About johnkebab

Status:

Expatriate  

Gender:

Male

Currently Lives:

Oslo, Norway

Citizen Of:

United Kingdom

Some Forum Posts:

Norway: Adjusting to Expat Life in Norway:

Most difficult part of settling in Norway: The cost of a deposit on renting an apartment because we’re foreign. Arriving in September just before winter, so days getting shorter and it was getting v cold. Inability to find work even for skilled people, because they are foreign. Norwegian attitude, very closed, very inefficient, quite racist. Making friends, all friends are expats here. Society is money-driven, its seems that most people are driven by financial gain. Culture shock: Cost of going out to eat is prohibitive. Cost of going out to drink is prohibitive. Drug addicts in the streets. Drunken people at all times of the day. Public transport not so good, doctors not so good. Single piece of advice Be prepared for a completely different Norway than the one you are expecting. Unless you are here earning a fortune life will be more difficult than you thought. And don’t for a second think that your partner will find a job easily here, even if they are skilled.

Norway: Looking for a place to stay in Oslo:

you can put a google search in for room share in oslo, but you can find that on finn.no anyway. I moved here from abroad and I had to pay 4 mnths deposit as I am foreign and moved into a fully furnished apartment. When you first get here its probably best to live somewhere central to help you get used to the city. Hostels and hotels are too expensive for a few weeks, you can find furnished apartments though, I found a bunch just by using google. Good luck. Where are you moving from?

Norway: 10 Tips for Living in Norway:

If you're here for work you probably don't need to learn Norwegian, but it helps. You're partner, if not working, will DEFINITELY need to learn Norwegian if they want to find work, even if after they've started they discovered that the job doesn't require it. There is no price regulation in Norway, shop around for everything as the difference in price, even between 2 shops next door to eachother, for exactly the same thing, can be enormous. Norway is a racist country, if you're not white, prepare to get stared at. There are high court judges mopping floors and fighter pilots making pizzas here, most menial jobs are carried out by coloured people. The winter is difficult, even in Oslo. On the flip side, the first sunshine is fantastic. You get 10% off of your tax for the 1st 2 years you are here and you get about 12% of your total earnings for the previous year given to you in June for your summer money. Health services aren't free, you have to spend over 1700NOK before you get it free. It really is very expensive here. If you've owned a car abroad for more than a year before coming here, you can have it here for 2 years before having to pay to import it. Don't even think about importing your car here.

Norway: moving to Norway:

I'm sorry to say that I think you are going to find it difficult here, if you're not white forget about finding a job, if you are white forget about finding a job until you speak norwegian and even then you'd have to be lucky, whatever image you have of Norway now, be prepared for a shock, I'd worked here in 2004 for 2 weeks and I'd visited Oslo several times, I thought the country was beautiful (which it is) and it was an open minded easy going place- I moved here at the end of last year and I can now say that what I thought about Norway was completely wrong. My fiancee speaks 7 languages and can't find work, food is a luxury item so is taxed at 25%, don't even think about importing or buying a car here, honestly, the best thing you could do would be not move, it's really sad to say. I've lived in 6 different countries so far, and travelled to 55 in total, so I'd like to think that I know what I'm talking about. If you're going to come, find some foreign friends as soon as you can, the best way is the norwegian language course at folkeuniversitet in Oslo. I know many many couples, even those with Norwegian husbands, who are struggling terribly here. Sorry to have to tell you.

Date Joined:

5/17/2009

Total Posts:

4

Posts/Day:

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