Marieke(26)

After my bachelor's in Industrial Design in Groningen, I wanted a master's in Scandinavia. Umeå Institute of Design is ranked in the world's top five and education is free for EU students. No tuition fees — zero euros. In the Netherlands I paid over two thousand euros per year. That decision was easy.

As a student in Sweden you don't get a personnummer but a samordningsnummer — a temporary identification number. That limits your options: no BankID, no bostadskö. But the university has its own student housing through Bostaden. I pay 4,200 SEK per month for a studio with own kitchen and bathroom. In Groningen I paid more for a room.

Student life in Umeå is different from Groningen. No pubs open until four AM — Sweden has strict alcohol regulations via Systembolaget. But there are nationer (student associations) that organize parties, and the university has its own sports hall, swimming pool and cinema. Sami week in February is a highlight: a celebration of indigenous culture with music, art and reindeer racing.

Umeå was European Capital of Culture in 2014 and you can still tell. The Bildmuseet is a contemporary art museum that's truly impressive. The city invests enormously in culture and design. My fellow students come from all over the world — Korea, Brazil, India, Finland. The atmosphere is international but intimate; you know everyone.

Winter in Umeå was a culture shock. Minus twenty degrees, a meter of snow, and in December only four hours of daylight. But I discovered cross-country skiing, skating on frozen lakes and the magic of the northern lights. The university hands out free vitamin D supplements — that says enough. After the first winter it becomes normal.

I stayed after my master's. A design studio in Umeå offered me a job, and I now have a real personnummer through folkbokföring. Arbetsförmedlingen, the Swedish employment agency, helped me transition from student to worker. My study debt at DUO still runs, but my Swedish salary is high enough to comfortably repay it. Umeå has become my home — compact, creative and surrounded by nature.