Söderhamn
Söderhamn is a place of great natural beauty, with a rich cultural life and hospitable people. The centre has many shops, restaurants and cafés. The town has lots of parks, and the sea, the woods and the countryside are all nearby.
Facts about the municipality
Population numbers
25706
Size by area
2285 km²
Söderhamn has good connections to the rest of the country and offers a wide range of educational options. Welcome to our municipality!
Housing
The municipality has housing companies through which you can look for rented flats, tenant-owned flats or other types of housing. On the municipality's website is more information about available housing and the companies that provide it.
Language groups in the locality
Several different languages are represented in the municipality. The biggest ones besides Swedish are Somali, Tigrinya, Arabic, Dari and Persian. Children and young people whose native language is not Swedish are entitled to native language lessons at school.
Associations and organisations
The municipality is home to a large number of associations of various types. They include sports clubs, culture associations, churches and different societies. On the municipality's website you can search the association register to find which ones suit your interests.
What is available in the immediate area
The municipality has most everything you might need. There's a library, supermarkets and various types of services and shops. Arbetsförmedlingen, a social welfare office, Försäkringskassan and the Tax Agency are also all here and easily accessible.
What is available in the immediate area
There are also sports facilities and a considerable offering of various recreational and culture activities.
If you don't have your own sports equipment, you can borrow used kit at Sportoteket for a limited period of time.
There are also a number of charity shops where you can buy cheap clothes, household utensils and furniture.
You can read more about what is available and about scheduled activities on the municipality's website.
Söderhamn has extensive experience in handling new arrivals and the municipality has made a website especially for new arrivals in Söderhamn.
Please visit us at www.informationsoderhamn.se/en
Childcare
The municipality offers educational activities such as preschool and family day nurseries to children aged 1-5. There are around 20 preschools in Söderhamn, some run by the municipality and some independently. If your child is not attending any preschool activity, you can go to Open preschool, which is part of the family centre.
Compulsory schools and upper secondary schools
The municipality offers compulsory schooling for pupils up to year 9. On the municipality's website is more information about compulsory school and also about possibilities for an upper secondary programme.
Culture school is a voluntary activity providing teaching in dance, drama, theatre, rhythmics and music.
Education opportunities
The municipality offers various types of adult education and Swedish for immigrants (Sfi). Our adult education programme includes everything from compulsory school subjects to higher education programmes.
Health and medical care
Within the municipality you have access to several different types of care, and several medical care centres.
Söderhamns Familjecentral provides services and social facilities for pregnant women and families with children aged 0–5. It includes an obstetrics ward, child health care (BVC), a counsellor and open preschool.
Region Gävleborg has a special medical care centre in Söderhamn called Asyl och migranthälsan (asylum and migrant health) that offers health and medical care and health counselling for asylum seekers.
Read more about medical care
Interpreter assistance
In all contacts with authorities, the municipality and care services, you are entitled to interpreting help if you do not speak or understand Swedish. An interpreter will be arranged in advance by the authority in question, at your request.
Public transport
Söderhamn municipality has a public transport system, and wants more people to use public transport. We therefore issue free bus cards to eveyone aged between 7 and 19 who is registered as resident in the municipality. Frequent buses and trains depart from Resecentrum in the centre.
X-trafik's local and regional bus network extends to all parts of the municipality. Resecentrum is also a stopping point for Y-buss weekend and long distance buses.
Work and entrepreneurship
In the municipality, or within commuting distance of it, are numerous big as well as smaller employers. You can see what jobs are currently available under the tab Available Jobs in the introduction to the presentation. Our new entrepreneur programme can teach you what you need to know if you want to start your own business.
