Please share your experiences Best and Worst

Don't be shy ! There must be someone willing to chat

Hei Klaus,
Thanks for the reply.  I guess I have a lot of questions but I wanted to know....
1) What do the Norwegian people think of the English ?
2) Would it be difficult to find a job ? (Jeg laerer Norsk).
3) Coming over from England, would I find the cost of living very high in comparison ?

Lilje

Thanks Klaus

I am studying for a high level qualification in Health & Safety and so I am learning the language to help me find a good job, perhaps with the Norwegian State Railway.  I have a very good job here in England with the Railway.

I would like to know what you think is the best thing about living there and perhaps the worst too.  I think it is a beautiful country, do you think you will stay there ?

Thanks
Lilje

Lilje wrote:

Hei Klaus,
Thanks for the reply.  I guess I have a lot of questions but I wanted to know....
1) What do the Norwegian people think of the English ?
2) Would it be difficult to find a job ? (Jeg laerer Norsk).
3) Coming over from England, would I find the cost of living very high in comparison ?

Lilje

Hiya,

1) That they have a strange sense of humour - not all Norwegians 'get' Mr Bean but they love Harry Potter. Don't worry - Norwegians tend to like the English.

2) Ikke hvis du snakker norsk.

3) Yes, the VAT is higher (think it's 27% here in Norway) but you can go shopping in Sweden to get EU prices. Alcohol, eating out, hairdressers etc is more expensive but then again the salaries are higher. It balances out.

I miss online shopping, Next and Sainsburys!

good luck.

Why do you wish to move to Norway?
Im a manc who has lived in Norway for eight years now but i will admit that it isnt the easiest place to live! Better than Manchester but it is a challenge!

"1) What do the Norwegian people think of the English ?"

We're generally well inclined towards the English - remember, premier league is a big thing in Norway as in a lot of other countries, so many norwegians tend to go to England to go see matches and so on. I'd say most of the norwegians you'll meet have probably traveled to England on holidays at some point.
However, being a norwegian myself, I'd say that norwegians tend to be harder to get in touch with than other europeans. One of the major differences I note when travelling to Great Britain or Ireland is how easy it is to get in touch with people in the pub - or anywhere else - compared to Norway. It's an entirely different culture, so if you feel like you're getting a "cold shoulder" in the pub, you're really just experiencing the "hospitable" norwegian culture. We thaw up eventually, but it might take some time. Apart from the very high cost of living, I'd say this is the worst part of Norway.

I moved to Oslo from Manchester fairly recently and it's been pretty good.

The biggest problems I've had was with day-to-day stuff like getting a d-number (social security number) etc.

The costs are pretty high but as others have pointed out, the salaries tend to make up for it.

To be honest, health and safety seems to be a pretty low priority here. The up shot of that is that things get done!