Well, they may be a litte "stereotypic".
Weird lack of daylight during the winter - Well, yes. November, December and January are pretty dark. But you get used to it. It's still very lightful during the day.
The cold - Umm, not in Stockholm really. North of Sweden is coooold, but Stockholm. Naah... Sure, it's winter! Sweden can be very warm during the summer and in some cases very cold during the winter. I'd say Stockholm is a pretty good mixture. We have both winter and summer. In the south it's winter without snow. Which is just dark, depressing and boring. (Remember the white snow lights up). And in the north the summers are often to short.
High taxes - Yes, they are high. But why? 'Cause you get a lot of things in return many other countries can compete with!
Relative solation of some of the rest of Europe - Hmm, maybe in some parts of Sweden, but not inte Stockholm. That is everything but right! Stockholm is a very modern and pretty big city.
You should come here and see it for yourself. PLUS you should look at all the things you get back in return. A beautiful spring and summer! A big town with A LOT of forest and nature! (A lot of water, actually!) Stockholm has one of the most populare archipelagos in Europe, as far as I known. A pure beauty! PLUS you get to hang out with me and learn swedish!
I've been to the Netherlands, and I like Sweden a lot better. But I live here, so maybe I'm not the one to judge(?)