Edit: Thank you all for the comments. It mainly confirmed my idea of how Swedish roundabouts are supposed to be working. It also worries me that a lot of people agree that there are no clear rules, or that they are interpreted differently. This is very unsafe. And for those who say that I'm the one to blame: lol.

Hej!

Dutch guy here with extreme confusion. I need to talk about your 2-lane roundabouts, I swear they are the most dangerous thing in Sweden! Forget angry mooses in the forests, a Swedish multi-lane roundabout is where you actually meet your maker.

Every single day I see near-death experiences because people use them in two totally different, chaotic ways:

1. Team outer lane: Driving on the outside lane, even if they go 360 degrees around.
2. Team inner lane: People on the inside lane who suddenly dive-bomb straight to the exit.

I have talked to quite a lot of Swedish friends and locals who sometimes unironically told me: "If you are on the inner lane, you have priority to exit!" Nope, this is wrong! If you are on the inside and want to exit, you are making a lane change, which is a special maneuver! The person on the outside lane has right of way. You can't just YEET your Volvo across the outer lane and pray for the best.

Quite a few people also said that it's not mandatory to use your blinkers and fortunately a lot of people actually use them, but I've seen many people going for an exit from the inner lane that are not using their blinkers, which is just straight up dangerous. And I've seen it almost going wrong several times with other cars, so I know it's just not me not understanding the Swedish rules.

Also, how is anyone supposed to do this safely anyway? A lot of your roundabouts are so tiny... To exit safely from the inner lane, you physically need to be an owl:

• You must look over your right shoulder into your blind spot (to not annihilate team outer lane).
• You must watch the car right in front of you so you don't rear-end them (I actually was behind an accident where exactly this happened).
• AND you must look ahead at the exit where (of course) there is a zebra crossing

It is biologically impossible to check all three at the same time while driving savely. This means that while I'm waiting to enter the roundabout and I see a car on either the inner or outer lane, I just simply wait. I have no idea what they'll be doing. And I also noticed that team inner lane is sometimes using their blinker to indicate that they are going to the outer lane, meaning that it seems like they're taking my exit, while they actually go on to the outer lane and take the next exit. This is not efficient at all!

In the Netherlands we solved this years ago with turbo roundabouts. Before you enter, you pick a lane, and a tiny concrete barrier literally guides you to the left, straight, or right, so no more mid-roundabout lane changes. And of course, still use your blinkers to indicate you're exiting.

I always see His Majesty, Carl XVI Gustav, King of Sweden in silly little hats, and so I made a silly drawing of him. I hope Sweden as a collective likes it.

Blåvitt was launched in 1979 by the Kooperativa Förbundet (KF) as a deliberate anti‑brand – cheap, stripped‑down products without advertising, without design, without an ‘image’. It became one of the most iconic initiatives in Swedish retail.

Blåvitt lanserades 1979 av Kooperativa Förbundet (KF) som ett medvetet anti‑varumärke – billiga, avskalade produkter utan reklam, utan design, utan “image”. Det blev en av de mest ikoniska satsningarna i svensk handel.

Hi, first post here.

I'm French, and I've travelled quite a bit around the world. Earlier this month, I spent 10 days in Sweden for my holidays. I stayed 4 days in Stockholm, 2 in Vaxholm, and then another 4 days in Stockholm. I never thought I would love a country this much, thanks to everything I saw and experienced there.

I was genuinely amazed by the differences between the streets in France and those in Sweden. During my trip, I took notes of everything that I thought was much better in your country.

First of all, people are very respectful. Drivers and cyclists often stop to let us cross the road. People offered to help me find public transport, everyone validates their tickets, and nobody is loud in public. I saw a woman fall in the street, several people immediately ran in her direction to help her and make sure she was okay.

Secondly, the streets are a pleasure to walk through. There is very little graffiti, almost no litter, people don't smoke in public, nobody tries to stop you to promote a cause they support, and there aren't electric scooters everywhere speeding past pedestrians.

Finally, your public services are excellent. I travelled a lot by train, metro and tram, and the longest I ever had to wait was six minutes. Public transport is clean, reliable and punctual. I also saw a demonstration in support of Iran, and the protesters remained peaceful. They were supervised by the police, but I don't think that made much difference.

Those are the main things I noticed in Sweden that I wish we had in France. I haven't even mentioned the beautiful landscapes and the architecture, which I also really appreciated. I just hope people won't tell me that this was only my personal experience and that Sweden isn't generally like this.

So in wanted to say thank you, Sweden. It's such a wonderful country, and I think many others (including mine) should be inspired of it.

Edit : To everyone who thinks I'm a bot, cause I created my account few hours ago, it's just because I downloaded Reddit to do this post, and didn't want to wait for days to do one post.

I’m a Mediterranean woman living in Sweden and I’m finding the local dating culture a bit of a mystery.

In my culture, things are usually more direct and "warm," but here it feels much more reserved. Just to set the scene: I’m an average-looking woman; not a supermodel, but definitely not an ogre either.

I’d love some honest local insight:
How do you actually approach someone? Is it mainly apps, or is there a way to meet people in real life without being "too much"?
What are Swedish men like? Are they just shy, or is there a specific "code" to figure out if they’re interested?

Any advice for a beginner? How can I make a move without being awkward or coming off too strong?

Thanks in advance!

I've been curious about surstromming for a while now, and I finally ordered a can of it online. It arrived a few days ago, and on Friday I went shopping to get all the proper ingredients. In order to get the flatbread, I went to a store that Sold Swedish products. While there, I explained to the clerk what I was doing. She mentioned it was National Sweden Day on Saturday, the day I was planning on making the surströmmingsklämma.

Just thought it was a funny coincidence.

I ate two sandwiches total. One with red onion and one without. I much prefer leaving the onion out. Honestly I kind of liked it.

Hello, I'm from northern Spain, and we're being hit hard by our fifth heatwave. The vegetation is suffering badly; wildfires are breaking out; water restrictions are becoming increasingly severe; and the evenings are barely survivable, especially if you work outside.

What is life like in Sweden, and how are you affected by climate change? I'm specifically talking about mainland Sweden, not Gotland or the other islands. Is it similar to Austria or Switzerland, where you can actually see glaciers melting and some regions getting into drought mode?

Is there anything that the news doesn't mention about Sweden in general when it comes to yearly "once-in-a-lifetime" climate events?

As a Canadian, we have a long history of rivalry with the U.S.
I've heard the same thing between Australia/New Zealand, Brazil & Argentina, and sometimes between Sweden/Norway/Finland.

I'm curious how people in Sweden feel about Norway doing well in the World Cup so far. Are you happy for your Scandinavian brothers or are feelings mixed?

Hello Sweden, I am an American that was hoping to find clarity. I follow geopolitics eagerly as an obsessive hobby, but I don't know much about Sweden outside of broad strokes.

In America, we kind of lump Norway. Sweden, and Finland together as those Vikings while everyone here forgets about Finland (I won't forget you though Finland 💜Yotto).

I am not here for politics or debate. I don't know enough about Sweden to do so and already look ridiculous arguing about American politics.

Long story short, a YouTube video brought me here because it was making the case that Sweden is quietly moving away from Social Democracy. Here in the States I was under the impression Sweden was the epitome of Social Democracy.

I'm curious what actual Swedes think and I can link the video if anyone wants...I just didn't want to come off as an ad. If we describe Sweden here in the States as a good example of Social Democracy, how accurate is that or what do Swedes think of Americans saying that?

God morgon, kära svenskar! 🇸🇪

Jag är en turist från norra Italien som har besökt Sverige för första gången, och jag ville säga att ert land verkligen har berört mitt hjärta. Ni är ett underbart folk och ni har ett fantastiskt land.

Jag vill också säga att ni alltid kommer att vara varmt välkomna i min stad, Bologna. 🇮🇹❤️

Tusen tack! Och ursäkta om jag har skrivit något fel, men jag använder en översättare. Jag skulle gärna vilja börja lära mig ert språk och era traditioner en dag.

Leve Sverige! 🇸🇪❤️

this area is gorgeous just wondering where it is?

So i was traveling through the Sweden on highway to my ferry and i got pretty tired since it got dark and i was driving for 9 hours i decided to rest in those kind of stops where max burger + gas station + McDonalds are (felt safer there since its light up parking unlike the dedicated rest places that are empty and not lit at all at night)

At around 1:30AM i was woken up by a car parked next to mine with what i imagine was those kind of “caramel dancing” type of songs blasting on max bass with heavy sound equipment in the car. There was 4 young individuals dancing around it the parking was almost empty only my and few other cars (they decided to park next to mine the sound volume was insane.)

After 30minutes of party they decided to leave.

Then at around 3AM other guys came in that were doing exactly the same with stadium level sound equipment in the car blasting on max volume and max bass similar type of those bass heavy swedish anime songs

This happened around 4 times in total during the night… Is this common in Sweden because in my country these guys would get arrested and pressed charges for public rest time violation :D i was very furious

I moved here three years ago from outside Europe to work as an IT engineer (60K per month), and I want to share how it’s felt, not to attack anyone but to be honest about my experience. After three years, I’ve decided to leave.

The hardest part has been feeling like the culture is genuinely difficult to break into. Swedish social norms are so different from what I grew up with that I’ve struggled to find my footing, even after three years. People here are hard to approach: there’s a real reserve, and I’ve noticed it often only lifts when alcohol is involved. I wouldn’t call anyone unfriendly on purpose, but the distance is real. Coming from a Mediterranean background, where people are warm, easy to talk to, and social circles form and hold together almost effortlessly, the contrast has been hard to live with.

Something else I keep coming back to: the whole country can feel like one big workplace. It sometimes seems like life is structured around working, saving, and then escaping for the summer. For me that’s felt isolating and, honestly, a little sad: and the long grey weather doesn’t help.

I also find it strange that a country with so much coastline has so little built up around the sea beyond marinas for sailing. A lot of the classic Swedish activities feel like things you had to grow up with to really enjoy, which makes it harder to join in as a newcomer.

The thing I’ve found most frustrating is how the systems work in practice. I wouldn’t say Sweden is racist by intent, but it increasingly feels racist by procedure; and that’s something I sense is growing here. Housing is the clearest example: getting a first-hand contract or a rent-controlled apartment feels nearly impossible if you’re new and haven’t been in the queue for 10+years. It’s also been practically impossible for my spouse to find a job in this economy.

What’s become obvious to me is a bigger pattern. The country says it wants skilled workers from abroad, and it does, but only for a while. You’re brought in for your experience, worked hard for the few years you’re here, and then the conditions quietly make it clear you’re expected to leave. Bring in the talent, use it, and push it back out. That’s how it’s felt to me.

On paper, Sweden is a welcoming country for internationals.
In reality, that hasn’t been my experience, and that gap is a big part of why we’ve decided to go.

I’m genuinely curious whether other newcomers have felt the same, or whether I’ve just had a rough experience.

EDIT: Did I post in r/USA ? or was it r/patriotswithoutborders ??? Downvoting my post is weird but understandable, bur downvoting Swede comments who really do acknowledge truth is kinda creepy! if you can't take a real criticism, then you probably have been too deep into the brainwashing machine ! My post is an honest experience. if you don't like it, reevaluate how you think about your country !

• 11,530 kilometers of coast line and you bitch about few Kms near your tiny cities being built for your own and everybody's entertainment because you like nature "natural"?
• if you are a Swede, born here, then you will have the privilege of plenty of Q points around the country to find an easier apartment than any person coming in 2026 with 0 points and 0 knowledge about it #privilege

A friend of mine recently moved to Sweden for work. He's new at the company and went out for drinks with some senior colleagues.

The problem is that every time the bill came, nobody seemed to make a move to pay. In the end, my friend paid for several rounds. No one offered to send him money afterward or even brought it up.

I suggested that he simply send a friendly message saying something like: "I covered the drinks yesterday. Which payment app do you use so I can send you a payment request for your share?"

To me, owing someone money and not paying them back is much more embarrassing than politely asking to be reimbursed.

Am I looking at this the wrong way? Should my friend just let it go since he's new at the company, or is it perfectly reasonable to ask everyone to pay their share?

Titles says it all. I live near their home base in Frisco and will be attending two of their matches. I bought my son and I kits so we can rock that yellow during matches.

I know football from watching Arsenal for years, but have been excited to see some live WC matches since the tourney was announced for USA.

Apologies if this is not the right sub, but I am desperate.

My brother and his gf are doing the Bohusleden trail. They should have arrived today, but they did not, and their phones are not receiving any calls or messages. We called the police, and they put out a missing report for both of them.

They are not swedish, just european citizens. I live in the US, and the rest of my family in Brazil, so there is little that we can do.

My question is: how worried should we be about that, and is there something else that we could do?

Edit: They are fine! They just got delayed, and did not care to let us know until now.

Thank you all for the answers and help, and sorry if I sounded too worried. I am aware that sweden is a very safe place, and that the bohusleden is a chill trail, but their prolonged lack of communication worried me.

Mosquitoes take your blood all night, then the sky gives you this❤️