A lovely afternoon in Södermalm

As it was Valentine's Day yesterday we wanted to do something nice, so we decided to go to Greasy Spoon in Södermalm, which was recommended to me when I previously wrote about my desire for a vegetarian fried breakfast.

We got there around 2pm, and didn't think that it would be extremely busy, but maybe it's understandable seeing as it was both Valentine's Day and a Saturday afternoon.There was a one hour wait for a table, so we went for a little wander to pass the time.

Yesterday was really a beautiful day - the weather is definitely improving, and there's much more daylight now than when we arrived. We walked to the tip of the island, and from there we had beautiful views of Djurgården, Gamla Stan, and Skeppsholmen. It reminded me how beautiful Stockholm is, and I felt so lucky that I can live here and that our life here is starting to become more stable. We also walked to the Viking Line ferry terminal, so it amused me to see a street sign pointing to Finland. Now that I have an income I really need to look into the price of ferry tickets so that I can visit Turku.

By the time we'd had a walk for an hour we were so hungry, so back to Greasy Spoon we went. Actually getting food was quite a slow process because it was so busy, but I don't want to criticise the staff, especially the kitchen staff because they were putting food out constantly. The staff were all English, and automatically speaking English to every customer. I only heard Swedish being spoken amongst groups of customers. As it's clearly as English themed cafe maybe this added to the experience for non-English customers. The customer based seemed to be English people, and Swedish hipsters who probably think eating breakfast in the middle of the afternoon is edgy. I do actually find it a bit funny that this kind of food is a novelty here because it's the most normal thing in the world to me.

I like the way the cafe is decorated - the wallpaper looked like it had attractive scenes of London at first, but when we looked closer it actually showed scenes of gangs and police cars. I liked that - it felt more real to me, as someone who has lived in London for years, than having various tourist friendly pictures of Big Ben and double decker busses.

Eventually the food arrived, and wow, it was worth the wait!

Needless to say, this cafe is not a greasy spoon in the traditional sense. The ingredients and cooking were obviously of a much higher quality, and it may well be one of the best fried breakfasts I have ever eaten! Even now, the next day, I am still thinking about the food! Usually I prefer fried eggs to be more well-done, but these were actually delicious, and I say that their chefs are doing an amazing job. I also feel that you can't have a decent breakfast without some nice toast, and the toast here was just perfect, with lots of butter. Every single component was perfect, and I was so happy to find that the vegetarian sausages were Linda McCartney sausages. Maybe it's a bit sad that I knew that from taste alone. Fortunately, they're my favourite vegetarian sausages, and went perfectly with the rest of the food. I remember that the same sausages are available in The English Shop in Medborgarplatsen, and now I'd quite like to buy some to have at home. I've been to a limited number of restaurants in Stockholm, but for now I'm actually going to say that this is my favourite.

I'm not homesick, and I don't actually want to surround myself with purely British people and British culture here, but it was nice to be in an environment where my native language was expected, rather than potentially awkward. There seemed to be a sense of humour that's very familiar to me, the staff were lovely, the food was amazing, the coffee was very good, and it really did feel like a little piece of my home. They were playing English music from a cool jukebox, the cafe looks lovely, and I really enjoyed every part of our visit. I will definitely be going back there, and if I ever want some comforting food I think it's the obvious choice.

I would highly recommend Greasy Spoon. British people will love it because it's so comforting and familiar, I think for Swedish people it must be an interesting novelty. At least I know now how popular it is, and will maybe time my visit better, or at least be prepared for a long walk whilst I wait, as by the time the food actually arrived I was so hungry I could have passed out.

Friday night was the first night we'd spent in our new house, which we are so happy with, so overall yesterday was a really nice day. We're still exploring our new area, but there a more shops and businesses than there were in Hagsätra - so far we're really pleased. The flat is beautiful, and the two guys who already live here have been really friendly and welcoming to us. I think it's a really good thing that we now have the Swedish language being spoken in our home, so it's there all the time and hopefully this will help us both to keep improving.

My weekend is going very well, and I'm already looking forward to my next trip to Greasy Spoon. If they could start a home delivery service that would just be even better!

The personnummer problem

I’ve heard so many stories about Skatteverket taking a really long time to respond to personnummer applications. Well, I can now say that they definitely don’t take their time if they want to reject you! I visited them on Monday evening, yesterday I received a letter from them to say no! I was pleased that I found work here more quickly than I did in Finland, but it seems it’ll take me much longer to get a personnummer here than it did in Finland, which was pretty easy once I had a work contract – incidentally, a short term, temporary work contract.

I was expecting this – I was concerned about the length of my work contract anyway, the man who helped me at their office mentioned that this might be a problem – but the reality of it actually happening is very frustrating. I’ll now have to make a second application for a temporary number, which will enable me to pay tax in Sweden, and basically nothing else. I won’t be able to open a bank account, or do any of the other things a personnummer enables you to do. It’s certainly fortunate for me that my employer is able to pay my wages into my UK bank account, otherwise I’d be in an extremely difficult position.

The thing that really irritates me about this situation is that whilst Sweden is more than happy to take my money away from me in the form of taxes, I will not be allowed to benefit from this at all. One particular thing going round in my mind is what would happen in a few months if I needed medical attention – I have an EHIC card issued by the UK, and in September was told at Skatteverket that I’m only entitled to use this for 6 months if I’m living permanently in Sweden. After that the card is basically invalid as I no longer live in the issuing country, but I’m quite sure there’s no way I could apply for another card issued by Sweden when I’m not officially recognised as a person who lives in Sweden!

In this country you can apply for a personnummer if your partner qualifies for one, hence why I applied for both of us on Monday. This surely means that there are a lot of foreign people here with Swedish partners, or partners who have other grounds for being given a personnummer here, who have their own personnummers but don’t work or bring anything to the table in this country - and I’m sure in some cases have no intention of working or contributing in this country – who are treated equally to Swedish people and can fully live their lives here, whereas I work for a living, pay taxes, and contribute to this country but see no benefit whatsoever. That seems rather unjust, and quite frankly, really, really pisses me off. I briefly considered not even applying for the temporary number, but I believe this is used to work out the “correct” amount of tax I should be paying, so not doing it could hinder me financially. I say “correct” because I think the correct amount should actually be zero – if I contribute my money to the system I think it’s only fair that the system gives me something back. But obviously that would be far too easy.

The thing that makes it more complicated for me is that in general my workplace just offers short term contracts. I met someone yesterday who has worked here for 5 years, and has had 7 different short term contracts in that time. I believe she studied in Sweden before starting work, so her situation is probably a bit different, but in theory could they take taxes for that long and still claim you’re not entitled to a permanent number? Someone else told me that they’d taken short term contracts adding up to a year to Skatteverket and they still weren’t happy! The letter I received yesterday seemed to imply that they needed to know you would still be here a year into the future, which suggests to me that if you only had a contract for a few months into the future they could still say no, regardless of how long you’d lived and worked in Sweden up until that point. But then, in September they also told me that it’s necessary to have a personnummer if you’re here for at least one year. When I apply for the temporary number I need to find out at what point they will accept that I’m here for the long term, regardless of the length of my contract, because clearly there is the potential for me to work here for several years on short term contracts. Unless I get a new job with a long term contract, or Kai gets one, allowing me to apply as his partner, it seems like the earliest point this could be resolved is a year from now, which is ridiculous!

It makes me so angry that it’s really easy for someone from another EU country to move to England, when it’s so difficult for me to go the other way. If a Swedish person decided to move to England all they would need to do is make an appointment to get a National Insurance number – which basically involves showing their passport to prove that they’re from an EU country – and then they’re good to go. Plus seeing as National Insurance relates to paying tax, proving you’re allowed to work in the country, and literally nothing else, if you are unemployed or not intending to work it really makes no difference to your day to day life whether or not you have this number. Whereas here I am, working in Sweden, paying taxes in Sweden, but not recognised as a resident of Sweden, not entitled to open a bank account, or even join a gym! I’m wondering if this will be an issue with trying to rent a house in a few months, unless it’s a private contract with a landlord who is just satisfied that I am employed. Thankfully we are moving somewhere new today so we have a while before we need to worry about that, and hopefully our circumstances will have moved along a bit by then.

In a way, I don’t even know why I’m shocked by this situation. I remember in Finland being expected to pay €50 to register as a foreign resident of Finland. €50 for “the right” to live in a country I allegedly already have the right to live in as an EU citizen. Freedom of movement within Europe means absolutely nothing, it just means I can go on holiday to another European country without needing to apply for a visa, and here it just meant I didn’t have to bother getting a residence permit from Migrationsverket.

The past couple of weeks have been full of highs and lows – I think when you’re in a strange environment with little support you feel things more strongly. A small success can make everything feel better, a small setback can make everything seem worse. I’ll try not to worry about this too much until I can get some more information from Skatteverket about what I can expect in the future if I have to continue with short term contracts. I’m a bit concerned, but more angry at how unfair this system is. I feel like I’m contributing and integrating, but at the same time I’m on the fringes with fewer options than others. I hope that this is not the start of a problem that will go on for years.

Skatteverket attempt 2

People who have read this blog previously may remember my last attempt in September to get a personnummer - you can read about it here. Essentially, it was a complete failure.

However, this time round I have a work contract, and my only doubt was what they would make of me having a short term contract with the possibility of extension. Either way, I left work early this afternoon and went off to the same office I visited last time.

I told the man at the front desk what I wanted, in Swedish. He immediately said "Oh ok, English" when I said I was from England, I then told him I could speak Swedish, I then misunderstood the next thing he said to me in Swedish. My spoken language skills definitely need some perfecting. Anyway, we got there in the end, he gave me the paperwork and a ticket - they love giving tickets for when you're waiting here, just like in Finland - and sent over to fill in the form and wait to see someone. This alone is further than I got last time!

It took a while but eventually I was called up by a very nice man, who was very encouraging. He did say there might be a problem with the length of my contract, but unfortunately there's not very much I can do about that. Although the Skatteverket website doesn't state this, he told me that for a permanent personnummer you usually need a work contract of at least one year. I know I wouldn't choose to leave this job without something else lined up, and if the contract was not extended then finding something new would obviously be my main priority, but they can't rely on that.

However, he took the application anyway, and told me that if this application is declined I can apply for a temporary number which will definitely be accepted. Presumably having this means I'd have to renew it each time my work contract changed, which would be quite annoying, but if I got a longer term contract I could apply for a permanent personnummer straight away. Seeing as Skatteverket says that if you are staying here longer than 6 months you need a personnummer, surely there would be a point where they would have to accept that I'm here long term and give me a personnummer? A short term number is better than none at all - I had a temporary number in Finland, but I think that's because I knew all along that I was going to leave. That's not the plan here.

Anyway, the man who saw me was very nice, and gave me the paperwork for a temporary number already, so that if there is a problem I can apply for it really quickly. He actually checked to see if I could apply for both numbers at once but that's not possible.

One helpful thing is that whilst I'm applying as an employed person in Sweden, I can also apply for Kai even though he's not working. However, if it comes to the temporary number I can only apply for myself. If he finds a job in the meantime with a long term contract we can both apply for personnummer's through that. That option would make him finding a job even sweeter for us.

I'm realistic, and I'm going to get the temporary application ready, as it seems likely there will be a problem with the length of my work contract, even though I explained why it's short term, and this can be verified with my employer. I've still got further in this process than I did last time, and it's been much less confusing and difficult so far. Having to renew a temporary number every so often would be frustrating, but better than nothing. It's still a step closer to getting settled here. I'm expecting to have to go down that route, but in an ideal world I might get a nice surprise from Skatteverket this time!

A reflection

This week there's been a lot to be happy about, finding a job and a place to live in one week is a bit special. As I still don't know a huge number of people in Stockholm I decided to invite everyone I do know out last night, and it was great. It made me think about our situation.

Five weeks ago we came to this country with nothing - no job offers or solid long term plans, nowhere to live long term, and we knew only a couple of people in Stockholm. Five weeks is not a long time, and I'm actually so proud of how I've done, and that already I'm in a position where I feel at home here, rather than feeling like a visitor or tourist. 

Although I lived in Finland for a year I was more nervous about coming here, probably because I'm now older and wiser, and more realistic about the difficulties of living abroad. In Finland I had a lot of good luck, and a lot of help from others, and I did worry I wouldn't manage this time round. I really do not want to live in England, so failing here would be such a massive disappointment. 

I'm so happy that we've started to really make a life here in a short space of time. Obviously it's still very early on, and things are not perfect yet, but I'm surprised at the progress we're making. I have a job, we have a place to live, which I can't wait to move to next week, and we have friends here. It's starting to become home. 

I'm keen to make Swedish friends, but I also like meeting people from a variety of countries and backgrounds. I realised last night that the people we count as our friends in Stockholm are all of different ages, nationalities, and backgrounds, including Swedish, but despite this everyone can be together without it being awkward or uncomfortable. I love that, and I feel lucky to already have people here I think of as friends. I'm used to having a lot of friends and contacts in London, so to suddenly be in a strange place where you know barely anyone can be lonely and depressing. There have been a couple of times when I've been lonely, but that's not really the case now.

Good luck comes in threes so hopefully very soon Kai will find a job or something else that he wants to do. I hope that our luck doesn't run out and we keep having as amazing a time as we've had so far. I've put in a lot of effort since we got back here, and it's so good to know that said efforts have paid off. I feel it proves that anything can happen if you try, and that the negative experiences I've heard about do not go for everyone. I feel that we have a future here, and I'm so happy.

Busy, brilliant week

I've been busy this week, mainly settling into my new job. I'm still adapting, but I'm enjoying it. As I work for an EU agency, and it's such an international environment, I don't know how much the workplace culture is influenced by Sweden, and how much by other places, but either way, there are some aspects that are brand new for me.

1.) Flexible hoursThere are certain hours of the day when I have to be in the office, but outside of these hours it's flexible, as long as I work enough hours in total. This is great, in particular because the Skatteverket opening hours are not very compatible with people who work usual business hours.

2.) Meetings
I've heard that meetings are very regular occurrences in Swedish workplaces; having meetings about meetings is not unusual. I've definitely experienced this during the last few days, and it looks set to continue.

3.) LunchLunch seems to be a much bigger deal here. My workplace has a canteen, as do numerous places nearby, and it seems more usual to have a proper hot meal at lunch time. Swedish law, I now understand, requires employees to take a lunch break, so there's no sandwiches at your desk here!

Obviously it's early days, but I'm enjoying it, and it is a bit surreal to think that 5 weeks ago tomorrow I arrived here with no job, and now things are totally different. Another big change is that yesterday I found somewhere for us to live for a few months! I'm so excited, especially as the house we've been living in since we got here last month has not been great. That's a story for another day. We were looking for another airbnb property, as we knew we wouldn't find somewhere to live by the end of next week. We found something suitable in Högdalen, only two stops from here on the t-bana, and when I explained our situation to the owner he told us he's going away for a few months until May, and offered to let us rent from him until then! This gives us a chance to relax for a bit, not immediately look for housing again. I'm genuinely amazed that I found both a house and a job within a week! I'm looking forward to moving next Friday, it'll be nice to settle in somewhere for a while, even if it's not really our own home. It really feels like everything is starting to come together here, and a bit more quickly than I expected. I'm starting to feel much more comfortable. I'm even more sure now that September wasn't the right time; this is the right time. I hope that our luck continues into the future, I feel so happy.

A trip to Uppsala

Yesterday we went to Uppsala for a visit. It's possible to travel to Uppsala using a Stockholm travelcard, and just pay a 36kr supplement for crossing the county boundary. When I found out that the Uppsala train runs from Älvsjö station, which is 15 minutes walk from where we live, and that the journey only takes just over an hour, I really wanted to go. By coincidence, on Saturday I met someone who moved to Stockholm from Uppsala in December, so he was able to give me some suggestions of what to do there.
Unfortunately I don't think we chose the best day to visit Uppsala. I had been warned that there was a lot of snow this winter, more than in Stockholm, and whilst the weather in Stockholm yesterday was somewhere between snow and rain, in Uppsala it was very windy and very snowy. It wasn't the best day to be walking around outside.
It was also a bit difficult to get away from the cold, seeing as very few shops or businesses seemed to be open. Maybe Stockholm is a bit different to elsewhere in Sweden, and I took it for granted that everything would be open. The streets were so quiet too.

Regardless of this, I really enjoyed our visit, and I thought Uppsala was really pretty. The river there kind of reminded me of living in Turku - I'd love to see how it looks in the summer. We went to see Uppsala castle, which is up a very snowy hill with really nice views, and also visited the cathedral. I would seriously recommend visitors to go to the cathedral - it's very beautiful, with lots of tombs, stained glass, and interesting decorations. I noticed a large number of skull motifs in various places there, and also some sort of decoration that featured tall horns - not something you'd really expect in a cathedral. The decoration of the cathedral is so varied and beautiful; I found it quite awe inspiring. I think there is a lot that would appeal to designers and artists there.
Although the businesses that were open were quite limited, we did go into a small shopping centre and visit a very cool second hand shop, where you can either pay for an item entirely in cash, or pay less and give them an item you no longer want. I like rummaging in second hand shops so I thought this was a cool idea, I'd love to find somewhere similar in Stockholm, but if not at least Uppsala isn't far to go.
I also noticed a few colourful sculptures around Uppsala, and any form of public art usually appeals to me. Even though it was a very cold and dark day it helped to brighten things up.
I enjoyed our trip, and I'd definitely like to go again, preferably on a warmer and busier day. I'll look out for exhibitions at the art gallery there too, seeing as travelling is so cheap, easy, and convenient.
Maybe the weather in Uppsala was just a sign of things to come, as since yesterday the snow in Stockholm has been quite relentless. I started my new job today, so I no longer have the choice of staying at home avoiding bad weather! But I'd much rather have this step in the right direction than avoid the snow.

An excellent 24 hours

Woohoo! The past 24 hours have been really good for me, but the biggest piece of news - I got the job! I start on Monday, and it's such a relief because this means that the biggest obstacle has been surpassed, and everything should get a bit easier from now on. Since going to Bazaren I've been feeling a bit more negative - there seemed to be an implication from some sides that Swedish people don't trust foreign people to do the job properly, and this worried me a bit, but now I feel so much better.
I'm sensible enough to realise that things will not automatically be easy from now on, but this does make a big difference. I now qualify for a personnummer, and can start looking for a place for us to live. I could have started that previously, but I do understand that not many people will be keen to rent to a couple who've just turned up and have no steady income. Kai is still looking, but having one decent income between us takes the pressure off a bit.The most important thing is that finding this job enables us to stay in Stockholm. After reading about so many negative experiences I did worry that eventually we'd run out of options. I would absolutely hate to have to go back to England, so I'm really relieved. I realise this is just a start for us, but hopefully it's a good sign for our future. I do feel more confident now that we'll be able to build a successful life here.

In my time job hunting I've noticed that Swedish people/companies are extremely friendly and positive in comparison to England - even rejection emails are so pleasant that you almost don't mind! I'm going to be working via a recruitment company, and the two welcome emails that they sent to me were so enthusiastic and friendly that I already feel comfortable working with them. The two staff members I've been in contact with have also both been so helpful and nice. So far this experience has been really positive, so hopefully the job will also be a good experience for me.

On a different subject, the past 24 hours have also been really good for getting involved in art related things here, which as I mentioned is a massive priority for me. We were going to a private view last night at Platform Stockholm, and at the last minute I found out that there was another private view at Färgfabriken, which is just next door. We went to Färgfabriken first, and there were a couple of different shows there. The show that the PV was for was related to the fragmentation and "development" of urban spaces, and in particular we watched a really interesting film about Beirut, and the privatisation of the sea. This was a brand new concept to me, and something that I didn't even realise was possible. I was thinking about it for a long time after we left, and it was striking to see the perspectives of people in Beirut, and the changes that they had observed.
There was also an exhibition of sculptures by Julia Bondesson, and I enjoyed these even more. Each piece seemed to have its own character, these dead pieces of wood seemed to be so expressive. The rough way that the pieces were carved gave them a really interesting appearance. Each piece was very well made - they were rough but simultaneously refined.
I also really liked the way that the exhibition was set out - each individual work was presented in a unique way. Perhaps this factor helped to bring personality to the pieces. I enjoy exhibitions that are experimental in their presentation.
Next we went to Platform Stockholm, where the show concerned the themes of the body, loss, and artificiality. There were some abstract paintings I really liked that to me suggested bodily fluids. I think this is really interesting, as I think most people would associate bodily loss with amputation. 
I really liked the space at Platform Stockholm - I could see my work in that space. I'm really keen to see more shows there and see other possibilities for how the space can work.

Today I went to Kultuhuset to see work by Katrine Helmersson, which I really enjoyed. There were a lot of abstracted images of the body and body parts - I work mainly in portraiture, recently mainly images of body parts, so this was very interesting to me. The style was totally different from my own work, but I appreciate being able to see an alternative perspective. I'm also very into texture, and this show includes a variety of materials and textures, as well as some textile pieces, which are also of particular interest to me. The information about the exhibition mentions the work alluding to themes from Kristeva and Lacan, both of whom I studied in the last year of my degree. Having some understanding of this made the show even more interesting. I was not familiar with the artist before today, but now I'd be keen to see more of her work. 
So it's been a good 24 hours for me, and my only complaint is that many galleries in Stockholm seem to stay shut for extended periods of time. Or maybe I should take that as a positive that there are still so many exhibitions and spaces yet to discover.