“Here you can really have a life, not just a job. It feels like a good place for a family. We can see our future children growing up here,” says Raafa Hamdi.
She came here in September for a job at Stegra. Recently, her husband Marwen Zaidi also arrived.
“Everything is so close here. I feel that this will be our base, and then we can travel out into the world, but this is where we will live,” says Marwen.
The couple from Tunisia are both engineers, and what brought them here was Raafa’s job at Stegra. But it wasn’t just the job that attracted them.
“I love Sweden and have always been curious about it and longed to come here,” says Raafa with a big smile, gazing out through the large panoramic windows of their corner apartment at the very top of Strandplan in central Boden.
From here they can follow the changing seasons of nature—autumn colors, blazing northern lights, pink winter skies, and soon the delicate green of spring leaves and the summer’s midnight light.
The couple got married in May and will celebrate their first wedding anniversary here in Sweden.
The dream job
When Raafa applied for and was offered a position here as a daytime manager at Stegra, she didn’t hesitate to say yes, with the support of Marwen, who was also ready to follow and share her dream.
“I worked in German companies and have been there for business trips, speak Arabic, English, French and basic German and I´m willing to learn Swedish as well”, says Raafa.
In September she started her position and was lucky enough to find a large one-bedroom apartment right in the very center of Boden, just a few steps from Stegra’s headquarters.
“My workplace is out on site, but if we have meetings, the office in the town center is very close.”
Marwen needed to finish his job in Tunisia before moving to Boden a couple of weeks ago. He had carefully googled everything he wanted to know about Boden and had also visited Raafa during the autumn.
Feeling at home right away
“Boden felt like home immediately. I don’t like big cities and come from a smaller place in the countryside. Raafa is the city girl,” says Marwen with a smile.
From the balcony they don’t just have an expansive view over Boden. He already has a good grasp of the local wildlife—everything from ducks to squirrels and small birds moving around the area. He has applied for jobs in various places and is prepared to commute if he doesn’t find something in Boden. Like Raafa, he works as a material handling industrial engineer.
Their new life in Boden is filled with new discoveries and friends. In the local community, at work, the gym, and restaurants, they have met new people.
“We have friends from Venezuela, Egypt, Algeria, and Sweden.”
A rich leisure life
They have discovered the “Fritidsbanken,” which they think is a fantastic place to visit to find the right equipment and get tips for both skiing and ice skating. They have found favorite pieces of furniture second-hand and are exploring the municipality and the region.
“We try to do something or visit a new place every weekend. You can’t just sit alone inside an apartment,” they note.
Raafa left her cat with her mother when they moved and misses having a pet, perhaps a dog in the future. Looking ahead, they are also considering buying a house.
But for now, it’s all about training in new winter sports and finding new places to practice sports they were already interested in. Raafa plays tennis, and Marwen would love to play football.
“And we want to make more Swedish friends! It feels like Swedes are a bit shyer than we are, so we’re taking it a little cautiously when it comes to just knocking on the door and saying, ‘Hi, we made a bit too much food today—would you like some?’ Even though that’sreally how we are and what we’d like to do,” says Raafa with a laugh.
TEXT: ANNA BERGSTRÖM
