Random Stuff by Johnny

I been thinking and I wanted to share my personal thoughts so far on the technology, medical, and social side of Sweden vs USA and other tidbits that are just different that you may find interesting. I will do this from time to time. I will just plot my random thoughts, feelings, and findings...

1) Let me start with the standard Swedish vacuum since we are looking to buy one now. So far the models that we have found look like my grandmothers old 1960 vacuum. You have to drag this rock around the house. You can’t find powerful upright vacuum like a Dyson. It just isn’t here

http://www.billigteknik.se/…/12947-electrolux-dammsugare-73…

We discovered the reason their vacuums stink here is due to an EU regulation. They can't exceed 1,600 Watts in order to lessen carbon emissions (although I still think they should have bagless no matter what the wattage allowance is). Apparently Dyson is fighting this regulation because it clearly hurts their business.

2) As for coffee makers, there are no Keurig’s, no one knows what they even are. What they do have are coffee makers that take whole beans, grins them, and then makes fresh coffee. You can make a cup or a pot at a time, which is better than a Keurig in my option.

https://www.kitchnsverige.se/…/hushall…/kaffebryggare/59701/

3) Roku, they are not here and no one knows what they are. We went to a “Best Buy” equivalent to buy a new TV and in discussions found that the techs had no idea we had such technology in the states. However, they do have smart TV’s and Chromecast.

4) Lawn mowers. They have many brands of an “Rooba” type lawn mowers. Fricking Awesome! The lawn mower cuts the grass on its own, then recharges itself. They are quiet and work very well. Why isn’t this in the states? Costs about 1000 USD, but I am bring one back when we are done here.

http://www.tretti.se/…/robotgrasklippare/gardena-9673175-05…

5) Doritos SUCK! It isn’t the same…period. Must be all the added chemicals we put in them in the States. Chemicals are tasty!

6) The police are just so different. I still don’t know if it is good or bad just yet. I am told they are more focused on making sure trucks, buses, and trains are safe and up to code, they make sure people don’t get crazy when festivals are held in town, and they will come to you if needed but may take a while. We also been having drag racing right in the city (cars and bikes), people are screaming and music is blasting in the middle of the night. Drives us NUTS nd it's always the same jerks! The police won’t stop it…they either don’t care or they are under staffed. I was also told by a few people if a criminal breaks in my house and if I defend myself, there is a good chance I will go to jail. I can hold the criminal down till police arrive, but generally I can’t defend myself or family. You all know how I feel about that! If it were to happen it looks like I am going to jail. I am just glad crime in very low here. It would be intresting to just talk to an officer and get their thoughts and opinions on a few things.

7) Health care. I really do think Sweden has something right here when it comes to health care. However, it isn’t as perfect as Bernie portrays it, but it does make a lot of sense…to SWEDEN that is. Let me explain. First of all the Swedes that I talked to want to help people and feel it is everyone’s right to health care. EVERYONE puts in their share of taxes to pay for this social medical system. That is a core belief here and it works HERE because THEY BELIEVE in it. Unlike in the US, some people want ONLY the rich to pay, or they don’t want to pay into a social system, while there are some others that are willing to pay for a social health system, but not the rest. Everyone in Sweden WANTS and is WILLING to pay here for a social medical system…that is the difference.

As for the medical side, what I like is that kids are “free”. For general health issues, the system seems to work very well. However, if you need an MRI or X Ray or something in that nature you are put on a waiting list and it can take months to be seen. Also, I was told by many, that prescriptions can be very expensive. To help with the issue of being seen in a timely manner, some employers might also provide private insurance to help speed up this process, but isn’t required. We are still learning how all this works, but so far I do like it, but it isn’t perfect at all.

8) Oven = small…very small

9) The bank. WOW! Banking is so different. Cash is a thing of the past and checks haven’t been used here in about 20 years. Now people still use cash, but they don’t have much on them. The government wants to track every dollar (kronor) and they question every bit going into the bank. For example, I was pulling money out of the ATM to pay my bills and went to deposit the money and they won’t take it. They ended up depositing some of the money that I had, but the bank manager told me they will not ever do it again for me. If we want money, we have to direct deposit my money into the Swedish bank. Also fun fact, you don’t make any money in the bank, there isn’t an interest accruing account. To be honest they prefer you don’t save any money, they want you to invest it into retirement or take loans out so they get paid the interest. Now the other issue is my company will not allow me to direct deposit into my Swedish bank, I have to use an US bank (US Govt requires it for this contract, they want my tax money too) which is very hard to live since I need to pay my bills. I figured out an short term solution myself, but we need to figure out a long term solution.

10) Fika time…I love it. Always around 9:30 AM and 2:30 PM. We need to bring this to the States. Good for family, friends, and health.

We do like it a lot here. Swedes are very kind, caring, and loving people which helps. I love how they focus on family and family time, which is very important. My kids can also run to the store without us and I am not afraid they will be hurt or kidnapped. There is an old 1960 feel to that, which I love…

-Johnny

Library Time

That next week Olivia wore all of her new outfits and carried her new purse everywhere we went, as you will see in all of the pictures. We went to check out the local library and I was pretty impressed. They have a whole room that has books from all over the world in many different languages. What a nice thing to have for people visiting/living in the country! We have our own Engelska section where the kids checked out some books on CD as well as some picture books. Then we headed to the Svenska section and got some Swedish books as well. They had a play area and a chess board where Jack tried to teach Olivia the game. I also went and put a book on hold that is suppose to help learn Swedish for me. (I later went online and ordered it so that I could work on it now since I'm like 2 or 3 in line at the library and their check out period is a month per person!)

School Shopping!

The weekend of July 24th we went and did some school shopping just Olivia and I. She LOVES shopping! We went to Lager 157 (which has amazing prices! Especially since all I heard was how expensive clothes are here, I was so excited to hear about this store. She got a dress for what would be about $3!) Then after that we went to H & M, which is now her new favorite store. This girl is going to need a job for her soon to be shopping addiction!

Falun Copper Mine

This page has moved to our new site

 familytravellife.com

Swimming with Maria and Family

Today we went to a local pool with a friend and her kids. We had a great time and soaked up lots of sun and really wore the kids out. SCORE! Jack enjoyed the water slides and made some friends. Olivia loved the fact that the big pool wasn't too deep so she could touch almost the whole way across. Emma loved the kiddie slide. It was fun! I only took two pictures-they are attached.

It was different to look around the pool and see almost every woman wearing a bikini. It didn't matter what body type they had. They were all there enjoying their time with their kids and not obsessing about how they looked. For once, at the pool I actually felt OK in my skin. I wasn't feeling like everyone was judging how I looked. Maybe it's different there other days, maybe not. But it sure was a nice change of pace.

A Perfect Day!!

Today was one of those days you never want to end. Woke up to a crisp, cool morning (nothing better, in my opinion). Packed a lunch and went to Anundshög where we ate lunch next to the stone circles. Listened to the audio tour as we walked around and discovered more of the history of this place. (You may remember pictures from another visit there. This time the weather was cooler and we had A LOT less whining which meant more exploring time.) Picked raspberries and discovered what stinging nettle feels like on my leg (not great). Then we had Fika and played with bubbles What a relaxing way to end the weekend!

Leo's Lekland

We went to Leo's Lekland the other day. Check it out on Google. Here are some pictures! Quite an expensive outing, but the kids had a great time and they were all worn out. Totally worth it!

Bank Accounts and Cars

This page has moved to our new site familytravellife.com

One of Our Favorite Parks Had a Makeover and Other News...

I'm all signed up for SFI (the class I need to learn Swedish). I'm going to be going 5 days a week for a few hours a day. This then allows Emma to get into preschool and Olivia to stay in school longer days. I could have gone for two days/week (which I was slightly temped to do because I'm nervous) but I need to learn! Plus, it'll be good to get out and make friends and just have my own thing instead of it always being kids stuff.

This Thursday we have an appointment to set up a bank account. Yes, you read that right...appointment. We apparently need to be interviewed or something? We'll see how that goes. Johnny is getting paid in USD and therefore all of his money goes to our US bank account. In order to get it to the Swedish account we have to pay wire transfer fees and such. That's kind of a bummer, but with all this Brexit stuff the exchange rate has gotten better for us so we make some money there. (Thanks Britain! :))

After our bank account it set up we are off to lease a car. Car shopping/buying is always such a downer! I always leave feeling like we got a bad deal! It is definitely not my favorite thing to do. Hopefully it won't be so painful here in Sweden?

This past weekend was Big Power Meet weekend. A TON of people from all over the country and world come here to Västerås and bring their classic American cars and drive around while people sit along side the road and watch. There were also some vendors out and stuff. It was cool-ish. I think it'll be cooler next year when we don't live right in the city and listen to all of the drunk people blasting music and screaming at all hours of the night. We can just ride our bikes in, stay for the festivities, and then go home to our quiet neighborhood.

Today is a rainy day, so we're just hanging out inside today. It's kind of welcomed though. We have been out and about every day enjoying the weather, the sites, and activities so it's nice to just relax. (As much as one can with three kids who LOVE nothing more than irritating eachother!!  )

The following pictures are of a park that just had a makeover. We enjoyed this park before it was upgraded, mostly because of the area it's in, but now it's even better.

Johnny really doesn't want the kids climbing on the rocks (because he's a safety nut) but I told them they could that day. You can see the excitement!

Here are some pictures from the car show weekend. 

We also happened to find a new indoor playplace in a mall that we just discovered existed.