Lisa - Fat Girl Fit

Book Review of ‘Wintering’ Following a (long) Swedish Winter

I saw on social media someone sharing a post that referred to the book Wintering by Katherine May. I had not heard of it and I was in the middle of a dark, cold and what felt like long Swedish winter and so this book peaked my interest.

We moved to Sweden in December 2023 and everything was covered in thick white snow. This continued for several months, and coming from England where there is little snow, it was a novelty for us and made everything look beautiful! This year, however, we had cold temperatures but little snow, which was a shame. Part of living in a country with four proper seasons is experiencing those and this just felt a little flat without the snowy sparkle.

Now I won’t lie I found this winter tough. When I saw this book I promptly bought it after seeing it described as being:

‘a beautiful read’

‘The book explores how to embrace life’s challenges and quiet seasons’

‘This book will inspire and calm your mind, reminding you that these dark times will pass and there is no harm in taking the time for yourself.’

What Is Wintering?

So wintering can be different things to different people but in the context of this book the meaning is described as:

‘Wintering is a poignant and comforting meditation on the fallow periods of life, times when we must retreat to care for and repair ourselves. Katherine May thoughtfully shows us how to come through these times with the wisdom of knowing that, like the seasons, our winters and summers are the ebb and flow of life.‘

My Thoughts

This is not my usual type of book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were so many instances in the book that I felt I could relate to. The opening book is dedicated to all who have wintered. Every individual will almost certainly relate in different ways, and the various examples in the book really illustrate this.

My key takeaways were:

wintering is the active acceptance of sadness
lean into the things you love
live the best life you can with the parameters that you have
there are times when everything seems easy, and times when it all seems impossibly hard and that is ok
to remember that our present will one day become a past, and our future will be our present

Category: Fitness, Product Reviews

My (Less Than) Rosy Thoughts On Rosacea

Ever heard of Rosacea? For the longest time I knew my mums cheeks were the cause of Rosacea and I was not so lucky to soon realise I have the same. A friend of mine said she spends time every day applying blush for that fresh faced rosy cheek look, but for those of us with rosacea we spend time every day applying products to dull it down! I tend to always feel like I have been out for a 5k run and it can make me quite self conscious.

So what Is Rosacea?

I know it as red cheeks, made worse by the flushes of perimenopause, and it is actually super common. It can also vary from person to person and some have a slight rosy cheek to others having very sore skin that can look like a rash, acne, dermatitis or a breakout but it is not, that is simply the result of enlarged blood vessels. For some it is also not just specific to the cheeks and can appear on other parts of the face, neck and chest.

The redness can last for a little or long time and is thought to be caused by inflammation but, although research continues, there is no specific known cause only that it runs in the family (thanks mum – could have got me a new handbag or something).

After posting on my social media I was surprised how many people I knew who also had rosacea and all experienced flare ups from different triggers. Some of those triggers were stress, exercise, sun, wind, specific beauty products, bacterial reactions, certain foods with the strangest I heard being bananas. So the banana thing seemed odd to me but they said it is because bananas are high in histamine which can cause a flare up (other foods high in histamine are also cheese, chocolate, citrus fruits, tomatoes, strawberries, eggs, shellfish, processed meats, nuts, beans and I am sure loads more).

How Do You Treat Rosacea?

So after I looked how I treated it I found there is no cure for it. However, there are many products on the market now that help to control it or stop the things that can cause it to flare up.

antibiotics prescribed by a GP depending on the severity (someone reached out to me saying they use ivermectin cream from the GP but did note they have very enlarged blood vessels from the condition and was told that this sort of cream would not usually be prescribed for less severe cases) – a lady I know uses doxycycline and says this has been a huge help for her
laser treatment
red light therapy
dermatologist appointment for advice
increase your SPF to at least 25/30 though this is more preventative
brimonidine gels such as Mirvaso can help with redness (not for spots or more sever cases) by reducing the size of blood vessels that are inflamed
vitamin c beauty products

Items I Have Tried And Tested

You can go down a complete rabbit hole with this and I was lucky to know people who had already tried and tested products and could recommend based on their experience. The products I have used so far include:

Vitamin C skincare – I felt like when I started looking for these they seemed to be everywhere so it was really easy to find. I used pretty much the whole range from Garnier. I did find that this didn’t change my rosacea at all and actually made my skin sting a little so I switched. Vitamin C helps with inflammation that can be the cause for a lot of people of rosacea.
Dermatica skincare – I subscribe to these products and the way they work is to complete a short survey and the products you receive on a monthly basis are specific to your skin type. I have noticed a big difference in how my skin feels and looks and my sister also swears by this skincare too.
Rosalique 3 in 1 Anti-Redness Miracle Formula SPF50 – this was an item I had looked at for a long time but for the price I wanted a recommendation and again a friend of mine used it, really rated it and then gifted me some for my birthday. This is a product developed specifically for red skin conditions. I also really recommend this and will be purchasing again when I run out!
Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream – not actually a recommendation from me but again a friend uses this and it must be popular as I have tried to purchase it multiple times from various places and it is always sold out. The cream is colour correcting and also has SPF for protection.
Estee Lauder Day Wear – this is my favourite! It has light coverage, vitamin C, SPF and was recommended to me at Duty Free when I tried to buy the Clinique cream above. The sales assistant said to me excuse me asking but are you looking for something for your rosacea (cue blushing more and making it worse – just kidding, she was lovely), and then said she would recommend this. Bonus to get it cheaper through duty free too!
The Glow Mask from Nordic Luna – this is a relatively new present from me to me. Again I have a friend who has a red light mask, which I have used and life got in the way from buying one but now living in Sweden with the more harsh weather changes I needed something and this came recommended and had a huge saving in the January sales so it would have been rude not to! The mask has several settings, one of which is red light and this has anti-inflammatory effects, which can calm the skin and reduce inflammation. A mask like this is a non-invasive approach, gentle on the skin and great for people like me who are a coward and not up for needles! Plus I very much look forward to scaring my husband with this!

Category: Sweden

Learning To Speak Swedish With SFI

I started using the Duolingo app to learn Swedish precisely 621 days ago and let me tell you that judgemental little bird got me hooked fairly quickly! A friend sent me a video of a comedian doing a bit about Duolingo and I was watching thinking damn that is me! If you are on Duolingo check this video out and tell me you cannot relate!

Fast forward to us actually moving to Sweden and because of my Duolingo streak I thought I would rock up and be having conversations in Swedish. This was not the case and I soon learned that being able to tell someone that the wolf was going to eat the ant was beyond useless!

Do You Need To Speak Swedish?

I will say the Swedish approach to language is impressive and children start to learn English from an early age, meaning that most people speak English and whilst this is great it makes it hard to learn more as everyone is so happy to speak English. It is also normally preceded by them saying sorry for my bad English – I am from Essex and most of the time I think their English is better than mine!

So do you need Swedish? Well I have met some people who have lived here for years and do not speak the language. However, my preference was that if I am moving to a country I felt it important to make the effort to learn the language.

Swedish For Immigrants

Sweden holds courses for immigrants called Swedish For Immigrants (SFI) and for this you need your person number so once we had that we started to look into it but there is, unsurprisingly, a wait for a space.

You can apply via your local Kommun and need to wait for a response as your application is processed.

SFI is the national free Swedish language course offered to most categories of immigrants. Immigrants who have emigrated to Sweden are entitled by law to Swedish language education, which is amazing and as I said earlier I feel it is important to make the effort to learn the language.

We were called back in August to attend an introductory session about the course and at the end there was a test (Duolingo had not prepared me for this)! It was 4 or 5 pages and mostly a passage of text with some following questions and I was surprised at how much I could read and answer. Then on the final page you had to write a letter to your teacher and there were bullet points of specific information to include. There were 2 I did not understand but I managed to complete the rest. This did manage to secure me a spot on the course so I was very pleased!

The course has a weekly class on a Tuesday evening for 2 hours and then in addition to that there is homework, revision and it uses a platform called Lunis where there is a requirement to complete a minimum of 5 hours in the online platform.

How Is It Going So Far?

First of all I am that geek that used to love buying new stationery at the start of a school year so that was the first thing I did! On top of my new notepad and folder I was then given:

Lyckas Med Svenska Textbook – Succeed With Swedish Text Book
Lyckas Med Svenska Övningsbok – Succeed With Swedish Exercise Book
Lyckas Med Svenska Skrivhafte – Succeed With Swedish Writing Booklet

It is early days but I have had 2 lessons so far and it is slightly overwhelming I must say. Most of the class have been learning since March so I am definitely behind everyone – in the first lesson I asked if I was in the right place as I felt that everyone seemed to be almost fluent!

There is no English, or other languages, everything is in Swedish and I am hoping the sink or swim approach will force me into using Swedish.

In the second lesson there was a test, which I am waiting on the result of, so fingers crossed!

It is full on and feels intense but onwards and upwards!

Önska mig lycka till!

Category: Fitness, Product Reviews, Running

Jeffing My Way Through Couch To 5k (again)

When I see people running it makes me want to put on my trainers and get out there. Then I remember I am a terrible runner. But I think I have always focused on improving and time and I now just look at time on feet and enjoying it, and it has made it much more enjoyable!

I say couch to 5k again as I feel I have done this multiple times before, but I find these plans work! Last year I used a plan that synched with my apple watch but I am back to using my good old faithful Garmin Fenix watch and so this time I opted for the Jeff Galloway Garmin Coach Plan.

Jeff Galloway 5k Plan

I knew of Jeff Galloway as the creator of the Galloway run walk run and that sounds like a plan I could get behind! It is claimed to help with fatigue and injury.

I know many runners and a lot who adopt different methods or structure run/walking at different ratios and felt that this would be a good fit.

The Garmin Coach Plan

The plan itself links from my Garmin Connect app direct to my watch. I set the days I want to train and it schedules the rest for me. You can reschedule a workout too if you need to change any.

Once the watch is synched I can start my activity and the scheduled workout is good to go! Once I finish it syncs again and the workout is then ticked off and progress logged.

There are 12 weeks in total in the plan and in the app I can see the schedule, the next workout and those that I have completed.

It could just be my personal preference but I like to know in advance what is on the plan.

Where I Run

I am surrounded by trails so spoilt when it comes to trail running and I much prefer that than pounding the pavements if I have a choice. There is also the canal at the end of my road too, which is very popular with runners. However, I have tripped up a few times so have a number of bruises on my legs. I think being a bigger and slower runner I have a short stride and there are no high knees so all the rocks and tree roots are obstacles as I go.

How It Is Going

When I go back to years ago when I did my first 5k I believe it took me somewhere in the region of 49 minutes. On the trails I think I am probably around about the same level now. I could let that dishearten me but honestly I don’t care (not sure if that is a good or bad thing) as I am actually enjoying it. When I go back to the UK and don’t run I look forward to getting back to it when I come home to Sweden. Who am I?

This morning was the final scheduled run on the plan and although it is Couth to 5k, the run was a total of 4.7 miles, so 7.5k. I won’t claim there are no walking breaks because there are and I am fine with that.

What’s Next?

I am not doing this with an event in mind or to increase distance. I am doing it to enjoy the trails, keep active and get some run fitness. This all helps when cycling and hiking so one complements the other nicely.

Hopefully there is less tripping up in the coming weeks!

Category: Cycling, Fitness, Hiking, Running, Sweden

Exploring The Beautiful Nature Reserves In Sweden

Sweden as a country is covered in 70% forest, which is 28 million hectares according to the Swedish Forest Industries Association. It also has almost 9% water coverage with over 95,000 lakes. You quickly get the picture I am painting that Sweden is like a natures playground and one of the reasons we fell in love with it.

When we arrived we quickly looked at where the local nature reserves and forests were and soon found we could download an app for our Kommun that is like a nature map and shows lots of information about cycle paths, hiking paths, canals, lakes and much more. This has become like our bible when deciding where we should explore next (and the dog loves it too).

Sjöbo-Knäppan

Sjöbo-Knäppan was the first that we visited in the height of winter and it was like a winter wonderland with everything covered in a white blanket of snow. It is on Lake Boren which is a short walk from where we now live.

The parking is limited but there are picnic areas, toilets, easy access to the lake for swimming (in warmer months) and the trails are all clearly marked with one being a boardwalk path in the trees.

Håleberget

Håleberget is our local favourite. We attempted to go in the winter but the steep winding road up to it that clearly had no one else make the attempt, judging by the snow, changed our plans. It is a short walk (two routes available) basically up to the top and then back but worth the views for sure.

The only thing I would say is that the road to the car park is single track with no real space to pass so in the summer when more people visit I would imagine this could be a problem?

Fålehagen

We actually looked at a house in the woods that is in the middle of one of the trails of Fålehagen forest and in the winter when we visited there were they were in the middle of putting in the ski lines for the winter cross country skiers.

At the car park there is a center where you can also hire skiis to use on the trails.

There are also MTB trails and frisby golf here, whilst it is also right next to Motala Golf Course.

Karshult

Karshult is round the corner to where we now live so super convenient. In the winter the fields that the trails pass were super deep with snow so made a short walk feel tougher than it should have!

Råssnäsudden

Råssnäsudden is very near Varamon beach (the largest fresh water beach in Europe) and a perfect short walk for our ageing dog. The trail follows the water line out to a small picnic area and back.

There is ample parking and there are also running tracks there too.

Omberg

We wild caped at Bokskogens when we went to Ekopark Omberg, which was a small area for 5 campervans that overlooked Lake Vattern. It was stunning with a short stairway to access the lake for swimming, fire pits, firewood, shelter and several picnic tables. We have cycled up Omberg on the Tjejvattern and Halvvattern events so had seen the stunning views from the top and the hiking and off road bike trails. We hiked from where we camped on the trails to Omberg Touristhotell, that we cycled past on the previously mentioned bike rides. We then hiked back into the park to the viewing station at the highest point of the park, Hjassan.

Tiveden

Tividen is hands down our favourite so far. We wild camped in our camper van at Sorangs Bergsjo fishing lake. It was a beautiful spot with a little jetty, fire pit, firewood, shelter and picnic table. We hiked the Trehorningsrundan trail, which was a 9.5km loop around the lake and stunning.

This is definitely one we want to go back and spend more time at but the walks are a little long for our doggo to join now.

Blå Lagunen Skanninge

So not a nature reserve but I had seen some videos of a stunning blue lagoon in Sweden and when I checked the location found it was only 12 miles from where we live. So……..it would have been rude not to explore and see if we can find it, and we did!

No car park as such but there is a layby on the nearby main road and it is a short walk on an easy trail to get to the lake. I will admit I was a little worried it would be one of those social media versus reality and we would arrive at a small grey puddle, but I am pleased to say I was wrong. We could see the lake through the trees as we approached and the colour was visible immediately (maybe more green than blue but still stunning)!

I am looking forward to exploring more of the natural beauty here!

Category: Fitness, Hiking

Ticking Off More Of the Wainwright Summits

When you have some holiday to use and a willing friend, the only answer as to whether we should book another trip to the Lake District to tick off some more of the Wainwright summits, is of course yes!

Accommodation

We chose to stay in Keswick again as it is such a central base for so much in the area. This time we stayed at 15 The Plosh and bonus it had two bathrooms and parking! If you know the area and most of the cottages that are available to book you will understand that having parking is such a benefit.

Kit Update

I had a few changes to my kit for this trip as below:

New boots and I went for the Merrell Accentor boots. I got these in Sweden and they are so comfortable and perfect if you have a wider foot. I always opt for Gore Tex just to make sure I am not caught out with wet feet as that is never fun, although on a couple of the walks I did end up with very wet feet!
Osprey Tempest 20 bag. I am a big Osprey fan when it comes to bags but I wanted one a little smaller and this is perfect although an easy to access pocket on the front strap for the phone would be good. I also struggled to get my bottle in and out of the side pouch without either taking off the bag or getting some help from my friend.
I got two new pairs of hiking leggings from Revolution Race and really impressed – my first leggings with pockets on the leg, which came in super handy, the fit was comfortable with no movement or having to adjust. I updated a previous post on hiking leggings with the details of these and you can read that here.
I borrowed my husbands trekking poles from Leki. He got these when he did the Half Marathon des Sables and I had got a cheaper pair to try (anything to help with the uphill) but they are in a packing box somewhere so I borrowed his. I am not sure if they did help but mainly because I am not sure I was using them to get the most benefit so need to practice a bit more I think.
Not quite kit but after doing a lot of consecutive long days we added a bottle of coke to our bags for a little added sugar/red ambulance if we felt it was required at the top of the summits (and after starting this I found I always returned back with an empty bottle)! Obviously another bottle of liquid is added weight for what could already be a heavy bag but I find I get bored of electrolytes very quickly and sometimes you want something else aside from water after multiple hours.

What Wainwrights Did We Complete This Time Round?

We actually made really good progress on this trip. We came this time having completed 27 summits previously and we left increasing the total to 57, which included:

Armboth Fell
Bakestall
Bessyboot
Binsey
Bleaberry Fell
Brae Fell
Brandreth
Carl Side
Fleetwith Pike
Gowbarrow Fell
Great Cockup
Great Sca Fell
Great Mell Fell
Grey Knotts
Hay Stacks
High Rigg
High Seat
High Tove
Little Mell Fell
Little Sca Fell
Ling Mell Fell
Longland Fell
Long Side
Lonsdale Fell
Meal Fell
Raven Crag
Rosthwaite Fell (Bessyboot)
Scafell Pike
Skiddaw
Skiddaw Little Man
Ullock Pike
Whinlatter

Best and Worst Of This Trip

Least Favourites:

Fleetwith Pike – we started by Gatesgarth Farm and it is clearly signed. You pass a white cross, which thankfully I did not know the meaning of before we started the ascent – it is a memorial for Fanny Mercer who fell from the top and died. This route is more direct, I believe, but it is a lot of scrambling and false summits although I was thankful to the cloud coverage as it meant I could not see the full extent of it. I am not a scrambler and I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest, which was coupled with my Garmin watch unhelpfully telling me I was at threshold heart rate – no sh*t!
Skiddaw – we ascended up the northern approach from Long Side. It was very steep and very loose underfoot with shingle, slate, scree, gravel. I had a meltdown as I felt like everything I stepped on or reached to hold moved, there were tears and my friend Lee guided me across the path to where there were some better stable rocks to use as hand holds. Poor Max (one of Lee’s dogs who hike these routes with us) came down to check on me and I snapped at him to go away (I apologised at the top).
Scafell – we didn’t manage to tick this summit off as our route went from Ling Mell Fell to Scafell Pike and then over via Mickledore. Mickledore is a grade 1 scramble and we ended up going down to Foxes Gyll but I did not have the confidence or nerve to climb up the Gyll so unfortunately we ended up having to go back up Mickledore and trace our route back.

Favourites:

Raven Crag – the steps up to the view and the sunset through the trees as we descended was super pretty.
Scafell Pike – this is the highest point in England and one that I wanted to tick off for a long time so was super pleased to get this one done even if the steps back down to Wasdale were a killer on the knees!

How Did We Get On By The End

This trip covered:

92 miles hiked
over 27,000ft of climbing
one instance where I nearly got taken out by a sheep
3 walks where I had a cry (I need to work on this)
30 Wainwrights ticked off the list

This takes our total now to 57/214 so made a really decent dent but a lot left to do! We actually met a man who was running some of the fells and he had completed the full list at the start of May but said it had taken him over 8 years to complete when he was further away from the area and that he had moved to the West coast and since then completed the remaining half in one year!

What Next?

You know when you look at kids and they have no fear? I feel like since I hit 40 I get more fear every year. I had multiple times when completing these Wainwrights where I don’t think I can do it, don’t want to look down, panic before I even start a scramble, huff and puff my way up and find the descent harder. My head almost always wins and I need to work on that and my confidence.

But for now, I need to rest my very very very very very tired legs and feet!

Category: Cycling, Hiking, Running, Sweden, Van Life

What Is There To Do On The Göta Canal In Sweden

The house we have purchased in Sweden is a 5 minute walk to Lake Boren, which joins part of The Göta Canal, also known as ‘Sweden’s Blue Ribbon’.

This morning is the annual docking at the dry dock where the boats go out for the season. This is a 200 year old tradition where they add the water to the dry docks where boats are stored and there just so happens to be a cafe next to it, Mallboden, that sells tasty food whilst you watch it all unfold and they were actually the ones that told us about the docking today.

A Bit About The Göta Canal

The canal was historically the main waterway from the east to the west, starting at Söderköping on the east coast. The canal navigates some of the gorgeous Swedish countryside and goes past Lakes Roxen and Boren before joining the Vattern.

We knew of the canal from our previous visits to Motala to see friends and participate in the Vatternrundan bike ride. Now we have moved here and been exploring we were intrigued as to how far the canal is and where it goes.

The canal has 58 locks over the 190km distance that it spans and there is a lot to see and do with full information on this website. Given the distance of the canal this means that it also boasts the longest avenue of trees with circa 10,000 trees and as they need replacing there are around 50 trees per year planted by sponsors and should you be interested in being a sponsor you can find more info here.

What Can You Do On The Göta Canal?

You can hike and cycle the towpaths or take a boat along the canal and even better it is completely car free!

There are events on the canal, including:

guided bike ride or you can hire bikes or ride your own and there are routes available here
boat trips on the canal and on the lakes that it passes
cruise on the canal over 3 days
rent a kayak or canoe
Kanallopet run in May with options for 5km, 10km or half marathon distances
stand up paddle boarding (and in the past there was a race for this, which could return)
part of the canal had an event for skiers in the winter as a one day event

There are many food and drink stops too, that include:

Mallboden – their tarta Flambé is one of our favourites and they also have a few pitches for motorhomes right next to the canal as well as hostel accommodation
Camarda – this is an Italian deli, which is on our list to visit but comes highly recommended
Cafe Baltzar – this is located in an old shipyard, which also has shopping and above a museum
Tva Sma Hus – this is located where the canal joins the Vattern and a perfect stop for an ice cream
There are many more to choose from here and I would love any recommendations you might have!

More Info…

There is a lot of information about the canal available on the West Sweden website here.

You can also divert from the canal to neighbouring towns to explore, for example it is 24km from Tividen National Park, which is one of the favourites we have visited here so far.

Category: Sweden

Purchasing A Property In Sweden As Expats

We are Swedish homeowners! And it reminds me a little of the house from the film Up (in a good way).

A lot of people don’t know about this and lot of people do, including some who were surprised we purchased so quickly after arriving in the country. BUT, we have been coming to Sweden for years (as I have mentioned before) and we knew what we intended to do well in advance. Plus lets face it if we give it a few years and it is not for us then we are simply on to the next adventure (although I doubt that will be the case).

The Process

I thought I would share some information about the house purchase itself as it is different to what we were used to in the UK. Some of those differences include:

When houses are listed they can appear with an estate agent as upcoming in the future or on hemnet.se where you can search by your criteria and area.
We were recommended an estate agent by a friend, SvenskFastighetsformedling, who we met with, gave our criteria of what we were looking for and they add to their database, which then emails us properties that match for consideration.
They mostly operate by open houses where they have days allocated and book time slots for viewings.
The seller must complete an inspection in advance and when you look at a house that is listed you can view this report to see everything that is right and wrong, or needs work, with the property.
The investigate also acts as an insurance should there be issues further down the line.
The purchase itself is like a bidding system and you can see the other bids on the property as this progresses.
If you are successful you must pay a 10% deposit within 10 days of your bid being accepted and paperwork with the estate agent.
The estate agent also acts as a solicitor so no need to source your own for this.
As part of the process the estate agent will liaise with the bank to ensure the process is smooth and everything is in order for the day of completion.
The seller must thoroughly clean the property and the buyer must sign this off/approve ahead of completion.
The buyer and seller must agree what is to remain and what is to go in advance otherwise the seller must remove within 2 weeks of completion.
On the day of completion, the seller and buyer is present at the estate agents to complete the documentation, read through of the contract, signing and transfer of monies.

Completing The Purchase

I was actually in the UK when the completion date came around so my husband dealt with it all. He had to go in and sign papers with the sellers for the handover and as the estate agent managed the liaison with the bank the monies were sorted and keys passed over.

We found the entire process very efficient and it was less than 3 months from start to finish.

After completion we also received an email from the estate agent informing us that as part of their service, we get something called property value. This means we can follow the development of the value of our new home. Once a month, they will email us with an updated value based on how prices are changing in the local housing market.

What Is Next?

We are planning to renovate the property we bought and have met with an architect who has completed drawings after discussing our requirements with us. This was hugely useful as we learned a lot of the rules that are in place in Sweden, and she could advise on how to change some of the ideas we had for the better. The plans have been submitted for approval so fingers crossed!

We have met with a builder, and are in the process of getting quotes and arranging what will be done when.

Exciting times so watch this space and I will share more of the renovation project as it develops!

Category: Sweden

Logistics Of Moving From The UK To Sweden

I have had a number of messages asking about the logistics of moving from the UK to Sweden, in particular asking about the process and what was required. As I mentioned previously, Brexit made this a lot harder and more convoluted than it would have been some years back.

I can also only speak from the perspective of moving to Sweden and would note that each country could have its own nuances so it is not a one size fits all for EU countries.

Why Sweden?

I mentioned in my last post that Sweden is somewhere we have travelled to for around 10 years and every time we go, we love it a bit more. We always spoke about ending up in Sweden and after spending a month there last June we finally thought why wait?

I was very transparent about my intentions of moving to Sweden with my boss and thankfully he is very understanding, also with experience of living abroad. There was no pressure on my side to retain my role, definitely not a ‘I want you to find a way of me keeping my job’ sort of situation, which is not really my style anyway. However, my company is owned by a larger group who have a business in Sweden and this makes it very easy to help with this sort of move. The company in Sweden had a role advertised doing my job, I was interested in this, applied and was successful.

The group engaged with an agency who assists with the permit process and we worked with them through the various stages required.

Ahead of the move my husband and I collated all of our respective documents to produce at arrivals in country and in the various offices so we had everything organised and ready (yes pretty geeky I know, but very helpful it turned out!).

Obtaining An EU Blue Card

I have been with my company for over 25 years now and my role and position meant I qualified to apply for an EU Blue Card. There are some additional requirements you must qualify for including:

being a citizen of a non-EU country
hold a valid passport (which you will need to present in person at the Swedish Embassy)
have comprehensive health insurance that is valid for care in Sweden for at least 3 months
having received an offer of employment for highly-qualified work for at least 1 year
at least 5 years professional experience
a salary that is at least one and a half times the average gross salary in Sweden

Your employing company also has some requirements as follows:

to have advertised the role for at least 10 days
agree employment conditions and salary
provide details of the above to the Swedish Trade Union

My EU Blue card is valid in the first instance for a 2 year period (and although it is an EU card it is only valid in the country of application, in my case Sweden), which will then require renewing. Part of the process included an application for my husband to receive a permit (dependent on mine) that allows him to work in Sweden also.

Biometrics in Sweden

Part of the process on arrival to Sweden, following residency/permit approval, is to secure an appointment at the Migration Agency and complete biometrics. You need to provide certain paperwork including:

valid passport
EU Blue Card approval
get your photos taken
get your fingerprints taken

The above is then processed to create a Resident Permit Card that will be sent and usually takes up to 2 weeks to arrive. This card is proof that you are approved and entitled to reside and work in Sweden.

Civic Registration

Once the Resident Permit Card is received, you are required to present this to the Skatteverket and complete documentation that is part of the Civic Registration. The Civic Registration starts the process to obtain a personnummer. And this is KEY!

The Swedish Personnummer

This is your personal identification number and as I said above it is key and I cannot stress that enough! We knew before moving that this number was required for a lot of things but without it had no idea how challenging things would be.

As an example this is required to open a bank, obtain insurance, buy a property, get memberships in shops, get a mobile phone and pretty much everything else you can think of hence me saying it is key (not an exaggeration)!

Swedish ID Card

Once all of the above is complete you can then apply for your ID card. This is something that requires an appointment with the Migration Agency again, which you need to pay for this in advance of the appointment. It can then take up to 2 weeks to receive this (we are in this process right now) and you will receive a text message to let you know when it is ready for collection.

This card is the Swedish national identity card, which alongside a passport is an approved document for official identity. We actually found that once we had the personnummer and went to open a bank account that we need the ID card also so again a very important, and necessary, thing to have!

Social Insurances

My company sort out insurances that cover life and accident, and long term sick, however, the Swedish system requires registration with Forsakringskassan who deal with social insurances and this is required for areas such as medical and dental. Again a very helpful service that directed by to a form on their website (5456) that you submit with relevant paperwork required ie contract to determine if you qualify for Swedish social insurance in order to receive compensation, a certificate or an EHIC (European Health Insurance Card).

I was unfortunate to lose a filling and when trying to book a dentist appointment was asked if I was registered for this as it is a system that means part is paid by Fordakringskassan (if you are registered and qualify) and part my myself.

Bringing Pets Into Sweden

We have a dog who is almost 14 years old and she is part of our family. I find people who have pets get it and people who don’t, just don’t. Honestly I lost count of the amount of people who asked if we were taking April. Of course we were! There was no question there at all and leaving her was not an option.

Sweden being a country that you can drive to from the UK (with ferry crossings obviously) meant that we could drive April rather than putting her in the hold on a flight, which was not something we were comfortable with (she is old and has seizures and we thought it might be too stressful for her). We were also taking our camper van and so the drive over was something that would be done with the van regardless. There were still requirements we had to have in place as follows:

dogs must have either a tattoo ID number or microchip and April has the latter – they will check this at the borders and without you will not be able to proceed
dogs must have a valid rabies vaccination that has been done at least 21 days prior to travel – again your vet will provide a certificate with this you need to present
must have a health certificate that can only be completed by certain vets and you must then travel within 10 days of completion and present at migration on arrival

Vehicles In Sweden

My husband drove our camper van over and we hadn’t actually decided if we were keeping the van or not but it has been great in the snowy weather so we are and there are certain things we are required to do in order to keep the vehicle in Sweden including:

Verify the origin
Arrange for an inspection
You are then allocated a registration number for the vehicle
Roadworthiness test
Register the vehicle with the Swedish Transport Agency

Swedish Information Available

Sweden are a very organised country and there is a lot of information available online as below:

Migrationsverket – this is the Swedish Migration Agency, which is a Swedish government agency that processes and approves/declines applications in relation to both temporary and permanent residence in Sweden.
Skatteverket – this is the Swedish Tax Agency, which is a Swedish government agency that is responsible for both national tax and population registration.
Swedish Embassy – this is the official website for the embassy and they cover a number of areas including travel advisory, passports, visas and migration services.
Forsakringskassan – this is the official website for Swedish social insurances and they cover a number of areas including what is required if you are moving or newly arrived in Sweden.
Transport Styrelsen – this is the website with all the information about taking a vehicle into Sweden.
Visit Sweden – this provides information about taking a pet into Sweden, plus we were informed by our registered vet in the UK what was required.