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Tag archives for food

Money Saving Tips for Students

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Fellow blogger Kazem recently wrote a really nice blog on the cost of living in Sweden. He did a great job of outlining all of the essential expenditures for a student in Sweden, and I’ll try to pick up where he left off by providing some tips on how to stretch your krona (or preferred currency) as far as possible. So in a somewhat random, yet itemized list:

Food & Drink

  • You’re going to want avoid eating in restaurants as much as possible if money is a big concern for you. I’ve found Swedish restaurants to be expensive. There are many great restaurants in Sweden, but higher quality comes at a price. Learn to cook instead! If you have to eat out for a meal, choose lunch over dinner because a lot of restaurants have lunch specials that offer huge savings over the dinner prices.
  •  Since we’ve already established that you probably won’t be eating at restaurants as much as you might be accustomed to, familiarize yourself with the weekly ads from grocery stores (i.e. ICA, Lidl, Hemköp, Coop, etc.). These fliers are easily accessible on each of their respective websites, and I’ve found some great specials on various types of meat. Also, it is advisable to buy your groceries in the suburbs or away from the city center if possible. Unfortunately, the most convenient stores are typically the most expensive.
  • Alcohol is more expensive in Sweden than in most other countries in the world. If you’re planning on going out to a bar and having more than a couple of drinks in a night, it would be a good idea to have a pre-party somewhere. This will save you a ton of money over the course of time because the prices at Systembolaget are much more affordable than any bar.

Entertainment

  • Many museums are either free or have a reduced entrance fee for students and/or youth. In Gothenburg, the Konstmuseum (art museum), Röhsska Museum (design museum), Natural History Museum, and the City Museum are completely free for people who are under the age of 26!

Entrance to the Gothenburg Art Museum. Photo: B. Seward

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Brett Seward - Student

May 18, 2013

Homemade Sushi

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What do you do with yourself when you find a free weeknight? Well, get together with friends and make some sushi of course! At least that’s what a few of us thought last week.  You can buy all the ingredients for making your own sushi from a local grocery store, although shopping at a local Japanese market will save you money and will probably get you better quality items. To do this, you will definitely need sheets of the seaweed covering (nori), some short grain rice, vinegar and lime, and whatever else you want to put in your rolls.

To start with cook the rice as you normally would. When it is done add some salt, vinegar, and a little lime juice. Lay out the nori and add a layer of rice. Then add whatever sliced ingredients you wish. You will end up with something looking like this:

Now you cut it up into slices and eat! Simple, right? To be honest I don’t know if this is the exact recipe for making sushi, but this is what we came up with. What fun is making food if you can’t be creative? :)

Kazem Behbahani - Student

May 1, 2013

The cost of living in Sweden

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Being in Sweden is one of the most satisfying experiences to have. There are plenty of attractions throughout the country and an abundance of culture to take part in. However, as a student, staying in Sweden can be challenging. Coming from the US everyone was under the impression that Sweden was a “more expensive” country than a America. To a degree that is true. So for anyone out there who is thinking of moving to Sweden for whatever reason I would like to go over the monthly costs that you will have to face:

  • Accommodation: 3000+ SEK. Accommodation is the hardest thing to find when coming to Sweden because it requires you being in a queue for some time and may be the reason that some people won’t come. So if you are able to find a place to stay consider yourself lucky. On the low end you can be paying about 3000 however you will probably will be sharing a flat or a corridor. The more you are able to pay, the better your accommodation will be.
  • Transportation: 560 SEK (student price). Getting around Stockholm is very easy with the public transportation system. You are able to buy a monthly SL pass that will give you unlimited access to that system for the month. For anyone new to Stockholm I recommend getting it so that you have a good chance to explore. If you are looking to save money though you might not have to get this pass if you live close to school and perhaps a grocery store. Some people also buy bikes a ride those around during the warm months and only buy a pass for a month or two in the winter.
  • Food: 1200 SEK. This amount will depend on what exactly you eat and will vary. 1200 is the value that I spend on average a month for food.
  • Insurance. Remember you have to get insurance, both home and health/dental. If you are a student find out what insurance you can get abroad.
  • Phone: 150 SEK. I have a smartphone and use Google Maps a lot to get around so I had to make sure I got a plan with data on it. There are plenty of companies to choose from. The most popular one for students is Comviq. I have a prepaid plan from Telenor. I pay 150 SEK for 3000 minutes, 3000 texts, and 500 MB of data for 30 days. I have never reached any of those limits so I though this was the best plan for me.

Putting everything together, at the very least you will be spending about 5000 SEK per month living here. That does not include things such as: eating out, buying books, or any extra expenditures that you have. I hope this information is useful for anyone considering on coming over to Sweden.

Photo of an ice cream cone and Mehsum Rupani at Kista Centrum – Photo by: Kazem Behbahani

Kazem Behbahani - Student

April 29, 2013

My Swedish Bucket List

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I’ve been living in Gothenburg for about 8 months now, so hopefully it’s not too late to finally post my Swedish bucket list. At least this way you’ll be able to see what I’ve done so far and what I still have left to accomplish (spoiler alert: a lot!).

 

Travel

1. Stockholm

2. “The North”: Lappland/Kiruna/Piteå

3. Malmö/Lund

4. Uppsala

5. Neighboring countries of Norway, Denmark, and Finland

 

Cuisine

6. Meat: Moose, reindeer, meatballs, salmon, herring

7. Pastries: Cinnamon bun, princess cake, Lucia bun, semla, pepparkakor (you can see that I take my desserts seriously)

8. Beverages: Glögg, julmust/påskmust, mead, akvavit/snaps

Important note: I have no desire to try (or smell) surströmming, so don’t even go there!

 

Activities

9. Visit Gothenburg’s archipelago

A small part of the Gothenburg archipelago. Photo by Brett Seward.

A small part of the Gothenburg archipelago. Photo by Brett Seward.

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Brett Seward - Student

April 14, 2013

A Trip to the Grocery Store

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I have always preferred to buy my groceries late at night. I like to get in and out of the store as quickly as possible and this is usually easiest to achieve when the store is mostly empty. Late night shopping was easier for me to orchestrate when had I had a car in the US (and when the food labels were in English), but occasionally the opportunity presents itself in Sweden too. In order to properly commemorate a typical experience, I took some pictures of my most recent nighttime shopping excursion. Note: 9 PM is considered late for shopping here since most stores close relatively early.

It makes sense to me to start off in the breakfast aisle. Müsli (I’m not even sure how it’s spelled in English, but it’s basically just granola mixed with fruit and nuts) with yogurt has been my go-to breakfast in Sweden. It’s quick, cheap, easy, and tastes pretty good too; I’m definitely in the pro-müsli camp.

Müsli: my favorite breakfast food. Photo by Brett Seward.

Müsli: it’s what’s for breakfast. Photo by Brett Seward.

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Brett Seward - Student

March 3, 2013