From London to Sweden: Lessons from My Repatriation Journey

Can't believe we've already spent over three years in Scandinavia now, and that it has been over three years since we left London to move to the south of Sweden.

Has it been hard? Definitely, yes. We spent 25 years in London, which to me at least, summarises it all.

Am I glad we moved? Had you asked me a few months after arriving, I wouldn't have been so sure. Now, after many ups and downs, many tears and feelings of 'outsiderness', I would say yes.

Why We Made the Move

Maybe you think it was Brexit that made us move, but not really. In short, we wanted to give our children the opportunity to be Swedish. To give them the freedom we had had, to be closer to family (they are 6 hours away now, ha ha) and to have less stress at school.

I really didn't like how many people back in the UK were obsessed with their children's results from primary schools and secondary schools and who got in where and how. The stress caused and pressure children are under there seemed excessive to me.

I was also keen for my husband and I to reconnect to the country we had once left and were once pretty sure we would never return to. There was this feeling that I had left something behind that I should try again, to see if I liked it or not.

The Reality of Starting Over

So, here we were, with our moving boxes, no friends, no family, and in an area in Sweden we had never set foot in before apart from some trips to a small shopping mall. You may know that we have a family summerhouse 20 minutes away in Falsterbo, but having spent 2 weeks here every summer with lots of other summer guests doesn't prepare you for living here all year round, when all the summer guests are gone.

Höllviken, where we now live, is a small village close to Malmö, Sweden's third largest city. We are surrounded by trees and big gardens, and a 5-minute walk to the beach. It's quite the contrast to London, and Stockholm where I grew up.

Adjusting to Life in Sweden

It's not an understatement to say that we weren't quite prepared for life back in our home country. Sweden had changed a lot in this time, and so had we. And big changes are hard, for anyone.

It was definitely hard not knowing anyone. I do think you can live anywhere if you have some kind of community, however small it may be. Whether that is your office (colleagues), a school, a family member or just one good friend—but we didn't have anyone, not even an office to go to, as we both work from home.

In Sweden, children walk (or mostly ride bikes) to and back from school on their own, so there was no great way to get to know people that way either.

Not to mention the Swedish culture which is very much focussed on independence, where 'alone is strong' is a mantra, and being free from one another is seen as a positive. There is a lack of community here, in my opinion, and very few opportunities to come together, that I never once experienced in London.

And then there was the digitalisation of everything that we hadn't kept up to speed with, as we hadn't had the need to, and the long queues to get registered back into the 'system'.

Becoming Swedish residents again took 5 months alone, and before we had resident status we couldn't do anything, not even get a Swedish phone number. You need 'bank-id' for everything as well (a sort of digital ID) but you can't get this unless you have a valid Swedish residence number.

Growth Through Difficulty

In summary, moving here has been one of hardest experiences of my life. Even so, three years in, I am happy we did. Because when things are difficult, you grow. You grow as a person, and you grow your awareness of how you want to live your life.

I haven't ever been this lonely before. I've actually never been lonely prior to moving here. But it's also brought about lots of growth and change for me, and all in all, that has been quite the journey, in a positive way.

I've taken care of my health better than ever before and I've embraced nature and the quiet. I go on daily morning walks in nature to try and catch the sun rising. Would I ever have done that in London? Nope.

I have also got to know lots of really nice people and some have become dear friends. So, yes, there is that too and I am very grateful for my new community.

Finding Purpose

I am also involved in lots of projects, from being a mentor at Drivkraft Malmö and Drivkraft Akademi for teenagers, to being involved in my children's school. I've started a university BA degree in Sports Science and Neuroscience. I've become a certified personal trainer and now coach at Trimster.

All of these experiences have shaped who I am today and given me a deeper understanding of change, resilience, and what it truly means to find home.