Christopher Schröder (asker) May 20, 2010:

Thanks 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 :-)

Anna Herbst May 19, 2010:

Min hobby är skärgårdsliv 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.

urbom May 19, 2010:

"My hobby is the coastal lifestyle." The differences between AusE and other varieties are greater than I'd thought!

Anna Herbst May 19, 2010:

...whereas "coastal" 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.

urbom May 19, 2010:

alternative 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..."

Christopher Schröder (asker) May 19, 2010:

Archipelago 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.