Welcome To The Stepford Wives - Part II

 

 

 

 

In spite of our alerting previous post, there are reasons why all of us are here and decided to stay. In fact, in our balance these things have more impact in our daily life than the issues that we were not prepared to.

So here are some good reasons why you may consider Norway as one of the greatest places on Earth to live in:

 

- Salaries

The salary rates are very high when compared to most of the countries in the world. This has - of course – a side effect: it is hard to make any product competitive if you wish to export it. However the salaries are balanced and wealth seems to be equally distributed which gives you a sense of justice. It also helps people be aware that all the jobs are important, everybody is important in the society no matter the job position.

 

- Respect

In great part thanks to the previous point, people seem to have a deep respect for each other and for society. They live together in a society where the public infrastructures belong to everyone and not to no one, as it seems to happen in some countries. In general, people address to things and more important to other people in a respectable manner.

 

- Nature

If you love to go into the wild, then you'll fall in love with Norway. Like no other place you deeply feel that people are totally connected with nature (you just have to love nature with all its elements, including the rain). People hike a lot and they're always outside. Children are encouraged from a young age to experience life outside and from our fresh experience we feel like that makes people feel more peaceful and free. That may be the reason why most of the Norwegians seem to be more aware of who they are and what's their place in the world.

 

- Time

If you feel like your work sucks the life out of you, then Norway's the place to be. Here you'll feel like you actually have time for you and your family. Norwegians seem to prioritize what's important for a human being and of course family, children and – after all – the human being itself are the main concern in which societies are based upon. So of course that if you live in a society that supports and cherishes the balance between professional/personal life you'll probably have happier people. We believe this makes perfect sense and this is probably the main reason why we're all so happy and blessed to have the opportunity of living here.

 

 

- Tolerance

Never in other place did we feel such a big tolerance towards all the people, the creatures and the things. Things happen and people accept them as they are, which seems to free them from a lot of anguish and sadness. They are very tolerant towards the world and themselves. They accept each other no matter the race, beliefs or teams (political or sports).

There seems to be a general innocence and truthfulness in people. They feel free to speak their mind, say no and follow their own beliefs.

 

 

- Houses

Norwegian moto could be: keep it simple. The houses are small and have just the necessary to be comfortable. It’s very frequent that the kitchen shares its space with the living/dining room. The bedrooms are often small and only have the bed. The best part of this scheme is that you will not spend a long time cleaning. Small houses are easier to clean and you have more time of your life to dedicate to the tasks you really like. Also, Norwegians are in general very relaxed towards the house, so they will not expect the house to be brilliantly shining. The house is to serve people and not the other way around. The houses are very warm and all the bathrooms (even in ancient houses) have heating on the floor. Most of the houses are made of wood and it looks like they just came out of a catalogue. And the best part is that everybody (and this means absolutely everybody) takes off their shoes and leaves them in the entrance when entering a house This makes people more comfortable and houses less dirty. Perfect!

 

 

- Security

The police doesn't patrol carrying lethal weapons, children in early age walk alone freely in the streets, including taking the bus, the criminal rates are very low, driving accidents rates also. Why? The laws are to obey! If you fail on that… prepare to be the rest of your life to pay that disobedience or to be kick out of the country and be a "persona non grata" in Norway.

Just a few examples… Felonies towards children are considered a serious crime offense! Get caught driving under alcohol (max. 0,2 gr/lt in blood), 1 month in jail, driver license removed and 2 months salaries to pay (your own salary in full).

I think that it's better to be civilized… it`s your duty!

 

 

-Social Benefits

One year of maternity leave fully paid sounds good? That's what you have here. And in the end your position in the company is still there waiting for you. After a while you are pregnant again? That's ok! It's your right as a human being and the family is highly appreciated around here.

After that, children are entitled to a benefit every month, to have a place in the kindergarten and/or if there's no place for the child, you receive an extra benefit because you need a nanny, if you want to get back to work.

Until 18 children have free medical health care that includes dentist, ophthalmologist and any other treatments that may be needed.

As a senior, the social security can guarantee your retirement benefit for the next 70 years…

Health is almost free. You only need to pay a determined fee in the beginning and after that, everything that you need is free (surgeries, treatments, etc.) and you don't need an health insurance for that. (However you should consider the doctors may not be the high standards doctors you may be used to and being sick here may have different meanings for both directions).

You're sick? Just send an email to your boss calling in sick. You have 10 days no more than 3 in a row) per year for that.

Your child is sick… just stay home with them! And that includes if the person in charge of your child is sick too!

 

As you can see there are many benefits that one may have when considering living in Norway.

As far as we are concerned the two main issues that dragged us were the salaries and the balance between work and personal life. We believed we would have more life quality here and so far we feel like that has met our expectations.

Welcome To The Stepford Wives - Part I

So for all of you who think Norway is the perfect paradise on Earth, let us start by bringing some truth to the myth: it's not.

Norway, like the rest of the world, has its own problems and struggles with its own issues.

Before we show you the bright side of this country, we want to let you know about all the things that are not so appealing. Some of them are actually surprising for I'm sure that no one who has never experienced it would ever expect that from a top world country.

And so without further delay here's a few things maybe you should know before you come in order to prevent you from having a shock:

 

- Social Connections

Although in general people seem highly kind or educated, after a second look you will realize that 50% of the times selfishness speaks louder than civism. The social interaction is quite strange for people who are not from here for Norwegians may be very relaxed about some issues and at the same time they make taboo issues that would seem easier to bring up to a conversation. Usually you have to wait for them to suggest a social gathering, because if you are eager to get to know them and try to invite them for something that is fun for you, they will not even reply to it. Probably they will start with a social gathering with a cake, and if you receive the invitation means that they are willing to get to know you more. That`s a start... In time they will try some after work gatherings, like the lønningspill, which basically is receive the pay-check and celebrate that with going for drinks! Now we`re getting to part that can be very confusing! Be aware! When getting to this, they will get rid of all of their inhibitions and become very friendly and want to get to know you deeply. Probably you will misinterpreted some conversations and their behavior... but take it normally! Usually it's the booze helping. The next day it`s like nothing happen and everything is back to normal.

Norwegians don't have the touch of welcoming you immediately. They're distant and a bit cold. As time goes by you will enter in their daily routine and they will increasingly be likable. However you don't feel like they're full of smiles or always available to help like you may seem to feel in other cultures. That doesn't mean they will not be happy to help, but their general attitude it's not jubilant. Sometimes you feel like the dialogue doesn't flow.

- Drinking

The drinking chapter is quite curious... It's something common to the rest of the world, where alcoholic drinks are envolved, everyone loose their inibitions with it, but if for some cultures you can appreciate alchoolic drinks without meaning that you want to get completly wasted, for norwegians, that thought doesn`t exist! ... ok probably exists... but quickly is forgotten...

Please don't interpret this wrong! It`s something good, because norwegians are more fun and open when drunk. But you do have a shock when that happens and you have an even bigger shock in the next day when it's like nothing happened.

Usually in other cultures after a drinking night it's like people create bounds and they kind of become attached. Well, that doesn't happen here at all. You may feel like you're their best friend on the drinking night, but on the next morning they may even pass by you and barely talk to you. Get used to that.

Drinking is like the forbidden fruit here, maybe because the law is so strict about it. People can't drink and the tolerance for alcohol is zero. So the restrictions are high as well as the prices of the drinks.

You can only find alcoholic drinks in specific stores that are only open within a specific daily schedule (Wine and strong drinks only can be bought in wine shops. They are open during very short periods of the day, like from 10 AM until 16PM during the week and on Saturday close even earlier (15PM). You can get beer and apple sider, not over 4,5% of alcohol in regular supermarkets, but also until determined hours (20PM during the week and 18PM on Saturday. Sundays: NO WAY! Outside these schedules you can only find drinks at bars.

All these leads to a wild drinking culture during the weekends. Since it's not common to have a drink during the week days or the meals time, they kind of loose it when they are "allowed" to take that path. It's either all or nothing at all. Consequently the state of mind and behavior changes totally with this struck. It's like a power ranger (for better and worse)!

- Public Transports

If you think you're going to find the ultimate public transport experience, good connections all over and perfect timings, well, think again. The public transports in Norway are one of the things that most amazed us. We were totally shock when we found out that the schedules are terrible, the correspondence is bad (or inexistence) and the punctuality may depend a lot on the traffic.

So to start with if you work in an industrial area and you wish to leave your job in the middle of the day, you better have a car. Public transports usually are only truly available early in the morning and in the afternoon. In the middle of the day there are almost no options (or no options at all) that include those routes. This is quite amazing, since people feel obviously compelled to buy a car (in spite of the unbelievably high prices of the vehicles).

Another disappointing fact is that in some cases you may have to change bus to reach your final destination because most of the industrial areas may be a bit displaced from what's considered the main routing. This wouldn't be an issue if the public transport would have a proper correspondence. But this is so unbelievably bad that (although in the transports company website you may have the existence of a correspondence between two lines) sometimes one of the line is arriving to the station and the other line is leaving without waiting to make the proper correspondence. We've never seen this happened before anywhere else, but we've seen it several times here, perhaps due to schedule's obligations (although some of the lines are incredibly short – there's a particular industrial line that takes 5min routing which also makes us wonder why don't they extend the main line for 5 more minutes) or for lack of communication/knowledge of the drivers (since most of them are not Norwegian). But this is so ridiculously unbelievable that sometimes there's actually a line arriving while the other one starts departing, not waiting for the first one (when they were supposed to be correspondent).

Regarding punctuality the transports are usually very punctual, however if there are major traffic issues they end up losing the schedule (and consequently some of the correspondences). These major traffic issues mostly occur because the road connections or options are not as good as expect. We'll address to that in the next point.

 

- Roads

Just like the previous item, if you're expecting to have amazing roads that connect the entire country, you're in for a surprise. Not only Norway lacks of roads as the few ones they have are quite bad. Well, in this case, there's a very logical explanation for this: according to what we were informed the Government tries to keep the car's purchasing at the lowest level, so they don't invest in roads. We're not sure if this is actually true, but it seems to be the common believe amongst most of the citizens here. And it is true that they strongly support electric cars. The one thing we don't understand is why don't they invest in better public transports if they wish to keep the cars out of the roads.

And do you know that Norway is the bottom 2 countries in Europe that have fewer highways...? It`s Norway and Albania! And the size of both countries (not speaking about the financial health) can`t be compared. They say that a highway damage the landscape, and ok Norway is a beautiful country, but com'on!! To make 200km between two cities you need about 5 hours?? (Yes: you do have the fjords and that makes it difficult to actually build roads and you have the extreme weather conditions that wear off the road surface, but still…) That`s what happens in Norway. Even better... to travel by car from the south to the north you need something like 3 days... Insane, right? You know what Norwegians do? Either travel by plane or if is a Norwegian who likes to drive (minor percentage of the population) go through Sweden, because they have highways and therefore: save time!

 

- Snakker du norsk

Yes: in Norway everybody speaks English. You may think that that will solve all your social issues when interacting with people here, but in fact if you are planning to live here you should learn the language. Although everybody speaks English, the social gatherings are usually in Norwegian and if you work at a place where most of the people are Norwegians they will of course speak Norwegian between them (especially during the social gatherings). So it is not only important that you speak Norwegian, it is imperative that you do so in order to fit. They will not make the effort to address to you in a group gathering.

Some of them have experiences abroad (usually in Australia or the States that don't represent a language barrier), but others don't and you will also notice a slight pressure from some people. They don't only expect you to learn it as they expect you to learn it from day to night. It's a very hard language for a non-Nordic speaker and it does take time. It will especially take a lot of time if you speak English. All the people that we know that didn't speak English ended up learning Norwegian after some months because they didn't have any other choice. So after the first hell of not understanding anything they had to struggle in order to survive. If you speak English the process will be much slower (or may never happen depending on whom you gather yourself with) because you will be able to speak English all over so it will be an extra effort to speak and especially understand Norwegian.

Another particularity of the Norwegian language is that there are so many dialects that you will feel totally lost (and consequently unmotivated) because you will not be able to understand what most of the people say for a long time (even when you know the words and you are able to talk fluently). You will find it much easier to understand people from Oslo or non-originally Norwegian speakers because they will talk closely to what you are learning.

 

-          Houses

The houses are different from what people are usually used to have/see.

In some aspects it's lovely, in others not so much. The bedrooms tend to be extra small, sometimes only the amount of space necessary to fit a bed and, although half the year there's light almost during the entire day, the windows don't have proper curtains or blinds to protect from the light. It makes it quite difficult to sleep in those conditions and, of course, you don't rest as well as in a dark room.

It is also common to see apartments in the basement, which is not something that you were expecting to spot in a Nordic country. Available housing space is very small and since it is so expensive to build here they tend to use all the meters they can for dwellings.

 

-          Efficiency

In spite of what's the common belief around the world Norway is not an example of an efficient country.

They do have a lot of rules, but most of the times that seems to hold them back instead of moving them forward. When everything is so institutionalized people get very used to follow the same rules over and over again and they don't know what they should do when something happens outside does standards. That creates inefficiency and generates some lack of organization. They are not able to respond when a new event occurs.

In public places there's also some lack of sympathy and professionalism attending the public. We're not sure why we verify this point, but we believe that it is related with the Norwegians general incapacity so smile and be effusive.

 

These are some of the main points that you should be ready for if you decide to move to Norway. We'll address some of them in more details later on.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have. We'll be glad to help J

Raindrops Keep Calling

We're often asked if it's freezing here, if it rains/snows a lot and if it's dark half of the year.

We're all living in the south of Norway so: no it's not dark half of the year.

The days grow shorter in the Winter time and much larger in the Summer time.

Typically we have daytime during 10:30 and 15 in the Winter and nighttime from 00h to 03h in the Summer.

What actually happens is that in the Winter the sun rises but always very close to the horizon line. So you do get to see daylight but it's very pale.

In the Summer the sun disappears in the horizon but never that far from the horizon line, so you always have a pale light in the sky, even during the night.

This varies within the Norwegian area you live in. Further north you may have more extreme variations. However, although all of us came from well defined day and night time countries, this was not as difficult to adapt as it seemed.

 

The cold in southern Norway it's not worse than in some of the winters back home.

The main reason for that is that the houses are well prepared for the cold weather, so you're always warm and comfortable. In fact, you can get to where knit most of the year. You must have a very warm jacket to face the coldest days, but as soon as you enter somewhere (bus included) you immediately feel cosy.

So when moving here, investing in a good long jacket is wise and of course water proof boots. When it comes to these two itens, we can say by our own experience that it's difficult to find good quality material back home. If the country you're from is not on the north then the boots and jackets you will find can be good but never fully prepared for the northern cold. You should buy those itens here where they're built to keep you warm while being easy to wear.

And does it rain/snow a lot here?

Well, again it depends on the area of Norway you're in. Typically it rains more on the west than in the east coast. And it rains more on the coast than in the interior – so no different from most of the other places.

You'll find much more snow in the areas which are away from the coast.

Another item that you may consider to invest on is a good rain coat. Actually you should try to find a warm jacket that is fit for the rain and cold, so a good snow jacket. This will make you feel comfortable during the winter. Don't forget of course the indispensable accessories like: gloves, scarves and something to protect your head (ears included).

It rains here, but so far we can't say that it rains more than in other wetty cities. And just like in other wetty cities the rain is totally unpredictable. It may happen in any season, including the summer, at any time. So you should keep yourself daily updated with the weather forecast (sometimes hour by hour).

Norwegians seem to be proud of knowing exactly when and if it will rain and what type of rain will it be. Besides the rain doesn't scare Norwegians at all. They usually run or cycle to work whether rains or shines. But if you really want to know: yes you will most likely have more rainy days here than in your home country. However this shouldn't be seen as turn off. Of course you don't have to go ahead and embrace the rain, but raining more allows you to appreciate better the sunny days and consequently spend more time outside. And although we're all from warm or temperate countries we can say that we probably spend more time outside here (and enjoy it better) than back home.

Regarding the snow, since you`re in a nordic country there is the possibility of having snow and ice days throughout the entire country, but like referred before, depends on the location. You have snow on the coast, but it doesn`t last long, because since is more rainy, the rain melts and clears the snow and ice. Still you can still have strong snow days, that will cover everything, and can reach big heights. Also this can be a new and interesting experience, that is walking on snow/ice. Here a good pair of boots will help… or just buy strap-on spikes to your shoes.

Norwegians embrace a lot of the snow! It is normal, they are more used to it. But what I mean is that the snow for them means skiing, cross-country and all of snow sports. So the cold and snow can mean very good and fun hobby's.

 

If like some of us, you're just not one of those, then you can also enjoy a nice walk on the weekends or a good reading in a cosy place while having a warm drink.

Other option especially used by a lots Norwegian girls it's to spend 5 to 10 minutes in a solar saloon regularly. It keeps them with an interesting tan, but we're not so sure if that is a healthy choice.

So as you can see the weather is not that big of an issue. At least no more than it can be in other places.

There's not bad weather, only bad clothing!

First Breath!!!

So while unpacking, you get the "I'm really here!!!" shock. You're happy and sad. You want to smile, but feel like crying. It's a very chaotic mixture of feelings to have left everything familiar behind and be in an entirely different place for the first time where you don't know anything or anyone. It is powerful!

 

First Impressions:

 

The money!! GOD! Not the currency, the conversion of the Norwegian Krone, but how much everything costs: so expensive. The same statistics that put Norway in the Top 3 countries to live and work, also put it in the Top 5 (Top 3! But is not to scare anyone) of the most expensive countries.

Ok we can say, that the pay-checks are high, but considering how much it costs basic needs, like accommodation and food, we can say that (at least) half of your salary is to cover that.

After a time here, and getting fully into that, the other half will perfectly suit your life style (attentions you'll not get filthy rich that easily), but in the beginning, when you're getting into the first steps about Norwegian lifestyle, that can be a shock! Remember, that if you're coming with a work contract, you only receive the salary in the end of the month, which means that, in the first month you will have to sort it out how you can survive! Yes bring your piggy bank that you're saving since childhood, that should probably do it for the first month! Oh and yes, considering just the basic needs. (We can go into details about this issue later because the amount of money you will need will depend upon a few things).

 

The light! Or lack of it, depending the time of the year that you arrive. Since it is a country way up in the north, that has more influence in the summer/winter time compared with the countries closer to tropics. Let's put it this way: if you arrive in summer time (Jun-Aug) you'll see you well awaked at 23:00 due to the strong sun light! If you arrive in winter time (Nov-Feb) you'll feel sleepy at 17:00 because it is already "pitch black". And this varies within Norway, if you are in the north or in the south, because in the north (above artic circle) you'll get the full extreme experience! Winter with no light, Summer with no night.

The weather! Ok this probably is the most cliché topic, because everyone assumes that since this is a Nordic country it is always snowing and polar bears walk free in the streets. That`s wrong! Norway is a multi-cultural country, open to all types of nationalities, so grizzly bears, pandas and all types of bears are free to walk in the streets!!

As the light, the weather also varies if you're in the north or in the south and also in the west or east… basically as any other country! In the north, more cold and snow, in the south more moderate. In the west, near the coast more wind and rain, in the east (inside) more cold and hot (not much wind).

But basically don't be scared with that, it is not that bad!... ok if you`re going to the north it is extreme! But in the rest of the country you easily get used to the weather conditions, and prepare yourself to it (Clothes of course!).

 

The language! Yes, as we said, almost everyone speaks English, but you don't expect that in their country they will guess if you don't know how to speak Norwegian. If in your country you approach someone in the street, market or some other place would you speak in English? That's the same here. And when you never heard this language, your reaction is just freeze, staring at that person confused wondering if the person spoke at you or just mumbled some words. Then that person will immediately see in your face that you're a foreigner and address to you politely in English.

 

 

The houses! Unless you come from another Nordic country, the houses may be quite an experience. They look lovely just like the houses in the cartoons and fairy tales, all colored and made of wood. However, unless you're here for many years or you were born here you will not have access to one of those wonderland mansions. The spaces of the houses are tiny and mostly you'll be obliged to share that space with someone you may or may not know. If you go for a bold choice to live on your own be prepared to spend a significant amount with yourself and still have a ridiculously small place. You should also be prepared for sharing the house not only with other guests but with your own landlords, since most of the houses have transformed the lower floor (yes: the lower floor beneath the ground) into an apartment so that they can profit from the increasingly search for a place to stay.

Another disturbing thing about the houses here is that they seem to no be familiarized with the concept of covering the light. Maybe since half the year is dark during the night they don't need it, but what about half of the year when the days are so long that they are part of the night as well? Besides even when it's dark outside, there's always some light coming in, which for a person who is used to sleep in the darkness may be quite a bummer. (This may not apply if you have to go for one of the "bunkers".)

Another interesting issue about the windows is that there's usually no curtains and when they exist they're often smaller than the window (I don't understand this one). It's like there was no more fabric left and they are shorter or smaller in the sides that the size of the window itself.

 

Variety! Siste, men ikke minste: if you're expecting to see the streets full of white people with bright blue eyes and radiant blond air and you (most likely) landed in one of the main cities, get ready for a variety of shapes and forms, since the Norwegian towns may be small, but they're very international. In fact, one of the biggest shocks we had when arrived was facing a beggar, as soon as we left the bus in the city center. We thought there were no beggars further north (living conditions, weather) - but there are, mostly from eastern Europe.

 

 

 

So basically these were the main issues that called our attention when we first arrived. Later we'll take a deeper look into some of them.

 

Why Going NOWhere?

The reasons that made us choose Norway (or at least try Norway and then be fortunate enough to have a shot) instead of other countries are very varied.

For some it was the geographical location. It is well known that statistically Norway is always in the Top 3 countries to work and live.  Since Norway is in Europe it was a better option than other profitable countries around the world, since it would be easier and cheaper to go back home. At least it wouldn't take as much time as when you're travelling between continents. Example, from Norway, to other European Country, it is possible to spend just half a day travelling to get to the desired destination, when compared with full days (or more) travelling from Canada or Australia, and 2 or 3 times less expensive.

For others it was the area of expertise that seems to have some technical, financial and professional growth appealing. Of course in this, depends the area where you are going to work. It is always a challenge when we decide to leave our comfort, to embrace new challenges, but for some areas (technical areas mostly), those challenges are in fact what can drive us to jump in!

Other reasons that made Norway sound appealing for all of us are:

- In general, people are nice and they welcome foreigners (at least when compared to other European countries and of course this was the information we had from what we read).

- Life conditions, to work, live, create a future and fully enjoy the country, all with the support of the Norwegian Government.

- Almost everybody speaks English.

- The working language in Engineering jobs is mainly English, so that wouldn't be a problem. Other areas, like health, this can be an issue.

- The working time per day is 7,5h plus in some areas you have flexi-time (which basically means that you can trade the extra hours you work for days off).

- The holiday time is 25 days, paid in full. (There are details about this, that we`ll explain ahead).

- Valorization of your professional skills, financially and personally.

- Equality: in gender, in  hierarchy (boss-worker), age, etc.

 

So, in general, from far away Norway seemed to be a fair country, wonderful to work in and where individuals have a deep respect for each other and society. Plus the salaries were promising and the working conditions seemed extremely appealing. And considering that most of the other countries (including our own) are strugling with political or economical issues, it seemed clear that we would have better oportunities and stability in Norway, rather than going nowhere in our homeland.

Later on, we'll share with you how much of this is true.

Take A Deep Breath

This blog begins as an attempt to express our experience in the land of the north: Norway.

Much is said and wrote about this country and since foreigners living here we decided to create a little place on the web with an overview of our adventures further north.

Everybody has a pre conceived idea about what a place is like, but it's not until we totally feel it, breathe it, live there, that we are actually able to have a clear view regarding all the aspects that embracing a new home country brings with it.

Some things are pretty obvious, some we easily grip, some will make you pull your hair off and other things will make you realize that in the end vikings are a bunch of friendly people, who sometimes help you pull your hair off... Not literally fortunately!

And of course the decision to hold on to a new homeland is always the (hopefully not forced) choice of leaving our own country. Moving from the place that has always been familiar to us is as challenging as accepting the curious new world that we have ahead.

So we welcome you to join us in this sometimes interesting, sometimes disturbing, but always exciting journey of being a foreigner in Norway without losing the north.