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Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.

He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.

In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.

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IKEA, all-life-long welfare system, high taxes and virtually no poverty; these are the clichés associated with Sweden, one of the richest EU countries. There are many other things that make this country so special, for the people living there as well as for the tourists and for the expatriates. When Sweden applied to become a EU member a decade ago, two of the thorniest questions concerned not the economy but the freedom of information and the freedom of travel across the country.

The main point here was that the people in Sweden were accustomed for almost two centuries to have free access to the public information far above the present EU standards. On the other hand, everyone traveling in the country has the right to trespass the private land, preserving its original look. These two points were considered to be so important by the population of Sweden that finally it received concessions from EU protecting them for the future generations.

Sweden appears on the geographical maps of Europe as a northern country, but in fact because of the Gulf Stream the climate is milder than its latitude could suggest. There are of course snowy winters even in the southern parts of the country, but the lowest temperatures are closer to those in the Balkans far on the southeast than in Siberia on the same latitude.

For those wishing to travel across or to settle down in Sweden, the country offers a rather expensive basket of goods and services. The high taxes make the country particularly unwelcoming for the people with deep pockets. On the other hand, it's a paradise for everyone looking for a political asylum. From a total of 44,000 persons granted with residence permits in 2002, more than 7,000 were refugees, other 22,000 settled down because of some family ties, almost 5,000 were the visiting students and 869 were the cases of international adoption. Almost 8,000 or less than 20% were the permits issued to other European nationals.

Being for almost a century a source of emigration till the World War II, Sweden has become a land of massive immigration in the last half a century. The main condition for naturalization is to live in the country for at least 5 years, or 4 years for the refugees, or just 2 years for the nationals of the other North European countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway). Beginning July 1st, 2001 the new Citizenship Act gave the right for the naturalized persons to keep dual citizenship. This law also gives children the opportunity to become Swedish citizens independently of their parents. Retired persons from around the world who want to live in Sweden must present a proof of sufficient means of subsistence. Fortunately there are no restrictions on foreign ownership.

Another interesting point for foreigners that makes Sweden so special is the lack of bail system in the criminal procedures. Thus, according to the US State Department, anyone having trouble with the law may be held in custody until the trial is complete. Fortunately they say that the cellular phones are allowed in the Swedish centers of detention. I hope I'll never make any phone calls from this part of Sweden.

See Also:
Stockholm: When the prices rise faster than the incomes
Scandinavia: Investing in the Future careful
Kista Science City - European Silicon Valley?
Buy or Rent in Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway)

Sweden profile:

• Area: 449,964 sq km
• Population: 8.9 million (July 2002 est.)
• Net migration rate: 0.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
• Life expectancy at birth: 79.84 years
• GDP per capita: purchasing power parity $25,400 (2002 est.)
• Main trading partners: other EU countries, US, Norway.
• Internet users: 6.02 million (2002)

(CIA - The World Factbook 2002)

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See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of Sweden.