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Best Startups to Work for in Stockholm

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Re: Best Startups to Work for in Stockholm

#61

Post by bobl »

drakonka wrote: post #53
chosenbreed37 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nice. Have you worked anywhere else in Europe? How does it compare to Berlin? Are the salaries comparable with other major European cities? You say work life balance is great but I hear it can be expensive to live there. What's your experience? Is English widely spoken in offices or do people have to learn Swedish in order to work effectively?

No, Sweden is my fourth country to live in but I haven't worked in another European country. It can be expensive to live here yes; despite my salary being decent-but-not-lavish I still feel comfortable affording whatever I need to live and "play". In addition to what I consider a decent salary, six paid weeks off (with extra pay for vacation days + public holidays), various company subsidized benefits, nice public in…

Most developers will be making more than €3000 a month after taxes. The problem is usually housing and living costs. Both ranging from €500 to €1500 each, that is €1000 to €3000 total. If you are at the lower end you of course end up fairly cash wealth, at the other not so much. At the same time these days you would still, despite being in one of the more lucrative professions, struggle to acquire a central apartment, or a holiday home, which is largely only accessible to those who are already asset wealthy. Especially not without significant debt.

If you can find your way it isn't bad, but I wouldn't put Sweden above places Switzerland or The Netherlands these day in terms of a good deal. Which I would have five to ten years ago.

Re: Best Startups to Work for in Stockholm

#62

Post by amrrs »

drakonka wrote: post #12

I am lucky enough to have lived and worked in tech in Stockholm for a little more than six years now. I originally moved here specifically for the game development industry and it is so nice to see it (along with tech companies in general) continue to grow and evolve here. As an employee there is a vast array of employer options and coupled with the work-life balance for me it's pretty much the perfect place to live…

Can you throw some light on how's their reception towards an expat (non-eu) wanting to live there and work ?

Re: Best Startups to Work for in Stockholm

#63

Post by [deleted] »

renholder wrote: post #39
bobl wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is significantly harder to attain a high quality of life at decent cost in Stockholm these days. Especially since the housing market is high, but stalling, and there is a recession looming. Sweden pushing itself as a good home for startups seem to largely correlate with becoming a worse place to live in, and therefor to a large extent be posturing. There have also been more obviously successful startups in the pas…

>Sweden pushing itself as a good home for startups seem to largely correlate with becoming a worse place to live in, and therefor to a large extent be posturing. This isn't, implicitly, true. For Stockholm, sure. What about a city like Växjö? Or Motala? There are very decent areas to live in Sweden, close to booming tech start-ups, and aren't suffering the same plights that the capital is seeing. Admittedly, the poin…

[deleted]

Re: Best Startups to Work for in Stockholm

#64

Post by dmitriid »

renholder wrote: post #39
bobl wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is significantly harder to attain a high quality of life at decent cost in Stockholm these days. Especially since the housing market is high, but stalling, and there is a recession looming. Sweden pushing itself as a good home for startups seem to largely correlate with becoming a worse place to live in, and therefor to a large extent be posturing. There have also been more obviously successful startups in the pas…

>Sweden pushing itself as a good home for startups seem to largely correlate with becoming a worse place to live in, and therefor to a large extent be posturing. This isn't, implicitly, true. For Stockholm, sure. What about a city like Växjö? Or Motala? There are very decent areas to live in Sweden, close to booming tech start-ups, and aren't suffering the same plights that the capital is seeing. Admittedly, the poin…

> For Stockholm, sure. What about a city like Växjö? Or Motala? There are very decent areas to live in Sweden, close to booming tech start-ups, and aren't suffering the same plights that the capital is seeing.

Yeah... Motala is really relevant in the context of conversation about "Best Startups to Work for in Stockholm" (~3 hours by car).

Re: Best Startups to Work for in Stockholm

#65

Post by dmitriid »

gonsanchezs wrote: post #54
navidfarhadi wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just had an onsite interview at their HQ in Stockholm this morning. The recruiter I spoke with in person mentioned their employee growth percentage in the last couple of years and it was staggering. They absolutely are not a startup anymore.

Yeah, Spotify is too big to fit the list.

How is Paradox Interactive a startup? Founded in 1999, with dozens of games in its portfolio?

Same goes for quite a few other companies.

Re: Best Startups to Work for in Stockholm

#66

Post by drakonka »

bobl wrote: post #61
drakonka wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, Sweden is my fourth country to live in but I haven't worked in another European country. It can be expensive to live here yes; despite my salary being decent-but-not-lavish I still feel comfortable affording whatever I need to live and "play". In addition to what I consider a decent salary, six paid weeks off (with extra pay for vacation days + public holidays), various company subsidized benefits, nice public in…

Most developers will be making more than €3000 a month after taxes. The problem is usually housing and living costs. Both ranging from €500 to €1500 each, that is €1000 to €3000 total. If you are at the lower end you of course end up fairly cash wealth, at the other not so much. At the same time these days you would still, despite being in one of the more lucrative professions, struggle to acquire a central apartment…

Thank you for the insight, but I think you may be intending to reply to someone else :) My experience has fit none of the things you describe (in fact most of the factors you list are quite far off of my own experience in terms of debt, apartment location, and salary), but that's not to say that they're not true for someone else. There definitely is a rental problem in Stockholm right now.

Re: Best Startups to Work for in Stockholm

#68

Post by drakonka »

amrrs wrote: post #62
drakonka wrote: post #12

I am lucky enough to have lived and worked in tech in Stockholm for a little more than six years now. I originally moved here specifically for the game development industry and it is so nice to see it (along with tech companies in general) continue to grow and evolve here. As an employee there is a vast array of employer options and coupled with the work-life balance for me it's pretty much the perfect place to live…

Can you throw some light on how's their reception towards an expat (non-eu) wanting to live there and work ?

I can speak specifically to the game development industry here which is very welcoming to expats. I get the same sense from the wider tech industry but have no direct experience outside of game development and attending more general tech meetups and conferences in Stockholm. The vast majority of people speak English and are happy to do so. Many people say that at least in this kind of industry there's almost no point learning Swedish as everyone speaks English around the studios, but I disagree with this and am starting to take Swedish lessons next week (took me long enough after >6 years...)

In general I find the majority of Swedes have been very welcoming (as a caveat I say this as a very white-European looking Ukrainian, so it is easy for me to blend in aside from my language and I can't speak for people of color). The things that tend to really hit people the most here are the feeling that Swedes are _cold_ and the actual cold winters. People here may not be as outgoing with strangers as they were in Alabama or Australia (both places I've lived before Sweden), but I find they are polite and there are plenty of opportunities to meet people with similar interests. I think not speaking the language also places an additional barrier that a Swedish speaker may not have when it comes to meeting Swedes - they say it doesn't matter, but in the end if you have to say "Sorry I only speak English" when a local _does_ approach you with a comment in Swedish you can see how it would immediately potentially put a break on the interaction. Another reason I'm finally going to start taking my Swedish learning seriously!

Re: Best Startups to Work for in Stockholm

#70

Post by bobl »

drakonka wrote: post #66
bobl wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most developers will be making more than €3000 a month after taxes. The problem is usually housing and living costs. Both ranging from €500 to €1500 each, that is €1000 to €3000 total. If you are at the lower end you of course end up fairly cash wealth, at the other not so much. At the same time these days you would still, despite being in one of the more lucrative professions, struggle to acquire a central apartment…

Thank you for the insight, but I think you may be intending to reply to someone else :) My experience has fit none of the things you describe (in fact most of the factors you list are quite far off of my own experience in terms of debt, apartment location, and salary), but that's not to say that they're not true for someone else. There definitely is a rental problem in Stockholm right now.

Not sure how I can be far off when I am presenting a range. One that isn't hard to justify for that matter.
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