I lived in Hjulsta for ten months. Statistics don't get worse than that. I was usually the only white person out after dark. Twice people rang on my door in the morning because I forgot my key out in the door over night. I moved away because it was too far from my workplace. Best supermarkets in the entire town though!
My friend looks basically like an Iranian (very dark wavy hair and dark eyes, but somewhat pale skin), even though he is a Czech, and lives in Stockholm. He saw blond people harassed multiple times.
He says "I am quite lucky that the worst individuals consider me 'one of their own' and leave me alone. This means that I can take the metro without any precautions. But blonde girls that work with me started preferring safer commute to the office a long time ago."
My first hand anecdotes; we let our kids ride subways on their own in Stockholm from about 9 years old. Everyone I know use public transport, I have never heard anyone complain about this!
Subways are safe. EDIT: I am sure there are problems I am not saying it is perfect
Did you also experience bomb attacks? Apparently, there were over 100 bomb attacks in Sweden this year. Our Eastern European country has twice the size of Sweden's population, and we had zero bombs going off, possibly since the 90s, as I don't remember any. Gun violence is really low here too, we barely remember any that made the news.
I'm sure that Sweden is a nice country to live in, I've visited it, seems great, but ignoring the crime wave is short-sighted, and I don't understand what “high standard” you're talking about.
I live in an area where there has been gang related gun violence and bombings; there are no neighborhoods around here where I feel unsafe. No one is ignoring it but sadly the current affairs are being used as a political tool to remove freedoms and further far right agendas. I do not know where you are from but lets say; Romania they have done an amazing job the last 30 years their homicide rate per capita has at times managed to drop below our current levels.
The high standard means that there is actually still a functioning society there with stability, security and trust in police and government. While we do have problems with the money generated from drug trade and other crimes.
This seems to be a problem though for migrants who go to a country from a "worse" place.
"The standard for bad here isn't bad" because it was worse elsewhere. Where I live in the US we have this too where migrants who have come here don't see anything bad because where they are from was worse.
They don't see what those of us that have been here from birth have seen. That standards are sliding. Yes, for you the migrant coming from a poorer place, this place is richer. But for me the native this place has become poorer.
And talking about and suggesting we need to stop the backslide gets an eye-roll from the enablers.
I moved - sorry, immigrated - to Stockholm end of 2016.
At that time the sensationalist media was reporting on 'no-go zones' - parts of town that even the police were too afraid to go to.
One night I was sitting on the subway when a guy came and sat down opposite a girl, and started telling her he was gonna go check out one of these 'no-go zones'. His destination was östermalm.
"Elegant Östermalm is known for its smart bars and restaurants on Stureplan square, and its cultural venues, such as the Swedish History Museum, displaying Viking weapons. Designer boutiques dot the area near Östermalms Saluhall, a food market known for traditional specialties like gravlax and smoked shrimp. Centered on the imposing National Library of Sweden, tranquil Humlegården park hosts plays in summer."
You can do the same for anywhere. For example Tenderloin:
"Tenderloin in San Francisco is known for its cultural diversity - home to micro-neighborhoods representing the Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, Pakistani, Central Asian, and Yemeni communities. There is a bustling cultural scene with numerous live jazz bars, theaters where bands like The Rolling Stones and Beatles have headlined, and museums highlighting the historical numerous LGBT+ community".
That said, Östermalm didn't feel bad when I visited. I think op is confusing Östermalm and Östberga.
I heard Östermalm correctly - it was a vivid memory and where I worked at the time. Reading about "no-go zones" was fresh in my mind.
I remember thinking "Really? Where the Bentley dealership is?" Good luck finding graffiti there, let alone circumstances rough enough to scare the cops away.
Yea must have been a joke or an actual ignorant tourist. When I was there it seemed the less well off areas tended to be extremely cut off from the rest of Stockholm too.
I made an actual effort to go to Tensta when I was there (it's hard to find good Levantine food in the US) and it definetly felt dislocated. Very much like a purposely created ghetto. Like Visitation Valley and Bayview in San Francisco.
Östermalm is the most bourgeois area in central Stockholm. It’s the kind of place where the weekly supermarket offers are for lobster and caviar instead of chicken breast or potatoes. Certainly not dangerous by any standard. Must’ve been a joke that went over op’s head or a misunderstanding.
I guess it's a joke. Östermalm is very unlikely to be counted as a typical no-go zone. The joke is that every area of town can have weird people after dark
