higher taxes also means less people have to sort to a life of crime.
you don't need taxes as high as sweden has to have a free healthcare (which sweden does NOT have - which is not a bad thing i believe a reasonable fee for visiting a doctor is a good thing). some 15 years ago a "right wing" government here in czechia instituted a 1.33 USD fee for visiting a doctor and a 2.66 USD fee for a day spent at the hospital. they lost the next election over this issue.
so for a long time we've been back to a completely free healhcare which may not be as good as in germany for example but it's still very high quality (much better than most of our neighbours and judging by anecdotal evidence also much better then the UK's NHS). we also have a 6 month maternity leave + 2 to 4 year parental leave (the mother (or father) can choose how long she (he) wants to stay at home with the child). and our taxes? as a sole trader i pay less then 15% of all my income and it covers income tax, social security and health insurance - and there's no need for any accounting - i just keep track of the total invoiced income and at the end of the year i declare it and pay. employees (+ employers) pay much more, but it's still a good deal to pay my first wife her alimony in the form of employment - she gets 80 cents on every dollar it costs me and her social security, health insurance and income tax is payed - it also counts towards her retirement pension.
there's one thing that's apparently taxed less in sweden than in czechia - cigarettes. i was so surprised to find out how cheap cigarettes are in sweden. in czechia they raise their price twice a year. soon i'll be paying more in cigarette sales tax than in income tax :D.
@@fortheloveofnoise in theory, but in Sweden that doesn't seem to apply... at the moment at least
"Jantelagen" is really just a way to tell people that they should be humble.
I guess it is formulated in a strange way, so that it sounds like it is trying to knock down on people, but the basic idea is that people shouldn't be arrogant, and that they shouldn't brag about their achievements.
😂 You never tried to enter Swedish society coming from a different culture, I take it?
The Irish put it more bluntly. “Get over yourself,” is their phrase.
@@TinksiehTinkAre you serious? I was married to a Swede, they got mad at him when I had to file for divorce (mental health issues he refused to get treatment for), I got to keep the family (they won’t talk to him at all anymore), and I’ve been roped into family reunions happening in Sweden while I’m in Seattle online. I have standing invitations to stay at all their homes whenever I might go there (I haven’t had time yet; kids from a prior marriage and my own graduate school), and they say they can’t wait to introduce me to all their friends.
@@TinksiehTink Nah he is correct. Jantelagen is not about trying to knock people down and more about being humble.
@@TinksiehTinkFor the Japanese for eg that bit is super easy. They don’t brag either.
Showing skilfulness in a discreet way is so much more elegant than talking about how good you are (just look at Trump) 😉
As a Swede who wasn't very popular in high-school and thus didn't make many friends. It's one of the things I find most troubling with Sweden. It can be so damn hard to find real friends.
Grattis!
Jag flyttade til Borlänge när jag var 20 år! (1997)! Vi ville prova min hemstad Buffalo ett tag så i 2009 flyttade vi hit. Vi kommer att flytta tillbaka så småningom. 😊😊😊 Jag känner mig mer svensk än amerikansk faktiskt. ❤
Regarding learning languages after the childhood years, I think it is very individual if you become fluent in the new languuage.
I had a colleague, an American young woman, I think she was 23-24 when she moved to her Swedish boyfriend and took a job at the company I was working for. After four, five months she spoke fluent Swedish with no accent. It was fascinating to see her grasp the language so fast. She was truly bilingual.
Its more expensive not have the "extra social services". In US the cost of poverty makes the crimes increase
and it is utterly wasted on individuals hellbent on destruction
poverty does not increase crime, a godless culture romanticizing crime does.
I think it is really good to force fathers to use their parental leave. Rasing a child is a shared responsibility. If a man choose to become a father, then he should take his responsibilty raising the child and being there for him/her
No one is forced
Regarding forced paternal leave (and don't consider this a silver bullet argument but rather a complementary perspective) is that by forcing paternal leave you help those that would've wanted to take paternal leave but had to choose not to just to avoid "rocking the boat" at their job. In many situations we're forced or coerced into making choices implicitly by those that have power over us (such as employers) which in practice limits our freedoms. You can draw comparisons to people avoiding calling in sick to work back in the US to avoid being shafted. Sure, we enjoy a high level of job security here in Sweden but what rights you have that are stipulated by law and what happens in practice doesn't necessarily always align, even in Sweden. Some would find solace in telling their employers they "have no other choice than to go on paternal leave" whilst others would rather not to.
As said, it's not a silver bullet argument but rather a complementary perspective on how people's life would change (for both parents and children) if paternal leave would be mandatory.
7:46 don’t know where you found that fact, but it’s been well over 15 years that fathers get 240 days and the mother 240 days of parental leave!! And 90 of those days can NOT be moved over to the other parent!!!
Yeah, it's such a bad system. They really should let us choose for ourselves. In my case it wasn't really about it being an economic benefit having my wife stay at home, it was about me being able to work from home and get more time as a family. During those 90 days my wife barely got to see our daughters on the week days because of her daily commute to work.
Hejsan!
I’ve been following your videos for the past 3 years, I’m also an American learning Swedish.
I want to say it’s been fun hearing your accent progress, your Swedish sounds more Swedish now with an accent but your English now also has a Swedish sound to it. That’s all, tack för videon!
@@auroraborden3376 this is true, I am a Swede in US and the best compliment I ever got was: I asked my husband at the time what he wanted on his hotdog when we were visiting in Sweden, because you just have to try it as it’s very different from US hotdogs. And the guy at the hotdogs stand said “ WOW your Swedish is so incredibly good for being an American” this made me laugh and say, no I am just a Swede with a really bad American accent! Still one of the best to this day!!!
As a reverse of your situation, I am Swedish and move to Maryland in USA in 1993, I would love
To pay the taxes that Sweden and you should compare cost of living versus taxes for a more true picture. Maryland being one of the most expensive states to live in. Housing costs, car insurance premiums, healthcare premiums , healthcare out of pocket costs (dr visits and medication) when I retire I want
To find a Swedish version of a 1 bedroom condo so I can spend few months a year at home. I was always the outcast 😂 In Sweden because I would try to start conversations with strangers… so I definitely fit in here more but yes I am both an extrovert and an introvert I appreciate both!!!
I believe when it comes to speak a new language the key is to overcome the barrier of accepting new sounds.
Take the letter "A" for instance. Really listen to the ways how swedes sounds when we speak words. Also "R".
Embrace the actual sounds we make. There is a comfort barrier (that small kids dont have), a sense of awkwardness, because it feels strange to make some of the sounds.
Also when it comes to different sounds that include "sj", "sch", "ch", "sk" and so om...
If you really want to be fluent in swedish it is the little details that makes the difference - and you need to dare to sound silly (silly in a consept of an american sound palette).
On the other things you said, you are spot on!
Welcome to Sweden!!
Välkommen! I don't know if it's because of the context and I'm just imagining, but you have a very very suttle swedish accent =). I hope you take it as a compliment ;). Also, the best description of the difference between swedes and americans social wise that I've heard is this: The distance between a stranger and a friend is closer in the US compared to sweden, but the difference between a friend and a close friend is actually closer here (sweden).
I think that a "new" buddy is seen as more of an acquaintance than a friend.
Swedes who, for some reason, don't have childhood friends or lose them along the way might have a very limited social life. It might be difficult for people who just moved here or immigrants to get invited to a "midsummer's party" but honestly... It's not that much easier for a swedish person who doesn't have the connections needed. It is hard, for many, to find themselves into a party or group of friends like that. My guess is that those who has a midsummer's party, have old friends and still invited new people sometimes can get very popular.
You sound like Anders Lundin speaking English ^^
Stefan I don't usually comment your videos, but after living in Sweden for 4 years I agree 100% with all your points. Great analysis. I shared a lot of your thoughts (I'm Argentinian though).
Thanks for the video!
The culture of the country which one gets raised in will always influence one's personality. After nearly 30 years as a German in England my German friends say I am very British, but here in England people say although I am assimilated very well, my Germanness comes through.
You have a very deep level of self understanding when it come to your values (not being sarcastic.) I wonder if some of these things, like for example free health care in Sweden, would be of a greater value to a woman? Speaking as a Swedish woman that gave birth to one child in Sweden, and my second child in the US it was way more stressful not having free health care. I'd say that it had a very negative impact on my overall quality of life while living in the US. A lot of other things were absolutely amazing, but health care is such a big thing.
Congrats, Stefan, to adapting so well and it truly looks like you are thriving. This is for all of Stefan's listeners: Hustling is really huge in Sweden, but not a necessity to get by. One of the most common forms of getting ahead is taking courses of which there traditionally are myriads. Caring for your health by being physically active is also very normal. To me it looks like everyonedoes something. Perhaps with all available electronical devices becoming a little less common. Choirs, dancing, watersports, wintersports, indoor sports are all very common. And for decades we've had the mottoe "Lifelong learning". But I give you that Swedes are a bit shy of being "different". I'm a native Finn and feel it is a huge difference - in Finland it was common that "original" about a person was a compliment for a person that it would be interesting to know better, in Sweden an "original" is a weirdo (with the same degree of originality, though), that you'd like to avoid.
Swedes want to agree with you, not to cause a heated discussion, in Finlad you feel dishonest if you let a comment pass, that you actually don't agree with. And it doesn't cause a debate, it is so normal. Try to express an uncommon opinion in Sweden and see what happens, like if you truly feel it is a relief that it is a bit more chilly now, every Swede will agree, but you could also sigh: it's a pity that the warm days are over, every Swede will agree. But you have to be first one to utter this opinion, not in opposition to the previous speaker. Such banal opinions and still Swedes will not tell what they truly think (a generalization, of course).
BTW Swedes are actually very chatty, but you need to let them speak Swedish of course, and every chat with strangers "should" start with complaining about something you agree about. If they ask where are you from, don't forget to immdiately ask them from which place in Sweden they are from, why they have moved or not wanted move, every second question should be made by you. 😀
Most people have no clue about taxes. Sweden has a little over 40% in taxes of the national GDP.
The US has around 30%.
The US really need to raise their taxes by 30% (to a 40% level as Sweden) not to go bankrupt, its that bad. That’s fact, just look it up.
The reason the US does not go bankrupt is because of the USD, that has an inherent value no other currency has. They can just print more of it. 😂
So the interesting thing is that the US needs to raise the taxes to a “Swedish” level just to not go bankrupt. No free college or healthcare or maternity leave included there.
To have the same level of benefits in the society as in Sweden, and not go bankrupt, the US would need to raise the taxes to absurd levels.
Where does all the tax money go in the US??
Decades of bad economic management. It’s not something that has happened now during Biden, Trump or even Obama.
So.. question is, how long the dynasty of the USA will last?
Sweden at least has a much more responsible take on the economy.
It’s fun to hear your Swedish accent and intonation in English now! Can you hear it when you listen to your videos?
I wish I could visit Sweden again. 🙏
I wonder if the issue of 'mandatory' paternal leave comes from a sense that men perhaps feel less entitled to take it, or if there may be pressure felt by men at work not to take it? So making at least some leave mandatory could be a way to make sure that men aren't pressured into not taking it
Could be true!
Completely agree! :)
Btw Swedes LOVE to think about themselves as of truly individualistic people whereas they are extremely repetitive (meaning: collectively repeating same patterns of other people)
in their behaviour, clothing, things they buy, places they travel to and so on.
I think you need to look up the definition of “individualism” because buying the same clothes, food etc is not it.
Yeah... as I wrote:
"whereas"
and "they like to think about themselves".
Hence, Swedes are NOT acting as individualistic as they would like to think of themselves.
@@DK_se you claim Swedes are not individualistic as they like to repeat themselves but that’s not what individualistic means. You can be both individualistic as well as being repetitive as one is talking about your view on the individual role in society while the other is how you behave.
@@markusolofzon repetitive in a meaning that they are unconsciously repeating and align with behaviour of others :)
Not that they are repeating on and on one's own routines...
Strange. You're an American, but you speak English with a Swedish accent. Because of that, I'm guessing your Swedish must be really good by now.
Interesting that you describe yourself as on the blue side of the political spectrum. At least you have a spectrum! I counted 8 parties on the range from left to right. This is a tremendous advantage over the U.S. where they are limited to two parties only. Looks to me like the Swedes have a better political system.
Our right wing parties/blue parties are basically american democrats (on the left side, apart from SD), if I’ve understood things correctly.
@@ge_mig_nat_som_kanns Not really. Swedens blue is right wing, and the Swedish red is left wing. But that's compared to Swedish politics in itself. If Swedish politics are compared to US, some of our right wing (blue) parties would be considered US- lefties. Is that what you meant?
when it comes to parental leave, I think that all new parents should be offered the same benefits, regardless of their gender, then it's up to each person if they want to use the benefit.
On paternity leave, I would tend to agree, "instinctively" so to speak.
But then I think of my late father, who unfortunately got a very shallow relationship with his two sons, and a much closer with our younger sister.
The difference? He made career when my brother and I grew up, and we learned to know our grandparents, who looked after us, much better than our father.
When our sister was born, he had given up on the career making, came home before Mother each afternoon and made our supper.
To my luck, Father and I catched up when he grew old. My brother, on the other hand, didn't. And his daughter barely knew her grandfather.
When I compare, I must say that it had been good for all of us, if Father could have told his boss _"You know, I have to take these three months. They mustn't be squandered!"_
P.S. It's been a pleasure following you these years. The algorithm presented me some of your very first videos. And after a year or so, I subscribed. Your English intonation has definitely become swedified. And by now, I even think your body language has become Scandinavian.
😊
Regarding taxes. Are they really higher i the USA, if you compare apples to apples?
The USA has a lot of government "fees", because "taxes" is a dirty word on the USA. *You even have to pay a fee to file for bankruptcy!* Most of those "fees" are on a local level, so they vary depending on were you live, but my guess is that wherever you live in the USA, if you have normal interactions with the government, use a normal amount of government services, over a few years, you likely would pay as much taxes+government fees in th USA, as you would pay taxes+government fees in Sweden. If you subtract the taxes that have the same function as obligatory insurances paid for by employees and employers in the USA, it is even more likely pay less in Sweden (the difference is that these insurances is administered by the government in Sweden, but administrated by private parties in the USA, even if the US government force them to be payed)
There are only three kinds of government fees in Sweden (that I know of):
1. If you like a copy of a government document, the adminstrative unit providing the copy, can make you pay for the paper + ink/toner needed, but nothing for the labour.
2. If you go to a government provided healthcare service, you pay a small fixed fee (that amounts to at most 5% of the real cost, at most 150 SEK per day, and at most 1.400 kr during a one year period). This is to prevent misuse of the Swedish healthcare system, the fee often doesn't even pay for the administrative cost to process it. This fee is highly critisised, but it is a simple procedure to have the government pay the fee, if you really can't afford it (usually through Socialtjänsten). Of course, the government administrative cost to process that the government payed the fee for you, is several times higher than the fee itself.
3. A lot of groups in Sweden doesn't have to pay for public transportation (e.g. if you are more than 65 years old, you don't have to pay a ticket for a fare within an area slightly larger than your municipality), but most of us have to pay for a ticket, although the cost is subsidised.
@@martinjansson1970 I agree look at cost
Of living as it’s more accurate.
I can think of a few more, such as application fees for building permit, passport, drivers license. Dental care run by the regions (folktandvården) is only financed by taxes until you turn 23, after that it's partially subsidised. Municipal services like fresh water, sewage and waste pickup are billed like any private service and so are city owned parking lots and some toll roads. Not complaining, just saying that a lot of services are not free even though they're run by agenicies that at are financed by taxes.
Good synopsis and points. I can relate as a dual Swedish-USA citizen. Enjoy your perspective.
I'm Swedish, father of two and third on the way and I agree with you on the mandatory paternity leave although it is the wrong term technically. You are not mandated to take parental leave, you have a set amount of time reserved for each parent and each child wich can't be utilised by the other parent and then you have a set amount of days that are shared and any one parent or even grandparents etc can use. But you don't have to use it. But yes, imo this should be entirely up to the family to decide for themselves. Currently it's 90 days that are reserved for each parent wich they can use or loose.
You're getting paid parental leave(mostly from the government), why would you have a choice of whoever gets to stay at home(you're not working). In other countries ppl could only dream about staying at home with their kids and still get a salary.
(amerikan) Jag var i sverige för ett år å ett halvt för att plugga nyligen å det var den roligaste tiden hag hade i hela mitt liv. Men att studera i sverige var också min plan som jag har haft i många år, typ jag ville bo i sverige i framtiden. Men efter att ha pluggat där, nä inte längre. Jag tycker inte att svenskar är tysta som alla säger. Jag tycker att dom är rätt sociala, men bara när man pratar med dom. Och det blir bättre när man kan svenska redan. Men jag vill inte längre för att jag är bara annorlunda med svenskar i allmänhet. Ibland är vissa ämne svårt att komma upp med att prata om, andra gånger har dom helt olik humör om vad som är roligt. (Inte bara svenskar, det har varit också finskar, tyskar, polskar, osv som är svåra att prata med)
Fast dom har nåt sånt mentalitet att "nä, vi är svenskar. Vi gör inte det där", att det typ limiterar deras aktioner mot andra folk. Exempelvis, jag var ute med en vän å hennes mobil dog å vi cyklades tillsammans efter blommor till nån som hon vet. Och allt började stänga runt den tiden och jag ba.... varför inte bara fråga nån? Butiken du söker efter är rätt specefikt. Sen flera minuter gick förbi å jag bara sökte efter en man eller en kvinna som såg gift ut, och huzzah! Första mannen jag hittade som tur. Alla oss 3 pratade å skratade, han sa ett litet skämt också, å vi hittade butiken typ 5 minuter innan den stängde. En annan gång var jag ute med en vän och pubben var helt fullt med folk, ingenstans att sitta (Vi kollade inte på borden innan vi köpte hamburgare). Och han ville inte sitta men randoma folk. Så jag ba ok.... men det finns ingenstans att stå å äta, det går bara att sitta, och borden har grupper och alla spelar Guess The Song, bara sitta med en grupp. Det blir roligt.
Och det var roligt med gruppen vi hade suttit med lol Jag gillar inte den "nej, vi är svensk" saken för att undvika vissa (lätta) situationer. Massa folk säger det. Och dom får göra det för att det är deras kultur, men jag ser inte poängen att limitera sig själv på det viset att prata med nån
Jag gillar inte heller hur många svenska tjatar in den mentaliteten att vi svenskar är osociala och tråkiga. Som en självuppfyllande profetia . Gör det du själv känner för och va den du själv vill vara istället. Jag är svensk och vågar prata med fråmlingar mer än genomsnittlig svensk. Kanske därför folk ofta kommer fram och frågar mig om vägen.
Tack! Det är alltid både intressant och uppfriskande att få höra en inflyttad persons perspektiv på kuturella olikheter.
Det kan också vara en generationsfråga och inte minst en fråga om utbildniingnivå som avgör i vilka kretsar man umgås.
När det gäller politiska åsikter håller jag helt med dig trots att jag är uppvuxen i socialdemokratiska kretsar.
Tack för dina fina videor!
Congratulations on the citizenship! I think I saw you a few weeks ago in the subway in Alvik. If I see you again I will try to say hi.
I absolutely agree with you that parents should be able to decide how much parental leave they each take. While mandatory leave is being discussed, I do think that most Swedes also recognize the family's ability and right to choose what's best for them.
(Also the American accent his hella charming)
Do you do Thanksgiving? I couldn't do without Thanksgiving. Do you have a vid on holidays?
Visiting the US for thanksgiving this year actually! :)
I lived in Stockholm in 2001 and had a Thanksgiving get together with thirty Swedes, Americans and Canadians. It was one of the best Thanksgivings ever. I met them via a website called Amerikanska - back when social media didn’t exist.
Fun fact about swedes consumption of alcohol beverages: a paradigm shift is already in the making.
especially how alcohol sometimes can be sold.
Yard sale or gårdsförsäljning as we say here in sweden.
I’m confused. What are exactly European values? That’s not a thing.
Anyway. I do have examples where Americans are followers and pretty much boxed in to group thinking. They are such sheep to political parties and brands. With politics you follow a specific party, here is your check list.
Love your videos :)
work-life balance is a big difference in values, generally speaking.
European culture would be a better word.
Well that is quite bigoted. Europeans have no values? But Americans do.
Living in the US for about a year I noticed that a lot of social interactions are very superficial compared to Sweden. Not as genuine I'd say. But Swedes can be a bit more "closed off" to interactions with new ppl also so it's a bit of a mix I guess 🤔 I've made several friends the last 20 years in all kinds of places and even spent midsummer, christmas etc with some of these friends :) In general though I think you're right about the fact that it might be harder to get invited to parties/holidays here compared to the US.
Note that poloticsl blue in Sweden is red in the US and vice versa. Also last I voted i saw a list of about a 100 "parties" most of which are malcontent parties like the Dobald Duck (Kalle Anka) party. Congrats Stefan!
I'd say a gregarious introvert (outgoing/sociable introvert). Need me-time to recharge but occasionally like the company of (many) people around me.
6:46 I agree with you there, Stefan. And it's something that I've personally found rather difficult, since I am a rather "individualistic" person myself, who values personal freedom very highly.
It’s true as you say about the Swedish friendship. It’s seems like we want more time to feel really safe and free with our friends, so we want to know them really well. We want to know them at many levels.
If a country was a astrology sign I suppose Sweden would be cancer and USA gemini (gemini can really speak good, about everything, but not so profound and ”deep”). The sign cancer are very sensitive, caring and can be shy - hiding under their shell 😊
It might be a small portion of cowardice also... even tho Swedes don't exactly like roles, in a group that know each other, everyone knows who will take the most space in a situation. If invite from many groups you can get "the life of the party"-person or some other "role" that there might not be room for more than one person to have. So they rather see the event being quite average but comfortable for all, than bring all the people they like and maybe have an amazing time, if it comes with the risk that people won't get along and fights or guests getting upset. You would think people have their own responsibility to make the best of any situation but in this Swedish case, the host take on the task to ensure no awkward situations between guests will happen in the first place.
I still feel very lost in Sweden when I try to understand how I can influence discussions about how community money should be spent. Do you have any insights on how it works inside Sweden? How can I request a law or regulation change?
Very well put. These are all good things we Swedes admire and want to learn from Americans. We generally see it as a good thing to be inclusive and extrovert. We just don't know how to make it happen. We need local role models like yourself.
Hi. I think it's quite interesting that sometimes in the video you actually speak English like a true Swedish person, so maybe you're going more Swedish than you think when it comes to the language. You were speaking of how if you learn the new language as a big kid or an adult it would never be perfect, but I think your Swedish sounds pretty good, at least from my Norwegian point of view as Norwegians tend to speak both Swedish and English with a very strong Norwegian accent, or actually sounds like you speak Norwegian except the words are not Norwegian.
I think Norway has almost the same system with the government running the sale of alcohol and the baby leave and such, and also the Jantelag which we call janteloven is the same, but I do think people should be able to make some decisions for them selves like the one with how much leave the father should take off, but I think it's already forced upon the father's in Norway. It could be good for the bond with the kid, but it might affect the income of the family, so it's a double edge sword. I think it's really messed up in the US that not all people can have a real choice to get to higher education 8f their parents don't have any money, and it's very often the black communities that is affected by this, not because black people are dumb, but because a lot of black people are poor and never get the chance to be other than poor because they can't qfford higher education and also that their health is not that good. It's a lot of other people too that are poor in America and there are a lot of homeless people that don't get any kind of help. In Sweden and Norway the free health care and social system and also the education system help prevent a lot of poor people and there are hardly any homeless people because they can not get help, more that the people living on the street is doing it because they chose drugs or alcohol over a place to live. The last two years the situation has changed a little as more people with regular jobs has to ask for social economic help because of the prices going up and interest rate and inflation, but it's about to go back and those people that have jobs will be able to go back to the way things were before, but they might not think as bad of the people that still struggle and maybe offer them help instead of talking badly about them. In America the politicians tend to be very personal in the way they speak about the other candidates, like Trump vs Harris or Biden, they call eachother names and such and politicians in Sweden and Norway would never say things like that, they might say things like "your politics is not right, but if we had the power it would change...bla bla bla" They wouldn't say "you're such an old man and therefore you can't be in your right mind", or "you're so fat and have a squeeky voice". Politicians in Norway at least would speak nicely about them as humans, but not agree with their politics. Last year someone asked a politician in Norway who they would take with them to their cabin for a weekend and they responded with one of the politicians from one of the parties that has the opposite view of politics, I bet that Kamala Harris would never invite Trump or someone from that side of politics to go to the cabin with them. I think that is a very Scandinavian thing to do and it could happen in Sweden too, but I think Sweden is a little more competitive about politics. In Norway you would see the people from the different parties laugh and make jokes and even in a political debate they would thank eachother for the duell and giggle and smile instead of sending eachother the "I'll destroy your life" look. 😂
The american values about personal freedome really are a great idea. And should be adapted in Sweden and internatially. I feel like these trends are already changing, and in the future will be more prevalant in Sweden. Hopefully...
I just want to jump in and say, it's possible to buy few selections alcohol at the supermarket (open at the weekend) too. The system bolaget do have biggest selections of liquor.
I saw the thumbnail and thought ... hmm... this place looks so familiar 🤷♀🤭
We have a saying... ränderna går aldrig ur zebran...which means it´s practically impossible to errase things you´ve learned as a child. Modify it yes, but not completely change (your soul and in to heart and bones). Interesting to hear your thoughts and self reflections. I myself is very much typically "Swedish".
Not really true what you said about the accent though. I didn´t learn to speak Spanish (and other languages) until my late teens and a lot of Latin americans are often confused when they meet me because I look very Swedish but speak "better" than them as they would say...and I am far from a genious. I just love languages (or am I very Jante to say this....? ;) )
Maybe it just has to do with being able to pick up the "music" of languages or a lot of listening or really paying attention to the sounds and imitating.
And most of all... training the muscles in the face structure which that particular language uses (that´s scientifically prooven I think).
I used to be a teacher at SFI so I´ve encountered a lot of accents but also many adults who learned to speak like a Swede.
The social butterfly syndrome might come more natural to Americans than Swedes, but as a Swede and former expat I can attest that you have to be social when you come to a new place, far from home. You can probably attribute 80% of that behaviour to being an expat, when you are an expat, and only 20% to being an American. However, if you are not an expat you won't see a Swede socializing like an American.
The midsummer party is complicated. It is difficult to invite someone who is not very close, but it is not because you only want very close friends at your party but more likely because you inherently assume that everyone already has a party to go to. After so many years in Sweden you must know midsummer parties are generally planned by easter, and if you haven't asked a friend by then you can't because you don't want to hear a no from a friend and you don't want to force a friend to make a tough choice. This sounds ridiculous, but I believe this is true.
I am OK with making more money than my wife, but I would prefer her to make as much as I do, or even better if she makes more. I believe this sentiment differs from the opponents of equal pay, who I believe thinks of it as they have to make less for it to be equal.
Many Swedes agree with you on the parental leave issue, and it has reverted to a more leniet sharing over the last two decades or so. People don't want this sharing to be forced, even though they would probably share it equally even if it wasn't.
I'm going to be a little rude with the dictionary. Screw that "Jantelagen" thing. Countless times I have met manipulative people who avoid hard work, pretend to be sick when you need them most. It has happened to me many times that many people at work talk a lot and do less, when the deadline comes, they rely on others. That's not ok. Jentelagen makes sense when working as a group and when the whole group contributes. Unfortunately, many cannot work in healthy environments and have excellent jobs, but in some jobs we should praise Hard working people, people who stand out, not with words, but with actions. Many do not see it or pretend not to see it, and want to have the same status, so injustice can affect someone because of that.
Jantelagen är något helt annat. Det handlar om att människor inte ska få vara sig själva utan tvingas in i en kälkborgerlig mall. Det är bara dålig utbildning som gör att människor tror att jantelagen är något BRA. Läs Sandemose och se vad han verkligen skriver om Jante.
Varför talar den här killen inte svenska vid det här laget? Dålig stil att bo här i åratal och bara tala engelska.
A relative of mine was the first man to use the non-gender-specific parental leave option back in the 70's. There was even a newspaper article about him.
I said nothing about my personal life or history to anyone ever. I am Swedish.
Yet that’s exactly what informs your opinions and gives you your lived experience expertise. It’s impossible to fulfill the responsibility to move society forward if others can’t connect to your expertise that’s behind the participation choices you’ve made.
You might be able to claim German and Italian citizenship through descent. Italy should be easy although Germany might be a tougher claim. Quad citizenship would be quite the flex
Omnivert or Ambivert, both work
As a quiet brown 60 yr old single woman I wonder how I would be treated in Sweden. Beautiful place..
I respect your political views, as one should in a democratic society, but I must push back against the way you’ve characterized the political landscape in the United States and how it has influenced your perspective. It’s clear that there is some misunderstanding here, especially when it comes to the political spectrum and the current state of affairs in both Sweden and the U.S.
Historically, being labeled a "socialist" in the U.S. was often used as a pejorative, but today, it has become a widely accepted and supported position. In fact, the Democratic Party has two prominent candidates whose policies align closely with what in Sweden would be considered part of the "red" spectrum-socially progressive, with a strong emphasis on welfare and equality. One such figure is Tim Walz, the Governor of Minnesota, who has implemented several policies that would easily be described as "socialist" by American standards but are seen as common sense in much of Europe.
For instance, under Walz’s leadership, Minnesota has expanded paid parental leave to up to 12 weeks, guaranteed longer paid vacations, and provided free school meals for all children, regardless of their family’s income. These are the kinds of policies that ensure a higher standard of living for everyone, not just the wealthy, and they are exactly the sort of social benefits that Sweden’s left-wing parties have long championed. In Sweden, Walz’s policies would align with those of the Left Party or, at the very least, the Social Democrats' more progressive wing.
Now, to put this in context with the political colors in Sweden: those who align with the "blue" parties in Sweden fall somewhere between the conservative Democrats and Trump’s version of the Republican Party in the U.S. That’s hardly something to boast about. The Swedish "blue" bloc has historically opposed the social benefits you seem to appreciate, and they continue to undermine them through aggressive privatization, particularly in the education sector, with disastrous results.
The privatization of the Swedish school system, pushed by the "blue" parties, has led to a steep increase in costs and a dramatic decline in the quality of education, as evidenced by Sweden's plummeting international rankings. Private schools going bankrupt, leaving students without diplomas, and the prioritization of profits over education are just a few of the consequences. These are the exact kinds of policies that the vast majority of Americans-especially those on the left-would strongly oppose.
It’s important to recognize that the U.S. now has a clearly defined progressive left that is guiding the Democratic Party, just as the Republican Party has moved further to the right, embracing more extreme positions. The former is viewed as a force for good, focusing on social justice and equality, while the latter is increasingly seen as representing the interests of the wealthy, often at the expense of the general population.
So, when you align yourself with the "blue" in Sweden, you’re actually positioning yourself against the very social benefits that many Americans are now fighting to protect and expand. It’s ironic, given that in some ways, the U.S. is moving to the left of Sweden, at least in terms of resisting the privatization of essential public services like education.
I hope you don’t take this as a personal attack, but rather as an invitation to rethink the narrative you’ve adopted. Your understanding of the current political dynamics, both in Sweden and the U.S., seems a bit skewed. The Swedish "blue" bloc is, in practice, more akin to the old Republican Party in the U.S., while the "red" bloc has always aligned more closely with the Democrats.
The reason the Swedish right has tried to blur these distinctions in recent years is largely due to the influence of Trump and their desire to distance themselves from his brand of politics. As an educator, I would hope you have the capacity to grasp these nuances-not just in the context of Sweden’s past and present, but also in terms of the current political landscape in the U.S.
In conclusion, I must express my disappointment in the accuracy of your portrayal. The situation is far more complex and nuanced than you’ve presented, and I would encourage you to delve deeper into these matters before making such broad assertions.
That said, feel free to hold any political views you desire. It doesn’t make me think any less of you or your channel-this is Sweden after all, right?
I just hope that next time you try to explain your political views and the reasons behind them, you’re a bit more careful with the facts.
I watched another of your videos where you said being a "sambo" is basically the same as being married. It's not. If you're just living together as sambos for 30 years, as an example, and one of you die the other one won't have any rights to the deceased property. That property will go to the closest relatives of the deceased, which may result in the surviving partner being kicked out of the home. The same would apply at a break up.
I think I was primarily referring to the immigration process before as marriage doesn't give any added benefit to being a sambo in the eyes of migrationsverket.
What i would like to ask you is if Sweden has changed for you personally since the Ukranian war began?
as an Australian who tries very hard to not be warped by mainstream media where being pumped with news around how sweden and other nordic countries plus UK has gone downhill since the insurgence of immigrants coming from Ukraine and fleeing gaza strip but its so hard to get an unbiased opinion.
I find your videos informative and appreciate your perspective as i feel you are sophisticated in your analysis
Glad your happy in Sweden 😊
It's more common to hear Russian on the subway and it's mostly women and children, can't say I've felt any other difference. Except prices went up, but that's not related to Ukrainian refugees. Haven't heard anyone having a problem with them. Even though I I'm sure some people have.
Australian and Swedish media are so different! I watch both and it’s interesting how to listen to how things get spun differently
It seems to me as you and your parents have the best of american and european characteristics.
All thoughts and conserns you have are also common among swedes.
there are definitely things that need to be fixed in the tax system, but that is another matter, what do you think the tax money should not be used for?
Jantelagen is not about not standing out and being yourself tho. It’s about equality and worth and not thinking you’re worth more than anyone else
bro you came 15 years too late. 15 years ago Sweden was the best country on earth. now it's broken 💔
It started in the 80s.
It depends a lot where in Sweden you live, it differs ALOT from county to county, the north is very different from the south, Stockholm is very different from Gothenburg(west coast/eastcoast) etc😁
great content I really enjoy your content and their are a couple of things that I would like to bring up is when you say " I like liberty and to be able to make decisions for your self as long as it dosn't hurt anybody else and its great but isn't america a good exemple of people making personal descisions no matter the cost? get ahead or be left behind ect. the second thing is the sacred systembolaget, I don't know if you know the history of systembolaget and why it came to be, but simply put in the beginning of 20th century sweden had a big drinking problem where a big portion of grown males was alcholic, the working class could even get a part of their pay in strong liquor, and it got so bad "I mean russia style bad" that the state intervened. and in my personal view thats a good thing :) and jantelagen is not much to "standing out" its more "you should not believe that you are better then anyone else" don't brag simply put.
I did change my dialect when i was 19, but didn't when i was 18 both times i lived outside my home dialect place and among swedes from most of the country.
3:34 complete with the stereotypical swedish smile
You got it!👍
I am a swede and I feel like I am a mix of both individualism and the collective, I would love to have lowered taxrate that would only cover the police officers and firemen, medic education and so on and less taxmoney being tossed at immigration and I don’t actually know the English word for it rn but bidrag we should have less bidrag and a lower taxrate. Socially i would call myself for a extrovert once I get the vibe or even to strangers to as long as we connect and vibe together, for example I have never had any problem with being on dates I can talk to a stranger girl like if it was nothing not nervous and shy at all. My 5 cent as a 25 year old swede!
You are often saying its such a good work life balance in sweden. And i dont feel that. It feels like it gets more and more stressful at work with shorter and shorter schedule. I dont know if its depending of industry (Construction, but when i hear about other industries it sounds simillar) or if you been lucky with finding a good workplace and know people that done the same or if its because its more stressful for women. ( for many reasons, we need to do more to get the same respect as men and still get less payed and if we say that to our boss we get goals to do even more to get raise. And often when a woman tells a boss about a problem that need to be fixed she need to talk about it many times to be listen to because the boss focuses at the woman as if she is the problem. But when a man tells about the same thing the boss is focused (mostly) on the problem he is talking about. And such things takes such energy. And women often do more in the home )Burnout is very common .
I would hate if we in Finland couldn't buy alcohol above 4% from grocery stores.
First of, congratulations on your 'Swedish birthday' (Is it apt to call it that?). One thing you said about being the social connector (with the example of the party you and your girlfriend hosted) sparked a thought in my head. Let me preface this by saying I'm not trying to discount your explanation - maybe add nuance by posing a question. As much as you can know a guy from his RUclips channel, you absolutely strike me as a social connector. But imagine the place of the party being in the US instead - who's friend group do you think would be the most diverse? Wouldn't you have a large portion of old childhood friends that already knew each other? And your girlfriend might have brought an assortment of who she met at the gym, at work or while studying for the citizen test (if that's a thing)? What I'm getting at is that I think it is a multifaceted explanation, where personality in conjunction with your life situation, has formed your friend group.
It makes sense, I mean only having lived in Sweden for 7 years, I don’t have the same kind of childhood connections that Swedes who have lived here their whole lives have. Expats are perhaps more social connectors as a general rule of thumb!
That said when I’m in the U.S. or southern European countries like Spain, at times it seems it’s easier to get invited to new things, even from locals
@@StefanThyron I don't doubt it! I blame 'Jante': Who am I to assume you got nothing better to do than to join my Midsommarfest. I'll stick to invite the old gang that I know don't have anything better to do.
Good thing that the American accent aint much of a problem, but you will stand out as not totally a swede, just like 96% a swede :D according to me alot of the identity are based on the way people speak.
And about being able to learn a new language i would suggest to try to mimic the sound, not the word.
Atleast that has worked very well to me.
I think you will appreciate the wellfare society more when you become a father and your kids will get free schoolmeals, completely free healthcare and dentalcare, free medication, very cheap preeschool etc etc😊 And of course if you get sick. It is easier to want less of a welfare state if you’re young, strong and healthy/not sick. Elderly care is also a big part of the welfaresystem and this has a lot of health-benefits. Older people are healthier and feel less lonely in Sweden/Scandinavia than anywhere else in the world. (Theres quite a few international studies about this).
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And all University education is free btw. (You asked about this in the clip😊).
The Jantelagen had been intrurprated wrong. Its an insight because of where we live you will never be enough.
Its not to say you cant be better than anyone else.
But you will be respected if you are. No need to brag about it.
The extra ordinary work done will be payed back.
Its not socialistic, its not communistic, its an appriciation. Its a trust that being humble will be met the same. No need to brag. Results are shown.
Evolved to statistics.
The right in sweden and people moving to sweden dont want to have the swedish model 😢 and my home country is becoming very bad fast for the vulnerble
and its very sad
The swedish population for generstions have fought for our vacations and equality
1:45 RUclips NL
It is probably not correct to say that it is part of the Swedish mentality to want to make paternity leave compulsory. Rather, it has to do with claw-fingered politicians from certain parties and is more about patronage
Do you ever feel anti-American sentiment? Are you in tune with that? I know it’s not everywhere , but I always know. You can feel it . Thanks for all of your awesome videos .
Ambivert
The first time I read your first name I assumed that you have some kind of Swedish/Scandinavian or so heritage.
I’m named after Stefan Effenburg (German footballer)
I'm from Sweden, and I doesn't feel swedish either. That was meant to be somewhat funny.
30% is mandotory nowadays, 40% is free to share.
I am born and raised native Swede. Moved to Florida 3 years ago. Swedes aren’t nearly as fun or want to hang out as US.
Is that a shaving brush you're talking into?
😂👌🏼
Jag vill inte veta allt om en person som jag aldrig mött o aldrig kommer möta igen.
Hur kan man möta en person igen om man aldrig mött personen? Hmm! 😀
@@Fritjof-or7bt Tror du missförstår med flit nu.
Several political parties require that you learn the Swedish language. Normally you think of immigrants from the Middle East, but I have to say that you native Americans have the hardest time learning Swedish. Before criticizing Swedish laws, society and otherwise, it IS a big advantage to master the language. Much of the criticism towards Swedish society is due to ignorance. And I think learning Swedish would make it so much easier to blend into society.
Having said that. I like these culture clashes and it's liberating to see things from another person's point of view.
Centerpartiet and Liberalerna are not conservative parties, they’re liberal parties. Especially Centerpartiet. In Sweden the liberal parties are to the right of the middle.
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And when it comes to Socialdemokraterna they have been Swedens biggest party for 100 years and in 1940 and 1968 they had more than 50% of the votes so they used to be much bigger than they are today.
Du är bäst!
Hi! Love your work. Quick suggestion for a video, especially with your half American viewpoint: playing devil's advocate and going through the big "issues" of Sweden such as the huge wealth (inheritance/heritage) inequality, security/gang topic, views on immigration, the darkest sides of swedish greenwashing, hypocrite former neutrality on foreign policy, maybe others I am missing. I am not in any way a Sweden hater nor do I consider all these points valid. I actually quite admire Sweden. But you do come accross them online and from real people. Interested to get your views on it lol
I would definitely need some time to properly educate myself, but I think it could be very interesting content as well!
Min fråga blir : röstade du på deokraterna när du bodde i USA ? Eller menar du att även demokrat känner sig mer hemma på "blåa sidan" ?
Jag rostade på Obama, men har inte rostat sen dess!
Som jag uppfattat det befinner sig ju demokraterna i närheten utav centern och liberalerna. Vänstersidan verkar inte finnas där då den uppfattas som kommunism. Är så jag tolkat det hela😄
Ambivert is the word
Yeah, but did you add the cost of health insurance to your "low" American taxes, plus the cost of sending your children to higher education, not to mention the cost of daycare to start with. Don't think so, 'cuz then the tax rate comes out about equal. Except that in the USA, if you should lose your cushy job, and break a couple of bones, you've had it. ;-)