Ulrich Beck´s theory of risk society has been criticised because of lack of empirical evidence, which this study focuses on. By comparing people with different life contexts and experiences, the aim was to study how they view risk and if "new" risks are perceived differently by different groups in society. Five focus group interviews were conducted in Sweden, 2004/05, with people in rural and urban areas, people with foreign background and experts. The groups consisted of four people each and lasted for two hours. The results show that "new" risks are not something people worry about, "risk" is associated with personal experiences and life context. This indicates a traditional or at least modern way of viewing risk and contradicts the idea of a reflexive view of risk. However, there are differences between the groups where a division between the urban versus the rural-transnational groups appears; the urban groups show a more fatalistic/global view of risk, while the rural-transnational group shows a more traditional approach to risk where control and the local context are in focus.