Help with life? (From that 18 yr old who moved to Sweden alone)

[SeanSan]

Soooooo here I am in Sweden, roughly 6 months in.

I'm learning the language pretty well, I've cleared SFI (Swedish for immigrants) in exactly 6 months and now I'm studying in komvux (adult school) full time.

And now I gotta move out in one or two months. Only now am I getting income because komvux is valid for study grants (studiebidrag/studiehjälp), and it's still not a lot.

It's annoying because I HAVE money (I got a nice bonus for clearing SFI in under a year) but it doesn't matter because I need stable income to get an apartment.

So what do guys? I'm planning to get a praktik (apprenticeship?) or something while studying full time. It sucks but I gotta do it....or I can get loans? But I don't think it's worth it yet. I want to go to university and I sent in my grades from my old country to be converted and they said it was going to take 6 months.

I do have a place to stay though if I don't get a new place, my aunt's friend's house, which is really nice, but I'd rather not let it fall to that.

What do you guys think? Sleeping is getting harder every night. I hope some Swedes can suggest things too, because they'll probably know more on how Sweden works.

Weee adulthood.

EDIT: I kinda wanna talk about it with someone too, like, 1 on 1. Can I talk with one of you guys perhaps? It's not nice letting this stuff bottle up.

 

[will_shred]

Can't really help but bump for interest.

 

[ilyti]

I do have a place to stay though if I don't get a new place, my aunt's friend's house, which is really nice, but I'd rather not let it fall to that.

Don't see what's wrong with this option, if you get along. When people you know offer to let you stay with them, its generally because they know you could use the help and it wouldn't be took a big sacrifice on their part. If you feel like it would be taking advantage of their charity, just pay them a token amount of rent or do chores for them or something. There's nothing wrong with that. Then when you're back on your feet (and debt free!), give them a nice gift to thank them for helping you out. You both leave with a good experience. That is, if you get along.

Edit: I haven't lived in Sweden, but I did grow up in Denmark. The educational/social systems of the two countries are quite similar and I tell you its a heck of a lot better to live on educational support with friends than to work or take a loan on your own.

 

[FormerlyVintage]

Where are you originally from, and why did you move to Sweden?

 

[Unjustly-Labeled]

I'm a Swede, and the first advice I'd give is to look up your local socialtjänst, and go to their office/call them and say you need help with finding a place to live, and possibly also försörjningsstöd (depending on your financial situation after you finish komvux). If you're gonna go the route of praktik, you really should look up arbetsförmedlingen, cause I think there's some kinda insurance you need (not 100% sure on that one, might depend on where you're having praktik).

If you're gonna jump right into more studying, you're gonna be borrowing money from CSN for a long time, so that's something to consider. If you wanna get a job first, and study only after your living situation is stable, then I think the easiest way to get a full time job is to do praktik for about 6 months. That way you'll have something to put on your resumé which shows that you have work experience, and can hold down a job.

Dunno what else to say for now. Sorry about being a bit rambly and unstructured. I'd be up for a chat if you wanna talk. Just PM me or something!

 

[SeanSan]

Hey all.

Thanks for the responses!

@will_shred

I guess you're right, it can't be THAT bad. The person offering me a place is in her late 50's in a big house with all her kids moved out. So she's got a big house all to herself. We got along every time we met. I'm not sure why I found it so bad/scary to move into her place, I still find it kinda meh but a lot less scary now atleast.

@Django

I'm originally from the Philippines. My dad got busted with 6 kilos of drugs and we spent all of our money on lawyer's fees and stuff, so with nothing to lose, I decided to move to Sweden since education is free there. (Not to mention how much more I like it here, Philippines is a great to visit, but a terrible place to live/grow up in IMHO). If you're wondering how I got here, I'm half Swedish and I'm a citizen.

@Unjustly-Labeled

Thanks for the reply! I'll send you a PM a little later.

 

[patata]

My dad got busted with 6 kilos of drugs and we spent all of our money on lawyer's fees and stuff

ouch

 

[vansinn]

Can't really help, as I live in dk, not se.
However, as said above, our two countries share certain comparable mechanisms, so..

I have an owners appartment now, but before this, after a failed relationship, I lived for 4½ years in a (so-so sizeable) basement room with own bathroom and own kitchen upstairs, which saved my economy - after I lost my own business due to all of this shebang.

While a basement may not be the most desireable situation, it's still not that mental retarding

Here in dk we have a mechanism called "andels bolig", which means buying a sort of share in a building complex, and then paying rent.
Contrast to owning property (like an apartment), it allows seeking public services.
I don't know if it works the same in Sweden, but might be worth checking out, as, as you state it, having (some?) money might allow shopping such a place, which, at least here in dk, is much lower priced than an owners place.

Best of luck! och ha det bra, kompis

 

[Nats]

Move in with aunt's friend and bang her nightly. If she isn't good looking now she will become good looking in time (or after a few dranks). That is a known guy fact. Good luck with your studies and apprenticeship.

 

[SeanSan]

I think this thread deserves an update if anyone is wondering or curious?

I just moved to a new place, which is smaller and even more in the middle of nowhere than my previous place. xD (Järbo, if some Swedes here know that place) And I'm living off försöjningstöd (something like welfare) until September, since September is when my grades and marks from Philippine school get fully converted and I can see if I need to work on anything. Now I'm just looking for a job, which is kinda difficult here since it's perhaps too late to be looking for a summer job, but I'm still trying and I'm gonna walk into a store whose owner I know and see if I can get something there.

I guess everything went better than I thought.

 

[OmegaSlayer]

Good luck.
You have balls man. (and haven't used them on your aunt like someone suggested...he has Italian origins, sorry )
Respect.

 

[silent suicide]

Things seem to be looking up for you then?

Don't worry about not being able to get a job at this time of year, all the summerjobs are allready taken, and companies wont look until the end of august.
I have been extremely unfortunate in finding a job myself.
But hopefully a brighter future is ahead.

best of luck dude, and if you have the time and funds, come to Hörnsjö and jam with me

 

[SeanSan]

Thanks for the kind words. It really helps me with morale or whatever. xD

And @silent suicide. Whereabouts is Hörnsjö? I'd love to go for a jam when I get the money, haven't had a proper jam in ages.

 

[silent suicide]

Up north lol, close to Umeå in Västerbotten

 

[Yo_Wattup]

Can't you just go on like the swedish version of craigslist/gumtree and find some place to stay where you just pay cash and no paperwork? heaps of ads like that in australia.

 

[Albionic]

Wow its a tough world when a guy who can speak 3 languages (i'm assuming as you type in english are from the phillipines and have learnt sweedish) can't find work. i wish you luck.

 

[Murmel]

Can't you just go on like the swedish version of craigslist/gumtree and find some place to stay where you just pay cash and no paperwork? heaps of ads like that in australia.

I've never done this, but I can imagine most people would want to make some sort of contract, even for just a room. But there are plenty of ads pretty much everywhere in the country, though it's not uncommon for a room going for 5000SEK or more (aprox $750). I don't know how much you're getting each month from bidrag, but if you're willing to move for work they usually encourage that.
And as previously mentioned about summer jobs, don't feel bad. It's a very competetive market, a lot of kids are unable to find work during summer.

This link should take you to the right place. The majority of ads are in Swedish though, I don't know how well versed you are with the language.

Bostäder att hyra i Sverige - Blocket Bostad

If you want to do you own search here's a quick wordlist:

Hitta - (type of accomodation) - In - (Region, city).
Lägenhet: Apartment
Boarea - Living area
Rum - Rooms
Bäddar - Beds
Hyra - Rent

I admire your balls, OP. Moving to the other side of the globe, especially at such a young age, takes a pair of titanium.

Wow its a tough world when a guy who can speak 3 languages (i'm assuming as you type in english are from the phillipines and have learnt sweedish) can't find work. i wish you luck.

This is highly dependent on which languages you know. I doubt there's a high demand for Filipino speakers here. Thai would be better, if we're talking SEA languages.

 

[SeanSan]

Again, thanks for the responses. I found a place now though and I'm staying in a smaller place not so far from my current school.

I finished SFI (Swedish for Immigrants) 6 months after I got here and now I'm studying Swedish as Second language. So I thiiiiiink I got a good grasp on the language. I can help people pretty well when they ask me directions or something and the people I usually spoke English with now speak straight Swedish when I'm around them. I miss a bunch of stuff but I generally understand what they're saying.

Another question though. I'm pretty much musically illiterate (I can barely read notes, don't know the circle of 5ths or whatever) but I can play pretty well. I want to go to University and study Jazz guitar but I need to learn the rudiments and everything first, where should I turn? Folk highschool?

 

[Necris]

^ You can teach yourself all of that in your free time pretty easily.

Make flashcards. Notation on the front answer on the back, including which string and fret it can be found on in first position may be helpful for you to translate it to actually playing it on guitar. Keep reviewing until you get it consistently. The top clef is treble clef, the bottom one is bass. I'd be amazed if you didn't have to learn piano too so don't ignore bass clef. Don't forget to make cards for Sharps and flats as well.

Circle of Fifths:

 

[SeanSan]

Can you point me to some good material online, or a book or something? I know I can try google but I feel better if I use material that someone vouched for to me directly. (Did that statement make sense?).