• Several interviews

I moved to Åmål

Name: Heiko Fuchs Heiko has been living in Åmål since 30 April. His wife and two children (18 months and 8 years old) will be joining him 1 July.    Occupation: Heiko works as a car mechanic at Stenberg Bil AB in Åmål.    Why did you move to Åmål? We got to know the region from our holiday trips to Värmland. When we thought of emigrating from Berlin and Germany we knew we didn’t want to live in a big city. We looked at a map of the region and found that Dalsland is adjacent to Värmland. Then I sent job applications to different companies. Peter Stenberg was the first one to respond and also, he was most sympathetic.

What do you like about Åmål?
Åmål is not as big as Berlin. It is much calmer here. But Åmål is not so small that you feel nothing is happening. On the contrary, something is happening all the time!
  
What is your favorite place in town?
Yttre Bodane*. I sunbathe on the cliffs by Lake Vänern and study Swedish. Here I have peace and quiet and nothing distracts me from my studies. 
 
What tips do you have for others who move to Åmål?
Try to move the family here together at the same time. I moved here pretty quickly and my family was left in Berlin. Now I can arrange a lot on site and it is very practical. But my wife is alone with both our children in Berlin and she has to take care of everything there on her own. She finds it very stressful.

*Yttre Bodane is a beautiful freshwater archipelago (nature reserve) at the southern part of Åmåls municipality

Name: Jeri Dotcheva Has lived in Åmål 18 years with her husband, son and daughter. Occupation: Jeri works for the municipality as a personal assistant. Why did you move to Åmål? We fled from communist Bulgaria. The Swedish Migration Board placed us in Åmål as refugees. We met a lot of people and built up a social network here so we decided to stay in Åmål when we received our resident permit.

What do you like about Åmål?
Most of all, the people. They are really nice and accommodating. We have never been questioned for not being Swedish, for being foreigners and different. The people in Åmål really helped us a lot to integrate into society. They were interested in us. Åmål is a multi-cultural town just like Sweden as a whole.
 
What is your favorite place in town?
When I have some free time I like to go out, to meet people, have a coffee at one of the many nice cafés in town. Everyone who walks by greets you, so it feels like home. It is not anonymous here. It’s easy to establish yourself here. It doesn’t matter where you come from.
 
What tips do you have for others who move to Åmål?
Be open and you will get twice as much back. Be yourself and assume that Åmålers are good and positive people.