I have been asked by some friends, “What is the apartment like, that you live in at Sweden?” Sometimes I start off by saying, there is no dishwasher, or air conditioning, and I have to walk over to the laundry room to do the laundry.
Okay…okay… it’s time to cut the negative talk. I think that they often think that our apartment is in a building that is a “ruins”. Whenever we watch “International House Hunters”, US version, it seems that the people choose a dump of a place, whether it is a house, or an apartment, and pay way too much, because that is all that is available.
Sweden has modern homes, and modern apartments. Some of the buildings may be older, but most have been renovated to today’s standards. Air conditioning is still optional in Sweden. Some hotels don’t even have it.
Coming from Georgia in the USA, air conditioning is a must. Temperatures of 90 F, and above, and humidity levels equal or higher, makes for a pretty miserable existence without air conditioning for modern society.
I know there was a time without air conditioning, don’t tell me…I lived it.
In Sweden the need for air conditioning is much lower. People are still wearing jackets here most days. At least I am not seeing the scarfs, and mittens this week. The season is short. By the end of August, and beginning of September the jackets will be back. There is often a breeze in Sweden, and without air, you can actually open the windows. It is really nice to hear the birds, and smell the fresh air.
We did get a couple fans to help circulate the air, and haven’t yet had a day that it wasn’t enough. I will post back about this at the end of the summer to see if I have a different opinion.
As far as no dishwasher, for two of us, it really isn’t so hard to do the dishes the “old fashioned way”, by hand. Some homes and apartments do have dishwashers.
The laundry, I will write a post on that later to explain the system. But, not so bad! Some apartments and especially most homes have a washer and dryer.
Finding an apartment in Sweden can be really hard, because of high demand, and not enough apartments or houses for rent. I am not sure why this is, and will research at some point. I think it is a matter of government regulation, and taxes. Because of the way we came to Sweden, by a corporation, we were presented with an apartment, before I joined my husband. Student housing is really hard to find. So renting rooms is common.
We have an entry with coat rack, and room for the bikes. Then going upstairs you enter the sunroom, next the wide foyer, which has an eat in kitchen to the left, and master bedroom and bath going straight forward. The family/living room is to the right, with a smaller second bedroom behind that. Take a look at the slide show below to see the apartment. This was taken by Daren before I got here.
I “love” my Swedish apartment. It came furnished. I am really liking the smaller size of it. It is enough, and so easy and quick to clean. I am really re – thinking about the size of my American home.
Nice post Kathleen!
Loved the Sweden post. Dreaming of being there now, this South GA heat is sweltering, and all the plants have gone underground till winter, which is same as Spring in the real world.
Because of being from the Atlanta area, I do know the heat and humidity. My grandchildren are suffering with it now. Yesterday here it was 75 F. I think the warmest it has been since I have been here. The plants grow so fast and lush with the cool weather, and days of Sun from 4a.m. to 10:30p.m.