skärgårdsliv

10:48 May 20, 2010 

Thanks for your input. I'd say that all suggestions, both yours and mine, are valid but in some way flawed - there clearly isn't a perfect answer here, unfortunately. As we already know that he has a cabin out there I'm copping out and putting "spending time in the islands".
PS Calm down you two :-)

12:31 May 19, 2010 

sounds a bit funny as well, but when you think about listing your hobbies, it makes a bit more sense, eg. my hobbies are fishing, sailing, swimming, a coastal lifestyle.

12:14 May 19, 2010 

The differences between AusE and other varieties are greater than I'd thought!

12:10 May 19, 2010 

will be clearly understood by all and sundry which is why that was my suggestion.
As a comment on the use of "lifestyle" it is a word that is commonly used in Australia to denote something you do as a hobby rather than for a living. People buy a few acres of land in the country and call it a "lifestyle property" or perhaps a "hobby farm". If you can call "skärgårdsliv" a hobby, you can most definitely call a "coastal lifestyle" a hobby as well. Both are just as valid.

11:00 May 19, 2010 

That's why I suggested "island cottage" as an alternative. How about "spending time on the islands near Stockholm"? (if that's the skärgård they're referring to) If they own their own boat, then "[boating/sailing] and spending time..."

10:57 May 19, 2010 

Will the average person outside Sweden know what an archipelago is? After so much exposure to the word over the years it now sounds OK to me, but I know that I once baulked at the casual use of it.