We moved from the Netherlands to Sweden a year ago and after renting for a while, bought a house in the countryside. In this video we share the progress since getting the keys.
People like you should have a gold medal for all the work you do to adapt and make o good living in Sweden. Welcome and wish you the best in Sweden. Life is an adventure.
I am impressed that you are making an effort learning the language and joining the community, unlike some youtubers buying houses in Sweden. To each his own, I guess, but I think your life here will be happier as you are clearly already on your way to become Swedish. Welcome! 🙂
@@viktoriaberg8706 thank you and I totally agree! I want to be part of society here, not just live in a commune of foreigners. And everyone's so nice here that we'd be missing out if we didn't make an effort.
Welcome to Sweden! I could recommend you to consider keeping the woodstowe on the kitchen. It is almost impossible to get something as good as the one you have . The thing is even if the electricity goes out (happens now and then) you still have heating. Ask locals about it and see what they use.
@@gunlindblad6816 thanks for the suggestion. We will replace it with another wamsler with the same functions so I think we won't regret it. And unfortunately our water pump is electric so we cannot heat the entire house with the stove if the power goes out. That might be a project for further down the line though :). We also have a 'normal' woodburner upstairs not connected to the heating luckily. We have talked about this with all our Swedish neighbours and friends and they all seemed to agree with us so I feel quite reassured.
Top man. By far the best of all of the 'I moved to the Swedish wilderness' videos I get fed. This guy actually has his head on straight and is doing stuff right and spending right rather than the drifting around in cosplay uniforms to tinkly piano music, sounding vacant and depressed, and moaning about the rot filled, freezing hell hole they'd bought that other videos are filled with. He will do well. Excepting, of course, the fact that he bought a place in Sweden rather than somewhere livable for humans for more than 4 months of the year. Which clearly marks him out as completely out of his mind.
Hej ik woon sinds 1984 in Zweden, woonde eerst in het zuidoosten maar tegenwoordig in het noorden (Jokkmokk). Integreren is in mijn opinie het belangrijkste om een nieuwe start in een ander land te maken, en dat lijken jullie werkerlijk te doen. Het nadeel is dat op een gegeven moment je jezelf niet echt meer een NL voelt maar ook niet echt Zweeds. Ik heb zelf jarenlang getwijfeld maar zo'n 10 jaar geleden heb ik de Zweedse nationaliteit aangevraagd in verband met pensioen rechten heb ik besloten om m'n NL nationaliteit te behouden, maar ik voel me meer Zweed dan NL. Zweden is mijn thuis.
As a person born in Tilburg I have just started watching your channel. I also watch Rambling Wild Rosie, Dutch woman renovating a house in rural Sweden on her own.
Welcome to Sweden and Värmland. Nice to see more dutch people coming here. Me and my spouse have our summer house not far from yours but in Västmanland
I live in Norway, I buy raw wood in the early spring, and keep it in an open garage, it is ready to be used in December. Be careful of storing wood in the house, I only take in what I will burn in a couple of days or so. Wood storage indoors can bring unwanted guests, like wood eating ants and health issues like allergies and mold issues. (All firewood have mold spores) Be sure to have ventilation between the logs and the wall. I have an agreement with a local farmer, he removes snow for me. Cheaper than buying expensive equipment. I do have a Honda snowblower for the smaller jobs here.
Wonderful. You mentioned keeping the meadows for wildlife so I'd suggest some native fruit trees to attract more wildlife. A small pond would be very welcomed by your feathered and furry friends as well. Watching your puppy grow was an added bonus!
Inderdaad ik verhuisde 40 jaar geleden naar Zweden, de laatste 15 jaar zijn er heel veel Nederlanders naar Zweden verhuisd, de meeste naar Zuid en midden midden Zweden maar een klein gedeelte komt naar het noorden. Zelf woon ik in Jokkmokk.
Not far away from where you live there is an old abandoned mountain facility and a few factory buldings that was used to produce gunpowder during 1940-1945. after the war the facilities there was looked after and put on standby so that we could use them again if needed but in 1981 the military blew up a few buldings and tore out machines and other stuff so its mostly empty. its still very fascinating to wander around the old factory part and especially the mountain facility. since you live so close i think it would be cool for you to discover about what secrets your area beholds. i'll send you cordinates private somewhere if you are intrested.
Oh, I'm Swedish but I'm impressed by you! Just an advise! Buy an Air Heat Pump. For your house you can get one for 30.000 with installation. That will lower your heating costs by 2/3. It adjusts automatically, so when you have the fire burning, it will turn off, and then go on again at whatever temp you want. In the summer you can use it as air-conditioning. Also, in the long run, better insulation and better windows/doors lower your heating costs. Just some advice from a "Nordbo"! Much luck in the future! 👍
Hi thanks for the advice! We have a heat pump in the kitchen but since that's exactly where the fire is, we don't use it that often. Also, it doesn't heat up the rest of the house very well. It's not connected to the radiators or anything so it's OK for downstairs but not for the entire house. We mainly use it for AC in the summer now. To be honest, the electrical heating is not that bad. We have it connected to a smart home system with connected smart thermometers in every room. This way it also only turns on when needed and together with the "vattenmantlad kökspanna" the electric bill isn't too scary.
We need some of you in Norway too. We already have some Dutch people running bakeries etc but Norway have a lot of abundant houses. Greetings from Norway.
Have been reading about dutch people moving to Sweden for some time now. In the process of convincing my friend from Almelo to do that now :) Welcome here and enjoy
Een beetje een samenvatting maar superleuk om het huis van binnen eens goed te zien nadat er al veel is gedaan. Wat een omgeving en wat ben ik trots op jullie en hoe jullie het daar doen!! ❤
I really enjoyed your video and style as well. You certainly have a lot of initiative and the progress you have made in such a short time is inspiring. subscribed and looking forward to more. A fan from Nova Scotia!
Nice improvments. By the way... it's not black ice... it's just ice. Black ice is the ice that you almost can't see and usally is on paved roads where it seems like it will have good grip but then when you try to brake or turn you notice that it's actually a thin layer of ice on top. :)
The wood should just dry out for one season, or even just a half year. The wood should NOT be to dry. Having the wood to dry makes it burn out to fast, and the energy doesnt get used as effeciently.
Wat een avontuur. Ik denk ook al jaren aan verhuizen naar Scandinavië. Dank aan het RU-vid algoritme dat ik bij jullie terecht kwam. Nieuwe subscriber 😁
Wat een leuke video. En een geweldige plek ik Zweden. Misschien een idee om ook een keertje nog iets over jullie zelf te vertellen? Bedankt voor de video!
@@babalawohrg I am aware and agree up to a point but I believe I also mentioned that we have plenty of meadows that we keep unmowed and we plan on planting more trees and plants in the garden areas, it's just a matter of priorities. And the idea of unmowed land is nice and holistic and everything, but practically it also needs to make sense for 2 people, dogs and cats (who don't enjoy mosquitoes, midges and snakes). So I agree with your point but we need to strike a balance. And now it's too much to the lawn-y bit of that balance, but entirely unkempt would be too much to the other side.
I am new to your channel (new subscriber) and was frantically looking for your previous episodes w/o finding any. Is this your first post? If so, welcome to YT and I eagerly look forward to your future vlogs. Being of "advanced years", I find these types of adventures relaxing (well, maybe not for you all) and fulfilling a 60 year old (I am pushing 81 now) unfulfilled dream of striking out on my own and homesteading up in Alaska. Sigh; wasn't to be due to romance, marriage, kids, career, and the ages rapidly drifting by. Go for it----this Yank will be watching from afar.
@@klazyy641 welcome and thank you for the lovely comment! I do have a few more videos but only 3 are in English. I started in Dutch for friends and family but after a while noticed that other were watching as well so I switched to English. You should be able to click my name and see all my videos there. There's a tour of the property and a new vlog of renovating the stairs with more to come as we keep working on the property. Great to hear you're getting something out of it and hopefully living vicariously through us. Thanks again for the warm comment, it's very much appreciated!
You do as you like with your plot but I was surprised you planted trees in the old meadows. That old "kulturlandskap" is on the down, and trees are at an all time high basically. More and more old pastures are lost to more "economic" forestry. Pollinating insects need meadows. The most herbs grow on fields that are grazed and not fertilized, or harvests of hay were taken once a year. This will let lower flowers grow and bloom and not just tall grass. Let a farmer harvest hay or do it yourself to keep the old farming landscape.
You have a good point and since planting those trees I did change my mind. I wouldn't mind some more shading and shelter near the stream but I don't plan on planting any more trees in the meadows, apart from some fruit trees in one small part on the other side of the road.
I'd suggest buying a sand spreader so you don't have to sand the driveway with a shovel. They can get a bit expensive but it's worth it since you'll end up using a lot less sand and you can use it with your ATV.
We have to prioritise large expenses and a sand spreader didn't make the list. It would be very good for leveling the lawn as well so who knows, maybe next year...
A regular rotary fertilizer spreader for lawns may work too and is much cheaper. And you can fertilize the lawn close to the house so it gets thick and soft as a bonus 🙂
verry nice to watch,i Just to live in australia and kanada.but it looks great on youre propertie all the best.now from cologne. and to old to make new plans
Dit is een hele fijne video, goed om te zien waaruit de werkzaamheden bestaan en waar rekening mee gehouden moet worden in de verschillende seizoenen, super praktisch en ik denk een goede video om als voorbeeld te gebruiken voor anderen die naar Zweden willen verhuizen. Ik wil dat ook ooit doen en dit is een goede callback naar de realiteit, je gaat al snel een beetje romantiseren haha :p Zweden is fantastisch maar de landelijke huizen daar en het wonen vergen wel veel meer onderhoud die we als Nederlanders niet gewend zijn
Interesting look into your Swedish life. I certainly wouldn't mind more videos in English (or Swedish!), so I'm subbing in hopes of that :D Lycka till!
Ja goed idee maar de grond hier is zanderig en stenig met een ondiepe bovenlaag turf. Dus het is heel zwaar werk en dan moet je alsnog compost toevoegen. Daarom vind ik het het geld wel waard om grond te kopen. Wie weet volgende jaren wanneer onze eigen compost gereed is...
Fields are always in high demand in Sweden. Why not earn a bit of money of that land? You could charge for having animal owners letting their animals out for grazing during the summer. Especially horseowners often let their horses be at rest grazing for a few weeks during the summer (sommarbete) and usually pay well.
@@erikaeriksson9840 makes sense, but I wouldn't know how to go about it and I honestly don't really want fencing there. We know some people that have sheep and have offered our land but so far they've managed fine on their own. We'll keep it in mind but I'm not instantly charmed by the idea. Thanks for the tip though 😉
You will do good, your priorities seem sound and you seem to embrace your new culture. Have you looked into mounting a detachable plow to the Amarok? Allt gott och lycka till!
@@kpetterss hej! I have thought about it and looked into it briefly but I couldn't find anything that made sense or was readily available. I do think that if I stay on top of it and not let the snow pile up too much, the quad should be able to handle it. Especially if I mount a higher plow, but we'll see in a few months 😁
If you collect the chainsaw saw dust and get a wood pellet machine...you could make your own pellets and a adapter for your wood stove to burn the wood pellets, that way you wouldn't have to cut down as many trees to heat your home during winter.
Good idea, I might consider that. Although I don't think a few buckets of sawdust will make such a big difference, but I was looking for a way to make use of it so if it's not too expensive, I might go for it.
@@Tom_Brouwers It would be something that one would gradually accumulate over time, but you can also is other organic matter like dry leaves to make pellets. You can aquire sawdust from any company that makes wood products.
You can buy a snow plow or can you hire a snow ❄️ plow driver to plow your driveway once a week ? Im in the upper midwest in the US , I hire snow plow guy he plows it once a week 👍
Welkom in Zweden. Nat hout moet je binnen 3 maanden inkorten en splitten. Nat hout best niet binnen in huis laten drogen, tenzij je veel ongedierte wil in huis. Zitten jullie in Värmland of Dalarna? Groeten uit Storfors
@@cedarcanoe hej en bedankt voor de tip! Maar alleen maar omdat iets de beste manier is, betekent niet dat het moet natuurlijk ;). Zolang het hout niet direct op de grond ligt blijft het wel droog genoeg dat het in zijn geheel kan blijven liggen. Dat geeft mij wat meer mogelijkheid om het allemaal in mijn eigen tijd te doen. En we zitten in Värmland, denk zo'n 50km ten noorden van je.
@@Tom_Brouwers ik denk dat ik me niet correct uitgedrukt heb. Eens bomen beginnen op te drogen terwijl ze nog niet ingekort zijn, ga je ze nadien nog maar moeilijk kunnen splitten. Nat hout split veel makkelijker. Droog hout vraagt veel energie en kracht om te splitten
@@cedarcanoe oh zo had ik het niet begrepen inderdaad. Hmm daar gaan we dan achter komen, want ik heb onlangs het hout ingekort dat hier al lag van de vorige eigenaar. In de herfst gaat dat gespleten worden dus we zullen zien 😅
Nice videos you make❤ Iam sure mane of us Are very interested in hov big is your property, and in what range was the price? Do you work outside in society too?
This is my first time seeing your vedieos. I have several questions I hope you can reply to sometime. How far are you from the Netherlands? What do you do for a living, job? Is Sweden a lot different from your home country? What do you like best, worst there? How far are you from grocery store, gas station, other necessitates?
That's a lot of questions, feels a bit like a job interview ;). We live in the Värmland region of Sweden and Google maps can tell you the distance. Probably about 1600km. I don't work but Nathalie does. We live a 7 min drive from a village with supermarket and half an hour from a bigger village with more shops. The rest of the questions we'll maybe answer in a video in the near future.
@@agrolin wel, omdat dit een samenvattingsvideo is een geen "normale" vlog. We hebben hier ook meerdere Zweedse kennisen die het leuk vinden ons te volgen en op deze manier is deze video dus voor een wat breder publiek.
@@jongroves5838 I think you mean Swedish bank account? And no, that seems to be a prerequisite here to buy a house. I've heard it can be different for holiday homes, but before we had a bank account here we were told by the realtors that they wouldn't even consider our offer if our money wasn't at a Swedish bank. There are some legitimate reasons for that, but that would be going too far for here and now.
@@Tom_Brouwers thanks for quick reply, and yes I meant Swedish 🤦 I assumed you wouldn't have been able to obtain a bank account, as that seems near impossible.
@@jongroves5838 haha yes it was quite a challenge and took us about 6 months but we've had a bank account for a while now, including BankID and Swish which is really nice 😊
@@jongroves5838 if there's no mortgage on it, and the owner/realtor are OK with it, it can be possible without a bank account. But the rules for anti money laundering are so strict that with any transfer over a certain amount (not sure how much but smt like 5k euro) that it's quite some red tape whichever way you do it 😢. Good luck!
@@babalawohrg yes, but I was hoping our quad could serve that purpose. And for the most part it does. I'm just missing a digging and lifting function really. But hey a small tractor brings other challenges, like where to store it and that it runs on diesel with isn't great with -20. But who knows, maybe in a few years' time.
Ja Nathalie werkt hier vanuit huis met hetzelfde werk dat ze in Nederland ook deed. Maar omdat we ons huis in Nederland hebben verkocht met winst en hier nu geen hypotheek hebben, kon ik stoppen met werken. In elk geval voorlopig.
@@Tom_Brouwers gelukkig dat ze kan thuiswerken, ik ben blij voor jullie, er zijn vele kanalen op RU-vid van mensen die een huis in Zweden kopen en renoveren ❤️
Buy a tractor 🚜 w snow ❄️ plow or hire a snow plow guy to do it once a week 👍👍 I hire snow plow guy once a week. I live in a snowy ❄️ state in the US 👍
@@Kim-J312 thanks for the tips! But money doesn't grow on trees unfortunately so that's why we bought a quad and not a tractor (more expensive to buy and maintain). And to hire someone here is also quite expensive since we live in a village with 600 people and not much else. The guys who do the roads have such big equipment that it will sooner destroy our driveway than just plow it. And what if he comes on Monday and you get heavy snow on Tuesday? You just stay home all week? So if I can do it myself, I prefer that.
Your kitchen is so typically mud century swedish and looking great! If I had such a kitchen with those cupboards I would just do the most necessary: raise the bench to a better size and deplace the stove, fridge etc.
The only snake you have to worry about is the fully black one (huggorm) that one can be deadly to pets,kids and elderly people. The other ones are nothing to worry about.