We use cookies to improve your experience of our website. By continuing to browse on this website you accept the use of cookies. Car rental in Sweden Book your cheap car rental in Sweden online now and explore the stunning natural scenery of this Scandinavian gem at your own pace. From ancient rune stones to the vibrant northern lights, this is a land where nature and history collide with a modern sensibility. Discovertall mountains set against lush green fields or get lost in Sweden’smost cultural hotspots like Stockholm, Gothenburg and Lund. Whether you're planning a short-term hire or long term car rental, there’s a nearly endless list of things to discover here. Why Choose Europcar in Sweden Easy online bookingExpress pick-up service availableDaily, weekly, monthly, short and long term car rentalRecent car fleetAward winning car rental company Europcar rental locations in Sweden Book from this location Malmo South Railway Station Hyllie Book from this location

STOCKHOLM — For generations the Old Town district of Stockholm has been home to Sweden’s monarchy and old money elite while the island of Sodermalm, to the south, was a more working class environment, often the first stop for the country’s immigrants.Pitbull Puppies For Sale In Nashua NhBut now, spurred by an increase in the number of local and foreign young professionals seeking comfortable homes, the island has been transformed into a sprawling neighborhood of about 110,000 residents — and real estate prices have doubled since 2000.Sodermalm, which locals call just “Soder,” has the parks, bike lanes and quick access to the water that has made Stockholm famous as a livable city. Himalayan Cats For Sale In St Louis MissouriIts housing stock varies greatly, including 16th-century wooden homes, colorful neo-Classical manors and numerous blocks of modernist midrises.Glacier Bay Boats For Sale Nj

Sodermalm’s rebirth as a creative-class enclave actually began about a decade ago, when structures from the area’s rich 19th-century industrial past began to be converted into spacious apartments and offices for start-up media and technology companies.New amenities followed, including numerous galleries, cocktail bars and organic eateries. In Hornstull, an area on the island’s western tip, it was the renovation of a food market that has been credited with the surrounding revitalization. Statistics Sweden, a state agency, does not break down prices by neighborhood. But local real estate agents say the average price per square meter in Sodermalm is about 63,000 Swedish kronor, or $903.85 per square foot, although features like proximity to the waterfront or views of it can boost prices considerably.Despite its growing cachet, the island’s residential prices are still significantly less than more prestigious downtown neighborhoods like Vasastan, where sale prices average 73,000 kronor per square meter, and Ostermalm, home to diplomats and bankers, 75,000 kronor per square meter.

Sweden’s rental market is tightly regulated. In Stockholm, nearly half the rental apartments are owned by a handful of public corporations owned, in turn, by the city, and rates are negotiated between landlords and the Swedish Union of Tenants. There usually is a two-year wait — and sometimes much longer in a desirable area — for these rent-controlled units. (Swedes call these first-hand contract properties because the agreement is between the owner and the renter; a so-called second-hand contract is used for subleases.)The imbalance between the limited supply and persistent demand has created a very tight rental market, prompting most foreigners to buy rather than wait.Across Stockholm, a vibrant economy combined with low borrowing costs and an absence of significant new residential construction have contributed to real estate market gains. Indeed, fears exist that a bubble may be inflating in the city’s heated market, where sale prices these days often significantly exceed asking prices.

Sodermalm is part of that picture, but with a different cast of characters than other areas. “At first it was artists and actors who were buying in Soder, and that got a lot of attention,” said Niklas Berntzon, managing director with the real estate agency Eklund Stockholm New York. “But the transformation of the area has been wider than that and more democratic.”With its multinational vibe, many younger Swedes say they are drawn to the locale because it is one of the few neighborhoods where the country’s pervasive class structure is not pronounced and its reputation for reserved behavior is not immediately apparent. Features like the country’s first mosque and the commonplace use of English, Farsi, French and Arabic on the streets also attest to Sodermalm’s cosmopolitan atmosphere and popularity with foreign buyers.There are no restrictions on foreign buyers, although local banks usually want proof of employment. Agents say that in the past few years the largest groups of foreign buyers in Soder have been English, American and German professionals who have been sent to Sweden for their jobs.

Anecdotal evidence also suggests a strong presence in the area of “love refugees” — foreigners who met Swedes abroad, followed them to Scandinavia and then either stayed together or, equally common, chose to remain in the country after the relationships ended. The phrase is used often in Stockholm, and the situation so commonplace that there are friendship groups and language services for such foreigners.Claire Duffy, a 30-something television and film writer from England, is a slightly different kind of love refugee.She first came to Stockholm several years ago to take a Millennium Tour, a trek to sites featured in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and the two other novels in the popular crime novel series by Stieg Larsson. More than half of the sites in the books, including the homes and offices of the main characters, are in Sodermalm.After arriving in the midst of a March snowstorm, Ms. Duffy said she fell in love with the city. She moved here several months later; her career allows her to work remotely.