17th move in a row? Michelle hoped to meet new friends at the premiere of "Language Lunch for Skövde's International Talents".

Michelle has recently moved to Skövde. She and her husband are originally from Los Angeles, USA but most recently from Germany where they lived for a few years. They have moved 16 times in 20 years because of her husband's job in the computer games industry. Now she hopes they will settle in Skövde with their two-year-old son.

“Det är därför vi skaffade ett hus direkt, skrattar Michelle, som dessutom behöver renoveras ordentligt. Det känns som att vi rotar oss mer ordentligt från början.”
Michelle was one of the participants at the premiere of Skövde's language lunch for international talents.

First Language & Fika

During the premiere lunch, the Business Lounge was filled with expectant people with the common denominator that they had all moved to Skövde from another country. Some for work or studies, others as co-transferees to a partner who got a job in one of Skövde's key areas of Game Development, IT/Tech and Smart Industry. A "Dagens" or cup of coffee was bought from the Café Växthuset and after a brief presentation of the purpose of the language lunch and the environment in Science park Skövde, it was time to start introducing themselves around the table they were sitting at. There were suggestions for simpler Swedish presentation phases "Hi, my name is..." I have moved here from..." "In my spare time I like to..."

The purpose of the language lunch is to help Skövde's international talents thrive, network and integrate more quickly into the local community. The aim is for it to be held once a month, a collaboration between  Skövde Municipality  and Science park Skövde.

“Arbetsgivare vänder sig utomlands i jakt på den rätta kompetensen i större utsträckning. Företagen står inför stora utmaningar när det kommer till framtidens kompetensförsörjning och vi är många som kan bidra till att skapa en positiv bild av Skövde så att fler väljer att flytta hit. Genom att på olika sätt stötta dessa internationella talanger så att de trivs, skapar vi bra ambassadörer som i sin tur kan locka fler att våga ta steget”, berättar Louise Hallberg, Talent Attraction Manager på Skövde Kommun.

Michelle works as a writer for an American real estate company and is fortunate to be able to take her work with her wherever she moves. But why did Michelle choose to attend the language lunch?

 "Honestly, to meet new friends. In the long run, I also hope that my Swedish will improve."

Michelle's plans for the future

But she also has other plans.

 "I was very happy when I saw that the language lunch would be held at Science Park Skövde. It's a creative environment with people who I hope to connect with." Michelle wants to look at the possibility of building a platform for "Virtual Real Estate".

Michelle enjoys living in Skövde, even though she hasn't really had time to explore everything in the city yet. But moving to a new country is not just about moving to a new country, she confirms.

 "The hardest thing is probably all this waiting for things to work. Waiting for your social security number, waiting for your residence permit. Such things that you need for a functioning everyday life."

But she does not doubt for a second that it is worth it. Her recommendation to others considering moving to Sweden and Skövde is: "Just dare to do it!".

Michelle leaves the language lunch with a new friend and an appointment with the children in one of Skövde City's playgrounds. Including ice cream from the café "Jennys Gelato", of course.