I just gave birth in a hospital in Sweden and I confirm that all midwife appointments and delivery at hospital were free. I only paid 660SEK (about 70 euros) for the meals during my stay (3 days) after delivery. And all vaccines and doctor appointments for the child are free. I am really grateful.
It seems like Sweden has built family life/kids into the design/infrastructure of the country whereas in the states, there aren’t really universal infrastructures to help support families with kids.
Could you make a video about being Christian in Sweden? Sweden is great in many ways but when it comes to faith it is soooo sensitive. Have you had any experiences with Swedes regarding your faith?
Canada sounds a lot better now and way closer to Sweden actually. The healthcare system is definitely extremely affordable, we’re getting $10/day daycare now, we have CCB to so there’s lots of stuff. I’ve definitely loved living here. The ONLY issue is the cost of housing which needs to come down and hopefully will be addressed soon but either way I’ve love the diversity, relative equality and social benefits of Canada 🇨🇦 🍁
That daycare ammount isn't true where I live. it's still whatever they want to charge which is $40/day. And there are no spaces in places that might qualify for that ammount. the wait list my sons are on (for the last 2 years) has over 600 names on it and we're 200 names from the top still after 2 years.
@@JazzyJosie I don't think they rolled out the $10.00 day thing yet I think it's coming 2025 or 2026 because they have to transition. Realistically it should be purely tax-funded like public school though it only makes sense but maybe that's later on. That waitlist is crazy though! My sister had her baby and was able to get a spot at her daycare super easily because they'd just opened and were taking kids. I feel like if they paid ECEs a livable wage they wouldn't have this problem.
Hello again! I'm in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Child care is $40/day. That's what you should budget for and if you find something cheaper then hurray. So it's generally about $800/month/kid. There are subsidies but there are no spaces. My two youngest have been on wait lists for 2 years. So i'm forced to stay at home. Rent for a 3 bedroom house is around $2800+ per month. for example i've seen a lot around $3500/month. (this is NOT in the inner-city/core/bad neighbourhood. This is in safe family neighbourhoods and suburbs) I live off my 'child tax benefit' which has a basic ammount for everyone and then it goes up if your income goes down My income is 0, so for 4 kids I get $2300/month. Which wouldn't even cover rent. I qualified for provincial welfare - i get $500 extra per month. To survive, and live in a save neighbourhood: I have a roommate. We split rent. Without this I would not be able to live here. Or anywhere for that matter. Medicine is expensive for me now that I'm a single parent. My sons puffers are over $125 each and he gets a new one every few months. My other son has really bad eczeema and his cream is now $170/month. Dental oh my goodness .I haven't found anywhere that has a 'sliding scale' based on income, so my other son had 3 cavities and a shark tooth. It was over $2000 to fix. And they wanted to do checkups and cleanings afterwards for all my children around $350 each but I could not afford it so I didn't make those appointments. Vision tests are free for children until age 12 and for seniros. Just to help you see the amounts: butter is around $6 for one brick. eggs are easily $5 or more, milk (4 litres) is over $5, a loaf of bread generic is $4. Unless you always get things on sale it gets really costly. one pack of 8 vanilla yogurts full price is $6-8 depending on the store. I have tried to go to food banks - you need to be on a list. You have to call to get your name on the lsit, nobody answers or returns calls. Have been trying for 6 months. (they are over full, running out of food most days) I went to university a few years ago it was over $8000 for the year. And we have arctic winters without the darkness. it gets to -50 degrees celcius with windchill (200kms/hour winds or more). So we don't go out in winter much. I live right near zero dollars available every week. Its intense. I lean on God. That's how we survive now. I hope you have a wonderful week and weekend! Thank you for this video!
We're all ex children! Supporting parents and families is so important - raising kids always was a communal effort. It's the only way to protect parent's wellbeing and mental health, and thereby give each child the best chances at a good start in life.
Even after having moved to Gothenburg from London in 1987 at the age of twenty seven and raising two children, I am still amazed at the high standard of living and quality of life that can be attained for the same work input as compared to many other counties! To move back to London I would have to be extremely rich to live like I do here in Little London (nickname for Gothenburg😂)! 👍🏾🙏🏾 🏴🇸🇪🇹🇹
I'm a Colombian/Caribbean girl sitting here on the couch with a pittenzak in the Netherlands. I am happy to be living here but it's already so cold!! I don't have kids yet but I love the work/life balance here, it makes me much more confident in becoming a mom in the future😊
I live in Fort Worth Texas and childcare costs have gone up a lot since Covid. Babysitters/ Nanny’s are no lower than like $17/hr in my area. With the economy fluctuating and prices for everything keep going up, it can be really hard to find affordable childcare.
I raised my kids in Keller my husband had to stay home while I worked because my job paid better it was expensive back then we moved away in 2015 to Canada my kids are older now youngest is 15 but I feel for you the whole DFW area is now so expensive
@@mosimosi630 I could only imagine what it must’ve been like with multiple children 😅 I only have one and it’s been overwhelming being a mom while working full time. Praises to you mama!
It's a good thing you started out the video by telling us which one of you is Max and which is Maya... I probably never would have figured it out otherwise 😂😂
I always envied the work/ maternity/ paternity leave & vacation practices in Europe and Canada because in America they train people to work until you can’t anymore. I always felt Europe and Canada get it when it comes to quality of life.
I live in Switzerland and daycare is 1000 swiss francs and more a month. In some bigger cities it can go up to 2500 a month! Healthcare is about 300 swiss francs a month per person. Love hearing about your experience in Sweden! But I don't think I can survive a swedish winter 😂
Washington, DC (United States). We have 2 boys ages 11 and 13! private school tuition is almost $142,000 USD total! This does not include after school activities or school spring break trips to places like Portugal etc! We need to relocate to Sweden.
We plan to move from the U.S. with our 2 children.... as Jamaicans we know that the way America forces parents to be away from their children to somehow survive is ridiculous
I love these types of videos bc these are real questions people ask themselves. I know I’ve asked myself this but didn’t know where to start on the answers. But I love that you guys break it down and also based on your experience and what you know
What is diversity like over there? I've seen you guys go on the road often, but I don't see ppl like look like me (I'm dark skin. Jamaican). I love all of this, but that's my concern. We're actually looking to move from the States in 2/2.5 years. Portugal is our 1st choice because of this.
The major cities are more diverse but in our experience still quiet segregated compare to other places we’ve lived in. However where we live we can’t say that it’s very diverse but you’d be surprised I manage to find my people even out hear 😂😂😂 / Maya
The Only downside of Sweden to me is the Weather, too cold, brrrr. I live in South Spain and the daycare is FREE but I have my daughter in a private one for healthier food and bilingual for €400, but also just 4 month maternity leave and not everywhere kid play area (only ikea and few restaurants). But also very welcoming to kids, Free healthcare, I love it here based on the weather alone, O dislike cold, lol
The Netherlands here👋 Costs are pretty similar here, but healthcare isn't free. Sweden is kind of toptoptop of the world i feel ;) As someone without kids I have to admit I recognize the 'coldness' I and a lot of Dutchies feel towards kids in restaurants etc hahaha. We are not so family oriented and very individualistic.
When you guys talk about Sweden and for example free schooling at University, is this free for Sweden citizens? Or what is the catch here for say Americans or someone who isn’t a Swedish citizen
No comments on this one haha but living in Sweden is my biggest dream/ goal in life .. really inspiring to watch your videos just want to thank you for these videos 🙏 god bless your beautiful family.
I live in NYC. my child is 10 so about 10yrs ago, I paid $2,600 a month for childcare. This is for babies/toddlers. Thankfully that change and we only pay for after school which depending can be $100-500 per month. This is for 2 hours after school. Tuition can be free if you go to a City University and your income can dictate that too. But universities can cost way more than 20K per year. In fact, some people owe 100k after graduation. I'd really love to move, literally anywhere else because that cost-of-living is just for childcare, imagine everything else.
Not all of Canada. In Quebec we have daycare basically covered (costs about 8-9 dollars per day). Other provinces are also starting to apply covered childcare. I think Alberta is doing it too now…
I wish you guys gave more detailed information on your topics bc it does feel a bit surface level and general. Still a great introduction to more videos like this. I’m in Arizona and I’m Native American and although we get “free”healthcare we still need health insurance bc if we get referred out to a specialist or need very advanced/specialized care, we need insurance to cover that. Also things like braces, glasses and such are paid out of pocket unless we have insurance. Our general health and check ups are free at Indian health clinics and hospitals.
$1500 per month in Texas. The USA does not pay during maternity leave. The law only protects your employer from firing you because you have given birth.
Happy wednesday Maya yes sweden seems to be gorgeous.I have to visit someday.I am a medical student snd they normally send us all over .Hope they could send me sweden one day.Maya really love you stay bless💟💗
Living in Ireland here, housing is expensive, childcare is expensive (same as in sweden the more kids you have the more gov't help you get) , high taxes (same as sweden if you make the more you get taxed more), long wait times for everything, cold climate = cold people/ kinda cliquey (but they always offer you a cup of tea which is nice but Maya described it well because I'm from the US originally so it took a lot of getting used to.... not everyone is open to being friends with you!!), hospital is similar as in sweden as well (major operations are pretty much free but births you have to pay for I think)
The 12 wks in 🇺🇸 it’s a new law now, for a little bit, before it used to be 6 wks for natural and 8 (which is not enough) if it was c-section, in my case I didn’t went back until my baby was 4month bcuz I had very bad postpartum 😢 now that I look back I wish I had stayed out until she was at least 8-9 month 😓
That is amazing Sweden do that for their citizens… I live in QuebecCanada … I know throughout Canada it’s not same when it comes to daycare … every province have their ways of helping daycare cost … Quebec there are governments run days cara call CPA … there is a long waiting list but if you find place you only pay 10 dollars a day… however private ones are costly … One more thing, you mentioned people unfriendly at the restaurant, I don’t think is related to the weather but cultural… I travel with my kids when they were young and hands down for us England was the worse place and perhaps that is why they send most of their children to boarding schools… Quebec cold and the people don’t dislike children…
I live in Manchester UK and don't have a family but my friends in the same area pay around 700-1000 on childcare a month. Out government puts our taxes into the wrong things and our National health service is rock bottom because it's not funded properly. I don't think I would move anywhere else but I think our country is especially rough on people of colour. It sounds amazing living in Sweden but I wonder how hard it is to get a visa to live there. Would love to know this ❤ love from a fan since the new York day's ❤
Some resultants do actually close. But hotels and most restaurants also make sure that they are covered with staff to ensure good revenue during these times. Since people are off and are looking for hospitality activities. Also a great time for younger to work during summers
Ironically I have felt less of that on the countryside and the smaller towns. I have had one incident in Stockholm but other than that I haven’t felt it. / Maya
There are definitely some things Sweden are going through right now that we didn’t have time to touch on in this video. I couldn’t blame it entirely on immigration though.
I grew up in California & Connecticut.. both states are expensive 😮., I have had roomies that are single moms and spend so much on child care and my married friends the wife has to stay home to save money 💰 in it.. don’t get me started in healthcare and taxes 🫣🤪😫😡., snow no biggie for me growing up in Connecticut that’s easy lol
