Housing is more expensive in SF and NY, but most consumer goods/services are more expensive here due to the high VAT. High taxes bring other benefits, but it's always tough to part with your hard-earned quatloos.
A cup of coffee will be $4-5, a beer out is somewhere around $9-10, a T-shirt might cost you $30-40. A nice flat in Stockholm will cost you $1500-2000/mo. Of course, you can always find cheaper/pricier alternatives, but these are pretty normal prices.
Afaict the biggest problem with Stockholm flats isn't the price, but getting them at all, unless you can afford to buy one. The waiting list to rent is like 10+ years for central locations!
How does it compare to places like San Francisco or New York? What about cheaper places to live, such as Portland or Atlanta?