Martijn & Fleur(38)

Fleur and I lived in Rotterdam for ten years with our two children: Stijn, six, and Emma, three. I worked as a logistics manager for a Swedish shipping company, Fleur as a nurse. When my employer offered a position at the head office in Gothenburg, we saw it as an opportunity. Not just for my career, but especially for the children. Swedish family policy is legendary — and it all turned out to be true.

Registration with Migrationsverket went smoothly as EU citizens, but it took a while for the whole family to get a personnummer. Without a personnummer we couldn't enroll the children in förskola — Swedish preschool. Fortunately, the municipality of Gothenburg arranged a spot within six weeks of our registration. Förskola costs a maximum of 1,510 SEK per month for the first child, regardless of income. In Rotterdam we paid triple.

The barnbidrag — Swedish child benefit — was a pleasant surprise. You receive 1,250 SEK per child per month, plus a flerbarnstillägg (multi-child supplement) if you have more than one child. It's paid automatically once you're registered. No applications, no forms. That's how Sweden works: the system finds you.

Stijn went to the local grundskola. The transition was nerve-wracking — he didn't speak a word of Swedish. But Swedish schools have excellent support for non-native speakers. He received extra Swedish lessons and played with Swedish friends after school. After six months he was fluent. Emma adapted even faster in förskola, as toddlers do.

What moved us most is the philosophy behind Swedish education. Children play outside a lot, even in rain and snow — "det finns inget dåligt väder, bara dåliga kläder" (there's no bad weather, only bad clothing). There's less test pressure, more emphasis on collaboration and creativity. The children are happier than ever.

Fleur now works at Sahlgrenska University Hospital as a nurse. Her Dutch diploma was recognized, but she had to pass a Swedish language exam. The SFI course (Svenska för invandrare) is free and of good quality. Gothenburg feels like a calmer, greener version of Rotterdam. The port city mentality is the same, but the pace is slower. We're glad we took the step.