Written by Rebecca Stanton
Sweden hadn’t even crossed my mind when I decided to apply for a study abroad.
France and Canada were the spots I was set on; I was imagining the thrilling cultural buzz of Parisian life or the vast, varied sprawl of a busy Canadian campus.
Yet when I heard back, I was honestly a little relieved not to get either. Uproot my life and move to another country for a year, delaying my degree, missing my friends and my family. Was it really worth it? Then a spot in Sweden was offered, and I found myself unexpectedly torn. The thought of going abroad terrified me. But, alongside this fear, was an exciting feeling that an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity had fallen at my feet.
Opportunities to move or study abroad had been incredibly limited throughout my education in the British state school system. After navigating the hurdles of UCAS applications, studying in another country never even crossed my mind as an option.
My years attending LSE, however, changed something. Meeting people from so many different countries and cultures, I felt inspired by those who had ventured across borders for their education. I had taken a slightly less exciting option, staying rooted in the city I had known all my life.
All I really knew about Sweden was IKEA and ABBA. To get a clearer picture, I reached out to a third-year student who had gone on an exchange. I unloaded all my scepticism and worry onto her in several long phone calls. Heart in my mouth, overwhelmed by a decision that felt enormous and unreal, she was incredibly patient and reassuring, making the decision before me seem a lot less like life and death.
Ultimately, though, as many difficult decisions in life often turn out, it became a spontaneous one, partly inspired by an influx of rather soulless ‘day-in-my-life at a 9-5 in London’ YouTube videos popping up on my For You page. It was here I found some sort of clarity. In a world where international borders seem to be ever constricting, what other opportunity would I get to live for a year in another country, as a student, experiencing another educational programme, another way of life, another city? Enjoying travelling and meeting new people, this was my opportunity to branch out and live the international-facing lifestyle I dreamt of.
The road there was not smooth. Securing a residency permit meant weeks of stressful waiting with multiple visits, emails and phone calls to an embassy office inconveniently open for only three hours a day. But finally picking up that little residency permit felt surreal. I remember walking away from the embassy, down a sunny London street, unable to look away from its reflective exterior, suddenly aware that this wasn’t a hypothetical anymore.
Taking my first steps in Stockholm was the strangest feeling. Straight in from the buzz of the Edinburgh fringe arts festival, I was struck by the colder quiet of this Scandinavian city that was to be my home for a year.
It would be wrong to say I fell in love immediately. At first, I couldn’t help comparing everything to London. I missed the bustle, the constant motion, the sense that something interesting was happening around every corner.
I felt a little lost. Though I loved meeting the Erasmus students, it was such a different experience. Taking courses for a degree that wasn’t my own; adjusting to a new culture and country; navigating the balancing act between student and tourist, foreigner and resident.
Socially, I relived a very different freshers week, this time with more language barriers and sharper cultural differences. Part of me missed the ease of home, where my goals, my relationships and my routines were clear and easy. I felt slightly detached from the university and from the city itself. I worried it was too small, that I was missing something bigger elsewhere. It reflected in how many of my conversations centred on how much I loved London, as if I needed to defend my choice to leave.
Now, entering the final months of my exchange: many SASSE socials; ‘fika’ runs; Handelspexet rehearsals; choir practices; and Swedish language classes later, my perspective has completely changed.
As a bit of an extroverted, high-paced Londoner, I now realise that Stockholm, with its slower pace and tighter-knit bubbles, is somewhere that requires patience and effort. It reveals itself slowly, through the friendships you build, opportunities you find and places you discover. Yet, once you get it, you fall in love.
The Stockholm School of Economics is a truly unique university. Similar yet also very different to LSE, its small, intimate student community really becomes the heartbeat of the Stockholm experience. Through its classes, committees, banquets, performances and late-night conversations, the city starts to open up.
Looking back, I have been given so many opportunities here that I could never have imagined elsewhere. From helping to run huge formal banquets for senior professionals to getting lost on scenic hikes with people I just met, my experiences in Sweden have been incredibly rich and varied. I have come to find and appreciate Swedish culture as one rich in tradition, friendship and warmth.
And I can now say, genuinely, that Stockholm has as much to offer as London. It simply teaches you to look differently, to keep putting yourself out there without the impatience or spontaneity of a Londoner.
I think I will find it very difficult to leave this city, but when I do, I know I will be absolutely insufferable. I will most certainly carry back little signature Swedish phrases like ‘is it time for fika?’, ‘Skål!’ and, of course, dropping a ‘tack så mycket’ or a ‘hejdå’ anytime I leave a room. But what I’ll miss most is the community: the people who turned an unfamiliar city into somewhere that feels like home.
Sweden may not have been the obvious choice. But sometimes the places we never imagine ourselves in are the ones with the most unexpected and rewarding surprises. So, whether you end up in Paris, Vancouver, Stockholm or London, don’t be scared to take up big opportunities and make the most of them.
(Little reference book for you all:
Fika = a very broad Swedish ritual of having a communal snack (usually coffee and cakes)
Skål!= Swedish cheers
SASSE= student union of SSE
Handelspexxet = Swedish university comedy play tradition)
