December 2025

Another year is coming to a close. But this is not just any year – no, this year turned out to be a total reboot! It started like any other year … actually, no, it did not. It started with the younger child going to Sweden for an exchange semester and my going there to celebrate her birthday. Sweden in January is an acquired taste.

Then another trip to Copenhagen and Lund at the end of May, when we also took the opportunity to look at some apartments in Lund. We love this town! It’s small, but it punches well above its weight. And with the proximity to Malmö and, more importantly, Copenhagen, this is the perfect corner of Europe.

The decision was made to get everything ready for a move back to Europe. Now it was time to plan and to outline the when, what, and how. An orderly exit after over three decades in the States back to Europe.

Then, a series of events and a huge opportunity. Previous timelines were scrapped, and a new accelerated plan was put in motion. A one-way ticket back to Europe for mid-August was purchased, capping off a 35-year adventure.

Now I live in Sweden again, and things sure are totally different. Sweden today is completely digital; almost every action or interaction is done on mobile phones. Now, when I left Sweden, there was no internet and there were no mobile phones. So yes, life here is now very different.

And to make things a bit more complicated, I work at a startup in Copenhagen. For one, that means commuting to a different country. Then there’s the switch from working at a huge bank in the States to working at a startup again. Oh, then there’s the thing of dealing with multiple currencies – Swedish kronor, Danish kronor, U.S. dollars, and the euro. Then there’s going back to the metric system, the 24-hour clock, and the different date format, which is still messing me up … so for now I’m spelling out the month name to be on the safe side. 🤓

Then there’s the not-owning-a-car thing and walking everywhere or using public transportation. And yes, I actually like that part. It’s actually nice to not sit in traffic all the time and to not have to drive everywhere all the time.

Then there’s the whole quality-of-life thing. Sure, I work quite a lot. But somehow it feels different. Somehow I feel a lot less stressed. In fact, I don’t feel stressed. Sure, there are minor frustrations here and there from time to time. But that’s just life.

Overall, though, I don’t feel stressed. Maybe it’s just that I’m just older and simply care less. But life here is much more relaxed. There’s less chasing and being chased, and a lot more being.

What an insane year!