BIRTHDAY WISHES
So, happy birthday to us! We are one year old! As we write this, it’s 11.50pm and we’re in a mood for reflection.
Norrland Living was conceived 18 months ago, after another dinner date with newcomer friends turned into a bitching session about the lack of support for non-Swedish speaking newbies to the area. Here was another family who felt socially excluded. Donna and I had experienced pretty much the same 10 years ago – we knew how it felt to be socially marooned. As much as you can love a new country – and we loved, and still love, Sweden – being on the outside looking in can be wearing. And, right now, Norrland can’t afford to not to welcome newcomers. If people don’t feel wanted they will leave. And they’ll take their spouses and families with them, all those countless future generations lost forever to another region or country that took better care of them, made them feel wanted and cherished.
If Norrland was just another growing region with a few new industries, Norrland Living might not have been born. But the importance of what is happening up here cannot be understated. This could be epoch-defining work being undertaken in northern Sweden. We’re at the forefront of the green transition, and these next 20-30 years are vital. They’re vital for our kids, and they’re vital for your kids (or your sibling’s or friend’s kids), even if they haven’t yet been born. The first year of Norrland
Living has not been easy. But if we can help to convince even ten people to stay in Skellefteå, to work on saving humanity, then all the hard graft and late nights will have been worth it.
