Living in Sweden

Some links about living and taxation in Sweden:

Whenever possible I try to link to the English version of the pages, but some of them are in Swedish only. Just try to use the dictionaries from my list (see my story “Links: Swedish language”) or ask in the forums or me if you have trouble understanding something :-)

There are many possibilities if you want to reside in Sweden for a longer time: you can rent an apartment directly from the owner (which might be hard to get in many places, especially as a foreigner). You can rent on a so-called second-hand contract from someone who temporarily leaves his apartment for some months or a year. You can buy a so-called “bostadsrätt”, a concept not found in most countries: it is an apartment that you own, but you need to pay a monthly fee to the association the building belongs to. On the positive side that makes the purchase price a lot cheaper. You can also buy a “villa” (houses of all sizes) that you own completely, or buy a “tomt” (building site) to build your own house.

Did you know? In Sweden, real estate agents are required by law to work for both the seller and prospective buyer. That means a lawyer is usually not required when buying a “bostadsrätt”, unlike some other countries.

• Boplats Sverige
  Helps you find somebody to switch apartment with - if you already have a place. Page in Swedish.

• Blocket.se
  Classifieds where you can buy and sell everything between heaven and earth. Also apartments for rent. If you are looking for something, start by choosing a region, then a city from the map on the frontpage. After that, choose what you are interested in from the menu. If you are looking for a place to live you might want to look for:
  Lägenheter = Apartments
  Fritidsboende = A kind of holiday or summer house.
  Tomter & Gårdar = Empty grounds and farm/country estates
  Villar & Radhus = Larger and smaller houses
  Säljes = For sale
  Uthyres = For rental
  Bytes = For exchange
  Köpes = Want to buy
  önskes hyra = Want to rent

• Swedish housing companies
  Every larger town has at least one housing company that rents out apartments. Here you’ll find a list of them (in Swedish).

• Hotels.com
  Has many hotel offers in Sweden, though not necessarily the cheapest. Page in English and others.

• Skatteverket
  The Swedish tax office. Moving to Sweden doesn’t mean you avoid this aspect of life, though you might just agree that you get a lot of value for your money. Page in English, Swedish and others.

• Nordisk eTax
  About taxation rules in the Nordic countries. Page in English, Swedish and others.