I would do it all over again!

The new year has started with yet more snow and yesterday we discovered that our snow shovel had been stolen (yes, even in small towns things disappear!). Due to the enormous amounts of snow in the last months it is almost impossible to buy a new one. Suddenly it is not only the price of gold and lithium that is raising but how much do we have to pay for a second hand snow shovel in Ulricehamn today? Actually, you cannot even find anyone selling a snow shovel in Ulricehamn right now. Luckily we´ve got great neighbours who lent us theirs. Sometimes I wonder if we will ever get to spring again but so far we are all enjoying the snow and the skiing possibilities we have here. Nils (7) has started to snowboard and the girls spend days skiing and snowboarding (they are still off school).

In March we have lived 3 years in Ulricehamn and I am still stunned and grateful for the beautiful surroundings we live in. 10 minutes outside town we have the downhill ski area and a 10 minute walk from home we can go cross country skiing. I walk to work (as part of our assignment to become a climate smart family) and Ulricehamn greets me every morning with beautiful old buildings, an ice covered lake and slippery hills. I am not sure I would have noticed the beauty of the place had I not lived in so many other places before. I have seen fantastic places around the world but here we have it in our everyday life and accessible for everyone. I think Ulricehamn should use this advantage even more in order to attract both companies, new inhabitants and tourists from close by and far away. (Currently working on it)

In February I will attend the Emigratie Beurs outside Utrecht again and I keep on meeting more and more Europeans who have chosen to move to Ulricehamn. I always ask them the same questions and their answer is often very similar to my own. I ask them why! Why Ulricehamn.

We moved from the Netherlands to Sweden in order to get another pace in our lives, to be able to enjoy life more without traffic jams and stressed people, to improve our living standard and to get a new challenge in life. At the kids school they have classmates from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Croatia, Spain, Norway, Irak, China and Sweden of course. I like to think that the international atmosphere at school balances small town life and give the kids a feel for both worlds at once.

I turned 39 the other day and this weekend I will have a women-only dinner with friends from Ulricehamn and friends from Lund. Jenny and I met 21 years ago while some of my guests are newfound friends – they all give my life an extra dimension, makes me feel included and enhance the feeling that life is what you make of it!

Can’t wait to see them all on Saturday!!