Some tips for living in Skövde and in Sweden in general

In this post I’m going to share some useful tips I would like that someone has given to me before coming to Skövde.

Get a person number (personnummer)

If you are going to stay for a year at least and you’re a student is going to be very easy for you to get a personnummer, which is asked for almost everything. For booking tickets, getting a bank account, registering for some webpages… You’ll see how easier your life gets after you get it! Because I was extremely lazy I got it in January, but, seriously, there is not many burocratic stuff to do, so go to Skatteverket (http://www.skatteverket.se/privat.4.76a43be412206334b89800052864.html ), the office in Skövde is located in Skolgatan 1. There they will ask you for filling a formulary and to provide your NIF or passport and also a certificate of the courses you’re registered in and the european health insurance card. If anything else is needed, you’ll get a letter in your mailbox. 

Get used to check your mailbox regularly and to make appointments for everything!

Get a bike!

Skövde is a small city, town, whatever… However, things are relatively far away from each others and also, may be the grey days, the cold and so on will affect you and you’ll be feeling more and more lazy, moreover if you are a master student and you don’t have many lectures during the week… By having your own bike you’ll be able to take more things with you when shopping and also you’ll do some sport and hopefully feel more alive. Where to get one? You can find a bike and a lot of more things in this facebook group “SÄLJES / KÖPES / BORTSKÄNKES / BYTES SKÖVDE” (https://www.facebook.com/groups/220770681319843/ ). Also, I’ve heard of a shop of second hand bikes, but I don’t know the name. And well, lots of people leave their bikes abandoned, so if you have the tools and the skills…

 My bike! ^^

Have friends that know Swedish!

This may sound extremely Slytherin-ish, but… You’ll see how useful it can be to have people in your environment that know Swedish. Because, each time you need to go to the doctor, call for any kind of service, the options will be in swedish, the letters you’ll receive will be in swedish too and… To be honest, sometimes google translator doesn’t work as good as it should. 

In Slytherin you will make good friends...

Also, this will help you to find mineral water in the supermarket after been living for more than 6 months in this country and when you had given up trying to find any by shaking bottles and been observed like a troglodite (this doesn’t mean that Swedish people stare at you in this way, everyone in the world would be doing that if they see someone shaking bottles of water in order to find not sparkling ones)

This is not sparkling water!

Learn Swedish!

In the University of Skövde there are some Swedish courses, but by the experience of other students they seem to be pretty basic stuff. If you’ll like to get a better knowledge of the language, check the SFI courses (http://www.skovde.se/Barn--utbildning/Vuxenutbildning/Svenska-for-invandrare-/ ).

Are you thinking of getting a partial job?

It’s difficult to get a job when you are a student and also when you don’t know swedish at all. There are two companies that need people for the delivery of newspapers and publicity. I’ve been told that the working schedules are very hard, sometimes starting from 2 a.m till 6 a.m. But when it’s needed… Here I share with you the company names! Svenskdirektreklam (propaganda, located next to Hasslum) and Tidningstjänst (newspapers, located on the way to ICA Maxi).

Be insistent!

Hope it doesn’t happen that much to you, but  sometimes in the service sector, when you need something and you don’t follow the scheme because you don’t know it but you’re certain that the service can be provided, you just need to insist. A friend of mine had to go to the bank, call, go back again, call again and go a third time in order to be able to make a bank transference. So… Insist!

Change “having some beers at the bar” to “having fika at someone’s place”

Alcohol is super expensive in Sweden, if you are not getting a proper income or if your aren’t rich, the afternoons having beers that a bar could be over. However, in Sweden they have this beautiful tradition that is called “fika” that means having something (usually coffee and biscuits) and some conversation. It’s a very nice thing, you’ll understand how it makes sense to gather at someone’s place to have something instead of going out because of the weather, and also, because I guess that Skövde doesn’t offer many things to do. But… Hey! You can have alcohol too, it’s expensive but in the supermarkets the beers are not that expensive, you can find nice offers, but they are low alcohol percentage and if not, you know… smuggling it’s always an option (ask for package to your parents!).

Get to know Swedish people

After seven months living here, I’ve realized that it’s very nice to know Swedish people in order to get closer to the Swedish traditions and way of life, which I find very important if you want to feel part of the place yu’re living in. I would highly recommend you to read something about Swedish folklore, it’s actually pretty funny, and to get some swedish habits, like having fika! Which is extremely lovely and, personally, it’s something that I’ll take with me everywhere I go. Also... Swedish know how to paty xD

See you in the next post!

Vi ses!!