Living in Västerås, Ludvika or Stockholm – everything is possible

Applying for the trainee program doesn’t have to mean moving to Västerås for the trainees based there. There are other options.

Quite a few of us live in Stockholm, one in Örebro, and we all commute on a daily basis. There are advantages to both living in town and commuting, and we’re here to tell you about them!

Living in Västerås

My name is Beatrice, and I chose to move to Västerås. For me, the decision was pretty easy. I didn’t really have any connections to Stockholm, cost of living would be lower in Västerås, and staying in Linköping, where I grew up and studied, certainly wasn’t an option. So, in August, I packed up my life and moved to Västerås. Here are some things I’ve noticed since moving here:

1. Västerås is a good size for me. I love being able to bike to work and that everything is super close! I never have far to the gym, the city, the grocery store or whatever I want to do. My sense of direction is awful, so the size of Västerås has really allowed me to focus on everything else in my life that changed when I moved here, like a new job, new friends, new habits etc, rather than trying to find my way around town.
2. I finally get the fuss about water. I never understood people who told me they “missed living close to water”. Now I do! Being able to run along the water or just hang out watching the sunset is something I never new I missed, but now I can’t imagine not having that opportunity.

   

3. Västerås is great for socializing. An important aspect of the trainee program for me is the other trainees. Finding a sense of community is important to me and living in Västerås allows me to participate in as many things as possible without it cutting into my off-work time too much. It also means that I can offer my couch to trainees who live further away!
4. It’s got really great travel connections. Anything Västerås doesn’t have, is easy to travel to. Stockholm is super close, so if I want to do something in a bigger city, it’s just a short train ride away. Because a lot of people commute from here, there are also really great train connections home to my family in Linköping and Gothenburg, which made the decision to move a lot easier.

Living in Stockholm

I’m Carolin from Munich in Germany and studied my Master’s in Production Engineering at KTH in Stockholm. When I got the offer to join the trainee program, I was debating with myself for quite a while if I should take it. Why? Because for me it was clear that I won’t move to Västerås in the near future. I wanted to continue living together with my boyfriend who works in Stockholm. So, I met up with some older trainees to hear about their commuting experiences and decided to go for it.

I have to say for me it works pretty well so far. I am working 50 min on the train each way where I can really focus. The big bonus are Elin, Anton, Olivia and Frida: we are the commuter gang – aka the TRAINees on rails. It’s great seeing at least one familiar smiling face on the train every day. Depending on your manager and your position it’s also possible to do home office from time to time.

Now a bit more details why Stockholm is the place to be: I live on Stora Essingen, a super cute island close to Kungsholmen. Personally, I love the closeness to water and nature in Stockholm. I am very outdoorsy and running along the water in the city (Kungsholmen, Gamla Stan, Södermalm – you name it) is pure joy for me and during summer I can even swim around my island! Stockholm is a very green city (if you compare to other European capitals) so you get all the benefits of living in a big city such as shopping, concerts, the best coffee shops etc. but you can also enjoy a quiet walk e.g. in Djurgården.

I wouldn’t say commuting from Stockholm is the perfect set-up, but the argument ‘I don’t want to move to Västerås’ should definitely not stop you from applying to the trainee program. Do it! It is absolutely worth it!

If you prefer to live in the country side of Sweden, Ludvika is a great option! More about that in a future blog post.