[fvrghl]

I can tell you a little about Sweden's culture, as I've just moved to Sweden as part of a study abroad program at my university in the USA. Sweden is amazing; it's very clean, and there is very little crime here. The average standard of living here is very high, and as a result, Sweden is crazy expensive. Also, Swedes can be kind of cold. Someone in one of my classes told me that it is uncommon for Swedes to make new friends after 21. Maybe that person was exaggerating, but I have noticed that people here are less open. The tech scene is very welcoming though. I've been to a few tech events around the city, and the people there have been very helpful and nice. I think Stockholm is a great place to live, and if you have a salary that matches the standard of living here (unlike my student budget), I think you will enjoy it.

[Sharlin]

Speaking as a Finn, it's a cultural aspect common to all Nordic countries that there's much less of the sort of superficial friendliness to strangers or acquaintances than what is normative in the US. But when you do make friends with one of us Northerners, it's often a "till death do us part" sort of affair.

Oh, and for better or worse, alcohol is the social lubricant and a primary way of making friends in the Northern Europe even moreso than in most other places.

[nerfhammer]

friendliness scale

more friendly -> less friendly

Denmark -> Norway -> Sweden -> Finland

[seivan]

There was a mass shooting by a gang in one of the Ghettos yesterday. Before that a couple of clicks east of there, a guy got stabbed in a tunnel. Before that a lady who passed out outside her door (forgot her keys, was drunk) got dragged into her apartment and raped by her neighbours (who ended up bragging about it to other neighbours) All in a Sunday.

There's more Crime in Sweden than you think.

[flexie]

Let's not exaggerate the crime in Sweden. The best measure for crime is the homicide rate (since death is harder to fake than for example theft, and since it rarely goes unreported as for example rape). The homicide rate for Sweden is 1/10 of that of Russia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentiona...

[pingvingryta]

You were slightly ahead of me :)

[pingvingryta]

Of course there are crimes, but statistically it might be lower than in other places. For example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentiona...