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.