Quality of life in Gothenburg

Gothenburg (Swedish: Göteborg, pronounced "Yertebory") is Sweden's second largest city, with half a million citizens. The city lies on Sweden's west coast, at the outlet of the Göta river. Gothenburg is Sweden's largest industrial city with companies such as the Volvo Group and Volvo Cars.

Still, Gothenburg is green and making the most of its riverine and maritime location, featuring many parks and canals. There are also many historic monuments from its relatively short but glorious past, and evidence of the Dutch-sourced city planning which makes Gothenburg share traits with Amsterdam and Jakarta. It also has a youthful side to it, with over 60,000 students (Gothenburg University is the largest in Scandinavia). Gothenburg has a reputation of being a friendly place, even more welcoming than Stockholm, the Swedish capital.

Gothenburg is a city founded in the beginning of the 17th century by the Swedish King, Gustav II Adolf (see also Nordic history). It was once the center of the Swedish shipbuilding industry but with rising competition from foreign ship yards, many of the dry docks had to close down. Much of the inner harbor area has changed from industrial ship building to high technology and education, representative of the general change in the city. Today Gothenburg has both international sporting events, concerts, and conventions as well as a small town feel.