Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Working out in Sweden

I was hoping much like at my University of Central Florida, to have free access to a decent gym. NOPE!

Here, if you want to continue going to the gym you'll have to pay for a gym membership.

I recommend for you to go to Friskis & Svettis. This is where most students go to and is one of the most economical.

I don't remember the exact prices, but one month costs you around $50 (if you pay one month individually), but the first time you pay you'll pay an initiation member fee of around $10. If you are planning on really going to the gym frequently, it might be in your interest to just pay a 6 month membership from the beginning and it will be cheaper than paying each month individually.
Also, I would try right away to ask around the other international students to see if someone who is going back home is selling their membership or maybe even giving it away.
Facebook is a great tool for this, so join the Jonkoping International Association group right away.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

A taste of Sweden...grocery shopping, restaurants, shoppingg

I've been in Sweden for 2 months now and have only eaten out maybe two times. I like to keep a tight budget and especially in Sweden it is easy to rack up the $ out of your accounts and I'd rather save money for traveling so I don't have too many recommendations on restaurants.

PLACES TO EAT:
There is a great fast food joint on a main street "Klostergatan" called Evergreen (this is the name of the place) and it can be found on the corner next to the church Sofiakyrkan which is also a bus stop for lines 1 and 3 (red and green respectively).
Other fancier more expensive restaurants are mainly located in the city center (pretty small). Everything is pretty much in one place and if you go to Juneporten (the main bus stop), the movie theater, bus transport office, restaurants, and System Bolaget (the only liquour store) can all be found here.

GROCERY SHOPPING:
Here is a list of all the super markets there are in Jönköping-
--Nietto
--Ica (there is also one Maxi Ica which is the biggest in the town)
--Willy:s
-- and Hemköp

The cheapest one usually is going to be Willy:s
I would recommend doing most of you shopping here, and especially if you'll live in Råslatt it'll be most convenient since you'll have one right near by. However, I have found some cheaper items at the ICA Maxi, but in general Willy:s will have the most competitive prices and it's still good quality produce.

HOW TO GROCERY SHOP
Shopping for food can be pretty self explanatory since most things you can make out what they are by how they look like, but here are a few things I needed help on:

Is this ham or turkey?
I didn't find out which one was which until a month after. Kalkon is turkey and Skinka is ham.

Laundry Detergent?
Most people buy here powdered detergent, which for us in the US, is new and strange.
I would recommend to get started get a box of Tvättmedel Color (can be used for both colors an whites) and also buy some Sköljmedel which is like a softener.

Other than that I think you should be well off with no problems.

Here is also map that might help in locating some things to get you acquainted just at the beginning