Moving to the countryside after a few years in the city was a pretty big step for me, specially since 2 months ago we had not even thought about doing it. But times change and so does life!

The main reason for moving is a pretty common one… finding somewhere to live in Stockholm… For the past few years we have been moving from apartment to apartment, dealing with shady sublet deals and overpriced accommodation, a daily struggle for thousands of people living and working in Stockholm, Sweden. The reason being a shortage of apartments, and around 600.000 people in queue to get a first hand apartment contract. I wrote another post about it a few weeks ago, you can read it here!

The short story is, we could not find a new apartment within our price range or budget in time, which forced us to pack our things and move to the countryside where I grew up, 320 kilometers north of Stockholm (about 3,5-4 hours by car). The plan was that me and my girlfriend (who grew up in the city) would live in my mothers house, maybe not the most ideal thing when your are 33 years old, but we did not have a choice due to the apartment situation. But then, just a few days before moving, we got an offer from the local community that there was a 3 bedroom apartment opening up, available 2 days after our arrival…. Done deal, we took it!

So, here we are, now pretty much settled in after a week in Järvsö. We went to Ikea the other day to get some furniture and started refurnishing some of chairs and tables to fit our style. Within a week or so we should be settled in for real, just waiting for our new Philips Hue Lights (<— affiliate link) to arrive to make the place more cozy. Ordered a starter kit and plan on doing some nice light constellations in our living room.

And you know what, now when we are almost settled, we love it. We are much happier, more energetic and smiling much more. I think a huge weight lifted from our shoulders when we got our own place, not having to worry about finding a new home within a few months or living in a cramped space on the bottom floor without natural light. This new place is on the third floor, light and spacious, it’s amazing. I think we are going to love it here!

What about jobs? Well, I work as an Art Director for a magazine, which head office is located just 20 kilometers (15 minutes by car) from Järvsö. I used to sit at their Stockholm Office, but working from here is much better. It works fantastic! My salary is also good enough for my girlfriend to focus on getting her drivers license and studying to become what ever she wants! We also bought a car, so we can get wherever we want. Life has really taken a turn for the better.

If your are thinking of leaving the city for a life on the countryside, really consider it. The air is much fresher, the people are nicer and you will feel so much better! Just look at the header image above, it’s taken the other day when we took a ride up the mountain to check out the view over the town, beautiful!

Below is a picture I took about 7 years ago, very early one morning. It was before I moved to the city. It feels good to be home!