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#MySweden: ‘Stockholm is great in both the summer and winter’

Every week one of The Local's readers takes over our Instagram. This time Tom O'Gorman and his partner Sara show us their Sweden.

#MySweden: 'Stockholm is great in both the summer and winter'
Tom and Sara. Photo: Tom O'Gorman

How old are you and what do you normally spend your days doing?

I am 29 years old, and Sara is 31 years old. We both work in Stockholm, so unfortunately work takes up most of our week, although we of course take advantage of the generous work-life balance. Sara works in creative services for [Nordic travel agency] Ving, travelling, exploring, and filming Europe and afar. I work for Zurich Insurance doing financial strategy.

In our free time, our activities depend on the season. In the summer we like to be out and about in nature, swimming, fishing, kayaking. In the winter we have dinner parties, go to SFI [Swedish for Immigrants] class, get the flat nice and warm and read a book, or head out to Hammarbybacken for some skiing! Stockholm is great in both the summer and the winter.

When and why did you move to your city/neighbourhood?

To understand why we moved to our area of the city, you have to understand how difficult it is to rent in Stockholm. We have both been here for just over two years, and we have both moved four times in that period. Our latest flat, fortunately, is a second hand rental contract through someone that Sara worked with who no longer needed the apartment. We have this place for one year, having moved in in January. We didn’t specifically chose to live in Kristineberg, on the island of Kungsholmen. It was a case of “find a flat first, and if it’s in a nice area then great!”. 

We both moved to Stockholm in 2017 for our work. We moved separately and then met here. Sara is from Greece but moved from London, and I’m from Liverpool, England but I moved here from Southampton, England.

What do you love the most about your city/neighbourhood?

The best thing about Kristineberg is the proximity to the water. We usually go for a lake-swim after work (something we could never do in London). Sometimes we bring food as well and then we’ll be there the whole evening. I bought a SUP board last year from Blocket so we occasionally try that. And then I will fish whilst Sara reads her book before we both watch the sunset. Stockholm, and Kristineberg, is all about the water for us!

What annoys you the most about your city/neighbourhood?

I think the thing that disappoints both Sara and I about the smaller residential areas in Stockholm is the lack of restaurants/pubs/shops. To really get those, you have to travel into the city centre. Whereas in London, and many other cities in the world, an area like Kristineberg would have lots of cool restaurants, bars, and a couple of shops. And then you would identify yourself more with living in Kristineberg and less with generally living in Stockholm.

This has become really apparent to us now we’re searching for somewhere to buy a flat. In a lot of the areas on the tunnelbana/pendeltåg line there are just residential areas with not much in the way of restaurants etc.  

How should I spend a day in your city/neighbourhood?

Start your day with a dip in the water at Kristinebergs Strand. The water here is perfect… what a beautiful start to the day. Bring a picnic as well so you can have lunch by the water in the sun.

Then go for a walk along the cost between Kristinebergs Strand and Fredhäll. Stop off for a drink at Solstugan… great views! If you keep walking around to Rålambshovsparken you can rent kayaks which are a great way to see the city. Then finish your day with a barbecue in the park after dropping off the kayaks.

What's a fun fact not everyone knows about your city/neighbourhood?

Fredhällsparken at weekends plays host to LARP (live action role play) and historical re-enactment events where you can frequently see people dressed in historical clothing acting out fighting scenes. It’s very interesting to watch. Also, for the naturists among you, Fredhälls Badklubb is one of the few badklubbs in the city where it’s acceptable to go for a dip without swimming clothes on!

Follow Tom on Instagram here. To find out how you can be the next reader to host our #MySweden Instagram takeover, click HERE.

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