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You sound like some of the successful immigrants that originally made this country a bastion for freedom and greatness. With that attitude, I think you would do well here.
That said, it sounds like a great adventure and we'd be happy to have you here!
Interesting! Thank you for your input!
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Originally Posted by BoBromhal
lol, I think he's looking to get away from socialist notions like paid parental leave.
based on what you've posted, you'll have no trouble with your attitude and enthusiasm, snillson. Now, without a college degree (at least, it sounds like you don't have one) there will be limitations and intermediate hurdles. But it's completely true that in the US, you're mainly limited by whether you're willing to work for what you get or not.
You're right that I do not have a college degree. I was thinking about going to college a few years back and even took the equivalent of the SAT and did just fine. But I was offered the manager-position just a few weeks after that and I haven't thought about it ever since.
I hope my experience as and the training I've gotten from work is worth something.
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Originally Posted by NewUser
I'm not sure if you know this or not, but Sony Ericsson and Ericsson had offices here up until about 2010. The offices easily employed over 1000 people, with many Swedish employees deciding to stay in the area after the offices closed. My current boss is Swedish, and I often see cars with Swedish flags on them.
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Originally Posted by zinner
I have worked with a few folks that have come over on visa from England and Belgium. I think they all like it here, you would think it's a step down in benefits, but when you are young the increased freedom you get in how you spend your money was a plus for them.
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Originally Posted by gentlearts
You should like Raleigh a lot. Mild winter, and mid sized city. Good luck and have fun!
Sounds great in my ears!
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Originally Posted by henriInCary
You should join internations ... It is a group of expats from all over the world (including the Triangle). https://www.internations.org
It should help you quickly connect with fellow expats and Americans and integrate quickly.
I was born in a different country and moved here ... It is lovely here. But, if you don't like it here, you can always move to another state ...
Welcome to America.
Perfect information, thank you!
Where do you come from? What visa do you have?
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Originally Posted by wake74
There is a very active BMW presence in the Triangle, a couple of dealerships, and multiple marque specific independent mechanic places, as well as several import focused repair places. I regularly see employment ads for mechanics with BMW experience locally.
Lots of disposable income in the Triangle, just come to a Cars & Coffee and see what shows up.
Lots of car clubs as well, BMWCCA, THSCC, PCA, etc. It's a great place to be a car guy, whether you are into Concours shows, like Pinehurst, autocross, track days, racing, cruises, etc.
Great to know! Thank you!
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Originally Posted by lovebrentwood
What is a Cars and Coffee?
Basically a meetup for car enthusiasts. Take a cup of coffee and talk to like-minded.
But, if you don't like it here, you can always move to another state ...
Borodin: And I will marry a round American woman and raise rabbits, and she will cook them for me. And I will have a pickup truck... maybe even a "recreational vehicle." And drive from state to state. Do they let you do that?
Hi Snilsson, I am an expat as well, originally from Norway, so obviously very similar to Sweden as you know. I have been in the US for almost 20 years, and enjoy life here, hence me still being here 20 years later.
I think it's great that you want to try to live in the US, a lot of people would love to get the opportunity to do that. I am not trying to discourage you in your move but I just want you to be aware that what you think are too much when it comes to safety nets in Sweden, might not seem that way when you don't have it available to you if you need it. You are young and probably don't think that healthcare is something that you need, but you never know when you need it. I am sure you are aware of this but healthcare in America is not a right but a benefit. It usually requires a good job, and education is usually a requirement for a good job with benefits. When people ask me about difference in life here versus Norway, I always state that US is great if you have a good jobs and good benefits.
Something that i thought was very different from Norway when I moved here is the emphasize of having a credit history. A good credit score makes a big difference.
My number one advice is to make sure you have enough savings for at least 3 months of living expenses.
The good part is that you always have something to fall back on in the sense that you can always move back to Sweden if it doesn't pan out, thats the difference from being from a country where there are safety nets in place in case you need it.
I appreciate that you're not sugar-coating it.
I am aware that there is a big difference and of course I would appreciate the safety net more if I was ill or had difficulties finding a job.
I don't plan on staying in the states if I'm unable to get a job that doesn't offer decent benefits or a salary atleast somewhat equivalent to what I have now.
But who knows, I might have a hard time just getting a low-wage job.
Anyway, even if I fail and go back home I still want to give it a shot. As I said before, I would rather regret the things I did than the things I didn't do :-)
I have savings to last atleast a year comfortably and have been using American Express since last month to build up my credit score. So that shouldn't be a problem.
If you have time I would love to hear your story, what made you move and how you were able to stay!
Well, it's very real and it's annoying. I've been told my entire career that I shouldn't work overtime because it leads nowhere. Buying a BMW is unnecessary and for the love of god don't tell anyone you have a Rolex.
I don't want to start a rant against my homeland but another thing that annoys me is that there's too many safety nets and too many paid vacation days. It's almost easier to solve the palestine conflict than to fire someone for doing a ****ty job. And because of all the paid vacation days, taxes, paid paternal leave etc it's so expensive to hire anyone that it's common for a work place to be undermanned.
Look, the point is that I know what hard work means. And it would be so disappointing if I were unable to get a decent job.
First, I would say that if moving here does not in anyway affect or revoke your rights as a Swedish citizen, then I envy you tremendously. Most of us do not have a safety net like that to fall back on. Immigrants here with safety net back home have the option of foregoing health insurance, and either flying home for treatment if they get sick, or in extreme cases of accident and urgent need, they can always just run up a half-million dollar hospital bill, flee the country with little consequence, and leave US taxpayers to take care of it for them. Also keep in mind, that if you live and work here, even if you stay healthy, a huge portion of your income will go to fund this kind of bailout plan for other immigrants who were not so healthy and fled back home.
I do understand that sounds a bit cynical, but it is well intentioned and my cynicism is not directed at you in anyway. Honestly? At age 24 as long as you can fall back on the Swedish lifestyle without risk, I'd say go for it.
Just know that for many people in this country, buying a BMW is something that's approachable, but there's a good chance your employer will say "hey, we must be paying this guy too much money", so you're probably in trouble if you drive a car that's nicer than the vehicle your boss drives (who might drive a 15 year old pickup truck or SUV). Wearing a Rolex in public vastly increases your chances of being stabbed in the neck and robbed for it.
My point is, there are pros and cons to each lifestyle. To give you an example of the contrast, I will compare the unwritten USA version of the Law of Jante:
Sweden: "You're not to think you are anything special."
USA: "You're a special snowflake. You can be anything you want to be when you grow up as long as you wish for it as you blow out the candles on your special birthday cake. You are entitled to be rich and famous and have everything you ever want, and this will happen as long as you get straight As in school and go to church on Sunday. If anyone ever tells you otherwise, they are bullying and should be reported to the authorities. If that doesn't work, we will assemble a pack of angry moms to protest through the streets, and if that doesn't work then we will impeach the president".
The thing I like about the Swedish version is that it's so much closer to the reality of life regardless of where you live, while the USA version is more like a Disney cartoon that only portrays a fun image of reality.
But at the end of the day there are pros or cons. You might be the kind of person that has an innate need to travel the world and sample different cultures, and as long as you can do so without foregoing the stability you already have, then why not? I would.
Last edited by FlibbityFloobs; 06-09-2017 at 06:06 AM..
Your English is very good and you seem to have grasped idioms as well, which is a very difficult thing when learning a new language.
+1 and +1
The US apparently still insists on /accepts a barbaric 2-week vacation paradigm. As if that is enough. The Europeans, as do many in Asia, get this one right.
Very interested to see how this thread plays out. I for one would love to have the fallback of what I understand the Scandinavian healthcare / pension / employment model to be.
I appreciate that you're not sugar-coating it.
I am aware that there is a big difference and of course I would appreciate the safety net more if I was ill or had difficulties finding a job.
I don't plan on staying in the states if I'm unable to get a job that doesn't offer decent benefits or a salary atleast somewhat equivalent to what I have now.
But who knows, I might have a hard time just getting a low-wage job.
Anyway, even if I fail and go back home I still want to give it a shot. As I said before, I would rather regret the things I did than the things I didn't do :-)
I have savings to last atleast a year comfortably and have been using American Express since last month to build up my credit score. So that shouldn't be a problem.
If you have time I would love to hear your story, what made you move and how you were able to stay!
I am personally acquainted with only a few Swedes here in the Raleigh area, but I certainly have known quite a few from Northern, Southern, and Eastern Europe (Germany/France/Poland/Balkans/Ukraine/Greece/Italy), from Asia, from South America, the Middle East - basically all over. And what I can say is that regardless of origin, there is a broad spectrum of experiences in every respect.
There are those (like you) who come with few ties to their homeland and a very optimistic attitude, looking for adventure and a change. There those who are basically dragged kicking and screaming by their companies. Most fall somewhere in between, moving for career-related reasons but with an open mind and generally positive attitude.
Regardless of initial attitude, I have seen some people wind up having a hard time adjusting and going back pretty quickly; others come here, adjust fairly well, and enjoy/appreciate it while they're here, but eventually wind up going back for understandable reasons (career, live closer to family, etc); others who come here and, after an adjustment period, feel more comfortable here than they did in their home country. There are still others, basically citizens of the world, who may possess a particular nationality, but never really put down roots anywhere, but you won't meet many of those people here since they seem to gravitate towards bigger, more cosmopolitan areas: New York, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, etc.
Anyway, I think you're definitely on the right track with your attitude - but that will only carry you so far. You have to come expecting there will be some roadblocks and culture shock. There will probably be a "honeymoon period" at first (everyone except the kicking-and-screaming types have it), and it may last for up to a year, where the cultural differences seem novel and entertaining. Your good attitude will probably make your initial time here especially fun. Then there will inevitably be a bit of a rough patch as some of the novelty has worn off and you realize that there are some things here that are definitely worse than back home, and that some cultural differences may be getting in your way with regards to your social and career life. Some people get very bitter and cynical during this phase and jump ship. But if you stick it out, you will gradually adjust and things here will become "normal" to you. It's a process.
I moved to Japan for a year in my early 20s. It was an awesome experience, but I wound up coming back, due to some combination of wanting to be closer to family and general cultural barriers. Learning the Japanese language was less of problem than I thought it would be; I took classes for a couple years in college before going, and really immersing myself and trying hard not to fall back to English, helped me become more fluent quite rapidly. However, I found the idea of living the rest of my life and raising a family in a place where I'm percieved first and foremost as a foreigner/outsider to be a little sad. As a westerner, I felt I was accepted easily if I fit the box of a "foreign English teacher" where my job is literally to represent a foreign culture, but it's much harder to make it work as a professional (I am a computer programmer) working as a peer alongside locals, or to find meaningful personal relationships not centered on the novelty of my foreign-ness, with people other than other expats.
Basically, there were a lot of cultural subtleties that were difficult to pick up on, and very different from in the US. I particularly found matters related to social hierarchy to be challenging. Dealing with superiors or elders, dealing with customers, dealing with peers, being a customer myself and trying to negotiate something while still maintaining the essential politeness and formality. Making an attempt at these things and getting them wrong actually turned out to be worse in the short term, because then people wouldn't quite know whether to hold me to same standards as a native speaker (in which case my cultural fumbles would be perceived as very rude), or to Foreigner standards, in which case my behavior was just somewhat unexpected, puzzling, perhaps funny, and generally ignored.
Anyway, I didn't stay - but quite a few other people who I met over there, who went over at the same time as I did, wound up staying permanently, so it just kind of goes to say that each experience is intensely personal and you have decide for yourself whether it works for you or not.
I imagine that for some who come to the US, their experience may be similar to mine in Japan. But I suspect that in your case, however, as a Swede with decent English skills, the barriers won't be quite as high, but you must be mindful that you WILL encounter them. On the flip side, you'll probably blend in so well that you won't have the option to fall back on the "Foreigner" thing and get your slip-ups automatically forgiven, so that may potentially be a source of some frustration.
I do think that culturally and climate-wise you might find the Wisconsin/Minnesota upper midwest area to be a bit less of a jump; that said, if you are looking for a place to maybe put down roots, Raleigh is a great area with high growth and lots of opportunity, and it sounds like you're interested in making a pretty big change, so maybe you're on the right track.
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