Generally, you can easily find what you want in Sweden. After all, this is also a place where people live. However Coming to Sweden from thousands mile away (or few miles away), of course there are some things you’ll miss! Here are some things I regret not bringing
Number one. Poncho raincoats. If you are coming to Lund, oh yeah you definitely need them. It is rainy and windy, umbrella can’t do its function sometimes. For Stockholm, I heard it’s less windy, so you might wanna ask people who have been through the weather. Apparently it differs by the region I guess. If you are planning to bike like Swedes, who bikes rain or shine, you’ll definitely need some waterproof ponchos. This will make you invincible of rain and harsh wind💪.For any other outdoor activities like hiking, forest wandering or so, this can be your mighty tool. There are some stores selling this type of raincoat, but during first semester, the rain poured soon(like September to Octoberish) and it was hard for me to figure out which store has it. Soooooo it seems better to grab one that was in your home!
Second, Waterproof clothes & shoes
Have you experienced on a rainy day, where each step you feel like walking with soaked sponge below your feet, upon returning home, you set your shoes aside to dry, but rains all night long and the next day, when you put your feet inside shoes, your socks get soggy right away? damn!
There is high chance that you’ll experience this scenario when you are in Sweden. My top recommendation? Invest in a good pair of rain boots.Additionally clothes too! Especially if you’re planning any outdoor activities, waterproof clothes will be your savior. Just putting on normal clothes will weigh down with freezing rain water, it just gets irritating. Plus, who wants to risk leaving heart-shaped watermarks on their jeans after sitting on a damp bench?.
Third laundry net.
🚩Update: it turned out it is sold in willys or clas ohlson!!No luggage space? then buying here would be a better option
Don’t let your dormitory washer ruin your favorite sweather!!As soon as I saw my flat’s washer, I knew some of my night-out clothes won’t survive in that deadly hole. What do I need? a laundry net. This would be like a life jacket to clothes. It prolongs the cloth life expectancy by more gentle wash, which means I don’t have to buy new clothes for my stay! As I didn’t bring any from home, I started searching for one. It was pretty difficult to find one, searched every store and supermarket near me and nope not there, eventually I found it in Amazon!
Number four: bring your favorite snack & food product!!
I assume everyone has their favorite snack or so. Packing one or so can help you with your homesick!
My friend brought loads of Buldak fire noodle by flavor(she exceeded baggage weight for this lol), and it was not a bad move at all, since I saw supermarkets selling like one or two Korean ramen and flavors were very limited. Better toss in some of your favorites into luggage!
If you are German, sorry but the bread would be different and it won’t break the table if you hit it with a bread unlike German bread. Also no liquidy peanut butter 🙁 (Based on mourning from my German friend)
Sidenote:
Of course all the spices are sold in Sweden. But among spices chili powder is quite different with other chilis. Chili powder sold in ordinary Swedish supermarket mostly doesn’t give you a kick. It’s about slight toe dipping kick. Fortunately, asian mart has chili powder that kicks you right.
If you want to know where the Asian store is in Lund, I’ll put a link down here.
Number five last but not least, cosmetics.
Of course Sweden has good quality of cosmetics! It’s not about quality actually. It’s about price.. tax for cosmetics is 25% in Sweden. Eyeliner from L’Oréal is about 149 kr, beauty of joseon sunscreen about 199 kr Fenty beauty lip stain is about 310 kr.. Sales would ease down price a bit, just some patience needed. So ,in costwise, bringing some essential cosmetics to Sweden doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all. I regret pulling out all my favorite Korean cosmetics from my luggage😭(that damn luggage weight limit)
Optionally I recommend checking Wi-Fi connector in your place. Some places need Wi-Fi connector as they are connected with cables. And also furry pajama it’s kind of hard to see furry pajamas but during winter in Sweden, these are Lifesaver.
Of course it depends on your lifestyle and region you’ll be, I would recommend getting recommendation from people who already been there or are there. It would also be a good topic for starting a conversation with people. Wish you all good luck!