Since June 2012, John Loijen has lived in Sweden with his family. After receiving a job offer in the Scandinavian country, he got interested. Together with his wife and daughters, he decided to take the plunge and left Randwijk.
John headed a fruit company in the Netherlands, and now works at Äppelriket Österlen in Kivik, a cooperative in the south of Sweden, with around one hundred members. “We mainly grow and sell apples, pears, cherries and plums. I handle the entire information package, from soil sample to buying trees, contact with the government on authorized agents, certifications, etc. This means I’m more on the road than in the office,” he says. The cooperative accounts for 65% of the total fruit production in Sweden, with most of the fruit destined for the domestic market.
Nothing without personal number
After three years, the family has become well-established. Although John had only visited the country once before emigrating, he even feels pretty Swedish now. “Although that wasn’t the case for the first few months,” he says. “You need a personal number for everything here, and it takes three to four months to receive it. You can’t even get a simple telephone subscription without that number.”
Free provisions
In general, he says everything is organized well. John says many facilities are practically available for free, such as sports clubs, swimming pools, clubs, museums, etc. The tax system is also very different. John explains it’s all based on the municipality. “Taxes don’t go to the state here, but to the municipality. Each municipality determines the amount and purpose of the tax money..”
Buying alcohol across the border
He particularly notices how in Sweden, but really in all of Scandinavia, there is always a reason to drink alcohol. “Drinking or buying alcohol is a big thing here,” John says. “There is only one point of sale here, and that’s the state store. You can find everything here, but it is expensive. We live an hour away from Copenhagen, so many people cross the border for alcohol. Special tours are even organized to Denmark or Germany just to buy liquor.”
Very high emancipation of women
Characteristic of the Scandinavian country is the very high emancipation of women. He says he meets as many female as male truck drivers on the road. Nearly every mother works full time as well. After an eighteen-month maternity leave, divided between father and mother, the children go to day care, which is virtually free. “Although free, like they said that about the health insurance, it soon became apparent that even though it was free, but when something comes up, it takes months to get help. Many people opt for a private insurance instead, so they immediately get help if necessary.”
