Spanish Youths Take to the Streets

[Fake Boris]

Also the whole "work until you are entitled to unemployment" line is overrated. Most of the time unemployment benefits do not apply if you resign. Usually it requires the employer's complacency, who will agree to "fire" you.

[giblets]

Also the whole "work until you are entitled to unemployment" line is overrated. Most of the time unemployment benefits do not apply if you resign. Usually it requires the employer's complacency, who will agree to "fire" you.

Apparently the businesses have to pay compensation for this, so they are not eager to put someone on unemployment.

[DanS]

It's easy to get fired. Just don't work.

[Fake Boris]

Gribbler: yes indeed, this depends on the dismissal tax.

DanS: the point is you can't get unemployment if you're fired with fault.

[C0ckney]

VL says that most Southern Europeans live at home with parents until later in life. I can confirm this. But is it true that most Northern Europeans don't live with their parents through early adulthood?

i would say that it more common for northern europeans to move out earlier, but it varies.

people also live with their parents here in brasil until they are in their late 20s/30s, or until they get married (or at least until they are in a long term relationship). the reasons for this are partly cultural but also economic. in the UK it's possible to live independently as a single person on minimum wage. you won't be rich, but you can afford to house, clothe and feed yourself with a little left over. in brasil (and as i understand in spain too) it's simply not possible to do this. minimum wage in rio state varies between R$600-700 (for full time hours, depending on the job). this combined with some insane restrictions on renting property (which discourage friends sharing) ensures that the vast majority of young choose to live at home, even if they want to move out.

[Kitschum]

Everyone I know moved out once they started uni or shortly thereafter (even if they studied in their home town). There are pretty generous student loans that pay for the rent and a little extra.

[Jon Miller]

Sweden is very nice for students... (even non-swedish students) I don't know how much total this is worth but I was amazed that it was free for foreign people to study in Sweden if they were accepted.

My understanding is you also get a certain amount of money just given to you (a couple thousand sek per month), in addition to the student loans.

Non-Swedish students are expected to have at least 70k sek in their account to have a minimum amount to pay for rent/food/etc.

JM

[Kitschum]

Sweden is very nice for students... (even non-swedish students) I don't know how much total this is worth but I was amazed that it was free for foreign people to study in Sweden if they were accepted.

Not anymore though. They changed the rules and now non-EU foreigners have to pay their way. Predictably applications from that group fell like a rock. They'll probably tweak the rules again soon.

My understanding is you also get a certain amount of money just given to you (a couple thousand sek per month), in addition to the student loans.

Yes, it was 25/75 when I was a student. The no-loan part probably can't pay the rent on an apartment, but it might allow for a dorm room.

[C0ckney]

i think germany also has a similarly generous system for oversees students.

[Jon Miller]

Yeah, I should have pointed out that that ended as of this summer.

Still, it was an amazing benefit that Sweden gave to the world (Sweden's universities are not the best in the world, but they are very good).

JM

[Kitschum]

Heh I'm surprised the arrangement survived a full term of a conservative government.

I think their rationale was it would attract ambitious Indian/Pakistani/Chinese students and that they'd stick around afterward.

[Jon Miller]

I was amazed Swedish Universities were not mobbed. But maybe it wasn't well advertised... the only people I heard possibly taking advantage of it were those who didn't really have the finances to stay in Sweden for a year (which is where the 70k requirement came from) and those were just a few people from Africa.

JM

[giblets]

Do they speak Swedish in Swedish universities? That would explain why there aren't a lot of people going to Sweden to study.

[Jon Miller]

Many classes are taught in English.

Several of the visiting students I know of couldn't speak Swedish.

JM

[Kitschum]

If you graduate a Swedish high school you should be able to follow an English lecture so if there are foreign students in the class it will probably be in English. The literature is largely in English too.

I think living costs were a limiting factor, as well as language, remoteness, climate (or the expectations of it) and name recognition and a host of such factors. But the effect of it was noticeable. My brother worked in the stockroom at a Lidl store and there were apparently lots of Bangladeshis and Pakistanis working while studying. A Brazilian I met was doing the dishes in a hotel.

Anyway I believe English-speaking institutions have a huge advantage from the start which is not entirely fair. It's just a fact that it is a lot more prestigeous for an Indian student, say, to study in the US, UK or Australia, even if it's a crappy program, than at the best Swedish or Dutch university.