Secondment in Stavanger

Welcome on Expat-blog Lynne! Try the Stavanger classifieds > accommodation section for house share.

Good luck!

Hello,

You should be fine to move here in March. I moved here (Haugesund, just to the north of Stavanger) with one month's notice so, it is possible. Have you looked at Finn:

finn.no/finn/realestate/lettings/result?areaId=20196

They have listings of places to rent. There seems to be a fair number to choose from. If you have a friend who lives there they might be able to provide some advice about what area would be best.

As for the language, you'll find everyone speaks English. Most Norwegians I've spoken to seem to have been to Aberdeen, and like to tell Scots all about it. Most seem to enjoy getting the opportunity to use their English. It might be nice to learn a few phrases of Norwegian. I think they like it when people make at least a little effort. And it's ok to be bad at it. I think they find it funny and are impressed you've even tried.

As for buses, I think they're easy enough to figure out. You can get some information in English about the buses here:

http://www.kolumbus.no/index.php?c=9&kat=English

You can buy travel cards to swipe when you get on the bus so that you don't have to confuse the driver by trying to explain where you want to go.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. It's hard trying to think what to ask but it's also hard to think what might be useful to tell you.

Good luck with the move,

David

Hi David,

Thanks for that.  It's good to hear that you managed to move with a month's notice so hopefully it will all be fine.

I'll definitely get my friend to scope the place out before I come over, at least there aren't really any bad areas there.

Will look into the bus pass because otherwise if I have to rely on my language skills to get me to work I might be a bit late!

Hi Lynne,

I moved to Stavanger from Aberdeen in mid 2008.  There is plenty of places to rent both in and out of the city, and transport to Forus is not a problem.  Sandnes is a popular area for living, it's the "Bridge of Don" of Stavanger, but with more shops etc.  Storhaug is very central and within 10mins walking you will be bang in the centre of Stavanger.

Don't worry about the a language barrier, as mentioned most people like to talk english, but it is worth picking up a CD or DVD before you come over so you can learn some basic phrases.  Depending how long you will be here for and weather you are becoming a resident, you may be entitled to a language course funded by the government.

norway.org.uk is a good site with lots of useful info!

Hope you enjoy the move, maybe a little scary at first but I have never looked back and love it here!

Best of luck,

Neal

Hi Cynthia,

Well I arrived on Tuesday and went straight into the office.  I think it was still a little quiet after Easter.  I had a couple of hiccups with the buses yesterday but I know where I'm going now.  Everyone I have asked for help or directions has been really nice.  I guess it will take a little while to settle in.

I'm confused about one thing....the bus station office, is it beside the 7Eleven?  I wanted to go in and buy a bus pass but the barriers were closed.  I'm not sure if it's getting re-decorated or something? 

Thanks