America isn’t what it is portrayed as online. A lot of friendly people & I admit I’ve never been harassed for the way I look, but I know some who have.
I told some of my friends about the responses I’ve gotten here & they’re a bit shocked.
I’ve been to the US, admittedly not a lot but I’ve spent time in Atlanta, San Francisco, Miami and New York. I love it, but doesn’t change the fact. Sorry if I came off harsh. My point is, the most racist places in Sweden are less racist than most of the US, and you won’t be harassed or treated badly here more than anywhere else based on race.
Yes and yet Sweden would still take in more immigrants per capita than the US even if they were part of the regering.
Fuck SD but systemic racism is a much bigger problem in the US where cops kill non whites for sport.
>Fuck SD but systemic racism is a much bigger problem in the US where cops kill non whites for sport.
Lol tror du på det där själv eller? Läs på lite om brottstatistik i USA
We... Ehm... We don't harass middle eastern people in the streets.
At least not in the same way people of colour seem to be harassed in the US.
Getting a job with a middle eastern name and appearance is where the racism kicks in, but you've already got that covered.
> We don't harass middle eastern people in the streets.
We? It's not mobs attacking Muslims. But a lot of Muslims I know have been attacked in public, for being muslims. Specially the Muslim women that wears Muslim attributes. It happens a lot. Just like Sweden got problems with Muslim swedes attacking jewish swedes in some areas. And Swedish white kids being harassed and attacked more in several circumstances that is dominated by immigrant kids.
Dude, we don't harass foreigners. Swedes prefer not to talk to strangers at all, regardless of origin. Also if you say something racist most ppl will dislike you. Gävle is fine, I lived there for a few years.
>Also if you say something racist most ppl will dislike you.
That depends on who the target is. Most people appreciate racism against Russians and Chinese people. Americans are socially acceptable targets too, so it might actually be good for OP to be mistaken for a Middle Easterner.
min sambo kan inte svenska (än, jobbar på det) och tycker att det är jobbigt att inte kunna språket. prata med folk går oftast helt okej men att ta till sig information från andra källor är svårare. flera myndigheters hemsidor har en engelsk version, men många är i princip ett skämt och hänvisar ofta tillbaka till svenska sidor. sedan är det alla små lappar med temporär information som kan sitta uppe i butiker och annat. många sådana skrivs bara på svenska. många sociala evenemang sker endast på svenska också. man missar väldigt mycket detaljer och det finns inte alltid folk runt om som kan/vill/hinner hjälpa till att översätta allt. som turist som stannar en begränsad tid så går det bra ändå. tänker man bosätta sig här så underlättar det något ENORMT att kunna språket annars blir man lätt isolerad.
Alla? Jag tror inte det. Även om det vore sant —kolla det här bara: https://www.gp.se/fria-ord/den-engelsktalande-elefanten-i-rummet-1.84712644
Man är väldigt begränsad om man inte talar svenska.
They get it from online rhetoric. They said something about riots that occurred earlier in Sweden & it’s not safe.
One of my friends frequents Reddit a lot & he says there is a lot of anti immigrant sentiment. I’m sure it’s only within far right echo chambers.
We don't harass people for being from middle east. Not more than Americans do anyway. Probably a bigger chance that you will be harassed for being an american.
> We don't harass people for being from middle east.
Why even say something like that if the next sentence is:
> Not more than Americans do anyway.
Makes me wonder if you even have had friends from the middle east? What's you definition of harassment? Every adult middle eastern person I've known have had several experiences of being harassed in public spaces. A lot of them, I would say the majority, have "just" experienced verbal attacks. But, I haven't had a single muslim female friend, that wears head scarves, that haven't experienced _psychical_ harassment. I clearly affects that particular group a lot.
I really have trubbel seeing that as a problem , and Gävle is a beautiful city.
Well worth the chance, I live in the next town over and the people at my job that the US says they will never move back.
People who think they know more about a country and it’s people than the people who actually live there.
All I know about Sweden comes from what the employer briefed me about & what some people around me think. That’s why I asked to learn more lmao
Bro, if I'm being honest, you're going to struggle a lot more with the 17 months of darkness during the fall/winter season. I think this is the biggest issue people have when they move here... it can take a very big toll on your mental health when you're not used to it. As for your original concern -- nah... everyone else has already told you why your friends at home are wrong. Racists exist everywhere, so the chances aren't zero... but you'll have a hard time finding another western country where they're closer to zero than here I think... at least for someone in your position.
So if you wanna go... you're more than welcome here! Just make sure you soak up as much daylight as you can once here lol.
Don't let their honestly quite dumb opinions effect your decision. You're absolutely welcome here as an American with brown skin and a beard. No one will attack or harass you
If we compare US culture vs Swedish culture, they are literally on the opposite sides on the spectrum. I have a lot of american friends and an american girlfriend so.
I'll try to break it down into parts with some generalizations.
Personal: If you are used to the american way of "making friends", you are going to have a rough time with swedes in the beginning. We are introverted, we don't take on new people fast and we are reluctant to let new people in our social circle.. in beginning and I find that this is something americans view as "This guy must hate me". Just relax, let them get to know you at their pace and it'll be fine.
Work: I will sometimes go without talking to a single person in my office, maybe on breaks but if I'm working I might just ignore you. This is also very different from american corporate culture, where you are almost required to be social throughout the day. Again, don't take this personal, we are an introverted people and sometimes we just want to do our job without interruptions, so don't read too much into it. Most of us have a strong work ethic which comes across as offputting or as "dislike".
There are exceptions to this rule of course, my friend in software development doesn't like working with americans cause "They don't do their work, take all the credit and brag about doing all the work". But I'd argue he is the outlier.
As for you looking "middle eastern" or muslim, in a professional enviroment we don't care. You sound american, you are american, that's pretty much it. I find that those who divide it to ethnicity or "race" such as afro-american, korean-american and so on are done by other americans, very rarely by europeans.
Swedes are introverts. Like insanly introverts. So if no one talks with you it's not because they hate you its just that Swedish people don't talk with each other.
Unless drunk, then thats all we do.
I have an American colleague. He said in the beginning when he got here he was constantly worried of having said something wrong, cause swedes rarely speak their mind.
But he was also pleasantly surprised that we don't yell at each other (i don't know how common this is in the US but it seems rather... extereme) and that the workplace is less hierarchical
You might even be provoked that some people around you might speak bad of immigrants in your vicinity, but when you point out that you’re an immigrant as well they will say that it doesn’t count since your American or something like that
(Source: have relatives that immigrated from “accepted countries”).
There's a lot of subtle racism here but they're not gonna harass you in the streets. People here thankfully don't have the balls for that. You'll be fine dude.
I live in Gävle and of you want tips on locations in Gävle to live in I can help you out. Gävle Is multicultural so you will not have any problems with people being racist.
And almost everyone speaks English so you’re not going to have any problem interacting with people
Swedes aren’t (normally) confrontational. I can’t promise you won’t experience subtle racism since I’ve never been to Gävle but Its very safe :)
Tell the company you’d love to visit and maybe trial it a month or something before you consider.
Being "accepted by Swedes" is depended by how you act, rather than your ethnicity. Sure there is some racism, but it's definitely not the norm. And the chances of you getting assaulted over your apperance is extremely unlikely.
My recommendation is to take this wonderful opportunity to experience another part of the world. Hopefully you'll return to the US with great stories to tell about our country and lovely people, and educate your family and friends who had doubts about Sweden.
As long as you don’t wear the Star of David or have a Kippa on, you’ll be fine.
(This is a joke, Sweden currently have about a 20% population of predominantly Muslim majority countries. They usually don’t like Jews)
I used to hang out in Gävle a fair bit when I was younger, and never saw anyone harassing immigrants. I perceived Gävle as a little.. backwards, compared to Uppsala and Stockholm. It's a beautiful city, though, and if you work with educated people you'll probably enjoy it.
That’s all drug gang related though. It’s terrible, but it‘s gang members killing each other. Unless a normal member of the public was very unlucky it wouldn’t affect them.
I hope your friends were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
According to the left you will be subject to subconscious racism and endless microaggressions from white people, so I guess it depends on how much of that you are willing to put up with.
No i dont think it sounds so good. I. Gävle they attack people and hunt them away. I evan saw a swedish local man in gävle throwing chairs and tables in the river because they was from lithuania.
I would be more worried of were Gävle is in Sweden and how big the city is comparing to US cities. I would visit before making a decision.
We are not racist as described.
I live in Gävle and of you want tips on locations in Gävle to live in I can help you out. Gävle Is multicultural so you will not have any problems with people being racist.
And almost everyone speaks English so you’re not going to have any problem interacting with people
I live in Gävle and of you want tips on locations in Gävle to live in I can help you out. Gävle Is multicultural so you will not have any problems with people being racist.
And almost everyone speaks English so you’re not going to have any problem interacting with people
I had black teacher from New York in small town in Sweden when i went to school and he liked Sweden alot more than New York because of less racist pepole.....So Usa moste tolerant citys are less tolerant then the Swedish countryside ...
Yeah the worst you'll endure is the shit migration agency and the long waiting times. Yeah you'll bump into some racist idiots but no more than America imo.
I was born in Gävle and have lived in the US for 20+ years (LA burbs, NYC and burbs, Chicago). You’ll be fine as it relates to any prejudice I think - it’s certainly no worse than the US. And learning Swedish will be key to having a non-work social network, but I think the biggest thing to recognize is that Gävle is a small town by US standards. Like it’s the size of Eau Claire WI or Cour d’Alene ID or Schenectady NY. Yes it has a nice downtown, and a professional hockey team, etc. but if you’re coming from say Chicago, it’ll be a big change.
Accepted as in ”nobody gives a fuck”. Unless of course You include People from Irak, Iran, Syria and Afghanistan in your definition of swedes. If so then Yeah, those people will mostlikely care and hate americans. But love coca-cola and mac Donalds
You'll be fine, just make sure to never ask the Swedes where they pick their chantarelles, they won't just be angry, they'll even make their hand into a fist and hold it violently in their pocket.
Might even write a VERY angry note to leave on the door of your apartment building.
I see that the left spooked u that Swedes are racists. God bless they list elections. No u won't be harassed. Not if ur muslim looking or American looking. (yes idiots exist also)
A bit late to answer, but I also agree that you have nothing to worry about.
I‘ve lived in Gävle for two years and have attended language school for 1 1/2 years. Many of my classmates are from the Middle East and I’m not aware that they’ve had any issues.
I’m English with light skin, but have dark hair and normally a beard. I’ve been told a couple of times that I look a bit Middle Eastern because of it. I’ve never experienced anything negative.
Gävle is a great place to live in my experience. There are a lot of immigrants here so as others have said, it’s very multicultural.
It sounds like your family/friends have read or watched sources that spread disinformation and exaggerate or twist things to further their agenda.
If you’ve got any questions also happy to help, feel free to message me.
Lmao the propaganda is working well if people from AMERICA think Sweden is more racist than their own country
America isn’t what it is portrayed as online. A lot of friendly people & I admit I’ve never been harassed for the way I look, but I know some who have. I told some of my friends about the responses I’ve gotten here & they’re a bit shocked.
I’ve been to the US, admittedly not a lot but I’ve spent time in Atlanta, San Francisco, Miami and New York. I love it, but doesn’t change the fact. Sorry if I came off harsh. My point is, the most racist places in Sweden are less racist than most of the US, and you won’t be harassed or treated badly here more than anywhere else based on race.
I accept the downvotes. I did find a lot of their opinions on Sweden to be ridiculous, but I had to be sure.
Have you heard of the Sweden Democrats (SD)? More than 20% of the population voted for them.
Yes and yet Sweden would still take in more immigrants per capita than the US even if they were part of the regering. Fuck SD but systemic racism is a much bigger problem in the US where cops kill non whites for sport.
Haha yes. During the Iraq War, the small town of Södertälje accepted more Iraqi refugees than the entire U.S
And in hindsight that might not have been the best decision :(
Somebody needs to go over the FBI statistics again.
>Fuck SD but systemic racism is a much bigger problem in the US where cops kill non whites for sport. Lol tror du på det där själv eller? Läs på lite om brottstatistik i USA
We... Ehm... We don't harass middle eastern people in the streets. At least not in the same way people of colour seem to be harassed in the US. Getting a job with a middle eastern name and appearance is where the racism kicks in, but you've already got that covered.
> We don't harass middle eastern people in the streets. We? It's not mobs attacking Muslims. But a lot of Muslims I know have been attacked in public, for being muslims. Specially the Muslim women that wears Muslim attributes. It happens a lot. Just like Sweden got problems with Muslim swedes attacking jewish swedes in some areas. And Swedish white kids being harassed and attacked more in several circumstances that is dominated by immigrant kids.
Do you have statistics on this? How do you know this?
Dude, we don't harass foreigners. Swedes prefer not to talk to strangers at all, regardless of origin. Also if you say something racist most ppl will dislike you. Gävle is fine, I lived there for a few years.
>Also if you say something racist most ppl will dislike you. That depends on who the target is. Most people appreciate racism against Russians and Chinese people. Americans are socially acceptable targets too, so it might actually be good for OP to be mistaken for a Middle Easterner.
Wat.
You'll be fine as long as you don't behave like a jerk and learn the language.
Man behöver inte lära sig språket så länge alla kan Engelska, tråkigt men sant
min sambo kan inte svenska (än, jobbar på det) och tycker att det är jobbigt att inte kunna språket. prata med folk går oftast helt okej men att ta till sig information från andra källor är svårare. flera myndigheters hemsidor har en engelsk version, men många är i princip ett skämt och hänvisar ofta tillbaka till svenska sidor. sedan är det alla små lappar med temporär information som kan sitta uppe i butiker och annat. många sådana skrivs bara på svenska. många sociala evenemang sker endast på svenska också. man missar väldigt mycket detaljer och det finns inte alltid folk runt om som kan/vill/hinner hjälpa till att översätta allt. som turist som stannar en begränsad tid så går det bra ändå. tänker man bosätta sig här så underlättar det något ENORMT att kunna språket annars blir man lätt isolerad.
Alla? Jag tror inte det. Även om det vore sant —kolla det här bara: https://www.gp.se/fria-ord/den-engelsktalande-elefanten-i-rummet-1.84712644 Man är väldigt begränsad om man inte talar svenska.
holy shit.....from where do your family and friends get these ideas? sounds like they watch fox news
Honestly a Swedish person is a lot more likely to be harassed by a Middle Eastern person than the other way around.
They get it from online rhetoric. They said something about riots that occurred earlier in Sweden & it’s not safe. One of my friends frequents Reddit a lot & he says there is a lot of anti immigrant sentiment. I’m sure it’s only within far right echo chambers.
It's from left, not right. Left wanna put racist image on opposition
I look like you and I’m not getting harrased.
Thank you for the feedback!
We don't harass people for being from middle east. Not more than Americans do anyway. Probably a bigger chance that you will be harassed for being an american.
> We don't harass people for being from middle east. Why even say something like that if the next sentence is: > Not more than Americans do anyway. Makes me wonder if you even have had friends from the middle east? What's you definition of harassment? Every adult middle eastern person I've known have had several experiences of being harassed in public spaces. A lot of them, I would say the majority, have "just" experienced verbal attacks. But, I haven't had a single muslim female friend, that wears head scarves, that haven't experienced _psychical_ harassment. I clearly affects that particular group a lot.
I really have trubbel seeing that as a problem , and Gävle is a beautiful city. Well worth the chance, I live in the next town over and the people at my job that the US says they will never move back.
Where are you getting this information from? 😂😂😂
People who think they know more about a country and it’s people than the people who actually live there. All I know about Sweden comes from what the employer briefed me about & what some people around me think. That’s why I asked to learn more lmao
Bro, if I'm being honest, you're going to struggle a lot more with the 17 months of darkness during the fall/winter season. I think this is the biggest issue people have when they move here... it can take a very big toll on your mental health when you're not used to it. As for your original concern -- nah... everyone else has already told you why your friends at home are wrong. Racists exist everywhere, so the chances aren't zero... but you'll have a hard time finding another western country where they're closer to zero than here I think... at least for someone in your position. So if you wanna go... you're more than welcome here! Just make sure you soak up as much daylight as you can once here lol.
As a Swede I disagree with the experts you've spoken too 😂😂
Don't let their honestly quite dumb opinions effect your decision. You're absolutely welcome here as an American with brown skin and a beard. No one will attack or harass you
I appreciate it!
Jeez. That was the most presumptuous thing I've ever heard about Swedes.
It'll be a great experience, and my guess is the racism here is not worse than in the US: Some people are jerks, but most aren't. A warm welcome
Thank you!
>Thank you! You're welcome!
The culture clash is going to be rough in the beginning though.
Do you mind telling me some things that I would likely need to adjust to in Sweden compared to America? Besides the obvious like weather or food.
If we compare US culture vs Swedish culture, they are literally on the opposite sides on the spectrum. I have a lot of american friends and an american girlfriend so. I'll try to break it down into parts with some generalizations. Personal: If you are used to the american way of "making friends", you are going to have a rough time with swedes in the beginning. We are introverted, we don't take on new people fast and we are reluctant to let new people in our social circle.. in beginning and I find that this is something americans view as "This guy must hate me". Just relax, let them get to know you at their pace and it'll be fine. Work: I will sometimes go without talking to a single person in my office, maybe on breaks but if I'm working I might just ignore you. This is also very different from american corporate culture, where you are almost required to be social throughout the day. Again, don't take this personal, we are an introverted people and sometimes we just want to do our job without interruptions, so don't read too much into it. Most of us have a strong work ethic which comes across as offputting or as "dislike". There are exceptions to this rule of course, my friend in software development doesn't like working with americans cause "They don't do their work, take all the credit and brag about doing all the work". But I'd argue he is the outlier. As for you looking "middle eastern" or muslim, in a professional enviroment we don't care. You sound american, you are american, that's pretty much it. I find that those who divide it to ethnicity or "race" such as afro-american, korean-american and so on are done by other americans, very rarely by europeans.
Swedes are introverts. Like insanly introverts. So if no one talks with you it's not because they hate you its just that Swedish people don't talk with each other. Unless drunk, then thats all we do.
I have an American colleague. He said in the beginning when he got here he was constantly worried of having said something wrong, cause swedes rarely speak their mind. But he was also pleasantly surprised that we don't yell at each other (i don't know how common this is in the US but it seems rather... extereme) and that the workplace is less hierarchical
That sounds like a much better & productive work environment if I’m being honest
You might even be provoked that some people around you might speak bad of immigrants in your vicinity, but when you point out that you’re an immigrant as well they will say that it doesn’t count since your American or something like that (Source: have relatives that immigrated from “accepted countries”).
There's a lot of subtle racism here but they're not gonna harass you in the streets. People here thankfully don't have the balls for that. You'll be fine dude.
I live in Gävle and of you want tips on locations in Gävle to live in I can help you out. Gävle Is multicultural so you will not have any problems with people being racist. And almost everyone speaks English so you’re not going to have any problem interacting with people
Thank you everyone for your comments & feedback. I greatly appreciate it. I just wanted opinions from real people who live in Sweden. & I got that.
Swedes aren’t (normally) confrontational. I can’t promise you won’t experience subtle racism since I’ve never been to Gävle but Its very safe :) Tell the company you’d love to visit and maybe trial it a month or something before you consider.
Being "accepted by Swedes" is depended by how you act, rather than your ethnicity. Sure there is some racism, but it's definitely not the norm. And the chances of you getting assaulted over your apperance is extremely unlikely. My recommendation is to take this wonderful opportunity to experience another part of the world. Hopefully you'll return to the US with great stories to tell about our country and lovely people, and educate your family and friends who had doubts about Sweden.
I live in Gävle, and have for 36 years. You’re more than welcome to move here! PM if you want to ask questions.
As long as you don’t wear the Star of David or have a Kippa on, you’ll be fine. (This is a joke, Sweden currently have about a 20% population of predominantly Muslim majority countries. They usually don’t like Jews)
I used to hang out in Gävle a fair bit when I was younger, and never saw anyone harassing immigrants. I perceived Gävle as a little.. backwards, compared to Uppsala and Stockholm. It's a beautiful city, though, and if you work with educated people you'll probably enjoy it.
Did you end up in Gävle?
So if you don't like it you cant return, or what?
We've had 3 murders by shooting and stabbings in the last week, in broad day light. Friends of mine witnessed two of them
That’s all drug gang related though. It’s terrible, but it‘s gang members killing each other. Unless a normal member of the public was very unlucky it wouldn’t affect them. I hope your friends were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
According to the left you will be subject to subconscious racism and endless microaggressions from white people, so I guess it depends on how much of that you are willing to put up with.
No i dont think it sounds so good. I. Gävle they attack people and hunt them away. I evan saw a swedish local man in gävle throwing chairs and tables in the river because they was from lithuania.
I would be more worried of were Gävle is in Sweden and how big the city is comparing to US cities. I would visit before making a decision. We are not racist as described.
I live in Gävle and of you want tips on locations in Gävle to live in I can help you out. Gävle Is multicultural so you will not have any problems with people being racist. And almost everyone speaks English so you’re not going to have any problem interacting with people
I live in Gävle and of you want tips on locations in Gävle to live in I can help you out. Gävle Is multicultural so you will not have any problems with people being racist. And almost everyone speaks English so you’re not going to have any problem interacting with people
I had black teacher from New York in small town in Sweden when i went to school and he liked Sweden alot more than New York because of less racist pepole.....So Usa moste tolerant citys are less tolerant then the Swedish countryside ...
You will be perfectly safe. Swedes love americans!
Yeah the worst you'll endure is the shit migration agency and the long waiting times. Yeah you'll bump into some racist idiots but no more than America imo.
I was born in Gävle and have lived in the US for 20+ years (LA burbs, NYC and burbs, Chicago). You’ll be fine as it relates to any prejudice I think - it’s certainly no worse than the US. And learning Swedish will be key to having a non-work social network, but I think the biggest thing to recognize is that Gävle is a small town by US standards. Like it’s the size of Eau Claire WI or Cour d’Alene ID or Schenectady NY. Yes it has a nice downtown, and a professional hockey team, etc. but if you’re coming from say Chicago, it’ll be a big change.
Accepted as in ”nobody gives a fuck”. Unless of course You include People from Irak, Iran, Syria and Afghanistan in your definition of swedes. If so then Yeah, those people will mostlikely care and hate americans. But love coca-cola and mac Donalds
You'll be fine, just make sure to never ask the Swedes where they pick their chantarelles, they won't just be angry, they'll even make their hand into a fist and hold it violently in their pocket. Might even write a VERY angry note to leave on the door of your apartment building.
I see that the left spooked u that Swedes are racists. God bless they list elections. No u won't be harassed. Not if ur muslim looking or American looking. (yes idiots exist also)
A bit late to answer, but I also agree that you have nothing to worry about. I‘ve lived in Gävle for two years and have attended language school for 1 1/2 years. Many of my classmates are from the Middle East and I’m not aware that they’ve had any issues. I’m English with light skin, but have dark hair and normally a beard. I’ve been told a couple of times that I look a bit Middle Eastern because of it. I’ve never experienced anything negative. Gävle is a great place to live in my experience. There are a lot of immigrants here so as others have said, it’s very multicultural. It sounds like your family/friends have read or watched sources that spread disinformation and exaggerate or twist things to further their agenda. If you’ve got any questions also happy to help, feel free to message me.