From India to Gothenburg via the UK

A new life in Gothenburg. It is November 2010 and Bindhu Gururajan and Vidya Sudheendara jump on a flight to Gothenburg. They are going on a four-day trip to help them decide if they should relocate to Sweden.Bindhu, an AstraZeneca employee since 2006, has been offered a senior scientist position in Mölndal.

Over the next four-days the pair exploresGothenburg and its offerings, visit two English language schools and have meetings concerning housing, job opportunities for Vidya, the Swedish tax system and cost of living.

"To be honest, at first I didn't want to come to Sweden because it was a big change for me. But after the visit, I said let's move. It was so beautiful, I really like Gothenburg," says Vidya.

Eightmonths later husband and wife packup their life in Leicester and along with their three-year-old daughter Aditi they make the big move to Gothenburg.

"For Aditi we think it will be a really nice environment to grow up in. That was one of the main factors in our decision to move here," says Vidya.

The family has lived in Gothenburg since July 27, about seven weeks. Both Bindhu and Vidya say that they feel welcome in the city, not only by Bindhu's colleagues, but also by their Hagen neighbours, parents at their daughter's preschool and even people on the tram. The friendliness of the people is something that took them by surprise.

"Especially at Aditi's school, her classmates' mothers, they are so interested. Where do you come from? What language do you speak?" says Vidya.

"Some of my colleagues have even offered me use of their summer houses. We are not used to that," says Bindhu.

The transition into Swedish life has been relatively smooth and AstraZeneca and their relocation company have helped streamline the process.Aditi is in a school that she loves, Vidya is studying Swedish, they love their home in Hagen and things such as an identity card, bank accounts and internet are all organized.

"It's really been a trouble free move," says Bindhu.

In four weeks Vidya and Aditi are off to Chennai, India, for three months. Vidya hasn't seen her family in two years. Upon return to Gothenburg she says learning the language and finding a job will be a priority.

"I want to work in admin. I've always worked in administration, but they [the relocation company] say I'll need to learn Swedish," says Vidya.

"I have three colleagues whose families moved here just a few weeks ago and they got jobs," says Bindhu.

"AstraZeneca has a scheme where a consultant helps with drafting your CV. If it is a science-based job, which was the case with a couple of colleagues' partners, they got jobs in Astra Zeneca. One guy got offered a job at Volvo and one girl got a teaching job at an international school. So I don't think it's difficult depending on the sector and your drive to look for jobs."

Lifestyle is one of the things Bindhu and Vidya are very happy with in Gothenburg. In particular they enjoy the closeness to water and forests, the parks for their daughter, the fresh food, the café culture and the active lifestyle of the locals.

The family enjoys spending their spare-time in Gothenburg. But at the same time Gothenburg's accessibility to Scandinavia, other parts of Europe and even Russia is something that Bindhu and Vidya have been, and plan on, making the most of.

"This weekend was Stockholm. Next weekend we go to Oslo," says Bindhu. "We are very keen to explore Finland, Iceland and Norway. I'm also persuading my wife that we should visit St Petersburg. It is not so far from here." 

Bindhu appreciates the Swedish emphasis on work-life balance. If Aditi falls sick, which is not uncommon amongst three-year-olds, he says there is flexibility in his job to put her first.

He also enjoys and sees the importance of the regular "fika" breaks.

"In this country you go to work and naturally you take a fika break. In the Hindu culture, we are taught that you should have a mental break every three to four hours," says Bindhu.

Compared with working in India and the UK, he thinks AstraZeneca's Mölndal facility is a relatively relaxed and low-stress environment. At the same time he says the research is of the highest order and the drugs being developed are among the best on the market.

"A lot of innovative things happen in this facility. It's quite amazing."

The work environment is also very international. In Bindhu's department about 43 percent are newcomers from all over Europe, America and Asia. As far as he is aware, none of his colleagues regret relocating to Gothenburg.

"One guy has kids about 12 and 14 years-old. He's already thinking about universities in Sweden," says Bindhu.

After seven weeks in the city, the young family is happy they made the move from the UK to Sweden. Early concerns of the language, schools and a new life have faded. They expect to stay in Gothenburg at least four to five years to get the "local feel" and make the most of their Sweden experience.

This article was created in collaboration with AstraZeneca