Episode 31: Sweet on Sweden - An Inside Look at Scandinavian Life

The International Living Podcast

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This week, Jim Santos talks to expat Tricia Pimental about her article in the June 2023 issue of International Living magazine ‘Sweet on Sweden, an Inside Look at Scandinavian Life’. Tricia was the Portugal correspondent for IL for several years, having lived in the country for eight years, before she and her husband, Keith, decided to broaden their horizons with a move to Sweden.

Why would two Americans leave beautiful Portugal, and head for the rural interior of a Scandinavian country? Well, adventure is one part of it, beauty is another, and, perhaps surprisingly, affordability.
“The peace, the tranquility, the green,” says Tricia, when asked to describe what it is that attracted her to Sweden. “We got our log cabin ready-made. One of those, the cute one is a 1906 farmhouse, and the other is a home that was built in 1992. We have space, and we have a forest that is part of our property. We're across from a lake, a beautiful, picturesque lake. And I would say it's the sense of nature and tranquility and space.”
What came as a surprise was the price. Tricia and Keith purchased a four-bedroom home, with three bathrooms, a sauna, and a second house—a log cabin—on the property…for $89,000.
Skiing, hiking, driving to the Arctic Circle to meet the indigenous Sami people, enjoying the local cuisine and culture—Sweden has turned out to be a revelation to Tricia and Keith, who had no real idea of what they might find there, or how to make an expat life work in a country with no established tradition of U.S. retirees moving there. How to prepare for winter, and how to adapt to summer nights where the sun hardly even sets; how to make friends and contacts, and how to live a life that fits your dreams…Tricia has learned a lot from her experiences in Sweden, and shares the lessons she’s learned with podcast host, Jim Santos.
Join Jim as he meets Tricia Pimental—ex-pat, writer, and International Living contributor, in the latest episode of Bigger, Better World.
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Chapters

1. Episode 31: Sweet on Sweden - An Inside Look at Scandinavian Life (00:00:00)

2. What First Brought You to an Expat Life in Portugal? (00:01:38)

3. A European Location Meant We Could Travel in Multiple Countries (00:04:27)

4. Living in a Motorhome (00:06:35)

5. Impressions of Sweden: Beauty, Tranquillity, Natural Surroundings (00:13:07)

6. Two Homes For Less Than $90,000 (00:15:30)

7. Learning to Live With the Swedish Seasons (00:20:11)

8. What to See, When to Visit, and Where to Go in Sweden (00:24:45)

9. Planning The Next Move—Back to Portugal? (00:28:07)

10. A Pan-European Drive Through The Continent (00:34:16)