Kent on Uprooting

1.      Tell me 3 things about yourself aside from planning a move to southern Europe.

At one point I was rated number 288 best backgammon player in Sweden.

I buy size 11 shoes even though my left foot is a size 12, just because I think big shoes look silly.

Even though people know me as a huge bike advocate, I'm actually also a gear head with a passion for cars.

2.      Where do you live now?

Right now I've moved to Stockholm temporarily after having lived for 12 years in Gothenburg. In a few weeks I'm leaving for Malaga in Spain, one of the most southerly points in Europe.

3.      What do you do there for work?

I'm a bike mechanic. What I'll do in the future I don't know, I have no pretentions but plenty of dreams!

4.      Tell me a bit about your life where you are now.

Right now I feel like I'm in a bit of a hiatus. I wanna get going! This summer has been spent rebuilding a van into a camper van and selling and giving away all my stuff. Everything not essential to my new life. See the winter one and a half year ago I turned real ill. It was burnout syndrome and I was out sick for a year. Through great doctors and a wonderful psychologist I could slowly and gradually go back to work this spring. Job training, starting with just two hours a day the first of July I was supposed to be back at my job full time. But just one week before that I was made superfluous when the company decided to down size in Sweden. Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed and felt that I had been let down by the company that I had given so much, even my health. Around this time I had also realized my romantic relationship since over eight years wasn't making me happy. So there I am, single, out of a job and with nowhere to live. Also with a feeling that I never again want to work like that. Long hours, caught in a circle of trying to fulfill high personal expectations, getting paid more to be able to get more stuff and afford more leisure time... I decided it was time to stop, time to get off and change my life, at the core.

5.      When would you say the seed was planted for a big move like this?

Not that it's comparable, but last summer I packed the van and traveled Sweden and Norway for three weeks. Riding, surprising friends around the country, living in the van. And I felt free. Free of obligations and musts. I liked it a lot.

6.      What do you envision life will be like over there?

I wanna work as little as possible, read and write, learn new languages, ride a lot and generally actually enjoy life!

This autumn I'll go to the south of Spain where the weather is nice so I can ride my bike through winter. Come spring I'll probably go to the alps, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy or Germany, wherever life takes me!

7.      Do you speak French or Spanish?

No. But how hard can it be? Living down there I'll have to speak french, italian, german and spanish and I'll enjoy learning these languages! I studied some german and spanish in school so those should come easy at least.

8.      What will be some of the main differences from life where you are now?

Wow. What'll be the same? I'll have to get used to living in tight quarters with a minimum of stuff.

9. What would your self ten years ago have said about a life change like this one?

I've been considering moving abroad before, but I've never had the guts to take the leap. I have changed careers drastically before but now I am changing my mindset.

10. How did you tell people about your upcoming move?

Well that's a tough one... My close friends I have of course told in person, but a lot of people haven't heard of my plans and it can get slightly embarrassing when talking to someone and you're like “Oh I haven't told you I've gotten rid of my apartment and I'm moving abroad to stay in a van?”

11. How did family and friends respond to your decision to make the change?

Everyone is super supportive! Most say the wish they could do the same, but can't because of family and lots say they just don't dare.

12. Has anyone told you not to do it? What did you tell them?

When I was at a friends house to work on the van I met a filipina girl that was working as an au pair in Oslo. She couldn't at all understand why I'd wanna get rid of all my stuff and give up the security of an apartment. I could've just as well told her I was gonna stay in a cardboard box in the middle of a freeway. That really made me think. I wonder if we'll all one day “meet in the middle”, us westerns reducing our wasteful lifestyles and people in the developing world get to enjoy the comfort and luxury we have enjoyed the past 100 years.

13. What are three of your hopes for your future in France?

I hope I'll realize a new, more relaxed and laid back way of life.

I wanna be happy. Properly happy, not “Look I bought the new iPhone”-happy.

14. What are some fears that you have, if any?

I'm afraid I'll be lonely and forgotten by my friends.

15. What differences would you guess family and friends notice about you now that you’ve made the change?

Hopefully I'll be more at peace. And hopefully I'll be more interesting, less focused on stuff and more on life.

16. What have you learned about yourself through making this decision?

That maybe I'm not as much a coward and a security addict.

17. What would be your advice to someone who is contemplating a big life change?

What's the worst that can happen?! If I don't like, I'll go back to Sweden and stay with friends. I'll still be out of a job, single and nowhere to live. Same as when I left :)

18. At the end of your life, how might this move to France have made a difference for you?

I can't even imagine!! I have no idea where it'll take me but I'm keen for the ride!