Lindsay
Madeline Rae is a Canadian native who moved to Sweden for love. The travel enthusiast met her Swedish partner while on the road. Being in completely different continents was obviously difficult for the two, so Madeline moved to Sweden to be with her partner full time.
Since moving, Madeline has used TikTok to show people how different life is in Sweden compared to Canada. She began posting beautiful Swedish scenescapes to the app in spring 2020. As she got accustomed to the country’s culture, she began sharing those experiences on her TikTok.
In December 2020, Madeline’s video about her life in Sweden went viral.
And, confirming data that civilians living in Scandinavian countries are happier, Madeline says she loves her new life.
And has no intentions of moving anytime soon.
“We both had intentions of settling in Canada long term, but when the pandemic hit, we were forced to spend a lot of time in Malmö, and I ended up really falling in love with the city, with Swedish culture, and the life I was building here. We ended up buying a condo and have decided to stay here for at least ‘a while’…however long that ends up being,” she told BuzzFeed.
As Madeline posted more about Sweden and some of the culture shocks she experienced as a Canadian, her videos started receiving more attention.
In May, she began her “culture shocks” series. Her first video received more than a half-million views. Her second video, however, got six million hits and one million likes.
In the video, she highlights things like generous vacations and a laid-back workspace.
There are also more peculiar items for non-natives like Madeline. Like sharing your age.
In Sweden, they share the year they were born.
That requires extra math, so no thank you.
There is also a lax attitude toward babies being unaccompanied outside.
Yep, just a baby vibin in the cold.
But the most painful for non-Swedes is the portion of the video where Madeline talks about vacation.
FIVE WEEKS?!
