Norrland Newbie – ‘This is our adventure’

It’s hard to believe I’m preparing to move halfway across the world, into a house I have never seen in person.

We had been disillusioned with life in the US for many years, and, in 2020, when we stumbled across YouTube videos about Sweden, we felt drawn to it. I personally felt such an inner alignment with Swedish values and the way of life – something I had never felt in my home country.

Then, in early 2021, my husband Shawn quietly started exploring job opportunities in northern Sweden and quickly discovered Northvolt. I saw the same inner alignment blossoming in him as he read about Northvolt’s mission towards sustainability.

It’s important to feel that your work matters, that you have a good and safe place to raise your children, and to be in a society that is making progress towards a better future. We felt Sweden could offer these things and were excited when my husband was offered a position at Northvolt.

We sold our home and all our possessions. It was a big deal and a little scary. But our children were on board with this adventure, and we were ready, although we often asked ourselves if we were crazy making such a big move. We started the process of packing up our lives and saying goodbye to acquaintances, friends, and loved ones. Then came the red tape. Our visas were delayed for several months. We went from rushing to prepare to leave, to lots of waiting. We knew that we would face delays, obstacles and even disappointments along the way. These hiccups are unavoidable when moving to a new country. Thankfully, we were offered a temporary home in an apartment above my sister’s house.

During our wait we tried to learn more Swedish, so a big thank you from us to the Swedish teachers on YouTube. We learned more about Swedish customs and joined the Skellefteå expats Facebook group, which was very helpful and answered many questions about what to expect. Finally, in January, we received our visas and we decided my husband would travel before the rest of the family. During his first days in Skellefteå, he met a wonderful couple who helped him navigate the public bus system (something we don’t have back home). They even gave him his first fika. I will always be grateful to them for being there for him in ways I couldn’t be.

 

In the coming days, my husband started work and went to apply for his personnummer, which he got really quickly. Now we could look for a house. Being country folk, we hoped to buy a house outside of the city. Then a house became available that we were particularly interested in. It was outside the city and had everything we were hoping for – it just needed a little fixing up.

The estate agent took me on a video tour since my husband was working on the day of the open house viewing. We swiftly decided to make an offer and now we are preparing to move from the US and into our new Swedish home.

Soon we will all be reunited. We are very hopeful about this new life in the north. There is a quote from Helen Keller I often think of: “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”

This is our adventure.