I've lived in London for 1.5 years and although that doesn't sound like a very long time, I've still spent enough time here to notice a lot of differences between Sweden and England (regarding culture, weather, general way of living etc.)
It's impossible for me to say if I like Sweden or England better, there are pros and cons to both countries.
Here is my list of things I like and dislike about living here!
LIKE
1. Weather - it rarely
gets extremely cold (yay!) and the winter doesn't last very long. I love spring and fall here. I know that people say that it rains in England all the time, but I don't think that is true. Did you know that Sydney for example gets more rain every year than London? England doesn't have a "rain season" like many places do, and even if it does rain it usually doesn't last very long.
2. NHS - Free health care! Fortunately I've never had to use it, but in England it's actually free. In Sweden you have to pay 100 kr to see a GP, and 400 kr (?) to see a doctor. Not here - nein! Completely free. And dental care is much much cheaper here.
3. CCTV - Lots of people hate this and would probably disagree with me on this one, but unless you have something to hide I don't see why the CCTV surveillance would be an issue. It definitely makes me feel safer.
4. London - Why? Because it's London! Samuel Johnson (whoever that is) said: "when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life". You can find everything here! Lots and lots of museums (many of them are free!), concerts, great shopping and nightlife that caters to every taste. You can meet people from every corner of the world, and there are always things going on. If you want to escape the hustle and bustle it's easy to find cheap flights, and it's much easier and quicker than it is from Sweden.
5. Tea - Nothing beats a good cuppa, and they really do drink a lot of tea here! Every house seem to have a kettle, I definitely drink much more tea now than I did in Sweden. Afternoon tea with scones, can it get more British than that?
6. Nature - The countryside here is actually very pretty, when I get the opportunity I definitely want to see more places. There are also lots of beautiful castles and old buildings here. I'm moving to Scotland in September and I'm sure the scenery there will be pretty amazeballs.
7. Shopping - The high street here is really good, I love New Look, Zara, River Island etc. From Primark to Prada, there's something for everyone here!
8. Pubs - They're everywhere and I really like that. It's not weird to go for a drink after work here (in Sweden it would be, unless it is Friday) and it's a great place to meet and "hang out" or have a meal. I think they are very cosy, and many of them have gardens where you can sit outside in the summer. Love it!
9. Food - Believe it or not, but the food here is not as bad as people seem to think. There are many people from everywhere living in England, so you can find really good Indian food, Thai food etc. One thing I really like is how much better takeaways are here, home delivery is often free and they are open late - not something you would find often in Sweden, at least not in the north.
10. Monarchy - No need for any soap operas to entertain the people in this country! There have been quite a few royal scandals here, prince Harry showing off the crown jewels at a pool party in Vegas being one of the more recent ones. On a more serious note, I quite like the royal family - Kate and William are lovely, and according to The Independent they only cost every taxpayer 62p per year, which I don't mind paying.
2. NHS - Free health care! Fortunately I've never had to use it, but in England it's actually free. In Sweden you have to pay 100 kr to see a GP, and 400 kr (?) to see a doctor. Not here - nein! Completely free. And dental care is much much cheaper here.
3. CCTV - Lots of people hate this and would probably disagree with me on this one, but unless you have something to hide I don't see why the CCTV surveillance would be an issue. It definitely makes me feel safer.
4. London - Why? Because it's London! Samuel Johnson (whoever that is) said: "when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life". You can find everything here! Lots and lots of museums (many of them are free!), concerts, great shopping and nightlife that caters to every taste. You can meet people from every corner of the world, and there are always things going on. If you want to escape the hustle and bustle it's easy to find cheap flights, and it's much easier and quicker than it is from Sweden.
5. Tea - Nothing beats a good cuppa, and they really do drink a lot of tea here! Every house seem to have a kettle, I definitely drink much more tea now than I did in Sweden. Afternoon tea with scones, can it get more British than that?
6. Nature - The countryside here is actually very pretty, when I get the opportunity I definitely want to see more places. There are also lots of beautiful castles and old buildings here. I'm moving to Scotland in September and I'm sure the scenery there will be pretty amazeballs.
7. Shopping - The high street here is really good, I love New Look, Zara, River Island etc. From Primark to Prada, there's something for everyone here!
8. Pubs - They're everywhere and I really like that. It's not weird to go for a drink after work here (in Sweden it would be, unless it is Friday) and it's a great place to meet and "hang out" or have a meal. I think they are very cosy, and many of them have gardens where you can sit outside in the summer. Love it!
9. Food - Believe it or not, but the food here is not as bad as people seem to think. There are many people from everywhere living in England, so you can find really good Indian food, Thai food etc. One thing I really like is how much better takeaways are here, home delivery is often free and they are open late - not something you would find often in Sweden, at least not in the north.
10. Monarchy - No need for any soap operas to entertain the people in this country! There have been quite a few royal scandals here, prince Harry showing off the crown jewels at a pool party in Vegas being one of the more recent ones. On a more serious note, I quite like the royal family - Kate and William are lovely, and according to The Independent they only cost every taxpayer 62p per year, which I don't mind paying.
DISLIKE
1. Living costs -
Especially in London. For the amount of money we pay every month to rent our one bedroom flat, we could probably rent a 4-5 bedroom flat in Sweden.
2.
Carpets - WHY? I don't understand, they're everywhere! I'm not a fan, especially not of the ones in bathrooms.
3. It's dirty - England is dirty compared to Sweden. There's litter everywhere, and it's difficult to find any bins in central London.
4. Housing standards - Can be really bad. The first place I lived in was cold and nothing was working. Toilets wouldn't flush and you had to sit down in the shower because of the low pressure. If you held the shower head above your waist it would just completely stop (also, it only came with two options: ice cold or scalding).
5. Transport - It keeps getting more and more expensive, and it's unreliable due to all the planned engineering work, closures and random cancellations. Travelling during peak time is a nightmare. Also, the tube is only running until 12, I think that's way too early for such a big city.
6. Chavs - Chavs, hoodies and anti-social behaviour.
7. Supermarkets - I don't know why, but I just like Swedish ones better. I have yet to find butter as tasty as Bregott, and they don't have as many types of bread here (I don't eat bread though, so this isn't a big deal).
8. Rubbish sweets - The selection is really bad, it is nowhere near as good as in any average Swedish supermarket. You can find good chocolate, but finding decent pick and mix is hopeless.
9. Imperial AND metric system - They use both here. Why? I have no clue.
10. Working - This depends on your job. In my experience Swedish regulations are better though. More holiday, more money if you work evenings or weekends, higher minimum wage etc.
6. Chavs - Chavs, hoodies and anti-social behaviour.
7. Supermarkets - I don't know why, but I just like Swedish ones better. I have yet to find butter as tasty as Bregott, and they don't have as many types of bread here (I don't eat bread though, so this isn't a big deal).
8. Rubbish sweets - The selection is really bad, it is nowhere near as good as in any average Swedish supermarket. You can find good chocolate, but finding decent pick and mix is hopeless.
9. Imperial AND metric system - They use both here. Why? I have no clue.
10. Working - This depends on your job. In my experience Swedish regulations are better though. More holiday, more money if you work evenings or weekends, higher minimum wage etc.
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