9 Things Americans Think Are Illegal in Sweden (But They're Not!)

hello and welcome to the Lex and Sweden YouTube channel in this video I'm going to talk about nine things that feels illegal to do here in Sweden as an American now please keep in mind these are all personal experiences that I have encountered myself of course so in other words it's not technically illegal it just feels illegal in some type of way now for those of you guys who don't know my name is Lex I'm an American that just moved to Sweden a little bit over 2 years ago and I share my experiences and everything that I do in Sweden here on this channel if it's your first time to this channel welcome and if it's your second time or more back to this channel vaka so buckle up get ready to laugh and let's get straight into it the first thing that feels illegal here in Sweden if you are on the transportation on a bus or on a train or anything and you decide to sit to someone you don't know it feels illegal to do so I remember when I sat next to this lady and the bus was packed my foot was tired from the day before and set next to her she gave me the coldest look with those blue eyes I have ever seen and of course I got mixed signals and I told my friends about it but they overall told me like I don't think it's her being racist s's just like they spaced in general in the US you could sit next to anyone you want whoever you want it doesn't really matter as long as you're able to sit you're good with it the second thing that feels illegal to do here in Sweden is buying candy any day outside of Friday and Saturday I remember when I bought candy on a Tuesday and the little girl was in that owl and she told her dad like Papa why is he buying candy on a Tuesday and her dad in Swedish said like he's just probably trying to buy it for Friday because he hasn't have time and he has to go to work and I was like did I get permission for you to lie on me like that but okay I understand after her father turned away she gave me the coldest look like if you eat that candy I will snitch on you and I was like damn the third thing that feels illegal to do here in Sweden as an American is singing out loud in public outside of like singing in a choir going to karaoke or any recreational activity that requires from singing it feels illegal to do so on your own if you decide to sing on your own out loud while your headphones on or whatever it is people are going to think that you're crazy or you're going through in the US a lot of people usually sing to themselves hell they even go on a subway and sing to many people just to get a few tips here and there so to me that's a major like culture shock to me the fourth thing that feels illegal to do here in Sweden is being late to anything here in Sweden here in Sweden swedens are very punctual when it comes to timing especially when they go out with their friends or family or whatso not people are precise about the times that they hang out and their time is very valuable so if you have a last minute change just call them up and change the time if you're not going to show up on time the fifth thing that feels illegal to do here in Sweden as an American is to have small talk with anyone you don't know here in Sweden most people in Sweden do not like to have small talk whatsoever please keep a note to yourself that Sweden is a introvert country and a lot of people do not like to talk to a lot of people especially during the winter the only time when people are conformed to having small talk is if they have a little alcohol in their system and they're out and about at the bars just conversing after three drinks there other than that it's a big no no to have small talk with anyone you just don't know they just will find you to be weird the sixth thing that feels illegal to do in tweden as an American is to walk inside someone's house with your shoes on as an American I am disgusted and I can't believe the fact that when I was younger and I had my own house I allow people to walk into my house with their shoes on not only that how dare I ever walked into someone else's house in the states with my shoes on I can't believe for all the years that I've been living in America I have never ever thought about this not once in America but yeah in Sweden it's a big no no if you decide to walk in to someone's house with your shoes on that probably be the last time you ever end up at their house hell if you even come to my house and you walking with your shoes on that'll probably be the last time you ever come to my house period the seventh thing that feels illegal to do in Sweden as an American is to stare at someone you don't know staring at someone here in Sweden is a big no no especially if it's the opposite and please don't even try to flirt by adding an extra smell at that point people would think that you're a creep and they'll call the cops on you here in Sweden the eighth thing that feels illegal to do here in Sweden as an American is taking the same elevator with another swed once again sweds love their personal space if one person is in the elevator already they would rather take the stairs than to be in the elevator with you you see in America that really doesn't matter cuz people would try to get into that elevator so they don't have to waste time on waiting for the next one hell they wouldn't even take the stairs I learned about this a few months ago when I wanted to take the elevator in my building and my neighbor just happened to wait for the elevator when the elevator arrived he allowed me to go in with my stroller and the kids and he just took the stairs at first I thought it was him just being racist but once again my wife had to correct me and she told me like look people just like their personal space here it's nothing the ninth thing that feels illegal to do here in Sweden as an American is to talk about politics religion or I think I learned this on the first year when I got here to Sweden when I was having a conversation with uh one of this conversation would only come up if they ask me where I'm from and I'll tell them I'm from the US then of course they always talk about Trump or they talk about Joe Biden as our president then of course in return because I'm trying to stay neutral to the subject I ask him about their political view once I found out that there was more than two political parties I was like you don't have to worry about me ever talking about it it's too much to deal with in conclusion all of these things that I feel like is illegal in Sweden as an American all have its good and its bad in my opinion most of it is good of course it shows respect to the public and people's personal space and all of those good things and of course in my opinion I think somewhat is bad because if everyone's going to be introvert and not talk to each other then a lot of people would miss out on opportunity to have great friends outside of the ones that they grew up and really know overall all of these things I think is good because it's a learning curve and a learning experience for me here as an American living in Sweden and permanently here for good as well I still like there's some more things that I have to learn especially the language but other than that everything else as far as the culture I'm starting to get used to and getting a hang of of course I would like to take the time out and thank you guys so much for taking the time to watch my video If you guys like this video and enjoyed it go ahead and like this video And subscribe to my YouTube channel if you want to keep up with more updates or experiences of me here living in Sweden if you guys felt like I missed out on something being illegal uh here in Sweden or something that feels illegal here in Sweden go ahead and drop it on the comments below and I'll go ahead and respond or probably make another video please feel free to connect to all of my socials all the links to my socials should be in the description below once again thank you so much for watching until next time [Music] peace

Channel: Lexx In Sweden

Views: 27,279

Keywords: Lexx in Sweden, Moving to Sweden, American in Scandinavia, Sweden Travel Guide, Expats In Sweden, Sweden Cultural Insights, American Expats, Sweden Relocation, Discovering Sweden, Sweden for Americans, Sweden Living Guide, Expatriate Journey, Sweden Move Checklist, Swedish Lifestyle, Scandinavia Life, Travel and Relocation, Sweden Tips And Tricks, American Swedish Life, American in Europe, American in Sweden, American living in Sweden, American living in Europe

Id: Xaa37upFAJw

Length: 7min 42sec (462 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 11 2024