It came and went

It snowed for the first time since we arrived, but has actually already melted away. I'm not really that keen on snow, or maybe just how my own country copes with snow, but on this occasion I was reminded of how magical it looks when it first starts to snow, before layers of ice develop or it melts into sludge.
There's a woody area near to our house, and it looked really beautiful covered in snow. There seem to be a lot of dogs living here too, and it was nice to see them being taken for walks covered in snow. Yesterday our time job hunting was punctuated by breaks outside to play in the snow like children. It made a nice change for me - I kept remembering that the alternative option was being in London.
I feel a bit less negative about snow now, but then this was the dry, powdery snow that it's difficult to slip on. I didn't expect it to melt quite so quickly - this time yesterday every surface outside was still covered in layers of snow. It snowed lightly but steadily throughout yesterday, and most of the night before.

On a different note, today I've had a serious lead about a job, one that exactly fits the kind of thing I was hoping to do here. I don't want to jink it, and should learn more soon, but for now I am hopeful.

The Inevitable Return of the Great White Dope

I'm baaaaaaaaaack!

My boyfriend and I flew back to Stockholm yesterday, and I'm so pleased that we're back now. I spent a lot of time on the t-bana previously, and as soon as I got to the platform at T-Centralen I felt like I was back!
Again we opted for Airbnb for our initial accomodation. Thankfully I gained experience when I was here in September, and will be staying here for longer. We are staying in Hagsätra this time, an area I'd never been to until yesterday, but I'm actually quite keen on the area. The residents are predominantly Swedish, which is totally different to Rinkeby, but it's preferable because I'd like to integrate with Swedish people. The building and area is more like what I would expect here, and is actually quite pretty. Last night we also met a Swedish cat, which is obviously a positive! Local amenities are much better than in Rinkeby, and although we only got here yesterday I'm fairly happy with our choice, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of the area. Soon we'll start looking for a more long term place to live, and I would definitely consider Hagsätra as an option.
Obviously it's much colder than when I was here before. After I left Sweden I found out I'd caught the end of the hottest summer in 70 years! Having lived in Finland I had some idea of what to expect from this time of year, although Swedish people told me that winters in Finland are usually worse than here. I can believe this, as there's no snow on the ground at the moment - it is chilly, but it's pretty much what I assumed for this time of year.
We're going to take the weekend to settle a bit more, as it's all totally new to my boyfriend, and from Monday we'll get back to sorting our lives out. Upon reflection I realised that September was really not the right time, everything about our situation now seems a lot better, and I hope this means that we will be successful. Last time I was here was very helpful as a trial period, it made me confident that Stockholm is where I would like to be, and gave me experience of coping with living here. I'm looking forward to continuing my adventures, and settling here in a way that wasn't possible last time. It's a joy to get out of London again, and I don't intend on being back there anytime in the near future.