Possibly Moving to Gothenburg

First of all, congratulations! Where will you be working?

Not many English speaking Expats get jobs here, so you must be very special.

Working in Sweden versus working in the west is in fact similar in some ways, but here it's just a little bit more lackadaisical. Depending on the field you're going into, it seems the majority of office-type fields like to have meetings, take coffee breaks, have more meetings with sandwiches, and of course do their work. It is definitely not as fast-paced here as in the west. If you go shopping, people move slowly. People queue patiently. Restaurants are not fast-paced either. Sometimes it takes around 10 minutes just to get served drinks, whereas the standard in the west is <1 min for drink/table contact. Quite literally -everything- is slowed down. Rushing around doesn't get anyone anywhere here, and there is no such thing as a "New York minute".

This pace can also be used to your advantage if you're used to working fast and having fast deadlines. Taking the slower pace while out in public will also work to your advantage. Swedes often go out to enjoy being -out-. They are in the mall/eating dinner/walking around to take their time, enjoy themselves, enjoy the company, and just be in that moment.

If you're good at being patient, everything will be just fine. If you embrace the pace, you will find it quite enjoyable

Jenna

Congrats on your work opportunity.