American in Sweden looking to move to UK

Hello. I am new to posting here after having been reading some of the messages here for a few days. I was hoping that someone could give me some information regarding working and living in the UK.

A bit of background, I'm an American living in Stockholm, Sweden for the past 4.5 years with my Swedish fiance. I have American and Swedish citizenship which is wonderful if we plan on a move to another EU country.

We have been considering a move in the near future (within 3 years). I would like to stay in Europe but want to live in a milder climate than Sweden and also a country with lower taxes. Sweden is lovely and I am not dying to leave, it is just that the taxes here are extreme and so is the weather.

I currently work as a kindergarten teacher here and my fiance works in IT. What are the prospects for us to find gainful employment in the UK? I realize this is a broad question but I thought maybe someone had some idea if it is difficult to find work in the UK.

A comparisson with Sweden is that here it is very hard to find work if one cannot speak Swedish. My parents are Swedish but they brought up my sister and I speaking only English. We were born and raised in the US and I think my parents believed then that if they spoke another language we would have accents, they know now that wouldn't have been the case. So I have had to learn Swedish just like any other immigrant that moves here.  Many immigrants to Sweden (including educated Americans) can go a year or so without finding work even jobs such as cleaning etc.. they all require basic Swedish and it usually takes a year before that will happen. Swedes are a bit funny in their hiring practices. They figure just because they can speak English that doesn't mean they will hire you. I was fortunate enough to speak Swedish with my fiance daily, and I attended classes and learned the language fast. This enabled me to get a job, which led to a better job and so on.

I would imagine that it is slightly easier for a native English speaker in the UK but I wonder is there a lack of willingness to hire a non-native?

If someone could give me some perspective, advice, or personal experience I would be very glad. I have looked on the internet and most of the sites that I have seen are geared towards tourists coming to the UK, that is until I found this website.

thank you. 

Hi and welcome!  Whew... I am not sure what to say except that if you have made the transition to Sweden and managed to learn Swedish then moving to the UK should be quite a bit easier.  Though moving is never really easy. 

A lot of people her bemoan the weather and taxes so it is nice to hear that elsewhere is worse! 

I will leave the work related subject to someone that knows more than I do, but I just wanted to say hi and let you know that you should feel free to post any questions you have on the board!

Hi. Thanks for the reply, I was wondering if anyone would respond. 

As I understand it the VAT in the UK is 17.5% here in Sweden it is 25%. That gives you some idea of what I mean when I say "extreme taxes" and this tax is applied to all purchased goods and services. Then there are all kinds of other taxes and fees that are added for various other things. A friend of mine here in Sweden is an economist and she figured out all the taxes in Sweden vs. the UK and it is cheaper tax wise in the UK. This is a huge reason why my fiance and I would like to move. The weather here is also very cold in mid-winter and dark.

About the UK would someone be able to recommend some cities that are worth looking into? We most likely won't be able to afford London but something outside in a suburb would be of interest, or a completely different area alltogether is also a possibility for us.

Hi Sabeine

Welcome to UKYankee

A couple of sites you might find useful to find out about different areas are upmystreet.com and findaproperty.com

Good luck!

Hi Sabeine!

Welcome to the board!  My husband and I are planning our move for spring, we're tentatively going to Devon but are finding we're more drawn to the north simply because it seems a bit less expensive.

I wish you luck on your move and look forward to seeing more of your posts-some members here are considering moving to other EU countries and I'm sure will be interested (as I am) to see how Sweden compares to the UK.

It's so late here right now (we're one hour ahead of the UK) but a dear friend of mine is supposed to be giving birth around now and I made her husband swear to call me no matter what the hour. I've been wide awake and can't sleep, though I've tried. So here I am up at 2:45am pn a Thurs. 

It's hard to compare Sweden to other EU countries. There are good and bad things with all countries. If one wants to talk weather, Sweden is very dark and cold in the winter. Dark is an understatement really. The sun sets at 3pm in the winter and doesn't rise again (what I mean is that it hits the horizon and casts SOME light) until 9am. Most of the time during the winter it is raining or snowing and blowing, cold and dark. On the flip side, in the summer it is the opposite. The sun is out (or above the horizon) for much of the day. In the middle of the summer here in Stockholm it is so light out that around midnight one could still drive on the roads without headlights. Isn't that strange and cool at the same time?

If anyone wants to learn a bit about Sweden I'd be glad to answer.

About the UK, does anyone here live in the northern parts? What is your impression of those areas?

I live in northeast England (Newcastle) and I love it here.  It's a nice, cosmopolitan city for the most part.  Shopping is good and there's always something to do (though I'll never get used to places closing at 8 pm, if not before!).  The city itself is beautiful, in my opinion, as there are lots of Georgian and Victorian buildings around...particularly in the city centre.  Things are still expensive if you convert to the dollar, but in comparison to down South, life is a bargain here!  You can buy a decent home (if you really look!) for around £90K...though if you're looking for something that doesn't need any work or is quite large, you'll be in the neighbourhood of at least £170K or so...depending on which area you choose to live in.  The neighbourhood we're in right now is very nice (we're renting) and we'd love to stay here permanently, but there aren't many houses under £200K here and we're not ready for that!  But not bad when compared to London prices!

Sounds like the weather is similar to Sweden--the sun is starting to set around 4 pm here right now and it gets light again around 7:,30/8.  Still, only a few more weeks until that starts to turn around!  I'm not a particularly big fan of English winters,  but I do love the rest of the year.  People really do care about their gardens here and I've found myself wanting to compete with the neighbours in that department!   

Is it as cold in northern England as in Stockholm? I was under the impression that it was warmer. It is currently -6C here in Stockholm on Friday night and we have about a half foot of snow.

Is it possible to find a two bedroom flat that is reasonably priced? How are the salaries in Newcastle? I could swallow the high cost of living if the salaries were comparable.

It's a bit warmer here (or at least it always seems to be when I see the world temp maps on tv!).  Certainly no snow yet, but it is getting down to single digits overnight.

Depending on where you'd be looking, I'd say you could find a 2 bed flat for anywhere from £395 a month.  If you're right in the city centre near the riverside, you're gonna pay more, but you'll have a fantastic view!  Do a search on www.fish4homes.co.uk and put in NE3 as a reasonable post code...should give you an idea of what you can get for your money.

Hi ya,
I live in Cheshire which is in the North West. I love it. Its beautiful, has lots of rural and city areas. We live in a small town, but we are close to a few larger towns for shopping so I never feel to out of it.  We are about 30 miles from Manchester, and 30 miles to Liverpool with access to both on the train. Also not far from Chester which is the most fantastic city due to its history.
Its cheaper in Cheshire then near London.  The quality of life is great. You can choose to live in a small town, suburb or city.

I would love to go to Sweden one day. It must be really cool to have that experience. I have heard its a wonderful, but expensive, country.

Good luck to you
Kelli