Psychogenic shock in Sweden

I used to think I could entertain living in Sweden some day, until I went into psychogenic shock as I was filling up my in-laws’ gas tank for the first time a couple of weeks ago during a visit there.  As the liters and price of gas ticked up, I felt my blood pressure rising.  It takes 1,000 Swedish kronor (SEK) or $155 to fill up a tank of an average size car with petrol as they call it in Europe.  That’s more than twice the price of gasoline in the U.S.  It’s not as if I wasn’t aware of this difference in price between Swedish and American gasoline, but experiencing it firsthand was truly an eye opener.  Swedish level of gas prices in the U.S. would trigger a revolution not seen since the latter part of 1700s.  As I hopped back into the car, suddenly, U.S. foreign policy in the oil rich Middle East region was put in perspective:   The gulf wars, billions of dollars of aid annually to Israel, Egypt, Pakistan etc., except the invasion of Iraq which left us worse off and and the subsequent $700 million U.S. embassy there.

My second, but less shocking experience that dissuaded me from taking residence in Sweden was this Helly Hanson rain jacked I bought for the equivalent of U.S. $140!  HH is a Norwegian brand, and the Hell in Helly stands for the final destination of whoever priced this jacket.  On the label it states, "Designed in Norway. Made in China"  Everyone in Sweden walks around in nice jackets, so I got suckered into buying one as well.  This may be my last purchase of clothing there.  To be fair to Hellish Hanson, roughly 25% of the cost is the Swedish sales tax.  But even without the tax, the $112 price tag for such a thin fabric is highway robbery.

The third reason why it's excruciatingly difficult for an American to live in Sweden is securing a place to live.  Apartments are scarce enough that to live in one requires years of getting stuck on a waiting list.  And the more desirable places require longer waits.  If you're looking to buy a condo, there are confusing arrangements here that amount to never owning the place.  You will only partially own the condo; somewhere between renting and buying.  And buying a house is not exactly buying either.  You take out a loan and pay interest for eternity, which means you never truly own the house.  You have the right to sell it when you want, and pocket the capital gains, but that's about as close as you'll get to owning the property.

The fourth and final reason for not living in Sweden is the aggressive nature of their police force:

These 4 reasons are only half serious, and not compelling enough to avoid living there.  There are many great things about this beautiful country:  Noblesse chocolate, the mellow people (including cops), down towns, old buildings, public transportation (high gasoline prices ain't that bad), relatively low crime rates as compared to the U.S., income equality, harbors 3 of the top 15 most inventive cities in the world (Malmo, Stockholm and Goteborg).  The Mjokglass (soft ice cream), however, leaves a lot to be desired.