Planning: Visiting Lund for the first time

I have a good feeling about our first ever bike-date!

Today is a national holiday in Slovenia and that means I finally have some time off! I'm using the time to relax, read a great Terry Pratchett novel, then complete the day by taking my wife-to-be out on a date-night. And since we're getting into the Swedish spirit we are making it a bike-date. We are quite excited, it will be our first!

The job hunt is going well, I think. I had a series of what I feel were very successful interviews with Nokia and I have high hopes. That means that we are slowly looking into the "find an apartment" phase of our project. We can't really start apartment hunting until I get a job, because we don't know what we will be able to afford. On the other hand we are anxious about the plane tickets - we don't want to wait until the last minute.

We're planning to visit Lund for about a week, spending the time looking at apartments and of course getting to know the city and its inhabitants. We plan on staying in a hostel or perhaps trying couch-surfing.

We haven't tried couch-surfing yet.
Is it common in Sweden?

Hopefully we will arrange such accommodation that will provide us with a good starting point for exploring the city and of course apartment hunting. In my mind that means it will be located somewhat central and will provide excellent wifi. If they provide a bike renting service as well that would be excellent! This is another area where I would greatly appreciate your help, dear reader! Care to recommend anything?

As for the dates, we still haven't decided. It will probably be around mid-June. Are there any events in Lund/Malmö in June that would help us decide? We would love to experience the local culture and perhaps some of Lund's night life. I think that our schedules are still flexible enough to move things around a bit if the opportunity calls.

It would mean the world to us if we could meet with you (yes, you!) We hope to make new friends in Lund and I can't think of a better way than by inviting you for a cup of coffee. Would you be interested in having a nice chat and perhaps showing us to the cool part of Lund?

Jag och min sambo kommer att besöka Lund i ungefär en månad. Har du lust att en kopp kaffe? Hoppas att vi kan möta!

I will be delighted to hear any other recommendations you may have concerning Lund. Please respond in the comments or email me!

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• Job progress update #1 (helpmemovetosweden.com)
• The game is on! (helpmemovetosweden.com)

Quitting my job... was tough!

On Friday I bit the big one and met with my current boss. The agenda for the meeting: Project Sweden.

It was a hard step, but it had to be done!

This was the hardest thing I have had to do for the project so far. I have been working for INDA for 4.5 years now and I like it here. I like the company, I like their vision and what they are achieving. I love the fact that we are company small enough that everything and anything can be personal. I like that they treat their employees well and that there is definitely a friendship component in all our relationships.

So I've met with my boss and told him the story I've told you. My fiancée's life wish was to move to Sweden and all the hard work has paid off - she was accepted to Lund University and we will be leaving the country in a few months. I've finished with a firm conclusion: I will have to stop working here and find a new job.

I'm leaving because of a fundamental
life choice.

I knew this would be problematic. Loyalty to my employer was the one reason I've hesitated when my significant other suggested moving abroad. I have taken over a significant chunk of our projects in nearly half a decade I was working there and I feared I simply couldn't leave our small company without inflicting damage.

In our workspace everyone is "in charge" of his own turf. In hindsight it's not the wisest of arrangements, however it did make us employees feel special. At least for me it is a great feeling to wake up and go to work every morning when you know you are the master of your own domain. I know it worked on me, I was way happier and I'm sure it made me better at my job. It made me proud! Unfortunately this management style only works until someone has to go... But I digress.

In the end I had a great talk with my boss. He understood I wasn't leaving because I wasn't happy with my position or compensation, I was leaving because of a fundamental life choice. The friendship component in our relationship really helped. Even though things are going to be tougher for the company he assured me there were no bad feelings and he even promised me he will talk to some of his Swedish contacts about me and my situation. In return I promised to stay in touch after the move and lend a helping hand if the need arises - something I've had in mind all along.

The meeting was tough, but I dare call it a success. If I learned anything is that a great relationship pays off. I think the ability to make friends easily is one of my better qualities and I hope I will find use of it in Sweden.

How do you think I did? Do you think I could have done better, or do you have a relevant story to share? Please respond in the comments!

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• The game is on! (helpmemovetosweden.com)

The game is on!

I've just got the news and I'm shaking with excitement! My girlfriend and future wife has been accepted to Lund university for a masters degree in Biotechnology. This means that we are moving to Sweden!

I am so proud of my wife-to-be!

I have agreed to help my significant other with her life dream of living & studying in Sweden about a year ago, but until today it was all just a distant dream. Now it's real and the game is on! We have about four months or so to get everything ready and move. For me that will mean leaving my current position and finding a suitable programming job; for my dearest a race to get all her school duties finished in time.

English: Lund University main building in Lund, Sweden. Svenska: Lunds universitets huvudbyggnad. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I've created this blog to document my move to Sweden with everything that that entails: learning the language (basics for starters), finding a programming job (C# back-end suits me best), finding an apartment for the two of us and finally (hopefully) living in Lund, Sweden.

I figured that documenting such a big endeavor as moving to another country should be well documented so others can learn from my successes and mistakes. And of course, I need all the help I can get with every step along the way. Hopefully this blog will allow me to meet many friendly citizens who will be able to aid me with knowledge and advice.

All that is yet to come in the next weeks and months. Right now I need to keep calm and carry on!

The next step: Introduce myself and hopefully get in contact with someone Swedish!

But enough about me, how have you been?