Hi everyone! I’m an Indian citizen, 27M single living in Sweden for past 3 years. I came here for my master’s and finished it, and I worked for a year in my field before switching to another job recently and I resigned from it. I now have 90 days to look for a new job or move back to India. I am contemplating if I should continue living here in Sweden or move elsewhere/India.
A bit about me:
I am quite introverted and reserved, but I open up when I find something interesting. Computer programming was my interest a few years ago, but ever since I realised that being just a programmer in some company will not really help me in starting my own company. I don’t have any specifics about what kind of company I want to start, but I want to be around people who run their own businesses. Given my current situation, starting a business is not in scope at the moment. Also, I don’t have issues with climate, or Swedish food. Furthermore, I want to get married sometime in the next few years, but do not plan on having any children.
Current concern:
Although Sweden is a great country, I clearly see it is not working out at all(unable to plan a life here). The thing hitting me the hardest is inferiority complex and language. I think these two would be the same no matter where I immigrate to. Although I find Swedish to be a bit easier to learn compared to other EU languages, I would highly prefer communicating in English. Even typing on the Swedish keyboard sometimes gets on my nerves.
I would really like to move to the US, but I see gun violence as a huge issue, which is far beyond my control. UK seems like an option, but given the fact that they are out of EU and the market is probably not so great right now, I am unsure of this option. Also I will have to apply for jobs first to set my foot in the UK. Not sure about Ireland though?
My current options:
- Find another job in Sweden and try hard to integrate into society. Not sure if it’s a good idea in the long run?
- Go back to India and work on something interesting. Friends/family support and Indian food/culture is always beneficial.
- Go to some other country(ex: Netherlands, UK, Ireland etc) and try to integrate.
My biggest concern with living abroad is that no matter how much I change and accept things, I will always be an outsider. I wonder if this feeling will ever go away?
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions on which option I could choose, and thank you for reading the post!
the inferiority complex is bigger than you… you have limited control of how people perceive you. good job learning the language tho! maybe go to India for a while, especially if you’re homesick & would like some familiarity. sounds like you were busy the last few years so dont let yourself get burnt out.
if you consider India to be a comfort zone and want to challenge yourself, create a plan aligning with your upcoming business - wherever that takes you, follow the opportunity. work on this plan while in India - and hey maybe look around for a likeminded wife.
trying to integrate from one country to the next is hard. especially without a partner. good luck
Thanks for the valuable insight! Even I wish to not move from one country to another. Integrating eats up quite a bit of valuable time.
youre so welcome. we are the same age but you remind me of my dad hahah he was struggling in many euro countries before my mom came into the picture. its an unfortunate reality but I think people are nicer to women and couples.
Stanna i Sverige! Du kommer trivas bra i det långa loppet, lär dig språket och satsa hårt på att skapa ett eget företag. Du kommer också garanterat hitta en partner och du kommer kunna göra många regelbundna resor till Indien. Vi behöver många duktiga och engagerade människor.
PS: en av våra roligaste komiker är från Indien, David Batra.