My biggest pet peeve with Sweden 😤

There are a lot of things that I worried about when I was coming to Sweden, the weather, the people, the cost of living, the environment, all of it. Surprisingly for me though, none of those things found their place at the top of my list when it came to grievances. In this post, I’m going to talk about the thing that has annoyed me most in Sweden, shopping 🛒.

Now, I don’t know if there’s some secret reasoning behind why Swedish businesses function the way they do, but I’m just going to tell you right off the bat, the things that honestly just grind my gears when it comes to shopping here 😤.

• No sizes 🤏🏾

Now, what do I mean by sizes? For some reason, in Sweden, they just don’t seem to sell items in the sizes that I’m used to. I just can’t seem to find basic things like soap and deodorant in the sizes that I’m accustomed to. I’m genuinely at a loss for words about why one of the most sustainable countries in the world operates like this. For example, at home – or everywhere else I’ve been for that matter – they would sell a tin of deodorant in a 250 ml bottle, but in Sweden, I never find that. The same applies for so many other things including soap, meat, lotion, snacks – literally anything else. This fact annoys me to my core, because I always have to go back to the store to get a refill of an item that finished within a week. Either that, or I just have to live without certain things that aren’t available at all in Swedish stores 😭.  If there’s a logical reasoning behind this, I would love to hear it, and if you do know, don’t hesitate to comment it down below. Maybe that would help me to cope a bit better 😂.

• The lack of brands ☹️

If you’re coming to Sweden, expecting to be able to find all your favourite brands, think again. I grew up in Jamaica, and we had most, if not all, the American food brands. My cereal isle in Jamaica is about twice as long as the one here, and don’t even get me started on the snacks. Healthy eating is definitely a focus for Swedish people, and while I can appreciate that, I’m still sad that I can’t have so many of the food brands that I’m used to. Some of the biggest American companies have little to no presence on the Swedish store shelves, and that still stuns me today. What’s worse is that of the brands that remain, there may still only be one brand of a specific item to choose from, which, you guessed it, means I have no choice at all 😅. I guess it’s for the greater good. At this point though, I’d rather be able to make an unhealthy choice than no choice at all 🤷🏾.

• A complete lack of items ❌

I don’t know if I should’ve been completely shocked by this one. I always heard people talking about Europe’s strict import laws, especially with relation to food, but sometimes I wonder if these laws are even stricter in Sweden. From items that I’m used to like scent boosters for washing, or dryer sheets, to your most basic household necessities like white vinegar or Scotch Brite, I struggle to find so many of the items that I would’ve considered the basics. In fact, I remember going all over town looking for dryer sheets, and asking 2 store attendants in Normal if they knew where I could find them. They literally looked at each other and laughed, saying they had never heard the term, and did not know what I was talking about 😂.

• Store hours 🕒

When I’m at home, I could get up and go to a pharmacy at midnight if I needed to. Worse yet, whenever I was in the US, I realized that there were so many retailers that never had closing times. Businesses where I come from are just always open and always willing to take your money, whatever the ask. I suspect the work life balance in Sweden has really rooted itself into every part of society because, by 4 in the afternoon so many of the stores are closed. While some supermarkets remain open till 11PM or close to midnight, those aren’t always nearby, at the end of the day, there are little to no places that are open 24/7. I guess that’s a part of the Swedish way 🤷🏾.

All things considered, while I know that this part of Swedish life is a bit disparaging, these cons definitely don’t outweigh the benefits of living in Sweden. To be honest, the results of limited food choices in Sweden definitely do reap a benefit for Swedish people. If it’s one thing I always say about Swedes, it’s that they all look like they’re ready to go to war; they’re all very fit, extremely well put together, and just seem like they’ve got this thing called life nailed down on every occasion. Take from that what you may, but it’s definitely good enough for me 😂.

Thanks for reading, and I can’t wait to share another blog with you in a little while!