Want to get paid to live in what hopes to be the world’s most sustainable place? This small city in Sweden wants you

Northern Sweden is in the midst of a sustainability revolution. We’re talking about once-futuristic green tech like the world’s first fossil fuel-free airport, electric snowmobiles, and even electric airplanes. Investments worth about USD$100 billion are at stake as the city of Skellefteå positions itself to manufacture electric car batteries, produce sustainable steel, and power itself with renewable energy. It sounds like an eco-friendly utopia, but one thing is missing. And that’s residents.

Skellefteå is on the edge of the Arctic Circle, and its population was on a steady decline until a few years ago. Now that renewable energy companies are setting up shop here, they need to reverse the brain drain that previously sent residents south to Sweden’s bigger cities. To do so, the city has launched targeted marketing campaigns to try to persuade Europeans, Brits, and anyone else keen on a sustainable, sub-Arctic lifestyle to quit their current daily grind and move north.

So far, a campaign directed at Brits has garnered serious interest from at least 4,000 people looking to move to a more sustainable community, says Scott Campbell, who’s leading that campaign, “Skellefteå is Calling… UK.” He is a Skellefteå transplant himself, at least for now. Campbell is a Dane from Copenhagen working on a degree in hospitality management, and is interning with the city’s tourist agency as part of his research.

“For every two jobs right now, there is only one application,” Campbell says. That’s how many jobs are currently available. Most positions will accommodate people who can speak English but not Swedish, so if you’ve been looking for a change of pace but don’t speak Swedish, this might be your sign. While already having an EU passport will speed up your job search, the city is open to applicants from all over the world, says Bo Wikström, of Visit Skellefteå. The organization’s outreach includes such efforts as setting up webinars so current UK residents can speak to other Brits about what it’s like to live up there. The outpouring of interest has been far greater than they expected, according to Wikström.

“Everyone is thinking about sustainability now,” he says, adding that many people interested in making the move are simply looking to live in a place that takes better care of the planet.

In the last few years, as city’s population has grown, it has started to become more international, so you can hear many languages on cross-country ski tracks. Long-time Skellefteå residents have welcomed the change, he says, and are excited to share their love of slow living (and skiing) with new transplants. In just the last three years, bars that would normally be empty on a Tuesday night are now full of people speaking different languages, according to Wikström.

“It’s changing the pattern of life,” he says, adding that the Swedes are loving it.

By 2030, the city will need thousands of new workers to move in and take up jobs in new tech companies and factories. And to support those new workers and the families they may bring with them, they’ll need to scale up the whole society, meaning they also need teachers, doctors, carpenters… you name it. The goal is to increase the city’s population by about 15,000 residents by 2030. That’s a 20 percent increase over today’s population of about 75,000.

So there’s Skellefteå’s elevator pitch: Surrounded by Arctic beauty, this city is leading the green tech revolution in Europe, if not the world. Here, you can cross-country ski under the northern lights, take a fika coffee break away from your inbox every afternoon, and compete against your neighbors at ice swimming. The airport runs the world’s only aviation school for electric aircraft, and the city is powered by renewable energy. Oh, and Swedish sauna culture is something to write home about.

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