Question 13b: How different is your life now compared to how you would like it to be?

MORE TIME

"Not having to work as much as you do."

"Would like more time to be creative."

"Would like much more peace and quiet, harmony/.../wish that more time was spent on my music."

"Would like more free time, spend more time with the kids and myself."

"I could do with more time, I haven’t finished what I want to finish every day, that’s quite frustrating."

I could give you even more examples of a wish for more time. Time to make, create, write. But also more time with friends, family and kids, more time to just be and work less. About half of the Swenglish participants, a bit more in Sweden, expressed that they wanted more time when I asked them how different their life was compared to how they would want to live. Three people also mentioned more money.

A SELECTION OF THE OTHER ANSWERS:

"I would like to gather my friends from all over the world and put them in the same place, then I would be happy." 

"They only thing I miss sometimes is to have someone to share my life with."

"I guess we'll have to go there after some wine."

"I think I'd like a relationship, but I have myself to blame for not working on it."

"I don't want to think about that; it just makes me frustrated."

"I'm half-way there maybe. I make tentative steps towards where I'm going, but am not as confident as I could be."

"I'd like more close friends around in my daily life".

"I'd like a life that didn't include anxiety, panic attacks and worries about another breakdown." 

"It's not too different apart from having a man and babies."

"I'm content, but at the same time there's this underlying feeling I want to be closer to nature". 

BASIC INCOME

Five people spontaneously expressed that they lived the life they wanted to live and didn't have much to add. A longing for close relationships, as you can tell from the answers above, was a wish among many. However it was TIME that people mainly lacked. I've taken an interest in the question about Basic Income which could change society in such a way that people work less, have more time and feel better. You can read more here. And here you can sign a petition if you'd like the European Union to raise the question.

This study is by no means scientific, the answers are based on interviewing 15 people in England and 15 people in Sweden, aged 22-59. Look out for the next question: What's your earliest childhood memory?

PÅ SVENSKA

Question 7: How did you end up where you live now?

This is the view from The Attic where I live right now. How did I end up here? Would you like to hear the short or the long story?

Question 7 wasn't an easy question. Sometimes I had to limit my question from country to city to flat/house. It would take up too much space publishing all the answers; besides it would be hard for the project people to remain anonymous. 

What surprised me though was that a lot of the people had ended up in their current location because of love. People hade either moved somewhere because of a partner, moved in with a partner or had wanted to get away from a partner. The second most popular reason for ending up somewhere was university studies or other studies. Other reasons were work, money, homesickness, a longing for nature and a desire to have a place of one's own.

Yesterday, I reluctantly changed my "current location" on Facebook from Brighton to Gothenburg (Göteborg). I still find it hard to accept that I actually don't live in England at the moment. It's not like I've made a final decision, but I'll stay in Sweden at least until January. So how did I end up here then?

Short story: Midlife crisis ("30-year-old-crisis" in Swedish)
Long story: I did a project that involved staying with 30 different people (15 in England and 15 in Sweden) during 30 weeks and I asked each person 30 question, hoping that their answers would help me work out what to do with my own life. One of the things that I worked out was that I wanted to try university studies. And when you just want to try something it's a big advantage when education is free which is the case in Sweden. Of all the places I visited in Sweden I liked Umeå (in the North) and Gothenburg (on the West coast) best. The reason I chose the later was mainly due to the location. Closer to home. Both to Brighton and to the forests of my hometown. The reasons for ending up in The Attic are private.

This study is by no means scientific, the answers are based on interviewing 15 people in England and 15 people in Sweden, age 22-59. Look out for the next question: How settled do you feel in your country/town/neighbourhood/flat or house?

PÅ SVENSKA