Sweden! I want Sweden!

DInusty

Hey guys! Frozan here. wondering how many peeps here work in Sweden or have been to Sweden.

My girlfriend and i have been watching from afar (Seattle) for quite some time and finally have decided we want to check it out.

Just wanted to see if anyone had anything they would like to say about it or experiences with the country and its great people

We will likely be taking a trip in the near future (next few months) and im also looking into the industry as well for possibly staying in Sweden for an extended time (Forever?) for work.

Anything you guys can do to help me out with learning or connections would be awesome!

also in the midst of updating my website but you can see some of my work in the recent Forza M otorsport announcement trailer! cheers guys and hope to hear something from any of you awesome polycounters!

Wahlgren

You'll earn way less here than in America (you guys have super salaries!). In case that's important, oh and the government sure loves to tax you broken.

Other than that Sweden is cool and you should totally hang here.

Mathew O

I've been thinking exactly the same actually :P I've been working on improving my art so that I can look at AAA at some point in the future and I'm really interested in Sweden. Ryan Hawkins bigging it up got it into my head I think. So I've been thinking about going to visit for a long weekend or something to check the place out, there are a few amazing studios there. Let me know how you get on..

JO420

Stockholm would be a good bet to look to visit and possibly to work. Stockholm has a good sized industry there and there are such companies as Dice and Avalanche.

As for the taxes, its completely up to how you see taxes and their benefit. I Am an American myself and live in Denmark which also taxes you even more then Sweden:) I probably wont ever be rich where i am,but if i get cancer here,it wont bankrupt me as it would in the US. If i lose my job the work compensation is so good,it wont send me into a panic to look for work. And when i want time off from work, 5 weeks paid vacation is pretty good for travelling and seeing the rest of Europe.


As for connections,send me a PM and i can direct you you somewhere,Swedish game devs hang out at.


As for Sweden,lovely lovely country, a bit cold during winters but I have not met a Swede yet i havent liked.

mikhga

Yes, Stockholm has quite a few studios and it's a nice town to work and live in. One major plus with working in Sweden as an English speaking immigrant, besides the obvious stuff like benefits, is that most swedes are fairly good English speakers and wont mind speaking English during lunch for example.

Things you should consider though is that Stockholm, and every other major Swedish city, have serious accommodation issues, and finding an apartment is difficult, so you should definitely look into subletting.

Also, food prices in Sweden are higher than in the US, as far as I'm aware. Don't know how reliable this is but: (http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=United+States&country2=Sweden)

Sweden is pretty sweet, so I hope you'll decide to move here.

Fomori

Sweden seems to come up now and again.

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=104038

Wahlgren

Oh yeah, one more thing. Stockholm is totally the place to be. Tough as shit to get an apartment in unless you're rich but well worth it.

Love it here!

I'm originally from Malmö, the other of the three biggest cities in Sweden and I like Stockholm way more compared to it.

sltrOlsson

Yeapp, it's pretty pimping over here!

Great working environment with bosses and producers that respects there is a life to be lived.

Drop an email when/if you've started looking for work here and I'll see if there's anything I could do

ambershee

I loved Stockholm when I visited a few years back. Friendly people, gorgeous women, good food.

Fucking expensive as hell though!

imyj

Stockholm is beautiful! I spent some time there and stayed at the Hilton Slussen which had a really nice view, so I'd recommend that! The city itself is really picturesque and really nice to walk around. It really came to life at night; with loads going on! So many interesting bars and eateries and shops.

It was quite expensive but worth every penny.

JKMakowka

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/24/stockholm-rioting-continues-fifth-night

And a Swedish friend of mine once told me while visiting Cologne: Germans (!) are such outgoing and party loving people compared to Swedish people (and was dead serious about it)

Oh and try staying in Canada a winter first, if you survive that, you might have a chance in Sweden (Edit: It's not so much the cold, which you might know from Seattle too, but rather the short & dark days that makes it quite difficult to endure).

P.S.: And I can think of a bunch of other reasons why I would avoid moving to Sweden, but yeah in the summer (on holidays) it can be quite nice!

ebagg

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8_7yPocGPg"]Swedishness - YouTube[/ame]

Rens

lmao that video, so true.

repete

Stockholm looks great at the moment with a lots of concept art on the streets :poly122:

Mathew O

Ooh yeah I heard about this, it's the fifth day running now isn't it?

repete

bored head cases who want to wreak the place because of................................
(enter what you want here)

That mobile on the riot cops side looks cool though

Mathew O wrote: »

Ooh yeah I heard about this, it's the fifth day running now isn't it?

oXYnary

repete wrote: »

bored head cases who want to wreak the place because of................................
(enter what you want here)

Idle hands are the devils plaything.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22650267

If your looking at Sweden to escape inequality. While better than the US, its dropping quickly as noted. You cannot move to another western country to escape the world economic system.

repete

Lived in Belfast for 21 years, been there wore the t shirt and all that jive

Inequality is a buzz word that means nothing when violence takes over, then you become a sitting duck for the political dictators and wanking banksters. Europe's social "unrest" has been accumulating rapidity from the Euro was introduced and the 2008 collapse (lmao) has increased this tenfold.

I really think quantum computing is the only solution but no one agrees and most people just laugh at me when I suggest it :thumbup:

oXYnary wrote: »

Idle hands are the devils plaything.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22650267

If your looking at Sweden to escape inequality. While better than the US, its dropping quickly as noted. You cannot move to another western country to escape the world economic system.

Snefer

These "riots" are not really the point of the thread. As for inequality, you might want to note that even if its on the rise, its still an extremely stable and safe environment. Never listen to swedish people who say that sweden is not safe, because they most likely just havent been to any real unsafe areas :P

As for working in sweden, its pretty much awesome imho. Its dark and depressing during winter, and a seriously tiny country, but other than that its really sweet.

chrisradsby

Gotta agree with Snefer here, I live in Malmö and people can consider Malmö to be quite unsafe but these people obviously haven't been to the bad areas of England. Where there is a Stabby McStabberton in every alley.

Generally I really like Sweden, they sure tax you a lot but if you're considering a future for your children etc here it's a good choice. Free education and all kinds of safety nets.

firestarter

Snefer wrote: »

... and a seriously tiny country, but other than that its really sweet.

Eh? It's huge in european terms. And not to mention underpopulated, which is really appealing as an English, but I'd really like to know the appeal for the OP as an American?

Baj Singh

Come move to Cambridge. Nothing bad ever really happens here .

walreu

I just got back from Nordic Game Conference in Malmö. Awesome event, Sweden has great game studios and industry altogether. And the Swedish women are hot. Win-win.

Snefer

firestarter wrote: »

Eh? It's huge in european terms. And not to mention underpopulated, which is really appealing as an English, but I'd really like to know the appeal for the OP as an American?

i meant in terms of population and how small everything is : ) Also the majority of sweden is just wilderness, hahah

Jonas Ronnegard

I would say go ahead if you have the chance, compared to many western countries it's a nice place to live, unless your like me and want to live in big cities and pay 80% of your wage to live in a shoebox

cptSwing

A couple of torched cars are a riot to you?

DInusty

Hey guys! thanks for all the responses! freakin crazy all the things happening over there as of current.

@firestarter - Ive been watching with interest mainly because i keep hearing the country calling out to me i watch a lot of sc2 while i work and have seen a lot of Sweden and heard about it a lot from players and such. seen games and there way of life is interesting to me.

thanks again for all the responses. im hoping to take a trip there soon. the other thing to be noted is im very interested in the industry there. Would love to work with Ubisoft Massive or Machine Games in the future.

from the looks of it maybe i should try to go sooner before the government cuts me off haha. foreigners...

Thanks again guys!

ohh and off topic... DID YOU SEE THE FORZA 5 TRAILER. Thats some of my stuff!!

haha
cheers guys!

Fro

Belltann

I recommand Stockholm wholeheartedly.

Xoliul

Wat? How does watching StarCraft 2 help you see and understand the Swedish way of life?

Adam L. Gray

Well.. you see..when playing SC2, you get rather reminded of the warcraft series.. and all the trees which were around in some of the more forest'y type of maps.. so.. !

When you do visit, watch out for the infarts though, plenty of them around.

And as mentioned, the studios are pretty much localized around the Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö area.. not too sure about Gotheburg after Grin closed down though.. but should be a few.

David Nilsson

Adam L. Gray wrote: »

not too sure about Gotheburg after Grin closed down though.. but should be a few.

EA Ghost opened there recently.

DInusty

hey guys responding back. funny looking back at this thread. when I said I was interested in Sweden i wasn't kidding haha.

I've really wanted to get out of the US mainly to just see other places and experience new things. that being said I'm in the midst of the work visa process with Massive Entertainment

I am going to be part of the environment team on The Division. so stoked! couldn't have asked for a better project and team to be a part of.

From what I have seen of the very short time I was in Malmö Sweden it seems like an awesome place! especially for getting my feet wet on traveling.

cheers guys!

PS thinking about making a blog on my experience as an American in Sweden and all the crazy things im going to experience good times ahead!

Mathew O

I just arrived, almost finished my first week. I'm Environment / Prop, can't wait to meet you. Malmo is great

DInusty

ohh awesome! grats!

Emil Mujanovic

More foreigners at Massive is awesome, makes me feel less lonely.

I only just saw this thread, but it's awesome to see how you went from being keen on Sweden to actually making it out here in such a short time. It was rad meeting you and hanging out while you were here for your interview and we'll have plenty more nights when you start.

Also, I'm going to destroy you at StarCraft 2.

poly_bob

Emil Mujanovic wrote: »

More foreigners at Massive is awesome, makes me feel less lonely.

I hear that it gets pretty lonely out in Sweden for foreigners.
Supposedly Swedes are some what reserved? I guess this is true?

I've been working at Avalanche NY for a few months now.
I'm hoping that I can climb the ladder and get sent to Stockholm one day!

Brygelsmack

poly_bob wrote: »

I hear that it gets pretty lonely out in Sweden for foreigners.
Supposedly Swedes are some what reserved? I guess this is true?

I'd say this is true for most people outside work. You don't usually start a conversation with a stranger at the bus stop, in those cases we generally keep to ourselves. But as long as you're working with people who shares your interests, I don't think Swedes are any different from other people.

Ninjas

I spent a week in Malmo for No More Sweden. People were great mostly, although you may get iffy customer service if you are not white. The city was clean. Culturally homogenous compared to here. Service at restaurants seemed systematically poor/slow and the food was mostly bad, except kebab/falafel (edit: and baked goods). Sidewalks and public transportation are awesome. Sweden has the best trains of anywhere I went in Europe. Most people speak English very well.

Like other places in Europe, they have a lot of space for outdoors drinking in the park, which is really nice, but not unique.

PollySong

Completely irrelevant: Malmö, translated to english, could be "Ore Island" (Malm-ö), "Moth Maiden" or "Grind Maiden" (Mal-mö). Good falafel in Malmö.

Mathew O

Man, I've eaten out probably 10 times since I got here and it's all been really good to be honest

haiddasalami

Grats awesome job! Wouldnt mind checking out Sweden one of these days especially from some of the pictures Emil posted. We dont get enough snow in canada :P

Denny

Ninjas wrote: »

I spent a week in Malmo for No More Sweden. People were great mostly, although you may get iffy customer service if you are not white. The city was clean. Culturally homogenous compared to here. Service at restaurants seemed systematically poor/slow and the food was mostly bad, except kebab/falafel (edit: and baked goods). Sidewalks and public transportation are awesome. Sweden has the best trains of anywhere I went in Europe. Most people speak English very well.

Like other places in Europe, they have a lot of space for outdoors drinking in the park, which is really nice, but not unique.

Service in stores and lesser restaurants tend to be passive in Sweden, most people I know doesn't like an attendant coming straight at them as soon as they have entered a store. It's usually a ask-for-service thing. Regarding restaurants, unless you're going to eat at a nicer place don't expect anything else than self-service... It is typically Swedish to pay for the food and put away the tray yourself afterwards. (think McDonalds and caf

ae.

Emil Mujanovic wrote: »

More foreigners at Massive is awesome, makes me feel less lonely.

It was rad meeting you and hanging out while you were here for your interview and we'll have plenty more nights when you start.

Also, I'm going to destroy you at StarCraft 2.

Bromance in the making i like it!

DInusty

hahah AE.... ill post some pictures in here from my night out with the guys during my onsite interview trip tomorrow prob.

Emil Mujanovic

haiddasalami wrote: »

Grats awesome job! Wouldnt mind checking out Sweden one of these days especially from some of the pictures Emil posted. We dont get enough snow in canada :P

Doesn't snow much out here in Malmö either to be honest. We had a little bit of the slushy stuff last year, but it mostly just rains and gets really windy during the winter.

But I miss Toronto

Snefer

Denny wrote: »

Regarding restaurants, unless you're going to eat at a nicer place don't expect anything else than self-service... It is typically Swedish to pay for the food and put away the tray yourself afterwards.

That part isnt true though I dont really eat at fancy places, but i cant remember putting away my tray in a restaurant EVER Or even having a tray for that matter : D Maybe once or twice at some really cheap lunchplace in Malmö.

Denny

Just to clarify, I presume you don't define fast food joints like McDonalds, Max, Ikea (Food Court) and other food courts as restaurants? I referred to these type of 'restaurants' (they are by definition), not restaurants where you get an actual table assigned to you by an attendant.

Brygelsmack

Self-service? I would just call that common courtesy to clean up after yourself. Especially at fast food joints as you call it.

bounchfx

this is fantastic! grats to both of you!

I've had my eye on Sweden for a while now, though I can't make a move until late next year, I'm hoping to move abroad and Sweden is my number one choice. So you should totally keep posting more impressions.

weee

if you are not white (been an Asian) but speaking English well, will you have some tough time working living there on the daily basis?

haiddasalami

Emil Mujanovic wrote: »

Doesn't snow much out here in Malmö either to be honest. We had a little bit of the slushy stuff last year, but it mostly just rains and gets really windy during the winter.

But I miss Toronto

O shii. Hope that doesnt happen this winter here too