Live in England. Lived in norway. I'm Swedish (and I lived there too).
Maybe a bit negative but eh!
Norway. (Oslo)
Hot chicks that love your wallet if it's padded enough to warm yourself with.
Many of them are also amazingly stupid. Think paris hilton but european.
Cold and dark like sweden.
Shit expensive. It's so disgustingly expensive. Beer? 6 pounds average. Pizza? 20-22 pounds. Macdonalds normal menu (one of the bigger burgers). 10 pounds etc. Apartment? Your arm, leg, soul and life please!
"Yeah but you get paid alot!" , So? You get raped out of it after a week.
Lovely nature, city (Oslo) etc.
Very clean and fresh.
I miss it.
England. (London)
Supercheap compared to where I've lived. Don't have to worry much about cash which is welcome.
Food is cheap! Yay!
Alcohol is half the price of what I'm used to. Even less sometimes!
Not really up to western standards. Second class country, poor heating, very dirty, to much drinking. Loud as hell english people "woo england!" is something i hear every hour. Could be my area.
Crazy high rent prices in London. I pay more for a one bedroom apartment than a swedish person would for a 2-3 room in the absolute center of any big city.
Trashbags on the streets? Really England? REALLY!? Always enjoyable when it's gotten loose and is blowing across the streets.
I love my job tho. Easily the coolest gig I've ever had and it nakes up for all of this. I learn to much
Sweden. (Malmö)
I disliked sweden for ages but it's grown on me now that I'm a bit older and experienced. Young Swedes enjoy bashing on it but once you realize certain things it's nice.
Good nature.
High taxes on everything.
Expensive booze, food and everything else a consumer might want. (25% tax)
High standards generally. Good internet, infrastructure, Clean as hell! (I was shocked when I came back from England the first time)
Politics are shit. To many swedes try to have an opinion about anything. Including me as you can see.
Ok gameindustry, it's getting better now. After a few more years it will be up there.
Swedes are douche's generally. We do love our sarcasm-y remarks.
After England i'll probably go back here. Get myself a good place and such
If you mean me, there's not many more places I'm that curious in.
Australia - No game industry. Singapore - Could be cool but almost the same situation. Iceland - CCP would be sweeeeeeet and I do like the place. Terrified of the economy and language tho.
America is so-so. Got family there but it's more about the studio than the country.
haha wahlgren you should come to berlin, its cheap, its nice, you can get everything around the clock, pubs don't close at eleven - love it here most of the times, its a great city and i don't see me moving much in germany anymore, if i move it goes to a different country preferably outside the eu, just to get some more different experiences, dunno if i still will be here when i'm old but i totally wouldn't mind, the only real problem is dog poo, that sucks quite a bit
haha wahlgren you should come to berlin, its cheap, its nice, you can get everything around the clock, pubs don't close at eleven - love it here most of the times, its a great city and i don't see me moving much in germany anymore, if i move it goes to a different country preferably outside the eu, just to get some more different experiences, dunno if i still will be here when i'm old but i totally wouldn't mind, the only real problem is dog poo, that sucks quite a bit
My girlfriend would love it. She has some kind of crush on Berlin. Hehe. Biggest problem for me would be the lack of English. I work with a German guy that claims almost noone speaks it unless they're in a job that requires it
Iceland. I love it. After living on the east and west coast of the US, and Texas, and then in Germany, I can't really imagine living anywhere else. Several game companies, television studio, and a 3d film studio (where I work), plus proper social systems should emergencies happen. Working on my citizenship, learning the language, and bought a house here.
The Netherlands - it's too small to have anything spectacular, but too modern to have anything picturesque. The highest mountain is a mere 300m above sea level. All forests are planted. The wildlife consists only of bog standard birds. This is a mountain in our eyes. This is a national park. The country's population density is twice as high as the UK or Germany and over twelve times as high as the USA, and all very evenly spread out. The government always consists of a coalition of at least three parties, so every political decision is a compromise. It's not as expensive as Scandinavia, but not as cheap as the rest of the world. The Netherlands is, in many ways, a fantastically boring country.
That said, some of the cities are charming. Amsterdam is the obvious one, where few modern buildings have been able to creep into the city center, and the city where I study, Leiden is another one of those canal cities. The city where I live, Bergen op Zoom, had its glory days a little earlier than those cities, and has a neat medieval/early modern tradition.
I happen to study History, though, and it's a fantastic country for that. Dutch history is the best. Until 1648, it was part of Germany, France has always been a military threat and England has been trade partner, competition, and enemy. Chance, luck and unexpected turns aplenty, as posthumously born sons are called into power, leaders are lynched, disastrous voyages are undertaken again and again and again, and England is invaded. It's like a soap opera, but with the French invading every half a century.
I work with a German guy that claims almost noone speaks it unless they're in a job that requires it
not my experience. i just wouldn't expect them to really make an effort and speak english unless they're required to. i certainly remember working at a certain games developer where the non-german speakers were quite isolated because of this.
tbh, i would expect the same to be true for most countries that don't use english as one of their official languages.
btw. i second your comments about living standards in england. makes you appreciate your home country even more when you move back like i did recently. england is also quite pricey but having visited oslo i know which angle you're coming from. boy is it crazy expensive over there. madness!
Nah it aint freezin at the moment, its not even close to it. Call it freezing when you stop feeling your hands, nose, jaw area, and legs while you are covered up.
I am from Canada also, I know how it is when it comes to cold. Since this year isn't going to be much cold. The next year will be terrible.
If you mean me, there's not many more places I'm that curious in.
Australia - No game industry.
Australia has a games industry. There's at least as many companies in Australia as Singapore. Although Singaporean companies are more likely to have openings at the moment.
Although one of the reasons I'm currently living in the US is because of the small size of the games industry in Australia. So I get what you mean.
The USA is pretty nice if you're living in one of the nicer areas.
Iceland. I love it. After living on the east and west coast of the US, and Texas, and then in Germany, I can't really imagine living anywhere else. Several game companies, television studio, and a 3d film studio (where I work), plus proper social systems should emergencies happen. Working on my citizenship, learning the language, and bought a house here.
I've been fascinated by Iceland for a while now. It sounds like an awesome place, although I've never been.
Since you're an American who made the move, how would you say the immigration/work-visa policy is? Is it one of those situations where you need to get a job there first, and then a visa follows from that?
As far as free time, how are the prices of things? rent, beer, food (in that order of importance hehe)? And how do you deal with the 24hour-sunlight thing? Is it a huge deal? Sounds like fun to me, but one can't know until he tries.
I live in the US or at least I thought I did until everyone started taking crazy pills with a double shot of kool-aid. I'm lucky that the area I'm in has more or less weathered it all without much effect so for that I'm extremely thankful. The majority of people are still open, caring and friendly to everyone, not just the people that fit their narrow view.
I've lived in California, Minnesota, Arizona, and outside of the US in Australia (6mo) and New Zealand (6mo), I would love to go back and probably will retire to either of those places if I ever get the chance. But something tells me I'm headed for a chicken farm atop a mountain range or to a small island that has enough fresh water for 3 people... at least until the rest of the US gets its shit together and remembers there is a "united states" in front of America'.
Nah it aint freezin at the moment, its not even close to it. Call it freezing when you stop feeling your hands, nose, jaw area, and legs while you are covered up.
I am from Canada also, I know how it is when it comes to cold. Since this year isn't going to be much cold. The next year will be terrible.
means I don't have to prostitute myself to be able to afford tiny, crappy apartment.
i am 700 euros/month for 35m² , and it's cheap.
Plan to move in some years to have a better life, and grass in my garden though. Come on Nantes is a nice city, enjoyed the "jardin des Plantes" there
I've been fascinated by Iceland for a while now. It sounds like an awesome place, although I've never been.
Since you're an American who made the move, how would you say the immigration/work-visa policy is? Is it one of those situations where you need to get a job there first, and then a visa follows from that?
As far as free time, how are the prices of things? rent, beer, food (in that order of importance hehe)? And how do you deal with the 24hour-sunlight thing? Is it a huge deal? Sounds like fun to me, but one can't know until he tries.
It's one of the easier countries to emigrate to. You need a job offer and a clean criminal record. That's for a yearly renewable visa, so if you ever lose the job, and can't regain another one (difficult if you don't speak the language) you'd get booted. I now have a permanent one through my marriage, and working on getting my citizenship in 2 years.
Stuff is expensive, but housing is fairly affordable. I'm lucky that Agust and I both have pretty good salaries and no debt other than this mortgage, and neither of us drink much, so we are able to make high enough payments we'll own our house outright in 5 years.
The daylight cycles, eh, didn't bother me. I like the long sunlight hours, and the short days are made bearable by the huge windows and always on lights from the cheap electricity.
Noors : I'm not exactly in Nantes (30 kms south), but for the price you pay, I rent a 115 sqm house with 300 sqm garden and I'm 1 hour drive from the ocean. But yeah Nantes is a very nice city, I go there quite often.
Noors: I'm paying the a bit more for the same thing in Acton, Massachusetts. I'm moving when my lease is up because I've found out that I could rent a house for the same thing about 30 minutes away.
Been there a year now. Took me a bit to get adjusted, because I was still missing Beijing. Shanghai is totally different. More western, faster, more busy, also more expensive...but also more convenient. Beijing is still a bit rough at the edges - feels more like adventure there
Replies
Maybe a bit negative but eh!
Norway. (Oslo)
Hot chicks that love your wallet if it's padded enough to warm yourself with.
Many of them are also amazingly stupid. Think paris hilton but european.
Cold and dark like sweden.
Shit expensive. It's so disgustingly expensive. Beer? 6 pounds average. Pizza? 20-22 pounds. Macdonalds normal menu (one of the bigger burgers). 10 pounds etc. Apartment? Your arm, leg, soul and life please!
"Yeah but you get paid alot!" , So? You get raped out of it after a week.
Lovely nature, city (Oslo) etc.
Very clean and fresh.
I miss it.
England. (London)
Supercheap compared to where I've lived. Don't have to worry much about cash which is welcome.
Food is cheap! Yay!
Alcohol is half the price of what I'm used to. Even less sometimes!
Not really up to western standards. Second class country, poor heating, very dirty, to much drinking. Loud as hell english people "woo england!" is something i hear every hour. Could be my area.
Crazy high rent prices in London. I pay more for a one bedroom apartment than a swedish person would for a 2-3 room in the absolute center of any big city.
Trashbags on the streets? Really England? REALLY!? Always enjoyable when it's gotten loose and is blowing across the streets.
I love my job tho. Easily the coolest gig I've ever had and it nakes up for all of this. I learn to much
Sweden. (Malmö)
I disliked sweden for ages but it's grown on me now that I'm a bit older and experienced. Young Swedes enjoy bashing on it but once you realize certain things it's nice.
Good nature.
High taxes on everything.
Expensive booze, food and everything else a consumer might want. (25% tax)
High standards generally. Good internet, infrastructure, Clean as hell! (I was shocked when I came back from England the first time)
Politics are shit. To many swedes try to have an opinion about anything. Including me as you can see.
Ok gameindustry, it's getting better now. After a few more years it will be up there.
Swedes are douche's generally. We do love our sarcasm-y remarks.
After England i'll probably go back here. Get myself a good place and such
Australia - No game industry.
Singapore - Could be cool but almost the same situation.
Iceland - CCP would be sweeeeeeet and I do like the place. Terrified of the economy and language tho.
America is so-so. Got family there but it's more about the studio than the country.
We love your president, in England. He's a constant staple for our comedians (along with Berlusconi)
That said, some of the cities are charming. Amsterdam is the obvious one, where few modern buildings have been able to creep into the city center, and the city where I study, Leiden is another one of those canal cities. The city where I live, Bergen op Zoom, had its glory days a little earlier than those cities, and has a neat medieval/early modern tradition.
I happen to study History, though, and it's a fantastic country for that. Dutch history is the best. Until 1648, it was part of Germany, France has always been a military threat and England has been trade partner, competition, and enemy. Chance, luck and unexpected turns aplenty, as posthumously born sons are called into power, leaders are lynched, disastrous voyages are undertaken again and again and again, and England is invaded. It's like a soap opera, but with the French invading every half a century.
not my experience. i just wouldn't expect them to really make an effort and speak english unless they're required to. i certainly remember working at a certain games developer where the non-german speakers were quite isolated because of this.
tbh, i would expect the same to be true for most countries that don't use english as one of their official languages.
btw. i second your comments about living standards in england. makes you appreciate your home country even more when you move back like i did recently. england is also quite pricey but having visited oslo i know which angle you're coming from. boy is it crazy expensive over there. madness!
o.o
Nah it aint freezin at the moment, its not even close to it. Call it freezing when you stop feeling your hands, nose, jaw area, and legs while you are covered up.
I am from Canada also, I know how it is when it comes to cold. Since this year isn't going to be much cold. The next year will be terrible.
Australia has a games industry. There's at least as many companies in Australia as Singapore. Although Singaporean companies are more likely to have openings at the moment.
Although one of the reasons I'm currently living in the US is because of the small size of the games industry in Australia. So I get what you mean.
The USA is pretty nice if you're living in one of the nicer areas.
I've been fascinated by Iceland for a while now. It sounds like an awesome place, although I've never been.
Since you're an American who made the move, how would you say the immigration/work-visa policy is? Is it one of those situations where you need to get a job there first, and then a visa follows from that?
As far as free time, how are the prices of things? rent, beer, food (in that order of importance hehe)? And how do you deal with the 24hour-sunlight thing? Is it a huge deal? Sounds like fun to me, but one can't know until he tries.
it sucks major balls, but at least I'm not in Paris, means I don't have to prostitute myself to be able to afford tiny, crappy apartment.
I lived in Canada for a few years and...err...can I come back ?
edit : noors statistic is a bit off, I'd easily up it to 75% fucktardness
I've lived in California, Minnesota, Arizona, and outside of the US in Australia (6mo) and New Zealand (6mo), I would love to go back and probably will retire to either of those places if I ever get the chance. But something tells me I'm headed for a chicken farm atop a mountain range or to a small island that has enough fresh water for 3 people... at least until the rest of the US gets its shit together and remembers there is a "united states" in front of America'.
It was this morning T___T
i am
Plan to move in some years to have a better life, and grass in my garden though. Come on Nantes is a nice city, enjoyed the "jardin des Plantes" there
It's one of the easier countries to emigrate to. You need a job offer and a clean criminal record. That's for a yearly renewable visa, so if you ever lose the job, and can't regain another one (difficult if you don't speak the language) you'd get booted. I now have a permanent one through my marriage, and working on getting my citizenship in 2 years.
Stuff is expensive, but housing is fairly affordable. I'm lucky that Agust and I both have pretty good salaries and no debt other than this mortgage, and neither of us drink much, so we are able to make high enough payments we'll own our house outright in 5 years.
The daylight cycles, eh, didn't bother me. I like the long sunlight hours, and the short days are made bearable by the huge windows and always on lights from the cheap electricity.
I just have to check it out for myself one day. Too bad there isn't some sort of E3-type event there.
Edit:
Google-images brought up this awesome thing I'm willing to pay money just to see:
Been there a year now. Took me a bit to get adjusted, because I was still missing Beijing. Shanghai is totally different. More western, faster, more busy, also more expensive...but also more convenient. Beijing is still a bit rough at the edges - feels more like adventure there