Translated material
I moved to Sweden and I like
Victoria Bolshagina since 2017 has been working in the Russian IKEA by a marketer. However, in 2022, the company left Russia - for Victoria and its colleagues it became a shock. She liked the work in this particular company, so in 2023 she got a job in IKEA in Sweden and moved there with her husband and daughter. Sweden was to her liking: it is comfortable, a lot of nature and a completely different standard of living. Victoria told the “cold” how their move to Sweden took place, how much life costs there compared to Russia and that she is most happy in local life.
For the sake of working in IKEA, I threw everything, but it was not in vain. Life here is better than in Russia
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I was born in the city of Oktyabrsky in the Republic of Bashkortostan. Since childhood, I wrote texts and, when I first saw the building of the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University in Moscow, fell in love with it and decided to go there. In 2007, I was taken to the evening department.
In parallel with my studies, I worked - at first a journalist, and in the fourth year I decided to try myself in advertising. In 2011, she got a job at an advertising agency where she worked with the L'Oréal brand for four years. Then she moved to other agencies, where she worked already with Unilever, Microsoft, MasterCard and other clients.
In 2017, I was invited for an interview in the Russian IKEA office. Although I was then happy with my work and did not look for a new place, I still decided to try. For three months, several interviews and tests passed, and in September 2017 I was invited to work. So I began to engage in advertising in the central office of the Russian IKEA.
The worst day
I was interested in plunging into the inner cuisine of the company: to recognize the culture of the brand and its values. We had a fantastic team of 28 people, and we were all on the same wave. Thanks to this, I felt very comfortable from the very first day.
IKEA values in Russia were the same as throughout the world, and they made me feel involved in something large-scale and important. The most important thing is simplicity: a minimum of bureaucracy, frugality, reasonable use of resources. Environmental friendliness is another value that is important for both the company and for me. Any process inside IKEA must either maintain the environment, or at least not harm it.
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By 2022, I became the leader of my own small team of three people, and I really liked what I was doing. My husband and I bought an apartment, and also built a house and traveled a lot. IKEA has become more than just working for me.
However, in March, the company announced the suspension of activities in Russia. It was one of the worst days in my life. It hurt me because I wanted at least IKEA to be with us forever. All employees were very worried. We understood that this would probably lead to the departure of the company from the Russian market.
For some time we continued to work: we completed the already begun projects or helped remotely colleagues from other countries. The activity was also curtailed, but so that, if that, then it could be easily expanded.
I felt uncertain. I really did not want to leave this company, because for me it has always been an island of normality and reliability. And I thought about finding a job in IKEA in another country.
The standard of living is much higher
I always had the possibility of moving using IKEA - it seemed interesting to me until 2022. But then we had a daughter and priorities changed.
However, in May 2022, I decided: I began to prepare a resume and look for vacancies in the Swedish IKEA. I have already been to Sweden - my husband and I often went on vacation or business trips. The husband also worked in the company with Swedish roots and soon passed a series of interviews, after which he received an offer to work in Sweden. In this regard, everything coincided well.
The process of hiring in the Swedish IKEA was the same as in Russia, but in English. In September 2022, I received an invitation to work: I was taken to the Department of Communications, where I was supposed to establish interaction between the teams within the company. All autumn I prepared documents, and in January 2023, my family and I flew to Sweden in the city of Malma, where we are now living. Malma is the third largest city in the country, is located in the south. From him to Stockholm 4.5 hours by train.
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I immediately liked Sweden. It is somewhat similar to Russia, especially according to weather conditions. The products here are clear, good infrastructure, it is convenient to move on bicycles. The way of life is very comfortable - I felt that here the standard of living is much higher.
IKEA helped a lot when moving: I bought us three flights, helped to make a residence permit for two years, which we have now extended, and get a social insurance number, without which nothing can be done here at all. In addition, IKEA provided us with temporary housing for two months.
I liked the work in the Department of Communications, but I felt that I had to return to advertising. And after a year of life in Sweden, I managed to transfer to the marketing department to the same position in which I worked in Russia. But if there we developed strategies for a certain country, taking into account the characteristics of the market, competition and goals, now I am engaged in all - more than 30 - markets at once.
The way of life is very comfortable - I felt that here the standard of living is much higher
The Swedish office is very different from the Russian one. This is a large headquarters for two thousand people. There is a good dining room where part of the cost of lunch is covered by a company, bicycles that can be taken during a working day, if you need to get somewhere quickly. There are also places for relaxation, for socialization and, of course, for the Swedish fica ( the tradition of making a break at work in order to drink coffee, eat sweets and chat with colleagues. - approx. "Cold" ).
You can't rejoice to the end
The adaptation went well, because my husband and I used to be in Malma and knew what to expect. Many say that Malmo is a dangerous city, since there are many Arabs ( about a third of the city’s population were born outside Sweden, members of the largest communities are immigrants from Iraq and Syria; according to the police survey, only 56% of residents feel safe on the street. - Note “Kholoda” ). But over these two years we have not encountered any crime and met only a good attitude towards ourselves from people of different nationalities.
Despite everything positive, it was difficult for us. On the one hand, everything is perfect and not even anything to complain about. But, on the other hand, you are at some fantastically high level of exhaustion, because the brain gets tired of everything new and you cannot fully rejoice. It is still difficult that the relatives are far away - grandparents do not see how their granddaughter grows, and my husband and I cannot take care of them.
My daughter was not easy because of the ignorance of the Swedish language. It was important for her that the children with whom she played spoke her in the same language, so she felt a little lonely. In the first kindergarten, the tongue was practically not taught: they spent a lot of time on the street, gathered cones and sang songs. But then we moved and took her to another kindergarten, where they began to teach her Swedish and pay great attention to various activities that develop speech. Six months later, the daughter spoke in Swedish.
The relatives are far away - grandparents do not see how their granddaughter grows, and my husband and I cannot take care of them
I like kindergartens in Sweden, as they pay a lot of attention to the development of children through games, research and creativity. This differs from Russian gardens, where the learning process is often more structured and formal and children have less freedom. Swedish kindergartens provide children with space for experiments and self -expression.
Then I realized that I would like to spend more time with my daughter, play with her. In addition, a game in your native language, if you are not in your country, allows you to preserve and develop a language, but for me it is especially important. I believe that the child must understand where and who he is.
During these two years, I received additional qualifications as a teacher of preschool education and a teacher of additional education. Now I work as a teacher on Sundays in the children's center, where classes from children from two to four years old in groups. With the birth of my daughter, I gradually realized that I want to connect my future life with this direction. For example, now I have started a blog in which I share the experience of emigration, motherhood and education of children, since I plan to develop my project in the field of education.
I want to understand my daughter
There is a large Russian community in Sweden. Many have been living here for decades, and they are very positive, always ready to chat, support each other, go to visit. I heard that in other countries, Russian-speaking ones somehow shun each other and can generally communicate only in English or local languages. There is no such thing in Sweden. I have never had such social life as here. And, probably, this supported me most when I moved here.
I have no friends among the Swedes. But my husband and I communicate well with local colleagues. At the same time, the IKEA is an international team, many of my colleagues, like me, do not speak in Swedish, because in the global office the language of communication is English.
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Those Swedes with whom I constantly interact and communicate are very cool. They have an amazing sense of humor, some completely fantastic level of sarcasm and self-irony. For them, it is normal to make fun of themselves. In Russia, for example, not everyone can. I heard that the people north, the more restrained and less friendly. But since we live in the south, here everyone smiles at each other.
My five-year-old daughter, for example, like a real Swede, simply loves the resin-toki. If a person goes with a dog, she will definitely make some compliment. She also has many friends, and Swedish children often come to visit us to play ․ We also communicate with their parents, but in English - here everyone speaks English very well.
The Swedes have an amazing sense of humor, some completely fantastic level of sarcasm and self-irony
Over time, I will definitely take care of the Swedish language, because I plan to live and work here. In the meantime, my level is zero, my husband has better with this: he is engaged in a tutor. Plus, soon the child will go to school, and I want to understand teachers at general meetings. I would like my daughter to be sure that I understand everything. In general, I want to understand my daughter, because there will always be some words or topics that are understandable to her precisely in Swedish.
Sweden - IKEA on the scale
Many things in Sweden, as in the rest of the Scandinavian countries , are more expensive than in Germany, Spain and other European countries. Someone calls Sweden, speaking of prices here, with one large airport, but I do not agree. In Russia now, prices have also risen very much, and if you take into account the difference in income, then there, perhaps, it will be even more expensive to live.
The average salary here is in the region of 30 thousand kroons ( more than 250 thousand rubles. - approx. "Cold" ). Renting an apartment, where there are two bedrooms and a kitchen-living room, now stands in the region of 15 thousand kroons (more than 125 thousand rubles.-approx. "Cold" ) per month. The family needs from five to eight thousand kroons ( approximately 40–65 thousand rubles. - approx. "Cold" ). We pay for a communal apartment in the region of one and a half thousand kroons ( about 12.5 thousand rubles. - approx. "Cold" ).
Malma himself is very different from Moscow. There is no violent cultural life, as in world capitals. There are completely different priorities. People in big cities are accustomed to deliveries, events, cultural events, and here more and more about nature, family, travel and inner harmony. But life in a small city in Sweden is an amazing experience. Here I feel that I have more time for myself, for my family, I like the measurement of life. Someone says that Sweden is a boring country, but this is the level of boredom that personally suits me.
It seems to me that for me Sweden is IKEA on a scale, and IKEA in Russia was a little Sweden. I think that through the brand the founder of the company Ingvar Kamprad simply transferred the Swedish way of life to other countries. And this, in fact, helped us to adapt here a lot.
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Author: Daria Morozova photo: provided by Victoria