swedespeed -

Are you a native of Stockholm? I lived for a year in Vaxholm and went to school in Stockholm/ I remember my family talking about the taxes and the goods and others. I was VERY impressed with the educational system that I saw in place. I didn't have to deal with the health care system but I agree with you in that there are goods abd bads in every country I've ever lived or worked in - some worse than others.

USMCFLYR

 

Totally right !!!

 

USM, I only lived in Stockholm for about six months when I converted my FAA license to a Swedish license back in 1999.

Me and my wife (American) would love to have a place in Stockholm and spend the summers over there. No better place to be during the summer IMO. By many considered to be the most beautiful capital in the world, if I may brag a little .

Taxes has always been a hot topic back home, for good reasons. They are very high, but not quite as bad as in Denmark and Norway. Fortunately for those paying Swedish taxes the sitting government is in process of lowering them bit by bit.

 

how does a pilot forum so quickly turn to politics??? what is the value of this statement for pilots??? i think there are many forums that exist for discussions about how taxes are spent and health care systems and all that... but i think a pilot forum would be nice.

 

I get 15 pay checks a year here in Europe (Thanks to a law here in Greece regarding Xmas pay,Easter pay,Vacation pay)... really can't complain.

I guess it depends where you live and who you work for ... I couldn't imagine living in Scandinavia. Everyone has their own experience.

 

I would have hoped that before you went to the time and trouble to get a JAA license you would have spent some time researching where you would be living for an extended time to pay off that investment.

There is no question that anyone will find the expat experience to be a lot different than "back home" no matter where home is. The trick, I believe, is to embrace the differences and take that experience with you when you return. You will be more well rounded for having been outside the USA. It's good to see that we don't have a monopoly on all that is correct in the world.

Politics is an essential part of living in the world. For a forum relating to expatriate flying there is a need to discuss all factors that come with living away from home.

 

Just because it's "free" doesn’t mean it's actually there when you need it... Case in point, my mom waited almost two years for her brain tumor surgery. It was a similar type of cancer that Kennedy had but much less aggressive... Had it been the same type as his she’d have been out of luck as the waiting time would’ve been the same (according to her treating doctor)…

She lives within an hour or so of the hospital and managed to get in front of the line when a person ahead of her died just a day or so before his surgery was supposed to happen; they called my mom to fill his “waiting-line slot.” She's fine now but the pre-surgery testing and the waiting process was a horrible experience.

You’ll have many universal health care proponents here tell you how great it is but from my personal experience it really isn’t that great. My sister is an equivalent to a physician assistant in Norway and they seem to have some issues there too despite the record oil revenues…

I tried to put my mom on my health insurance here in the US but couldn’t do it without a SS number... That's what you get for trying it the legal way...

Oh, before someone says I made it all up – my mom lives just outside of Stockholm and the surgery was performed at Ersta Hospital. I posted a summary of our experiences here a while back in one of the universal health care threads…

My overall perspective on universal health care in Scandinavia - the doctors and the general quality of health care over there is top notch - the problem is to actually get through the bureaucratic layers of government “stallers,” “naysayers,” and other paper pushers... Our system here isn’t perfect either and should be improved BUT I sure don't want a European style universal health care here…

 

The taxes in Sweden used to be much higher than in Denmark or Norway but have been dropping slowly since the early 80s. The current conservative government in particular has been very aggressive when it comes to pushing for lower taxes.

People in Sweden were used to the high tax rates and no one really protested any more; most simply gave up. It was a famous children’s books author who unwittingly caused an embarrassment to the liberal government of Social-Democrats (equivalent to Democrats in the US). Her name was Astrid Lindgren and if you have kids – she wrote the “Pippi Longstocking” series and many other children’s books.

Anyways, in 1976 Ms. Lindgren had won a price for one of her stories but didn’t get to keep one penny (or öre ) from her winnings. Her marginal tax rate was determined to be 102% !!!

That’s right! The government took her entire price in taxes AND she had to pay an additional 2% of the winnings from her own savings!!!

They'd been increasing the tax rates year after year and no one "realized" that eventually there wouldn't be anything left to be taken away...

That’s when people finally woke up…



Astrid Lindgren - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(...) In 1976, a scandal arose in Sweden when Lindgren's marginal tax rate was publicized to have risen to 102%. This was to be known as the "Pomperipossa effect" from a story she published in Expressen on 3 March 1976. The publication led to a stormy tax debate. In the parliamentary election later in the same year the Social Democrat government was voted out for the first time in 40 years, and the Lindgren tax debate was one of several controversies that may have contributed to this result. (...)

 

Birdie - if you get furloughed and need to look for jobs in other countries you must take everything into conisderation... Not only the pay rates but also the tax rates, type of health insurance, auto insurance, food prices, etc... It's almost impossible to discuss this issue without some kind of a comparison, wouldn't you say?

 

Greetings Birdie, the intention with my post was simply to share my experience with others who might be considering a move abroad. It appears that you take offense to my post because it does not adress what you think is not "pilot issues"! What you feel those might be is anyones guess! If I may suggest some tolerance for others, you will find that you might benefit by learning from others experiences. Which is always better than learning the hard way yourself. One never knows when a situation arises which changes ones circumstances.

Although short and unsympathetic, I thank you for your reply! I will however go home when the time is right for me. I am optimistic and believe the financial climate the US airlines are facing today, will improve in a not very distant future. When that happens, new opportunities will once again present themselves and I am sure many returning expats will have developed a new appreciation for the USA.