Learn Hardcore Swedish: Om pendlandet blir för jobbigt, vill hon flytta hela familjen närmare jobbet. - If the commuting becomes too hard, she wants to move the whole family closer to the job.

Using blir suggests a change: at some point in the future the commuting may become too much. That fits the conditional idea: If it ends up getting too tough, then...

Using är would focus on the current state: If commuting is (already) too tough, then...

Why is it jobbigt and not jobbig?

Jobbig is an adjective meaning tough / hard / tiresome.

In Swedish, predicative adjectives agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe:

pendlandet is neuter singular (because of -et)
So the adjective must be neuter singular: jobbigt

Patterns:

en jobbig dag → dagen är jobbig
ett jobbigt jobb → jobbet är jobbigt
pendlandet är jobbigt

So pendlandet blir för jobbigt is correct because pendlandet is neuter.

What does för mean in för jobbigt?

Here för means too, not for.

för jobbigt = too tough / too hard

Example:

Det är för dyrt. – It is too expensive.
Det här är för svårt. – This is too difficult.

So blir för jobbigt = gets too tough.

Why is the word order vill hon flytta and not hon vill flytta?

This is the famous Swedish V2 word order: in a main clause, the finite verb (here vill) must come in the second position.

The sentence starts with a dependent clause:

Om pendlandet blir för jobbigt, ...

After that clause comes the main clause, and the first element in that main clause is the verb:

vill hon flytta hela familjen närmare jobbet.

If you start the main clause directly (without the om-clause in front), you get the normal order:

Hon vill flytta hela familjen närmare jobbet.

So:

With fronted clause: Om ..., vill hon flytta ...
Without fronted clause: Hon vill flytta ...

Why is there no att before flytta? Could you say vill hon att flytta?

After modal verbs like vill, Swedish normally does not use att before the next verb:

Hon vill flytta. – She wants to move.
Jag kan simma. – I can swim.
Vi måste gå. – We must go.

vill att flytta is ungrammatical.

However, att can appear if you introduce a subordinate clause with a subject:

Hon vill att hela familjen ska flytta närmare jobbet.
- She wants the whole family to move closer to the job.

Here att introduces the clause att hela familjen ska flytta ..., which has its own subject (hela familjen) and verb (ska flytta).

What does flytta mean here? Is it “to move something” or “to move house”?

flytta can mean both:

To move (change residence) – move house:
- Vi ska flytta. – We are going to move (to a new home).
To move something / someone:
- Kan du flytta bordet? – Can you move the table?

In vill hon flytta hela familjen the meaning is essentially to move house with the whole family, i.e. relocate their home. The object hela familjen makes it transitive here: she wants to move the whole family (to a new place).

Why is it hela familjen and not hela familj?

familj (family) is an en-word. When you talk about the family, you use the definite form: familjen.

hela (whole, entire) almost always goes with a definite noun (or with a possessive):

hela familjen – the whole family
hela dagen – the whole day
hela huset – the whole house
hela min familj – my whole family

So hela familjen = the whole family.
hela familj is incorrect in standard Swedish.

What does närmare mean, and why not mer nära?

närmare is the comparative form of nära (near):

nära – near
närmare – nearer / closer
närmast – nearest / closest

mer nära is technically understandable, but very unnatural; Swedish normally uses the built‑in comparative närmare.

So:

närmare jobbet = closer to the job

Why is it jobbet and not just jobb?

jobb is the noun job, and jobbet is its definite form: the job.

In Swedish, you often use the definite form where English uses a possessive:

Hon vill bo närmare jobbet.
Literally: She wants to live closer to the job
Meaning: closer to her job / her workplace.

You could also say:

närmare sitt jobb – closer to her job

Both are correct, but närmare jobbet is very natural and common when the job is clear from context.

Why is there a comma after jobbigt?

The sentence starts with a subordinate clause introduced by om:

Om pendlandet blir för jobbigt, ...

In Swedish, when a subordinate clause comes first, it is usually followed by a comma before the main clause:

Om det regnar, stannar vi hemma.
När jag kommer hem, ska jag laga mat.

So the comma after jobbigt separates the if‑clause from the main clause:

Om pendlandet blir för jobbigt, vill hon flytta hela familjen närmare jobbet.

Why are blir and vill in the present tense if this is talking about the future?

Swedish often uses the present tense to talk about the future, especially when there is some condition or when the future meaning is clear from context:

Om pendlandet blir för jobbigt, vill hon flytta ... = If the commuting gets too tough, she wants to move...

In English you tend to use will (will get, will want), but Swedish does not need a special future tense here. The present tense + the om‑clause gives a clear future/conditional meaning.

You could use kommer att or ska for future in other contexts, but here the simple present is the most natural.