About Carver

Status:

Preparing to Move Abroad 

Gender:

Male

Currently Lives:

United States

Citizen Of:

United States

Some Forum Posts:

Norway: moving to Norway:

It's interesting to read through the rather polarized list of experiences here, with one or two moderated views. In fact, I can easily see the basis for all of the observations on both sides of the column, and I will be happy to add my own synthesis. Setting the universal caveat that generalities are what they are, by and large Norwegians are a reserved people. If one is looking for hugs, open discussion of emotions, or enthusiastic expressions of approval, encouragement, or affection, you will most likely be disappointed, and if you take it personally you will most certainly be hurt. On the other hand, the culture rather dictates a norm of courtesy, which is manifested in the general initial perception that many people have of how friendly Norwegians are. Of course, cultural norms of courtesy only go so deep, and the backside of not being overly expressive of positive feelings is that unexpressed negative feelings tend to fester. Naturally, conversation about strong feelings tend to occur among long-time acquaintances, which is to say "behind the backs" of outsiders. So those who have experienced the overt friendliness followed by "backstabbing" and "judgmental" behaviors are riding out a predictable dynamic. I have seen the same dynamic in the American South, with the caveat that American Southerners tend to have a "warmer" emotional exterior, and in the rural Northeast, with the caveat that "bluenose" New Englanders tend to be less "friendly" to outsiders from the get-go. In short, from this standpoint Norwegians are not hostile, nor are they warm and fuzzy. Norwegian culture is just a different animal altogether from what most people in the UK and the US are used to. This having been said, and keeping in mind that the country has high-held ideals of individual worth and hard work over class-consciousness, I have seen many examples of blatant classism and racism. I have seen these in every country I have been in...I think they stood out more to me in Norway for the dual reasons that was so little intrinsic diversity and that I, too, was initially caught up in the rather idealized perception of the country and it's culture that so many visitors tend to come in with. I have heard a number of Norwegians complain about how overregulated the country is, and in fact I was unsuccessful in obtaining a work permit to continue on with the cultural preservation project in which I had been successfully involved by invitation for months. Again, it is a different beast. Crime is lower, salaries are higher, taxes and prices are astronomical, and medical care is a mixed bag...but, despite the frustrations of those who experience it, it does not leave a citizen in danger of becoming destitute within weeks if a family member has a chronic illness, as is the case in the States. Of course, every country has a range of subcultures. Northern Norway is very, very different from Southern Norway, for example. Some of the rural Northern areas are far from socially restrained regarding speaking back to law enforcement officials, for example. I refer to the fact that it is legal to swear in anger at a law enforcement officer up north, but not down south. I had the unusual experience of working closely with a group of traditional boatbuilders creating a Viking ship, and I must say that they are the best men I have ever known in my life. With these men and with a handful of other mixed friends and acquaintances, in sharp contrast to the highly constrained albeit (usually, but not always) polite intercourse which was the norm in the broader society, I spent quite a few hours in deep personal sharing and uproarious laughter. By the same token, after all that we had shared, when it came time to leave the country, I could not expect and did not receive more than a terse handshake. So do not expect Norway to be "comfortable" in the same way that your home has been if you are from a different culture. The odds of your success in finding happiness there will, in my experience and opinion, range widely depending on your own personal temperament and the segment of the rather mixed society into which you attempt to integrate.

Date Joined:

3/21/2011

Total Posts:

1

Posts/Day:

0.00