What should I know when moving to Sweden?

I really want to move to Sweden?

• I am a 14 year old high school freshman (Hawaii, US), and I have always wanted to move to Sweden. I have heard a lot of good things about Sweden that make me want to move even more, and I want to at least go there for college (I am a really good student in a private school, and I plan on applying to Stockholm University when I start applying to colleges). I have a lot of reasons why I want to live there, but one of them is I just don't like living in the United States. I aspire to become a medical malpractice attorney when I grow up (I like to start planning my future early), and I am wondering if that would be a successful career in Sweden. I also am trying to teach myself basic Swedish to introduce myself to the language and broaden my vocabulary so it is easier to learn more if/when I go there. I'm also wondering if I could fit in with Swedish people because I am about 20% Swedish. As for my personality, I am fairly reserved, but respectful and a hard worker. Basically, I am wondering if Sweden would be a good place to live for someone like me based on the information I have given so far. Also, this may seem kind of shallow, but would people in Sweden care about my appearance? I have heard that Sweden can be a racist place, and I am wondering if that would affect me at all. Although I have naturally blonde hair and blue eyes, I would still be a foreigner, and I know people generally don't like Americans (and I don't blame them haha). Also, I don't have a Swedish name, and like I said, I am no more than 25% Swedish. Because of this, I am determined to learn the language and be a good citizen. (I can't tell if I look Swedish at all, so here is a picture too: http://tinypic.com/r/9102df/5 ) Sorry this is such a long question, but moving to Sweden is a big dream of mine. I am pretty serious about it, and I would like to get some information a while beforehand, even though I wouldn't move until I graduate high school. So what I am basically asking is should I move to Sweden, how would I fit in, and things like that. Thank you for reading this :D

• Answer:

  I'd say, sure why not, since Sweden is a great country. I've never been there and I absolutely hate the language, but in Scandinavia, you're safe and the society takes care of you if you ever have to face hard times. I'm from Finland and all these countries are pretty much the same, so that's why I think I can answer. I don't think Swedes are racist. Finns are not. Of course there will always be a few idiots but that's the same wherever you go. And it's not weird to be a foreigner, it's 2012 after all. What you look like doesn't matter either, everyone's different and since your Swedish wouldn't be very good in the beginning anyway, I think that's what people would notice first. Moving to an other country is of course a big deal, it's not easy and you can't know what it's like till you've done it, but if you really think about it and if you have courage for it, I say just go for it. I don't have the slightest idea of how easy it is to move to Sweden. Nor to Finland. The weather must be better in Hawaii, but Scandinavian people are used to 4 seasons and ech is different. I mean, winter isn't all bad as one might think, Christmas is very likely to be white and all. Applying to Stockholm University is a huge thing. I suggest you'll apply to some smaller unis, because it's much easier to get in them and they are equally good. Uni in the capital probably sounds cool, but you'll learn soon that it's worthless to reach for cool things in life, because in the end you'll be just as happy to go with the other options. It might be good for you to go to Sweden as an exchange student at first. That'd be great for you. And it'd be useful to take a look at other countries near by, Norway, Sweden and Denmark at least. They are quite the same, but they do have differencies and something else might fit you better.