(edit title) Ostersund !!! Options

[Brtahan]

HI every one ! i want to ask you all if you anything abt ostersund and how is it to stay there ist , a boring place , a cold one and ppl go to sleep by 7? thx all

[007]

where's gus? he's the man with the östersund answers. he's often up past 7.

on a serious note. i wouldn't note. i do know that if the world reaches epic crisis proportions i have dibs on sharing the attic with kang and dock on a farm up that way.

[Timmo]

I passed through a couple of times and spent about an hour in the town. Nice setting by the lake and superficially it looked a pleasant if unremarkable town. I've been through much worse. Seemed to be quite a few people just out and about, chatting and having fika but don't know about night life. Apparently the lake has a monster, which might liven things up if it ever shows. It's only an hour or so from the busy ski resort at Are, which may have more winter nightlife. Being central Sweden and about 350km short of the arctic circle it would get pretty cold with snow lasting well into April ?

http://www.turist.ostersund.se/english/ for a bit more 'official' info

[Michele]

HI every one ! i want to ask you all if you anything abt ostersund and how is it to stay there ist , a boring place , a cold one and ppl go to sleep by 7? thx all

My husband is actually FROM Östersund and I read your post to him. I asked him how he would respond to you about your questions and he said 'Yep!' to all your questions. Yep - it's boring. Yep - It's cold. Yep - people go to sleep by 7.

We went up there during several summers and I'd have to say that the most attractive thing was the nature. Being right there on the lake was sooooo pretty. Not exactly a hopping nightlife, but I did see a fair amount of restaurants and the shopping 'street' was darling.

[Brtahan]

thx guys u have been very helpful , but i want to ask are the ppl there racist , and love to spk only Swedish :?: how about day and night ist in summer 24 hrs theres is light n ppl get sleeping disorder,

[David S]

When I came to Sweden I lived just outside östersund and later moved into town. It's a beautiful place and I miss it quite a lot. I absolutely love the place in winter.

I don't think racism is any more a problem there than anywhere else, but you will find fewer folk are comfortable speaking english than in say Stockholm or Gothenburg, and getting a job without good swedish is of course harder. It's a student town, so if you're that age there's plenty going on, and a handful of busy night clubs. They tend to be empty until 10pm, then you have to wait an hour to get in, then they close at 2pm!

Coming from Australia I really struggled with the light/darkness issue in summer/winter. I probably found summer harder, really hard to get to sleep, and to keep track of time. I'd think it was 3pm and I'd look at a clock and find it was 9pm :-/ I actually find winter more difficult in Stockholm, because even though there's less light in Östersund the longer and better snow cover actually makes things seem brighter.

[24/7]

thx guys u have been very helpful , but i want to ask are the ppl there racist , and love to spk only Swedish :?: how about day and night ist in summer 24 hrs theres is light n ppl get sleeping disorder,

The company I work for has a factory there - it's a typical small town really, not racist as such but most likely a little bit insular (like Hellefteå then ) - they're more likely to be "curious" about you than afraid or resentful.

About the 24 hour light thing - we're about 2 or 3 hours' drive north of there and in June/July it doesn't get dark at all but the sun will set. You get used to it. But if it's going to be a problem I suggest blackout blinds, thick curtains and those eyepatch things you get on planes (can be bought at any travel accessory shop).

The thing to watch for in summer is to obey your body clock - it's easy for your brain to be fooled into thinking it's 8pm when it's really 1am!!

Winters are longer than in the south but again, you get used to it.

If you want a bit of a quiet place to live, there are worse places than Östersund but don't expect a bustling, multicultural metropolis!!!

[Puffin]

I think that life in Östersund will not be as busy as life in one of the major cities but then it is not as dead as other similar sized towns.

On the plus side:
it is a University town with one of the Mid Sweden University campuses based there - they have 300-400 international students so it is a little more cosmopolitan for non Swedish speakers than if you arrive in one of the mining/steel making towns etc
http://www.miun.se/default____22057.aspx

As it is a winter sports area it will obviously be cold - but also on the plus side it is quite touristy in the winter as people come to ski and drive on the famous ice roads accross the lake - one of the international World Cup Skiing events was held there last year with all the TV and other activities and events that go with this - also you are only 100 km from the major Swedish winter sport resort of Åre with its reputation as a glamerous place to be seen in the winter

[Brtahan]

I am really amazed this really good news because i was trying to get information from Google but it was impossible , am planning to go and stay there till i finish my university then i will shift to south .[/b]

[Brtahan]

If people sleep by 7pm and its already less populated? how do people earn their living? I wonder for example in some places bazaars and shopping does not stop until 12 morn, it sounds like a place for the retired and old, not for the youth, and its not a place to buy sell type, its more of those places you see in a cow boy movies where there is only one shop for dairy products and one shop for meat etc and all know each other, everything just the same nothing new happens, too cold to go outside, its a place nice to the married, get on with your work go meet your husband or wife, ENJOY yourself indoor, how boring it is for the youth? what can he she do? something like Abu dabi type, too hot people sleep early, BUT Abu Dabi has lots of malls and shopping centers, the most boring villages in some countries like India are open until 11 pm, there are places in Damascus and Beirut where you could stay up on week ends with your friends at many outdoor restaurants and enjoy yourself until morn, go and eat ice cream with your partner at 11 pm some where, watch a movie, hang out, Ostersund does not sound very rewarding for a person who has just finished his work, where can he go to ??? His room??
this place should be improved a lot...thanks but this is how i feel!!! I hope to see sky scrapers in this beautiful place by the lake

[grahamkent]

wow you write some crap, do us a favour and dont come up here,i dont think we will miss you, why not go to lebanon instead?

[Brtahan]

i can go wherever i want its non of ur business only when i come to ur house u got the right to spk that , u got a closed mind

[grahamkent]

sure you can go were you want , but what really annoys me about people like you is that you whinge and whine about how boring it is here and how much better is elsewere but you still stay here!
oneday my friend when you have a real job and pay tax you to will understand how i feel when my taxes go to educate whinging tw..ts like you.

[Timmo]

Must say Brtahan that from your further posts it doesn't sound like your kind of place - you can but try but don't expect skyscrapers ! Population is only around 60,000 but so long as you like skiing in winter and hiking in summer you'll have plenty to do. It is what it is so I hope you can enjoy it for that.
Remember that if people only speak Swedish it's not because they are racist - it's because they are Swedes. In Sweden.

[Brtahan]

MR grahamkent i totaly understand ur feelings , but this not the way to express them , if u are agaisnt ur countries policies u should atleast stop voting ,u might have a problem with certian ppl or a group in sweden , u should reach ur msg to them , u seem a nice person but u are upset abt few things , by the way am not even in sweden am planing to go there in few months thats why i was asking abt OST , i have travelled many places in the world and so should u so that u can understand ppl more . it was nice spkng to u all and u all have been very helpfull regards to all of you