Study abroad in Sweden (credit, living in, restaurant)

[Sweden]

Originally Posted by dkf747

My memory of Sweden, actually an experience that stands out for me, was while riding the high speed train from Stockholm to Gothenburg in 1996. I was sitting in my window seat, half asleep, after a stop somewhere on the way. Suddenly, some guy smacks me hard on the shoulder and says I am in his seat. I pulled out my ticket and showed him and the conductor that I was in the right seat. The conductor then gave him a different seat. No apology or anything like that. The guy wasn't a native Swede from what I could see. I stayed awake after that. I wonder what a so called "shy" Swede would have done?

I can tell you what I always do... I assume the person is really supposed to sit on the seat next to it (if it is a "two-seater" or whatever one can call it), so I always sit down on that seat instead and say nothing.
(I always book the window-seat, by the way, shy as I am)

That was an X200 train, right? Why are they called "high-speed" when it still takes 6 hours to get from Göteborg to Stockholm?

So... what do you think the OP decided to do? There are probably far more fires to fight in his area than here, maybe he decided to stay...? (Shoot, I'm watching too much of those "soap operas"- I'm getting nosy!)

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by Sweden

I can tell you what I always do... I assume the person is really supposed to sit on the seat next to it (if it is a "two-seater" or whatever one can call it), so I always sit down on that seat instead and say nothing.
(I always book the window-seat, by the way, shy as I am)

Interesting. I can't recall if someone was in that seat or not.

That was an X200 train, right? Why are they called "high-speed" when it still takes 6 hours to get from Göteborg to Stockholm?

Good question. I don't have the answer. Perhaps they are faster than the regular train? I can't imagine how long an ordinary train would take. I'm assuming it was the X200 if they were in use in 1996.

[BigSwede]

X 2000.

[Sweden]

Originally Posted by BigSwede

X 2000.

Hahaha, not again! Numbers are NOT my thing! Ok, 3 0s... X2000. Oops...

[Rance]

I've visited Sweden 3 times in the last year. I love it there. I've been from Älgabäcksryd (south of Jonkoping) in the south, to Kiruna in the north, from Stockholm to Göteborg and quite a few places in between. Never had any trouble on the trains, walking in the cities, hiking in the woods or on the tundra. Although I'm not to happy with a certain taxi driver in Stockholm that ran us around the block and charged me 100 kronor!
Everyone I've met has been very polite, friendly and helpful. And I plan on visiting many more times in the future. I don't plan on doing any studying there...I've done all the schooling I plan to. But I hope to return over and over again many times the rest of my life.

[Sweden]

Originally Posted by Rance

I've visited Sweden 3 times in the last year. I love it there. I've been from Älgabäcksryd (south of Jonkoping) in the south, to Kiruna in the north, from Stockholm to Göteborg and quite a few places in between. Never had any trouble on the trains, walking in the cities, hiking in the woods or on the tundra. Although I'm not to happy with a certain taxi driver in Stockholm that ran us around the block and charged me 100 kronor!
Everyone I've met has been very polite, friendly and helpful. And I plan on visiting many more times in the future. I don't plan on doing any studying there...I've done all the schooling I plan to. But I hope to return over and over again many times the rest of my life.

Ok, ok, I know, but... How did you manage to get an Ö in Göteborg, but not in Jönköping?
(Yeah, says me who cannot keep track on digits)

[bluepacific]

Here's a bit of an update , though a bit over due. Citizens of Sweden don't like the idea of forking over Tax money to gift Foreign Students free education, so there appears to be a huge change on the horizon. Just be prepared. It's sad to see the Africans, Indians and some of the developing nation students get penalized , as they are the ones that need the educational benefits to take back and use in their countries to help improve things there. But then again you can also understand the Native citizenry and their point of view. I could see refusing USA, Canada, Japan, etc. But perhaps all nations could gift poorer students to benefit their country. But when it's all said and done , I guess it's none of my business anyway,

The Local - No more free education for non-Europeans

[Hasdrubal]

Originally Posted by bluepacific

Here's a bit of an update , though a bit over due. Citizens of Sweden don't like the idea of forking over Tax money to gift Foreign Students free education, so there appears to be a huge change on the horizon. Just be prepared. It's sad to see the Africans, Indians and some of the developing nation students get penalized , as they are the ones that need the educational benefits to take back and use in their countries to help improve things there. But then again you can also understand the Native citizenry and their point of view. I could see refusing USA, Canada, Japan, etc. But perhaps all nations could gift poorer students to benefit their country. But when it's all said and done , I guess it's none of my business anyway,

The Local - No more free education for non-Europeans

I kinda agree with them Swedes. An American student will end up with a big debt in student loans after he finishes his degree. If he studies in Sweden, he will virtually get a very good education for free. And the costs of living abroad will be lower than the price he would have to pay in his original country

[bluepacific]

Originally Posted by Hasdrubal

I kinda agree with them Swedes. An American student will end up with a big debt in student loans after he finishes his degree. If he studies in Sweden, he will virtually get a very good education for free. And the costs of living abroad will be lower than the price he would have to pay in his original country

The point of the article was that Swedish Tax Payers are tired of footing the bill for everyone else outside of Europe. I can understand that.

One thing I do know from my experience of marketing and promotional work on College Campuses , most USA kids don't give a crap when it gets handed to them to go to school. All they want to do is PARTY.

At least the African students I see here are hungry for learning.

[NorthNJ]

I was born in Stockholm, Sweden and lived there for 16 years until I moved to USA last year. Stockholm is one of the worlds wonderful capital cities.
The food is greit! People are good-looking and nice. There are many things to do in Stockholm and rest of Sweden. SVERIGE ÄR BÄST!

The climate of Stockholm is this:

Stockholm has a humid continental climate. Due to the city's high northern latitude, the climate of Stockholm is extremely varied, with distinct seasons. At the winter solstice in late December, the day lasts about 6 hours, whereas at the summer solstice in late June, Stockholm's daylight period extends beyond 18 hours.[5] The city has over 1,800 hours of sunshine every year.
Stockholm has pleasantly warm (High temp. of 70s and lows of mid to upper 50s), rarely very hot summers with comfortable cool summer evenings and cold, often cloudy skies during the winter. The spring and fall could range from cool to mild, or even sometimes warm. The average daily temperature in July is 18°C (64°F) and in January -3°C (27°F). High temperatures above 25°C (77°F) occur on average 16 days each summer. The yearly precipitation is around 539 mm (21.2 inches) with light rainfall in all months, but winters are somewhat drier than other seasons. Snowfall can occur from November to the end of April, with 16 snowy days each winter season, but some winters are often mostly free of snow.

Read more about Stockholm here:
Stockholm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia