# Scandinavia



## Joseph.somerville (Jun 21, 2018)

Hi everyone

I’m new here, and have signed up to explore a few things. So first of all, hello and thank you.

I’m currently living in Surrey, England and working in London as a financial services compliance professional. I am fortunate to own my own home (mortgaged) and have a long-term partner and two year old child.

I have limited travel experience - France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal are the main ones, though I only speak tourist-level languages for each country.

Given everything happening with Brexit, the thought has crossed my mind about moving to the continent (maybe only for a few years, maybe longer - who knows). I voted to Remain and the direction it’s heading in is causing me some concern.

I’ve heard that Scandinavian countries are lovely, though I’ve never been (a Danish colleague said Denmark is excellent for schools, not quite as expensive as Norway, and still easy to get to, for example). I’ve also heard they aren’t without downsides (whether that’s the expense of Norway, the weather, etc). I’ve always been curious about working and living in Finland, though I honestly can’t say why.

My partner is very close to her family, which could prove an issue (depending on post-Brexit travel arrangements). I am less close to my own family. As alluded to above, I also don’t speak the local languages, and haven’t visited the countries before. Finally, I wouldn’t know where to start looking for jobs.

However, I’m at a bit of a loss as to where to go. I think I might be “scaring” myself out of trying it because I’m telling myself it’s too difficult. I’m trying to balance that against the part of my brain that says “you only live once, so why not be spontaneous”. You know, the whole point about nothing being forever and just trying it out if only to rule it out.

So yes, that’s all I’m here for - just some general thoughts about moving abroad, feasibility, and any thoughts from someone who might have taken their kids with them.

Many thanks in advance everyone.

Joe


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

We normally recommend that folks think long and hard about whether they are running TO something or AWAY from something when considering relocation overseas. That usually implies that you need to be somewhat familiar with any place you're thinking of moving to and to have some idea of the job market, general culture and language.

There are lots of folks here on the forum considering a move away from the UK due to Brexit. Unfortunately it's getting rather late in the process, given that the deadline is next March and there are still so many "details" up in the air.

A couple further thoughts in your case: not all countries recognize "partner" relationships for immigration purposes, even if there are kids involved. Another thing is to consider just how transferable your profession is. "Financial services compliance" sounds like something that is very much dependent on knowing and applying the local laws regarding financial services. Have you looked into the financial services laws in the Scandinavian countries?

It might be best to use your time to explore some of the countries you are considering - travel there on holiday, but use the time to research your ideas a bit and to see how the various places "feel" as place to live and work. (Often very different from how they seem when you're on holiday.)
Cheers,
Bev


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## JR72 (Jan 12, 2022)

Joseph.somerville said:


> Given everything happening with Brexit, the thought has crossed my mind about moving to the continent (maybe only for a few years, maybe longer - who knows). I voted to Remain and the direction it’s heading in is causing me some concern.
> 
> I’ve heard that Scandinavian countries are lovely, though I’ve never been (a Danish colleague said Denmark is excellent for schools, not quite as expensive as Norway, and still easy to get to, for example). I’ve also heard they aren’t without downsides (whether that’s the expense of Norway, the weather, etc). I’ve always been curious about working and living in Finland, though I honestly can’t say why.


This reply is a few years late, but probably still relevant today.

When you look to leave your home country for a new ‘better’ one, it is worth checking if the things you hope to leave behind are not actually worse where you are hoping to move to...
Quite a few of my friends back in the UK expressed interest in moving to Norway (where I live) due to being unhappy with Brexit and the mentality behind some of it. 
Well Norway is a very Nationalist country with an inward looking, anti-outsider mentality. 
Norway isn’t in the EU, only the EEA and quite a lot of Norwegians aren’t even happy about that...
Also, look up ‘janteloven’ which although is supposed to be satire, it is very real...


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