After 8 years living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, my husband and I have decided to move back to Sweden. We’ve been thinking for a while that we’d like to live closer to our family, that we’d like to at least return to Europe, if not Sweden. Then my husband got a job offer in Sweden and we said yes.
We’re not moving back to our old hometown, but to a new part of the country, down south. So hopefully I won’t freeze to death or get buried in ice and snow after being used to temperatures of at least 90 all year round.
The big move will happen in November and our home is an absolute mess right now. Boxes, boxes everywhere boxes! Most of my desk/work space is packed and I only have the necessities: my laptop, my bullet journal, my notebooks, and fountain pens. I spent all day yesterday going through my closet, trying to decide what to take on the plane, what to ship on the boat, and what to get rid of. “Have I used this dress anytime the last year? No? Okay, bye, bye.”
I’ll miss Malaysia, but I also look forward to returning home. While far from perfect, Sweden is a much more open country. For example, it’s illegal to be LGBTQ+ in Malaysia; you can get arrested for being gay. And as an atheist, I find that living in a country where religion is such a huge part of daily life isn’t my thing. Sweden is one of the most secularized countries in the world; only about 20% of the population say they’re religious when asked.
Then there’s my darling daughter. She’ll turn 25 next year and is in a serious relationship. It’s only a question of time before she’ll make me a grandmother. (And no, I’m not making assumptions or putting pressure on her – I’m not that kind of Mom). Also, our parents are getting older and it’s growing increasingly difficult being so far away.
There are lots of reasons for this decision, and we’re excited for a new phase in our lives. When we moved to Malaysia, we needed something new. We’d been living in the same small town for all our lives and wanted something different. Craved adventure. So, when my husband got a job offer here, we packed our bags and waved goodbye to Sweden.
And it’s been an adventure. And a learning experience I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. Living somewhere so diametrically opposite of liberal, open Sweden has taught me many things. It’s also solidified my views on tolerance and openness and equality. Right now, I live in a country where I can’t buy my own books from Amazon because they’re flagged as LGBT. (I use my Swedish credit card though to get around it, so don’t worry!)
But I need openness. I need the freedom to use my voice and wave a rainbow (or bisexual, heh) flag. I need the freedom to be me. And that’s happening now. Or you know… in November 🙂
Onward to the next big adventure!
Välkomna tillbaka till Sverige! 🙂
And speaking as someone living down south, put your warm clothes on top it’s starting to get cold in these parts. Though I’m sure you’ll get used to it pretty quickly again – along with the language.Though depending on how far south you intend to live, it might take a while longer to get used to… 😉
Tack Annika!! 🙂
We’re moving to Malmö and I used to live in Karlskoga, Värmland, so the language is a bit different, yeah! But my sister-in-law is from Skåne, so I’m fully trained in skånska by now. I can’t speak it, but I’m sure I’ll understand enough to manage! 😂
Where du you live?
Hey – we’ll be neighbours (kind of). 🙂 I’m a born and bred skåning. I lived in Malmö for a couple of years but now I reside in a smaller town up north.
I can only imagine what kind of culture shock it will be to move back after so many years away. Again, welcome back, and hope the move goes smoothly.:)