Sweden

We visited Stockholm in April to see our daughter who's studying abroad there. Sweden is a vibrant, successful economy/culture; everyone was friendly and helpful to us, the social services (trains, buses, medical care) are excellent. There are other large cities that lie further north (Oslo, Reykavik), but Stockholm was still in winter when we visisted in mid April (in fact, it snowed 6" the morning we left and there was nary a leaf on a tree).



Taxes are high there, and incomes are low, and yet the cost of living is very high. Thus, you must really want to live there, or else you are likely to live somewhere else.

Representative incomes in Sweden:

A doctor might make about $84k per year in Sweden, and a lawyer $72k, and a teacher $42k. Considering the high income and sales taxes (and I mean really high), that is not a lot of income for a country where the cost of living is super-high. But college is free if you can get in, and healthcare is free.

The photo is of the Swedish museum.

Overall impressions: Sweden does have many blondes but for the most part their hair is colored blonde ;) . There are no homeless persons in Stockholm. Stockholm is a Germanic-looking, old, well-kept but gritty city. The sidewalks and plazas have no trees, which lends a cold feel to the place, though there are numerous islands, waterways, and parks. The newer architecture looks like old USSR style to me--monoliths of cold concrete. But the people are wonderful and the city and country show us a good example of one way to create social harmony: tax the fool out of the rich and make sure everybody has a place to live and good medical care and access to education.

There is a lot to be said for social harmony.