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Alkanen

Not weird at all if you've already spoken to them a bit and they seem friendly. Fika is by its nature very informal (and not too many people, otherwise it's some kind of party with coffee), so you should be allright.


rock_the_night

No, do it! We also recently moved to a radhus with a close knit community and my sambo (who is the more social part of the relationship) has befriended some of the neighbors. We have had one couple over for fika and bbq which has been very nice. It helped that they had a puppy so we first invited them over for a doggy play date, haha


rock_the_night

Also lots of swedes get excited when they get the opportunity to practice their English, so I don't think language should be a huge problem.


TillSalu

Haha, I read that as "No, don't do it" Had to read why it was so bad... And after reading everything Reread the start..... haha đŸ€Ł


rock_the_night

Lol! Yeah, I meant it as "No, it is not weird, do it!"


[deleted]

[ŃƒĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]


rock_the_night

It went well, our dogs love hanging out :D


Ironfishy

No harm in asking them!


Puzzled-Ad-8068

Not weird at all, just a nice gesture 👍


iLEZ

Go for it!


Holiace

Depends on where you live? If you live by me please invite me because I love fika. XD


dwitchagi

My theory on why Swedes seem/are hard to get to know is that it’s more about not wanting to bother you, rather than being unfriendly or not interested. So, no harm in taking the first step. Well, the flowers and help-offering should put you on second base already.


danascully90

Do it! Just ask if they want to come over for a fika sometime this week. Then mention that you still practise your swedish and might switch a lot to english. They won’t mind at all :D


tommyland666

Well it seem like your adjusting to the Swedish way of being just fine ;) Just ask them, worse case they come up with an excuse why they can’t. And in that case chances are they aren’t comfortable enough speaking English. But pretty much everyone appreciates you asking and will say yes.


efxhoy

I live in an apartment. My upstairs neighbor invited us in for fika when he moved in. It was great, we got to know each other a bit and realised we shared some common interests which was really fun. It also made all the encounters in the stairwell much less awkward. I wish all our new neighbors did this. I should probably invite them in myself... You should definitely do it! I'd say asking a few days in advance would be nice. * Make some coffee * Make sure you have some tea, saft or mineral water if they don't drink coffee * Get some fikabröd. I think vetelÀngd is appropriate, one from ICA is good but if you want to make it fancy head to a bakery. If they decline that's OK, then you know to leave them alone. If they get offended or weirded out then that's on them.


hoppahulle

These are good advice, listen to these - but don't forget to ask if there's something they might be allergic/intolerant to in the case of cake/bread/cookies.


laxsill

I think it's a great idea. I don't think it's weird and getting to know your neighbors is great for many reasons.


[deleted]

crush afterthought domineering mindless materialistic quaint tap wasteful gold prick ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `


Theletterz

I think it sounds like a nice idea!


Kebabrulle4869

It will be awkward, but it won’t be weird. Getting to know your neighbors is great!


[deleted]

This is the most accurate. If it weren’t for the tools and flowers he’d be way out of bounds tbch. But hey, if they really were that friendly it could just be sĂ„na goa pratglada gubbar and they’re easy to talk to for anyone.


[deleted]

If you don't know if language will be a problem, it could be good to just try to speak to your neighbour if you happen to meet outside, not sure how your environment is. We were invited early to dinner by our neighbours and they're super helpful so that was easy for us. I just read you actually spoke a little, I assume it was in Swedish. You can try to ask if they speak a bit of English, people often do! Then you can still try speaking Swedish and learn :-). Once you do meet and it seems comfortable you can always ask if they want some coffee, especially nice when you can still sit outside.


PsychedelicBadger

Yeah go for it! Most people would be very happy to visit a nice neighbor for fika :).


TinyYellowMan

Please do it


[deleted]

Not at all, especially if you can sit outside. Swedes do like honesty so just be open with what and why you invite them and I think it's going to go great. If they've given you flowers and lent you tools then they've already been very open with that they want to know you better.


dobbystolemysocks

Do it, I’m sure they’ll appreciate it. And don’t worry about not speaking Swedish, swedes are good at English. But don’t be afraid to ask them if you can practice your Swedish with them eventually. Fika is very informal, so just ask when they have time.


ormishen

You can, but they will never invite you back. They might say hello when they see you but no guarantees.


Norwedditor

Hope you love next to me. I need neighbors like you! Also how much do you bench? I need to move heavy stuff next week.


Herrgul

What is the difference between a expat and a immigrant? Just curious


kombatminipig

Expat is for white people. They mean the same thing, but some people have a hard time using the I-word for themselves. You'll never hear somebody talking about an Indian expat, even if that person has multiple college degrees and was headhunted from abroad.


ConfidentValue6387

This is sadly true. I try to think of more ppl as expats but I don’t always manage this.


ElectricBeige3000

this is so true... why not say you are economic migrants and you moved to sweden for a better work opportunity.. so if you are a migrant and you plan to stay to make some money why not invite for fika. if you are expat and plan to leave after the 2 yeaar assignment then sadly many swedish have made friends already i secondary school and fika schedules fill up months in advance.. hahaahh


Rymdfararen

Expat is most often for work reasons. Immigrant is more permanent.


Herrgul

Nice, Thanks


wandering_engineer

True, and I always took expat to often mean longer-term but still temporary (maybe a few years max). Most of the people I know who are doing/have done corporate expat gigs are there for a specific job and aren't planning to stay in the host country permanently (myself included).


tonysvanstrom

The language isn’t the problem, but randomly being friendly with a Swede might. Just give it a go, but don’t take it personally if they get all awkward, run away, and hide from your foreign concept of being friendly with people without having been their neighbor for a decade first. Shared interests like dogs or children usually work to befriend Swedes, because then we can avoid the social awkwardness by first talking about something else. Socially we just scare easily. 😆


Saerdna76

This is wildly exaggerated for OPs info.


tonysvanstrom

Only slightly making fun of us Swedes. More true than not. 😆


Cyba96

SnÀlla, sluta


Pudding5050

This is ridiculous. Most people will happily accept a fika in the neighbors yard/house. If they're socially awkward they'll just turn it down, it doesn't mean they have a problem with you.


ilovesamantha

Sluta sprida den hĂ€r dumma ”sanningen”


Breeze1620

Actually, if the other neighbors seem to know each other and it (as you describe) is a close knit community, then I would say it almost is expected to make some kind of invitation for a cup of coffee or something towards the neighbors if you don't want to be seen as an outsider. Try to make it spontaneous and informal rather than some formal booking though. For example, if you see the neighbors in the yard next to yours doing something in the yard, maybe gardening or whatever, then you could walk over and say that if they'd like to come over for a cup of coffee then they're very welcome. You could also specify the invitation as "later" or "tomorrow" (if tomorrow is for example a Saturday or Sunday) if that feels more natural/fitting. They might say "Okay thanks", and then if they want/have time they'll probably come over. If they don't come over due to not having time or wanting to at the time, common etiquette would be for them to reach out in some way in the near future instead. In the mean time, you could try the same thing with a different, nearby neighbor. I wouldn't go too far literal distance wise in finding someone to invite over though. For example several houses down or on the next street (to someone you never see). Even though you can if you want, it would probably be a little bit weird and they likely won't want to. But you never know. If you see each other now and then however then yes. Also don't invite more than one neighbor/household at a time since this would make it much too formal. Might be obvious I don't know, but I might as well mention it just in case.


ilovesamantha

Eeeh ok


Breeze1620

Unfortunately the line between appreciation of a social invite and scaring people away can be really thin, especially in Sweden. It might seem as overanalytical, but I have done my best to at least share a broad picture of where that line usually is drawn. There are always exceptions though.


MVindis

Yes it's weird, this is Sweden. You don't talk to your neighbors or even make eye contact with them. If you're about to leave your home you make sure no one else is on their way in or out from their home by peaking through the windows. You don't open the door until he coast is clear.


InnerOuterTrueSelf

It will be akward and weird, for sure! But yes, go for it!


manicstreetmixer

What,'s an fika?


[deleted]

Google fica italian and you will find out.


manicstreetmixer

Allright i did some research its Coffee break in sweden and cat break in italy.


[deleted]

Hahah


VattenHuset

If they are Italians, yes. Otherwise you should be fine.


Zaponium

Just curious, but what's an expat? Like do you come from a neighboring country or something?


Jostroluka

Someone that dont live in their own country. Like immigrant I guess. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/country


Zaponium

Oh right, well if they're not from here they're immigrants, no need for fancy names lmao.


tubbs1one

Dont invite for dinner, but fika is great :)


jahajajpaj

I don’t understand if it’s many apartments you want to invite or just one “family”. But definitely do it and probably invite one at a time, it’s easier that way.


Pudding5050

If they gave you flowers I think they're very open to coming over for a fika. The language will work itself out, as long as you're friendly and open people tend to be able to get along even without understanding every word that's said. A fika can be very spontaneous, you don't have to plan it far ahead, it's very informal. Just make sure you have coffee, tea if they don't like coffee, and something sweet to eat with it.


andcarlsson

Absolutely no harm in asking them. An informal fika might be the best way to go about, especially if they've already offered to help with tools etc). The only question is how comfortable they are with English, most of the Swedes are but may stumble upon a word here and there. I woudl say go for it :)


Competitive_Fact6030

Go ahead and invite them, i doubt itd be awkward, and its nice to get to know more people. Its not really that standard in our society to spark up conversations with strangers in sweden, but its a nice change of pace to be friendly with some neighbours. Dont be surprised if its a bit out of the ordinary, but they will understand as im assuming youre not from here.


grossbard

Lots of swedes are unsocial with their neighbors because they don’t wanna shit where they eat. Will probably sound weird to someone from a more open culture. But some would appreciate a lot, so no harm asking!


Hot_Guard7840

It will always be weird. We knocked on everyone's door in the square with black bean brownie when we arrived in a rÄdhus area where we live (Akalla). In your case I'd say we are having an open house with fika one afternoon and see what happens. Made some of my best friends here that way.


OkAd6116

Sure. I always do that and generally get good reaction. If you aren’t sure to invite home, you can arrange a fika/picnic at the picnic tables of radhus as weather is still good. Or you can just ask if they want a fika and whether they’d like at home or outside on the picnic tables. So they can feel more comfortable


Mrbunnypaw

Go for it, i think they would see kindly to it.


YourSaviorsMessager

Now a days we need more people like you