Our first time actually learning about living in Norway and everyday life! So what's Norwegian life like? There are good & bad things about every country. So is Norway a great place to live, just okay or not so great? We find out some of the pros and cons about life in Norway in this episode. If you live in Norway, please add to the list. We love hearing from you! If you aren't in Norway, let us know which item on this list surprised you the most. Thank you SO much for watching! If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our channel, it is the BEST way to support our channel and it's FREE! Also, please click the Like button. Thank you for your support!
The average distance to a city from a village is 3 hours of driving, not counting north Norway, north of Trondheim. This is not useful information because Norway is an impossible country to live in when you have a real choice - due to the weather alone - especially the unpredictable part. You can't plan anything for more than hours away. Ironically, the weather is to a great extent the reason why Norway is beautiful. All the waterfalls, all the different shades of green - all about the weather.
as i mention in a comment on another of your videos, the salaries for the low paying jobbs here in norway like for cleaners, people working at the gas stations and grocery stores and such are quite alot higher then in US, but thats because the specialists get paid way less here then in the US. not sure its true, but according to a video i was watching few weeks back, a brain surgeon in US can get paid like 750k a year, wile he would "only" get around 150-200k a year in norway. thats still enough to live a good life tho, especially since they dont get the massive cost of going to school, and it would be the same for high paying engineering jobbs and such. regardig the grocery prices in norway. heres a site that should give you a good idea of what stuff cost. 1 USD = 10,7 NOK, so to get the prices in USD you can practily just divide by 10: allematpriser.no/c/frukt-gront_0?page=7
I have some comments: 1. Speed: 80km/h is the national "default" meaning when you see those small narrow roads in the mountain, it's 80 km/t, though on the highway it's 110 km/t (68mph). 2. Temperature in the water: The reason why the norwegian waters are "warm" is because of the gulf stream, and some places in norway especially longer north the stream doesnt reach the fjords, meaning the water wont be warm. An example of this is Ålesund which is a beautiful city and has won "summer-city of the year" twice (atleast), but if you then go more south (where i grew up, check up Tvedestrand) and more to the south-east of norway (Kristiansand-Arendal-Oslo) the temperature is up to 77 fahrenheit in the summer, so not France, but definetly not too cold to have a swim :) 3. Expensive alcohol, yes it's expensive, especially on restaurants and bars (beer about 11 dollars certain places) but since Vinmonopolet is buying in such big shipments the wine compared to the rest of the world is not bad and they also cannot take more than X amount of percentage of profit, so we have people who is sleeping in que outside vinmonopolet in tents on certain releases of wine and buys the most expensive wines in the world for really cheap, only to fly down to London and sell it for 30-100% profit :) 4. I will add this, which i love about Norway. Business-wise and infrastructure-wise i think its really nice that we expect everything to work and everything should be easy. Sometimes when i go to certain places in Europe i find that it is a lot of things that dont work, no cellphone internett, wifi is bad, hard to get information etcetc, but i think you will find that if you visit Norway USUALLY you can rely on that everything here works! :) 5. You should check out the south of norway aswell! That's where a lot of the norwegians have their summerhuts!
The reason Norway do not have any Amazon warehouses, is because of the strong Norwegian workers rights and laws. Amazon enjoy treating their employees as they see fit, which is something they would absolutely not be allowed to do in Norway, hence Amazon probably doesn't see it as a profitable enough market.
@@Rimrock300 we do not accept how badly the average low paying workers beeinng treated in the US. to put it in perspective, if a waitress was treated same way here in norway as in the US, her boss would be breaking the law so badly he would risk up to 6 years in prison
@@Rimrock300 I do believe amazon operates in smaller nations also. They have tried and are still trying in norway. I hope they wont, cause that would mean by by to loads of other chains
In some parts of Norway, especially the ocean around Oslo, you can get water temperatures up to 23 degrees celsius (73 degrees fahrenheit), it's not very varm - but at least not under 10 degrees celsius (50 fahrenheit) - and we (Oslo) have some lakes with temperatures up to 27 celsius (80 fahrenheit). 😊🏊♀ It all depends where in Norway you choose to go swimming.
Here in the North, in Bod or Tromsø , they bath by a water temperatur with 12degrees Celsius, but this sommer it was much higher even in the ocean, great summer this year😁
You guys were lucky this year. July and August was awful in Oslo and surrounding areas this year. Never experienced so much rain before. @@biankakoettlitz6979
Nice video sweeties! She’s way off on the water temperature for summer though. It varies a lot so she must be somewhere 🥶 South eastern parts of Norway often gets temperatures 20+ (Celsius) in the summer 😎
This is true, I'm from Kristiansand and we often have temperatures around 20°C or higher during the summertime providing that the weather is good of course.
This woman has not discovered Clas Ohlson stores yet:) Although a swedish company, they have many stores in Norway and also online. Europris and other big box stores will also save you a bundle on most household items. If you want handmade stuff or speciality imported cosmetics, you will pay through the nose though:) Since we share a loooong border with Sweden, many people who live near it will cross over and buy alcohol and tobacco there or stock up with meats and soda/candy which is much cheaper in Sweden. You would need a car to make it practical, but there are also buses which run for that purpose and are pretty cheap. I find the post isn't that slow, but it depends on where you live. Most of the stuff i order online arrive in 3-5 days. Most norwegians are friendly and helpful, the general mindset is that of going along to get along. We tend to be a bit stoic as well, and we like our personal space and freedom. We do love nature and outdoor activities, and children grow up with this "ut på tur" attitude ( "out and about" roughly translated). I have heard norwegians described as hard to get to know, but once you do they will always be there for you. This is pretty accurate in my opinion.
Norway also has a border with Russia in the far north, inside the Arctic Circle, albeit a short one, 120 miles (190 Km) but unfenced although softly patrolled and visually monitored as they do not want to risk any conflict with an aggressive neighbour. Fortunately for them most of the Russian troops have been sent elsewhere now. Many Russians live in the North of Norway and many businesses are currently suffering from the border being closed although Russian fishermen and trawlers are still unloading catches in Norway, with no wealthy Russian tourists the Ski resorts are the worst affected.
Hi, Norwegian here. Yes there are only 2 national speed limits in Norway and they are 50kmh and 80kmh, but there are many "speed zones" and they can be lower then the limit or higher, the highest is on the freeways and that is 110kmh. Here in Norway the definition of city is a town with more then 25.000 people, so in that respect we are never too far away from a city. About the alcohol sale, you can buy beer and cider at any supermarket or convenience store, it's just the stronger stuff you need buy at the "special store" P.S Still no Amazon :-)
Water temperatures are very different as to where you live in Norway. Down here, south east, also referred to as the sun coast, the water temperatures and climate during summer is good Sunny warm and no problem going swimming in the sea. Going north in Norway. the water temperature is way different. So Norway is a very diverse country as to where you live.
You can totally wear shorts and flip flops and bikinis to the beach in summertime! Yes, you wouldn’t spend hours in the water, but temperatures can get get pretty good, especially in the south (like around 80 F on a nice day in July).
On top, even 20 degrees celsius in summer can feel easy like 30+, especially in fjord areas. From my experience the longer winter time is the bigger difference to other european countries. And one thing you need to get used to in the mid to north norwegian area is that the nights in summer never get dark, that was a little disturbing in the beginning.
We are moving to Norway because it is uniquely beautiful there. The climate is perfect (not so warm), the people are very friendly, not pushy. This peace, this air, this wonderful attitude towards people and nature. We are currently learning the language. And we are going back up there in three weeks. Unfortunately only two weeks' vacation. To get to know our future home, Møre og Romsdal. We ❤ 🇳🇴
There are tons of places where you could live at the edge of the forest or fjord (or both) and still be within a few minutes drive from the city. Where I live in Trondheim I can catch the bus (every 10 minutes!) to go to the city center (takes less than 10 minutes) or the same route other way go hiking or cross country skiing within the same time frame. Usually it’s faster to go by bus or other public transport than cars, as most cities try to reduce car traffic. As the cities are small, on a global scale, the suburbs are close to the city centers and also surrounding nature. A lot of towns are too, but many towns are pretty far from cities. Ålesund is pronounced Aw-leh-soo-nd (like in Awe, emphasis on the first syllable) by the way. Hope this helps 😊
Thank you dear ladies for another lovely peek behind the borders of Norway. Such beautiful, breath-taking scenery and, from all accounts, a happy, safe place to live. If I wasn't so attached to my own country, I think I would be packing my bags. Still, instead of looking towards the south for holidays, I think I should turn round and focus more on the lovely country that is Norway. Cheers girls, take care. Love from the UK
I think the high salary more or less is balanced out by the high cost of living. Also, Amazon: Probably because we're not enough people here to make it profitable (enough).
I love watching you guys. The facts in this video is pretty accurate. Im a Norwegian. There is one more thing i would add. The 80 kmt speedlimit can not to be used often. Espessially on country roads, would you die a million times if you never drived slower than 80 kmt. I have heard foreigners be shocked by that. A turn you only can do at 30 kmt, but have a speedlimit of 80 is common. In Norway, to the driver is the speedlimit just a guideline. Never drive faster than you can stop the car if you need to.
This is the big question! This should be a fascinating video. I've heard a lot about Norway life, so it will be interesting to see if its true. Can't wait. ❤
Just a quick summary of the price of some basic items commonly bought at grocery stores: Milk 2$/l Cheese 10$/kg AP flour 1,5$/kg Eggs 3,5$/dozen Butter 10$/kg There are also some categories of items that stand out as being especially expensive. This would include alcoholic beverages (5$/l of the cheapest beer, 12+$/l of the cheapest wines and 40$/l for the cheapest 40% abv spirits), tobacco products (14$ for a 20-pack of cigarettes), candy (Snicker's as an example is 2$+ for a 75g bar) and meat (the cheapest ground beef will generally set you back 6$+ per 400g which is roughly 1 pound). Certain services like cab fares and restaurant visits are also quite expensive. All in all, due to Norwegian salaries being so large, even in spite of high tax-rates, Norwegians have some of the largest amounts of disposable income per capita in the world (4th according to World Population Review 2023 and 6th according to the OECD 2021). Keeping in mind that the differences between the poorest 20% and the wealthiest 20% in Norway is relatively small, this makes for a population that can generally live a very comfortable life with plenty of room for frivilous spending. What this all means is that Norway is more of an expensive country to visit, than an expensive country to live in.
It's not true that the low income families have spending money, some can hardly put food on the table for their kids because of the high prices. Being what is concidered poor myself due to live on health benefits and being alone, it's very expencive and I don't have any money to buy clothes or shoes and can't go to a hairdresser to cut my hair, but I don't think I'm poor as not working will not give you anything more than just to exist, and maybe if you don't eat to much you can also get the medecines you need. It's not free like zero, you have to pay a lot for certain medecines that is not on a blue perscription from your doctor, like pain medicine for migraine it's like 3000 NOK for 2 shots and it's not given on blue perscription. You can get other migraine meds that is, but not the strongest ones for those with severe migraines.
Can you explain why so many people in Norway are currently struggling to pay their bills, failing to pay loans and relying more and more on food banks? These issues have been widely covered in Norway's national media for months. And you haven't noticed? You'd rather present an engineered idyllic image of Norway that really doesn't exist right now? What are you afraid of, the "non compliance" of those struggling in Norway? With record numbers of small firms going out of business in Norway, too, and the poor political decision-making, I expect things to get a lot worse in Norway.
@@Kajsun Jarlsberg jumped from 180kr/kg. Cheddar? With the shrinkflation? OMG! We went shopping in Sweden and stocked up. But we did buy some Gruyère locally just because we fancied a quiche. Just a small slice, about 150g (5oz), it was >1000kr/kg. It's about 260kr (£19) per kilo in Britain. It's mind boggling. I'm not sure how it makes Norway a better place to live, especially if you like cheese. 😱
Interesting that your cherry-picked sources are not sufficiently transparent nor based on qualified auditing. A just-so story basically. And hardly compatible with Norway having among the world's highest levels of household debt. World's biggest discretionary incomes? I don't think so. What Norwegians actually have are some of the most lax financial lending regulations in the world. A government telling Norwegians they're all rich then prescribing regulations that make their friends billionaires from all the interest charged. Very loose regulations with no adhered-to standards. That was more or less what the IMF concluded several years ago. And it's getting worse. Household debt levels in Norway, that is.
do not compaire in prices but in work hours instead, like for example in this country you have to work 45 min to bye milk and in another 10 min thats a fair way to compaire
Oh this should be interesting I’ll look forward to it. Just to let you know the broadband is down in Scotland don’t know about the rest of the UK. It’s because of the weather
Really interesting girlies really enjoyed watching that. Great learning about other countries with the pair of you you make it so much fun. As I said before I want to go Norway to go whale watching. Thank you for being in our lives you cheer me up ❤❤
I've been to Norway a couple of times and here's my pro's and cons: pro: -It's a ridiculously beautiful country -The people are awesome and realy seem to care about each other -It's extremely save, at least crime wise; you can definitely be dangerous and risky in the mountains. -It's incredibly well organized. Even if you're in a small town, you'll have all the needed shops in your small town, no amazon needed. cons: -most important con: the weather. It's very rainy (especially at the coasts) and even in summer not really hot; winter is very rough with barely any light. -I wouldn't recommend living in Norway if you're a big city person, sure Oslo is reasonable big so are Bergen and Stavanger, but not exactly metropolis. The cities are further away than other European countries and more important, there are mountains and fjords between the cities make traveling slower and trickier. The reason why the speed limit is so low is related to that. In Norway you drive through mountain passes, not freeways. -Everything is very far away. You can't just hop on a train and you're in an other countries capital and a couple of hours like in most European countries. -It's not exactly a cheap country. Since the income for Norwegians are so high, being there as a guest or a tourist or on a working trip, is quit expensive. Some things are really heavily taxed, for instance alcoholic beverages are very expensive, even more than in the rest of the Nordic countries.
If you want to watch Aurora borealis then the winter time is the best time to see it. And you need a clear sky. The further north you are the easier it is to see it. The advice is go north of the artic circle. It can be watched further south, but way more seldom. Outside Tromsø is a good place, or somewhere up in Finnmark. Why we don't have it in the summertime? The midnight sun 😁
There is probably no amazon in Norway as they don't like to pay taxes and Norway expect high tax to be paid. I personally refuse to use amazon because of this as they don't bring any revenue into the country. Every company in the UK are expected to pay tax but amazon refuse and are well known for treating staff badly.
Regarding water temperatures: If you live in more southern parts of Norway you can sometimes get ocean temperatures up to 20 c, but usually even in the summer it will be around 10 degrees or lower simply because we are so close to the arctic. In sheltered bays and in fjords the temperature will get warmer on sunny days. But in lakes you can get temperatures up to 25 if there is a week or longer with hot, sunny weather.
I'm from Kristiansand in the far south and it's not uncommon in the summer that the temperatures in the ocean gets to around 20°C or higher, providing that the weather is good of course. Fresh water lakes will usually be a little bit higher than the ocean.
Postal services have their own department for tracking down the recipients if the info on the mail is incomplete. An Iranian teacher of mine told us about when he got a letter addressed to: "teacher's first Name, Norway". No surname or address, and he still received the letter. Edit: the point about him being Iranian is because he had a first name that was uncommon here.
Right. And if packages with Christmas presents are torn, and only the inner packages wrapped in gaudy Christmas paper are left, they will track the names on the to and from cards stuck to the package, like "To Sofie, from Grandma" to find the right receiver. Obviously someone usually will miss their packages, and search for them.
To answer some questions: In regards to contact with both nature and major hubs for commerce or activities you can get that as long as you live near medium to large size cities. If youre fine with stretching the 10 minute commute to 30-60 minutes you can more or less throw a dart along the coastal line and say "there". The further north you go, the less that is true though, as then youre limited to the larger cities like Trondheim, Bodø, Tromsø etc. Even inland in the south this can be true some places, but the biggest/best locstions for a nature/city hybrid would be places like Arendal, Kristiansand, Bergen, Molde and Stavanger. For salaries, Norwegian and American salaries and cost of living are often very similar. The biggest difference is that we make a better living wage, so we dont have to work multiple jobs or 10+ hours a day to get by. Combine that with less direct out of pocket expense for things like education and healthcare it is also less stressful. But our purchasing power are often very comparable. One big difference is that eating out or takeout is sometimes more expensive, so homecooking is the way to go. As she touches on though we have really good produce and food in general that is still affordable.
In general Norwegians spend 11% of their salaries on grocery shopping. Americans spend 17% of their salaries on grocary shopping. Most people do the mistake of looking at the price without taking leval of salaries and taxes into considerations. Big hugs from Oslo, Norway🇳🇴💞
Thank you ladies for another great video, I’m really loving learning about Norway. I will be going to watch it again though to see the stuff I missed ❤️
Having previously seen the beauty of Norway, it must have been such a wrench for the Vikings to leave & come to Britain.... who wouldn't pine for the fjords? It's a stunning country! Thanks for sharing, ladies 🌸
I've traveled to the UK a lot in my adult life, have British friends, so I would estimate from my observations both in terms of seeing the prices in the stores as well as hearing my friends talk about their budgets, that a Brit would probably spend roughly half as much on groceries than a Norwegian would. But I also have a friend (Norwegian, but moved to the UK several years ago) working in the UK who does the same kind of job as I do, and when comparing wages, she also earned roughly half as much as I did (and she had to use her own car, pay for special insurance to allow her to use her car for work - while whenever my job requires me to drive, they provide the car and I pay nothing towards it). I think one thing to factor in with the prices is also the cultural norms in the place. For instance, eating out (especially in restaurants) is culturally a treat/luxury in Norway, not something we do every day. So prices reflect that (plus restaurant workers here have fair wages, which also contributes).
Looking forward to this, love learning about Norway as it's definitely a bucket list mission to go there, ideally on a cruise and see the northern lights :-)
If you are allergic to Birch, you should stay away from estern Norway. Birch trees make up the bulk of the tree count in some places. But also, dryer weather in the east leads to more aggressive pollen spread. It's crazy. You may notice that "Bjørk" (birch) is an extremely common component in names for people, companies and places in Norway.
I have hopes to move to Norway in the future and the main reasons are the nature and the people. I want to move to Bergen which gives me a larger city but still near some amasing nature. The Salary is just a bonus in my opinion. To me things like living condition and health are more important. Things just seems better in Norway than where i live now and i dont live far away.
Bergen is a nice city, but you really have to enjoy rainy weather to live there. There are a lot of beautiful days along the west coast of Norway, but the wind and rain are very much an issue for me (i grew up in Oslo). You can check out "Yr" (.no) and type in different places and see what the weather is like. If you enjoy "real" winter with snow, you should consider some inland places. They get colder in winter, but have less wind and precipitation in general. Bergen is known by all norwegians as a very wet place to live:) The people who come from there are also known for their "funny accent" and general outgoing attitudes.
In the south of Norway the ocean temprature can get around 18-20°C freshwater lakes can get quite a bit warmer, thats just for a few moths though if we are lucky Norwegians are pretty hardy though so alot of us go swimming in 10°C and lower😂 The price for a house like hers juat based of the few shots you get of the outside can be anywhere between $400.000 and $800.000 depending on where it's located
If you're a resident of the EU/EEA you can move and work freely. Americans will need visa (relatively easily, tourist visas are a formality only). Access to nature/countryside, depending a bit on the town/city, coul easily be within the city/town limits. Remember that temperatures vary a lot depending on where you are. If you put the Northermost point in NYC, the southernmost would be on the Georgia/Florida border. Temperature differences within the country on the same day of 30-35C (54-63F) is not uncommon. Postal service: owing to a sharp decline in physical letters (say hello to e.mails and websites; including public information), letters hare noe delivered avery two days, weekends excluded). Packages too large to fit in a standard mailbox or is registered will arrive to the nearest "drop point" every working day. Amazon sends items across borders, so things are ordrerd from om of their sites /and can be sent from soewhere else. I've ordered from the UK site, package came from Greece.) But there is no overnight Amazon Prime service as such (the market's too small, just over 5 mill people, remember.) As for the wine shop, you can order from their website 24/7 from some 20-30,000 products. The website is also available in English www.vinmonopolet.no/content/english/about-vinmonopolet. And they deliver.
i am an Norwegian: Cons- very expensive rents between 1000-1500 dollars pr month outside big cities. In Oslo it's about 1500-2500 dollars pr month. This is for a smal apartment for 1-2 persons. Than you have electricity 100-250 dollars pr month. food very expensive, restaurants , cafes very expensive. but I love Norway, you have nature which is beatiful.
In the UK the best way to compare the cost of living is to compare the cost of a pint of lager. It’s about £10 for a pint in Norway compared to about £3.50/£4 in the uk. And it’s not a full pint… it s a half litre.
Norway is my fave holiday destination. Used to get there on a ferry. It used to be full of Norwegians who had been shopping in Newcastle England. Now I get why.
Norwegian postal service; it comes down to the cost of salaries and the cost of fuel vs. the price people are willing to pay for stamps. TLDR version: We are only 5.5 million people in a relatively large area. The density of mail traffic isn't high enough to be as efficient as it was when the Postal service was a Govt. service and not a public company (still owned like 50% by the state). Now they have to make a profit. Full version: We used to get letters every worksay of the week, but basically that meant the postal service ran at an economical deficiency. So they changed it to be every other weekday per 14 days (so mon, wed, fri, tue, thur) on an alternating setup so half the town is on the oposite setup: the workers work every day, but they only need half as many workers and cars to deliver all the mail. If you live in a really remote area, packages may only come twice a week because it is a long drive and few people along the route. Basically trying to have as full cars as possible, wasting as little fuel and sallary as possible. However, if a letter is in a mailbox before 3pm and you happen to have your letter delivery day the next day and live in the same region, it is likely to show up the next day. Add 1 extra day for sending mail between regions and one extra day for the next day not being your delivery day that week. Packages are on an independent setup, in fact sorted into another division of the post service entierly, named Bring. (Means exactly the same in Norwegian as in English.) Bring delivers a domestic package within 1-3 workdays (they don't move on Sat or Sun). Add 1-3 workdays if you live deep into the less populated areas. Typically in the innermost end of a fjord.
As for your question about cities let`s take Oslo, the capital of Norway. If u are downtown Oslo. It is a 20-25 min tremdrive and you are in the woods with tons of skislopes. Nature is always nearby.
My comments on the cons: 1. Groceries are not that expensive compared to the US. I was in the US this summer (Long Beach and Palm Springs). In the US there are some products that are cheaper (and you have dollar stores!), and some things are really expensive (often healthy stuff and lady products). 2. You can drive at 100 km/h (62.14 m/h) on SOME roads, but there are few of those. And yeah, compared to American roads that often go straight for miles and miles, Norwegian roads have a lot of turns. 3. You can swim during summer in most places. Yeah, the water can be cold, but it can get pretty hot here. This summer we had really nice weather where I live, and the water was really pleasant. In some places, the water is cooler because of underwater currents. 4. Vinmonopolet has monopoly on anything over 4.7% alcohol. You can buy beer at the local super market, but they close their alcohol sales at 8 pm Monday to Friday, and at 6 PM Saturday. You cannot buy alcohol on a Sunday. This does not include restaurants and bars, of course. 5. I used to work for the postal service, and trust me, I'm not so loyal that I would lie if I thought it was bad. If you post a letter before the postal service picks it up for the day, it should arrive within another destination in Norway the next day. If you get a letter from abroad and it takes weeks, it's often because it is delayed abroad. We actually have a very efficient postal service. I think she's just had a bad experience. Things can get delayed around Christmas time because of the crazy amounts of mail. I was once personally responsible for a small team whose job it was to decipher crap handwriting on Christmas cards to make sure it was delivered on time. Unfortunately, most people who write Christmas cards by hand are elderly, and they learned to write cursive. Old age and cursive is not a good combination! But yeah, we took our job really seriously and I did some proper detective work to even get illegibly written cards to their destination.
Really enjoyed learning more about Norway with you two! As I mentioned in chat, for one of your comedy reacts. You might want to consider checking out the Monty Python Dead Parrot skit, if you have not already. I am still playing catch up on your videos and having a great time doing it! Thanks for the fun content!
You also brought up this with the speed limits in Norway, and I, who live here, think they are too high in some places, and I know that many Americans would have been afraid to drive on long roads, for example in Western Norway, where it can be 80 km/h on a road that there is no room for two cars to meet each other, for example, and when on one side of the road it is 2-300 meters down to the water, then there are steep mountains up on the other side of the road that can stretch well over 1000 metres. But here she is slightly wrong, because on our motorways the speeds are somewhat different, but mostly 100km/h, and some 110km/h. Such as between Oslo and Krstiansand. But all Norwegians learn to drive according to the conditions, so where it seems a bit unsafe to drive at 80, we like to let off the gas a bit, and yes, there are a lot of bends on Norwegian roads due to the mountain landscape, and because many of the roads are in valleys. But most foreigners really appreciate the different roads and the differences can be big from one kilometer to the next!
To clear up where and when to buy alcohol in Norway. Convenience stores sell alcoholic drinks with alcohol content up to 4.7%, so usually beer, ciders etc., anything stronger than that you have to buy from the "Vinmonopolet", which translates to: The Wine Monopoly. Convenience stores can sell alcohol until 8PM on weekdays and 6PM on saturdays. The Vinmonopolet can sell alcohol until 6PM on weekdays and 4PM on Saturdays. It's illegal for stores and Vinmonopolet to sell alcohol on Sundays and on certain public holidays, usually Religious holidays. Gas stations do not sell alcohol, at all. You can buy alcoholic drinks like beer and wine in most restaurants, bars, pubs, clubs etc. every day of the week, between 6AM and 1AM (local regulations may apply). Liquor on the other hand is more regulated. Pubs, clubs and restaurants etc. need a special permit to serve liquor, and it can not be served before 1PM. It's illegal to serve liquor on sundays and most public holidays. To buy and sell alcoholic drinks up to but not including 22%, you need to be 18 years of age. For alcohol that is 22% and above, you need to be 20 years old.
1. You can also buy alcohol in grocery stores, but not strong alcohol. 2. You can swim in the ocean in the summer. It’s at least 20 degrees in summer, but not in the north of Norway. ❤️ 3. Groceries are ridiculous expensive, at least now a days. Many families are struggling to break even and differences are increasing between rich and poor. But it’s still pretty good compared to many other countries. 4. You can live close to nature 10 minutes from big cities. 5. And btw a pack of 20 cigarettes costs 170 NOK, about 16 USD
Post: Our postalservice delivers mail every other day due to the limited amount being sent. Most official mail is done online through secure sites. Norway is NOT part of the EU, and thus there is handling of taxes and control on anything moving across the border. So yes, it can take some time. Personally, I've gotten most things within 5 days ordering from the US or the UK, which I find to be well within acceptable time. Amazon has been looking into opening in Norway, but have (if I understood correctly) run into some challenges pricewise as they can't dump salaries and neglect workers rights here. They've not given up, but no idea if they can manage to open here.
I hope Amazon never succeed there. Or if they do, that it's by accepting the local rules and treating their workers there properly, and that it results in pressure within the company to treat *all* their workers properly, everywhere. People need to stand up to those f***ers!
Speed limit used to be 80km/t, now it is closer to 110km/t. In summer we have around 20 degrees Celsius warm and comfortable. Yes it has changed. Amazon sends to Norway now.
Depends on where you live. 15 is traditionally the average temperature, but the last 10 years, it has only gotten hotter and drier due to climate change. So 25-31 is common. Also less snow during Xmas at least here in Østlandet. I hate aummer here. Too hot and I don’t like Syden either. Never been. I love fall and winter season. Tho less snow, milder and more rain and ice. I grew up in Akershus during the 90’s and 2000’s. Totally different than how it is now, especially climate and weather wise.
Norway is a rich country due to its gas and oil deposits, it has a population just over half the size of London , and as a country is half the size bigger than the whole of the UK ...also the Norwegian Govt own nearly 2% of all stocks and shares in the world which supports its pension and social practices such as free healthcare a great educational system ...this is all achievable due to the huge revenues they get via North Sea oil versus such a tiny population to support.....fun fact Norway has more islands than any country in the world other than its neighbour Sweden which has a little more
That is not correct! Norway has the most islands in the world: www.worlddata.info/islands-by-country.php this according to several statics and sites. included Wikipedia...
Where she lived it's about an hour to Oslo by train. Not seen her whole house, but can imagine a house like that is sold for around 3-4 million NOK, which amounts to around 200.000-300.000 USD. (briefly checked out the listings there). Edit: It's considered countryside kinda, but it is actually a small town with 26.000 inhabitants.
The more we learn about Norway the more l like it and would love to visit . It does seem that things are the way they are for the benefit of the people and the country as a whole or health, wellbeing and the environment .ie no Amazon better for the local economy 👍👍👍👍❤️
Were you wondering how far it is between the cities? First, I just want to mention that there are only 5.3 million people who live in Norway, and Oslo houses about 600,000 of them + that there are some smaller cities less than an hour's drive away that do not even reach a hundred thousand. Trondheim is Norway's third largest city and only 180,000 people live there. Bergen is the second largest, and there are about 270,000 people there. In other words, you won't find anything like America in Norway, I have heard of Americans who thought Norway was a very boring country, because they can't find many clubs that suit them, and that Norwegians are so terribly boring because they only think about outdoor activities, summer and winter! Well, many Norwegians have cabins that they like to travel to, there are almost half a million of them scattered all over the country, and when you are lucky enough to have the nature we have in Norway, it should and must be enjoyed! And to flip the coin, there aren't many Norwegians who live very long in New York either! Too much noise and fuss. And it's not very nice there either! Sorry! But I hear more and more people travel to Seattle, and they have a good time there, simply because of the nature, and that everything goes a little more calmly for them. And when you first talk about Seattle, there are more Norwegian families in the USA than there are people living in Norway, and most of them live in Washington, Montana North Dakota, mostly in the northern states!
In the summer the temperature can be 15- 19 degrees pluss in the water, and never belove 0 degree celcius in the winter, this is why many bath in the winter too, because when it is - 20 degrees celcius, 0 degree celcius is warm
10:45 many people do, yes. Some swedes that live not too far off the border work in Norway to get a higher salary 13:20 an average full meal in Norway while eating outside would be around $20
It's because of the curvy roads. And because of a combination of mountainous terrain and because we're so far north it is insanely expensive to build new roads. You have to dig down 6 meters and then fill it up in a special way otherwise the roads are going to warp and crack like an egg in wintertime.
Welcome to Oslo, then. 20 min subway ride from the city centre and you are in nature. ❤️ Water temperatures depend a lot where you are! In the Oslo fjord and south of Norway and in summer and in little lakes the water can be lovely. This video is a hit odd, but nothing is really wrong, just from the point of view from where she is from. Yes, we have amazon now, i mean we order from England and that is fairly quickly and things don't go slow in the post I think. We have webshops for everything. In Oslo we can now order groceries and get it delivered to our door within half an hour. ❤️ People who move to Norway because they are refuges from war and repression, but also a lot of polish people and from Eastern Europe come and work especially in the building trades. There used to be a lot of young Swedish people who came to work in the service sector. Less jobs and lower pay in Sweden, but it is less so low.. In the 70s a lot of people immigrated to Pakistan to Norway for work. So we have a lot of second and third generation from them now. Next watch the Norwegian kings speach.
I wanna clear something up, companies in Norway doesn't give benefits and high wages out of the goodness of their hearts all of this is negotiated for through unions. Labour unions in Norway are are very strong and is a foundation of how Labour is organised. All of this and "trepartsmodellen" would need a video to explain. So no companies in Norway aren't nicer than elsewhere but the workers through a high degree of unionisation have a higher power of leverage in negotiations for wages and working conditions as compared with many other countries.
1. Not sure where she lives, but a house like that will probably set you back 10 millions NOK, depending on where. More rural areas it will be cheaper and in Oslo you might double that. Big difference south to north and everything in between. My house near Oslo would be millions NOK cheaper in the south where my parents live. Income is also higher in Oslo than the average. Also renting in Norway is fairly cheap, but most Norwegians own their own house/apartment unless you're a student or very young. 2. We have amazon here, but the cost of shipping makes it bad. We have options instead of amazon and almost all stores have a web shop (it's better to buy local than cheap products from abroad) Also Norway is one of the cheapest countries in the world when it comes to electronics and diapers (and most baby related items) 3. Cost of living is not that bad compared to income. Example; gas prices are high (but not much higher than other European countries) but compared to income, gas prices are actually very cheap in comparison. 4. Temperatures; it's impossible to say that it is cold in Norway, because it's a huge difference in the south vs west vs north. In the south during summer, water temperatures are common to exceed 20°C in the ocean and lakes and canals can get up to 25-28°C in the water. In the north it's rare to have water temperatures above 15°C, but it happens. (Like this year). Be prepared for changing weather, don't expect sun throughout the day if the morning is sunny, you never know. Weather forecast is pretty accurate though. 5. It's very, very difficult for Americans (or non EU citizens) to get a job here because we prioritize European work force, and mainly eastern Europe. Unless your profession is something we're in high demand for, you probably gonna need to marry a Norwegian (or come here to study or work for a company that has Norwegian departments) if you want to move here, unfortunately. 6. Eating out is not that expensive, again it depends. We have Michelin star restaurants here and also street food, so you can eat out for as low as 10$ and up to thousands. It's actually cheaper to eat out in for example Oslo than in some smaller cities because you have more competition and more to choose from. 7. Speed limits are up to 110km/h on highways. She is mistaken though, fines are very high, but unless you are more than 40+km/h above the limits, the fines are set and not compared to income. Example; 30km/h above 80km/h speed limit sets you back about 1200$. 8. Postal service is not slow; if you ship packages or letters within Norway, it's maximum of 2 days delivery anywhere in Norway, but if you order something from abroad, it will be longer because we have a strict import/export law so the delay will be at the border, not the postal offices 😊 hence why amazon is not the best here. 9. Nature is awesome everywhere, but it's very different in different areas. Even here in Oslo it's a short drive/bus/subway ride away to forrests with hundreds of paths to walk or go camping. Holmenkollen is a very popular area, also Østmarka etc 👍 Regards from a Norwegian loving your videos 😊
There is an american couple with kids who moved to Norway and she is making videos from time to time, she call herself Heather Abroad, its worth a look. Alot of our vegetables are produced in Norway, we have some steep import taxes to favor local farmers, same with meat and such. There are not alot of use of antibiotics in norwegian food. People are swimming in the ocean, like in Oslo and in the south they have nicer temperatures, up here in the northen Norway I would say 10 degrees celcius is about right ... summertime, wintertime alittle above 1-2 degrees celcius. Fun story about the postal service, they tested it up here in the north ... this year, they had 2 letter sent, 1 by normal mail ... and the other someone walked the old "Postman route" a distance at 93 kilometer. The person who walked the mailroute used 5 days before they could deliver the letter to the mayor of that town. The day after ... that is on the 6th day ... the letter they sent by the regular mailcarrier Posten came. So they beated the regular mailcarrier with 1 day ... by walking the letter to its owner. We do order stuff from Amazon, we don't have amazon stores tough ..
Good insight and who am I to say she's wrong - I have never lived in Norway as an outsider. Cost of living is high, yes, but high salaries compensate. For that reason we have had lots of people coming in from other parts of the world to work. Sure, you'll hear people complain but some are never happy. Fact remains, stuff cost more but we also have more left over when the important things have been paid. Hence the high standard of living, we can afford it. As for speed limit, we have up to 110 kmh, close to 70 mph, on highways. Water temps, she's wrong. Over 68 F is common, it just depends where you are. Just a couple months ago I had a nice dip in a lake where the thermometer was at a delicious 79 F. Amazon: I order from there all the time and have been for a decade and a half!
The steps view are not Aalesund, but Svolvaer. It's the capital town of the Lofoten region. Norways most famous tourist destination, located in the north of Norway.
My partner lives in norway I live in London. We have the best of both worlds, fjords mountains clean air and water beautiful scenery over there. Nightlife theater restaurants museums Castles and catherdrals here. Heading to oslo tomorrow to see him again can't wait ❤
There are areas and bays in Norway where you can get 20 celcius or more in the summer, and most summers there will be days like that, but it is just a small timeframe, and not at all reliable. Norway is long horizontally, and in the north it is only special summers can give you up to 20 degrees water, so if you take a general average view of bathing temperatures for the country as a whole, she is quite right, but local conditions and especially in the south east, there are usually always some days in the summer with nice temperature water at the peak of summer.
The view from the steps look a lot like Ballsted in the Lofoten Islands. I used to live like 5 US miles from there. 12 years, actually. (Now I live in the suburbs of Oslo). The nature is very close regardless where you live. But atound the bigger cities, you'll run into more people in nature then in more rural areas. But close to the fjords and generally along the coast, you'll run into more tourists. A friend of mine once forgot the key to the front door in the lock for a month while beeing away on a summer holiday. Back in the 90's though. That was also in Lofoten. Other important things to mention: Very low corruption. That is one of the reasons we trust our government. Even when "the other team" runs the country. Free education the whole way including university. Free health care system. My Mother recently got her 2nd cancer opereration. The only thing we had to pay was the parking fee when we visited her at the hospital in Oslo. She even got free ambulance planer to her home city in northern Norway for free (1hr30 mins flight). So generally speaking. We pay our taxes without complaints, because we know that the money will be put (mostly) to good use. The speed limit she tells about is wrong. Up to 110 km/h (almost 70 mph) on the highways, and up to 90km/h (55mph) on single file roads.
We used to summer holiday near Arendal, which is quite south and the sea was warm enough there to swim. I learned to windsurf there. Fabulous memories!!
Anna has quite a few videos on Norway (and other countries including Italy, France and UK) which I have found helpful and give a good insight into living there. I'm not sure where she currently is, but she wasn't a permanent resident at that time, but I know how much she loved living in Norway and it sounded like she wanted to return. I can vouch from my visit all be it some time ago how expensive it was to buy food then in comparison to the UK. Although I am sure if you were living there I guess you would know how to seek out best value, while not missing out on quality.
She moved to the UK, went back to Norway for a short visit this spring, and regretted moving to the UK. As a Norwegian I can tell you that half her content on Norway is either inaccurate or false due to stereotypes, cultural bias, and ignorance. If you wanna learn about a different country, culture and society you go directly to the source and not foreigners who doesn’t seem to understand nor know the culture well.
It`s right that max speedlimit in Norway in general is set on 80 km/h, that is unless nothing less OR more is set on the road-signs. Nowdays there are several limited distances on modern highways set with speedlimits of 100 and even 110 km/h.
Reason I moved to Norway from Portugal was work life balance. You work less, feel more productive some how and have time to enjoy life. Things are cheaper in Portugal and I had a good salary, but there is a lot more money left at the end of the month in comparison in Norway. Biggest issue for me is food, it is almost depressive, not just the price but the variety of fresh food. Most of it is imported. Example of cost in Oslo: 1 Big Mac costs 92 NOK, a Big Mac Menu starts at 136 NOK
Number one thing to remember about Norway is that it stretches for a very long way from the south to the north! And there are fiords all the way. And they all have different biomes. So don't think that the more popular things they show from the southwestern fiords are typical for the country as a whole! Oh, and do NOT come to those southwestern fiords aboard a cruise ship! The fiords trap the bad stuff the engines releases, and the locals are very unhappy about that. Especially as fewer live off tourism than those who suffer from it. I'm from the northeastern part of Norway, right next door to the Russian border, so the only places I'd want to move to down south would be somewhere close to where trees stop to grow because it's too elevated. Up here it's around 300 meters above sea level. So probably inland somewhere.
I love VINMONOPOLET❤. It is very professional; the employees have high education in wine and they are very professional. You can ask for advice anytime and get the best tips for your party or gatherings. When I am in other countries (including USA) and ask for wine advice in stores the emplyees donˋt have a clue. And they donˋt care. Wine is not a profession for them. Wine is just one of many things they sell in the store. Vinmonopolet is like a concept store with high leval of knowledge and wine is art! I miss Vinmonopolet when I go to other countriesl
If you are an American and a city dweller, you may find living anywhere but in Oslo difficult. There you have everything within a short distance. It's big enough to have lots of subway lines, tram lines, buses, taxis, lots of entertainment, shops. For comparison, I suspect the rest of Norway has no subways and less than 5 tram lines. Other cities are quite small and boring compared to Oslo. Of course by US standards, Oslo is quite a small city.
Oh.. its soo cold in Norway at winter!! Its cold at summer to, get used to it, stop complain and make you a life! Norway have great roads, but they are narrow, goes around all fjords, and up and down all there mountains! Be sure you have a stickshift and use engin breaking downhill.. but there is a lot carshops downhill, that renovates your brakes.. if you survived!
Oh, regarding water temps. In freshwater sub 10 c is normal. In the sea in the south the average is about 17 celsius. On warm days I've experienced 23 celsius but that is rare
Uk national speed limit is 60 not 70. You can only do 70 on full Motorways. Uk is pretty cheap for food, though it kinda needs to be as social welfare is really, really low. (So the poorest can afford to eat). Deliveries from UK around 2019, especially if they transit through europe, would have been severely delayed with all the brexit export chaos at that time.
Our speed limits are ( in KMH) : 30, 50, 60, 70, 80 for the moast part, but we also have 90,100 and 110 in some plases. MPH : 18, 31, 37, 43, 49, 55, 62 and 68. still no Amazon but we have Ebay
Some people marry Norwegian people and dus live here, a lot move here for the nature, from the low countries mostly. A lot of Swedes come for the work and others are refugees from various places - now a lot from Ukraine- I was an immigrant to the US in the 60s but could not get out of there fast enough. Not for me - too much hate. Lived 8 yrs in Belgium but my hart is in Norway and moved back. Not an easy task. Nice watching you :)
Yes that is birch trees behind her. Depending on where you live, takeout isn't very comon like in some other countries. It would just ruin you, especially if you are a family with kids. Quite a few vegetables are grown in Norway and most times don't use pesticides on like tomatoes so there isn't really a need to buy eco versions and pay more. Of course fruit and vegetables that don't grow here is best to do more reseach on. When it comes to swimming, it depends on where in Norway you are, but even though the sea temperature is colder compared to Greece, it's never been an issue for most Norwegians.
I live a 20 minute drive from one of the largest cities in Norway, close to the sea, mountains and forests. But you would be close to all that even if you lived in the middle of the city. I grew up outside the city in what you could call a small village, but everything is very spread out and more remote. We still got everything we need and the city is still close by. The speed limits here might be lower because there are many narrow roads with curves and sharp turns, houses are spread out everywhere and the kids walk to school and have to cross the roads. Our winters are very dark and the days are short cause the sun rises late around 10 am and sets early around 4 pm, but the summers are bright and the days are long cause the sun can set around 11 pm and rise at 4 am. We don't get a lot of snow where I live (south west coast), winters are mild and often rainy, but the roads often get icy, lowest winter temperature here is usually around -10C (14F), but it's often warmer. Summer usually feels very short and the weather can be unpredictable, spring can often be late and fall can come early, but we can get summer temperatures around 30C (86F), but it's often more commonly around 15C (59F) to 20C (68F). Average summer temperature in the sea where I live is around 14C (58F). Would love to watch you react to videos of Norwegian prison, Norwegian graduation (russ), the weather and climate, midnight sun and polar night, Norway and electric cars, culture like music and most famous Norwegians.
Here in south of norway you can get like 66 F in ocean. Fully bathable. Ppl forget norway is LONG af. Almost the lenght of us east coast, so the difference in north and south is vast
It might be worth noting that even if the average salary is higher the high-salary jobs are paid less in Norway. This is partly due to university education being more accessible to everyone which creates a greater pool of high skill workers. An Engineer in Norway will be paid less than an American Engineer, but since there is less competition for high-skill workers among the corporations that Norwegian Engineer will generally experience less pressure and demands than the American Engineer, this results in high-skill workers in Norway experiencing less stress and having more time for family.
The speed limits in Norway depend on the road and the surrounding area. 30 and 50 KM/H is what you usually find in city streets, residential areas, industrial areas and during roadworks. 60 KM/H is normal on stretches of road with several homes along the road and many exits. 70, 80 and 90 KM/H are mostly found on the main roads, such as county roads, national roads, and smaller motorways. 110 KM/H is reserved for the larger motorways. But as always, these speed limits are only the upper limit. I know of roads with an 80 KM/H limit, but where I usually stay 10-15 KM/H lower because the road is winding and the road surface is not of the best quality. In addition, the weather and the time of the year in Norway can become an extra challenge, often forcing you to stay well below the speed limit. Otherwise, you will quickly become part of the accident statistics. I also agree that the postal service in Norway is dreadfully slow at times. I'm only living about a three-hour drive from Oslo, where the primary terminals for the national post service are, but packages can take anything from three days to almost a week to reach me, depending on my luck. And it's not like I'm living far away from other people, as one of the main national roads in Norway is only a couple of kilometres away from my place. If it's that bad for me, I wish you good luck if you live in a faraway valley or on one of the many islands along the coast where the mail must be transported by boat.
Sorry I missed this live this morning I was busy. Great video , I can't believe they don't have amazon there and I will love to be a post woman there too . Thank you so much ladies
Just have to correct something she said, speeding tickets in Norway is not based on your income, they are fixed at levels depending on how much above the posted speed limit you were going and goes from ~110 USD (speeding up to 5km/h (3mph) above speed limit) to ~1450 USD (for speeding up to 35km/h (21mph) above speed limit). Above a certain point you don't get a ticket, but community service or jail time instead. However, tickets for DUI are based on your income, so she might have just confused those two ticket types.
Our first time actually learning about living in Norway and everyday life! So what's Norwegian life like? There are good & bad things about every country. So is Norway a great place to live, just okay or not so great? We find out some of the pros and cons about life in Norway in this episode. If you live in Norway, please add to the list. We love hearing from you! If you aren't in Norway, let us know which item on this list surprised you the most. Thank you SO much for watching! If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our channel, it is the BEST way to support our channel and it's FREE! Also, please click the Like button. Thank you for your support!
The average distance to a city from a village is 3 hours of driving, not counting north Norway, north of Trondheim.
This is not useful information because Norway is an impossible country to live in when you have a real choice - due to the weather alone - especially the unpredictable part. You can't plan anything for more than hours away.
Ironically, the weather is to a great extent the reason why Norway is beautiful. All the waterfalls, all the different shades of green - all about the weather.
as i mention in a comment on another of your videos, the salaries for the low paying jobbs here in norway like for cleaners, people working at the gas stations and grocery stores and such are quite alot higher then in US, but thats because the specialists get paid way less here then in the US. not sure its true, but according to a video i was watching few weeks back, a brain surgeon in US can get paid like 750k a year, wile he would "only" get around 150-200k a year in norway. thats still enough to live a good life tho, especially since they dont get the massive cost of going to school, and it would be the same for high paying engineering jobbs and such.
regardig the grocery prices in norway. heres a site that should give you a good idea of what stuff cost. 1 USD = 10,7 NOK, so to get the prices in USD you can practily just divide by 10:
allematpriser.no/c/frukt-gront_0?page=7
Here we live in the eastern part of Norway, so we have 68° Fahrenheit in the sea in the summer. We can swim for hours.
@@RoarHoIn worst case a human can survive 2 hours exposed to 68ºF.
I have some comments:
1. Speed: 80km/h is the national "default" meaning when you see those small narrow roads in the mountain, it's 80 km/t, though on the highway it's 110 km/t (68mph).
2. Temperature in the water: The reason why the norwegian waters are "warm" is because of the gulf stream, and some places in norway especially longer north the stream doesnt reach the fjords, meaning the water wont be warm. An example of this is Ålesund which is a beautiful city and has won "summer-city of the year" twice (atleast), but if you then go more south (where i grew up, check up Tvedestrand) and more to the south-east of norway (Kristiansand-Arendal-Oslo) the temperature is up to 77 fahrenheit in the summer, so not France, but definetly not too cold to have a swim :)
3. Expensive alcohol, yes it's expensive, especially on restaurants and bars (beer about 11 dollars certain places) but since Vinmonopolet is buying in such big shipments the wine compared to the rest of the world is not bad and they also cannot take more than X amount of percentage of profit, so we have people who is sleeping in que outside vinmonopolet in tents on certain releases of wine and buys the most expensive wines in the world for really cheap, only to fly down to London and sell it for 30-100% profit :)
4. I will add this, which i love about Norway. Business-wise and infrastructure-wise i think its really nice that we expect everything to work and everything should be easy. Sometimes when i go to certain places in Europe i find that it is a lot of things that dont work, no cellphone internett, wifi is bad, hard to get information etcetc, but i think you will find that if you visit Norway USUALLY you can rely on that everything here works! :)
5. You should check out the south of norway aswell! That's where a lot of the norwegians have their summerhuts!
The reason Norway do not have any Amazon warehouses, is because of the strong Norwegian workers rights and laws. Amazon enjoy treating their employees as they see fit, which is something they would absolutely not be allowed to do in Norway, hence Amazon probably doesn't see it as a profitable enough market.
nope. because how they and other american companies are treating the workers, they are simply not allowed to get a foothold in norway
Main reason is likely Norway is a too small market, no warehouse needed. Yeah, Norway have very strong workers rights
@@Rimrock300 we do not accept how badly the average low paying workers beeinng treated in the US. to put it in perspective, if a waitress was treated same way here in norway as in the US, her boss would be breaking the law so badly he would risk up to 6 years in prison
@@Rimrock300 I do believe amazon operates in smaller nations also. They have tried and are still trying in norway. I hope they wont, cause that would mean by by to loads of other chains
Sadly we are going more and more right wing in norway. If we get to a point where there are pressure in the job marked, the laws will change.
In some parts of Norway, especially the ocean around Oslo, you can get water temperatures up to 23 degrees celsius (73 degrees fahrenheit), it's not very varm - but at least not under 10 degrees celsius (50 fahrenheit) - and we (Oslo) have some lakes with temperatures up to 27 celsius (80 fahrenheit). 😊🏊♀ It all depends where in Norway you choose to go swimming.
Here in the North, in Bod or Tromsø , they bath by a water temperatur with 12degrees Celsius, but this sommer it was much higher even in the ocean, great summer this year😁
You guys were lucky this year. July and August was awful in Oslo and surrounding areas this year. Never experienced so much rain before. @@biankakoettlitz6979
@@biankakoettlitz6979swimming in icemelt water in rivers or lakes is the best
Åh jag älskar Oslo, påminner faktiskt mycket om Malmö! 🥰
Hubby worked in Norway and loved it we had a fabulous time beautiful country and fantastic people.
Nice video sweeties! She’s way off on the water temperature for summer though. It varies a lot so she must be somewhere 🥶 South eastern parts of Norway often gets temperatures 20+ (Celsius) in the summer 😎
Oh wow! Good to know, thanks! ❤❤
And the temperature is different from the ocean vs inland lakes, of course. But yeah, +20°C in the water is not uncommon where I live.
This is true, I'm from Kristiansand and we often have temperatures around 20°C or higher during the summertime providing that the weather is good of course.
@@TheNatashaDebbieShow Norway is as long as Nova Scotia to the middle of South Carolina, or Chicago to San Antonio. It's really long.
This woman has not discovered Clas Ohlson stores yet:) Although a swedish company, they have many stores in Norway and also online. Europris and other big box stores will also save you a bundle on most household items. If you want handmade stuff or speciality imported cosmetics, you will pay through the nose though:) Since we share a loooong border with Sweden, many people who live near it will cross over and buy alcohol and tobacco there or stock up with meats and soda/candy which is much cheaper in Sweden. You would need a car to make it practical, but there are also buses which run for that purpose and are pretty cheap. I find the post isn't that slow, but it depends on where you live. Most of the stuff i order online arrive in 3-5 days. Most norwegians are friendly and helpful, the general mindset is that of going along to get along. We tend to be a bit stoic as well, and we like our personal space and freedom. We do love nature and outdoor activities, and children grow up with this "ut på tur" attitude ( "out and about" roughly translated). I have heard norwegians described as hard to get to know, but once you do they will always be there for you. This is pretty accurate in my opinion.
Norway also has a border with Russia in the far north, inside the Arctic Circle, albeit a short one, 120 miles (190 Km) but unfenced although softly patrolled and visually monitored as they do not want to risk any conflict with an aggressive neighbour. Fortunately for them most of the Russian troops have been sent elsewhere now. Many Russians live in the North of Norway and many businesses are currently suffering from the border being closed although Russian fishermen and trawlers are still unloading catches in Norway, with no wealthy Russian tourists the Ski resorts are the worst affected.
Hi, Norwegian here. Yes there are only 2 national speed limits in Norway and they are 50kmh and 80kmh, but there are many "speed zones" and they can be lower then the limit or higher, the highest is on the freeways and that is 110kmh.
Here in Norway the definition of city is a town with more then 25.000 people, so in that respect we are never too far away from a city.
About the alcohol sale, you can buy beer and cider at any supermarket or convenience store, it's just the stronger stuff you need buy at the "special store"
P.S Still no Amazon :-)
I am so glad I now live in a city and not a town 😀
On The class A road you can go 110!
Water temperatures are very different as to where you live in Norway. Down here, south east, also referred to as the sun coast, the water temperatures and climate during summer is good Sunny warm and no problem going swimming in the sea. Going north in Norway. the water temperature is way different. So Norway is a very diverse country as to where you live.
10 C degrees in the sea could be average over the year. Summer a bit warmer and might be 18 -20 in the south
You can totally wear shorts and flip flops and bikinis to the beach in summertime! Yes, you wouldn’t spend hours in the water, but temperatures can get get pretty good, especially in the south (like around 80 F on a nice day in July).
Good! Thank you!
On top, even 20 degrees celsius in summer can feel easy like 30+, especially in fjord areas. From my experience the longer winter time is the bigger difference to other european countries. And one thing you need to get used to in the mid to north norwegian area is that the nights in summer never get dark, that was a little disturbing in the beginning.
Speak for yourself, I would spend hours in the water until I was forced to get upt😂
Houses are from 400 000& up to 100 0000 depending on side and location. Flats are very in Oslo, but by the fjords I don’t know. Love your show❤❤
Sorry it’s 110km
We are moving to Norway because it is uniquely beautiful there. The climate is perfect (not so warm), the people are very friendly, not pushy. This peace, this air, this wonderful attitude towards people and nature. We are currently learning the language. And we are going back up there in three weeks. Unfortunately only two weeks' vacation. To get to know our future home, Møre og Romsdal. We ❤ 🇳🇴
I'm a Scot living in Norway, so I'm looking forward to this video! I loved your UK videos and now you're looking at where I live now! Exciting!
That's so cool!! Thank you! ❤️
Norway & (Scandinavia in general) seems to be a very intriguing place to learn about.
Keep up the good work guys 👌
Thanks! 😃
There are tons of places where you could live at the edge of the forest or fjord (or both) and still be within a few minutes drive from the city. Where I live in Trondheim I can catch the bus (every 10 minutes!) to go to the city center (takes less than 10 minutes) or the same route other way go hiking or cross country skiing within the same time frame. Usually it’s faster to go by bus or other public transport than cars, as most cities try to reduce car traffic. As the cities are small, on a global scale, the suburbs are close to the city centers and also surrounding nature. A lot of towns are too, but many towns are pretty far from cities. Ålesund is pronounced Aw-leh-soo-nd (like in Awe, emphasis on the first syllable) by the way. Hope this helps 😊
Yes it does thank you!
Thank you dear ladies for another lovely peek behind the borders of Norway. Such beautiful, breath-taking scenery and, from all accounts, a happy, safe place to live. If I wasn't so attached to my own country, I think I would be packing my bags. Still, instead of looking towards the south for holidays, I think I should turn round and focus more on the lovely country that is Norway. Cheers girls, take care. Love from the UK
I'm looking forward to learning with you!!
That makes us so happy! 😊😊
I think the high salary more or less is balanced out by the high cost of living. Also, Amazon: Probably because we're not enough people here to make it profitable (enough).
It's great for travelling though. Pretty much every country you go to is cheaper.
I love watching you guys. The facts in this video is pretty accurate. Im a Norwegian. There is one more thing i would add. The 80 kmt speedlimit can not to be used often. Espessially on country roads, would you die a million times if you never drived slower than 80 kmt. I have heard foreigners be shocked by that. A turn you only can do at 30 kmt, but have a speedlimit of 80 is common. In Norway, to the driver is the speedlimit just a guideline. Never drive faster than you can stop the car if you need to.
On some roads we can drive at 110 km /h in Norway.
Dårlig Engelsk detta🤣🤣🤣
Men det där är inte er stadsminister 😉
This is the big question! This should be a fascinating video. I've heard a lot about Norway life, so it will be interesting to see if its true. Can't wait. ❤
Just a quick summary of the price of some basic items commonly bought at grocery stores:
Milk 2$/l
Cheese 10$/kg
AP flour 1,5$/kg
Eggs 3,5$/dozen
Butter 10$/kg
There are also some categories of items that stand out as being especially expensive. This would include alcoholic beverages (5$/l of the cheapest beer, 12+$/l of the cheapest wines and 40$/l for the cheapest 40% abv spirits), tobacco products (14$ for a 20-pack of cigarettes), candy (Snicker's as an example is 2$+ for a 75g bar) and meat (the cheapest ground beef will generally set you back 6$+ per 400g which is roughly 1 pound).
Certain services like cab fares and restaurant visits are also quite expensive.
All in all, due to Norwegian salaries being so large, even in spite of high tax-rates, Norwegians have some of the largest amounts of disposable income per capita in the world (4th according to World Population Review 2023 and 6th according to the OECD 2021). Keeping in mind that the differences between the poorest 20% and the wealthiest 20% in Norway is relatively small, this makes for a population that can generally live a very comfortable life with plenty of room for frivilous spending.
What this all means is that Norway is more of an expensive country to visit, than an expensive country to live in.
It's not true that the low income families have spending money, some can hardly put food on the table for their kids because of the high prices. Being what is concidered poor myself due to live on health benefits and being alone, it's very expencive and I don't have any money to buy clothes or shoes and can't go to a hairdresser to cut my hair, but I don't think I'm poor as not working will not give you anything more than just to exist, and maybe if you don't eat to much you can also get the medecines you need. It's not free like zero, you have to pay a lot for certain medecines that is not on a blue perscription from your doctor, like pain medicine for migraine it's like 3000 NOK for 2 shots and it's not given on blue perscription. You can get other migraine meds that is, but not the strongest ones for those with severe migraines.
Can you explain why so many people in Norway are currently struggling to pay their bills, failing to pay loans and relying more and more on food banks? These issues have been widely covered in Norway's national media for months. And you haven't noticed? You'd rather present an engineered idyllic image of Norway that really doesn't exist right now? What are you afraid of, the "non compliance" of those struggling in Norway? With record numbers of small firms going out of business in Norway, too, and the poor political decision-making, I expect things to get a lot worse in Norway.
Cheese depends, we buy norwegia for 40kr
@@Kajsun Jarlsberg jumped from 180kr/kg. Cheddar? With the shrinkflation? OMG! We went shopping in Sweden and stocked up. But we did buy some Gruyère locally just because we fancied a quiche. Just a small slice, about 150g (5oz), it was >1000kr/kg. It's about 260kr (£19) per kilo in Britain. It's mind boggling. I'm not sure how it makes Norway a better place to live, especially if you like cheese. 😱
Interesting that your cherry-picked sources are not sufficiently transparent nor based on qualified auditing. A just-so story basically. And hardly compatible with Norway having among the world's highest levels of household debt. World's biggest discretionary incomes? I don't think so. What Norwegians actually have are some of the most lax financial lending regulations in the world. A government telling Norwegians they're all rich then prescribing regulations that make their friends billionaires from all the interest charged. Very loose regulations with no adhered-to standards. That was more or less what the IMF concluded several years ago. And it's getting worse. Household debt levels in Norway, that is.
Water is warmer in summer in most southern parts of Norway, 18-20 degrees is more accurate...
do not compaire in prices but in work hours instead, like for example in this country you have to work 45 min to bye milk and in another 10 min thats a fair way to compaire
45 min for earning 20 kr ? I guess you do more than 25 kr an hour 😉
i sure do lol but an hour is an hour everywhere @@jollyo9276
So cool to learn about a country I had little idea about. Will definitely have to visit one day but I will absolutely not be going for a swim!
Oh this should be interesting I’ll look forward to it. Just to let you know the broadband is down in Scotland don’t know about the rest of the UK. It’s because of the weather
Oh no!!!
Broadband just came back on thankfully
Really interesting girlies really enjoyed watching that. Great learning about other countries with the pair of you you make it so much fun. As I said before I want to go Norway to go whale watching. Thank you for being in our lives you cheer me up ❤❤
You're so kind! Thank YOU❤
I've been to Norway a couple of times and here's my pro's and cons:
pro:
-It's a ridiculously beautiful country
-The people are awesome and realy seem to care about each other
-It's extremely save, at least crime wise; you can definitely be dangerous and risky in the mountains.
-It's incredibly well organized. Even if you're in a small town, you'll have all the needed shops in your small town, no amazon needed.
cons:
-most important con: the weather. It's very rainy (especially at the coasts) and even in summer not really hot; winter is very rough with barely any light.
-I wouldn't recommend living in Norway if you're a big city person, sure Oslo is reasonable big so are Bergen and Stavanger, but not exactly metropolis. The cities are further away than other European countries and more important, there are mountains and fjords between the cities make traveling slower and trickier. The reason why the speed limit is so low is related to that. In Norway you drive through mountain passes, not freeways.
-Everything is very far away. You can't just hop on a train and you're in an other countries capital and a couple of hours like in most European countries.
-It's not exactly a cheap country. Since the income for Norwegians are so high, being there as a guest or a tourist or on a working trip, is quit expensive. Some things are really heavily taxed, for instance alcoholic beverages are very expensive, even more than in the rest of the Nordic countries.
Going to be interesting, always wanted to do a cruise here to see the borealis lights.
We'll join you!
Shaun saw them two nights ago in Scotland and got pics too
If you want to watch Aurora borealis then the winter time is the best time to see it. And you need a clear sky. The further north you are the easier it is to see it. The advice is go north of the artic circle. It can be watched further south, but way more seldom. Outside Tromsø is a good place, or somewhere up in Finnmark. Why we don't have it in the summertime? The midnight sun 😁
There is probably no amazon in Norway as they don't like to pay taxes and Norway expect high tax to be paid. I personally refuse to use amazon because of this as they don't bring any revenue into the country. Every company in the UK are expected to pay tax but amazon refuse and are well known for treating staff badly.
Regarding water temperatures: If you live in more southern parts of Norway you can sometimes get ocean temperatures up to 20 c, but usually even in the summer it will be around 10 degrees or lower simply because we are so close to the arctic. In sheltered bays and in fjords the temperature will get warmer on sunny days. But in lakes you can get temperatures up to 25 if there is a week or longer with hot, sunny weather.
I usually say that bathing temperature in Norway is 18-20C, and that it seldom get that high in the sea sadly
I'm from Kristiansand in the far south and it's not uncommon in the summer that the temperatures in the ocean gets to around 20°C or higher, providing that the weather is good of course. Fresh water lakes will usually be a little bit higher than the ocean.
In Hvaler and Sarpsborg right now late September there are two places where it's 20 degrees C. 1 ocean beach and 1 lake.
Postal services have their own department for tracking down the recipients if the info on the mail is incomplete. An Iranian teacher of mine told us about when he got a letter addressed to: "teacher's first Name, Norway". No surname or address, and he still received the letter.
Edit: the point about him being Iranian is because he had a first name that was uncommon here.
Right. And if packages with Christmas presents are torn, and only the inner packages wrapped in gaudy Christmas paper are left, they will track the names on the to and from cards stuck to the package, like "To Sofie, from Grandma" to find the right receiver. Obviously someone usually will miss their packages, and search for them.
To answer some questions:
In regards to contact with both nature and major hubs for commerce or activities you can get that as long as you live near medium to large size cities. If youre fine with stretching the 10 minute commute to 30-60 minutes you can more or less throw a dart along the coastal line and say "there". The further north you go, the less that is true though, as then youre limited to the larger cities like Trondheim, Bodø, Tromsø etc. Even inland in the south this can be true some places, but the biggest/best locstions for a nature/city hybrid would be places like Arendal, Kristiansand, Bergen, Molde and Stavanger.
For salaries, Norwegian and American salaries and cost of living are often very similar. The biggest difference is that we make a better living wage, so we dont have to work multiple jobs or 10+ hours a day to get by. Combine that with less direct out of pocket expense for things like education and healthcare it is also less stressful. But our purchasing power are often very comparable. One big difference is that eating out or takeout is sometimes more expensive, so homecooking is the way to go. As she touches on though we have really good produce and food in general that is still affordable.
In general Norwegians spend 11% of their salaries on grocery shopping. Americans spend 17% of their salaries on grocary shopping. Most people do the mistake of looking at the price without taking leval of salaries and taxes into considerations.
Big hugs from Oslo, Norway🇳🇴💞
Yea But For a tourist it is the actual price that matters. Not a % of median sallory.
@@torgeirtheodorsen1301Not our problem that they can’t afford it…
@@kilipaki87oritahitiNo, but it does affect how they view Norway and their experience visiting. Tourism is a real profit
Thank you ladies for another great video, I’m really loving learning about Norway. I will be going to watch it again though to see the stuff I missed ❤️
Our pleasure!
Having previously seen the beauty of Norway, it must have been such a wrench for the Vikings to leave & come to Britain.... who wouldn't pine for the fjords? It's a stunning country!
Thanks for sharing, ladies 🌸
I've traveled to the UK a lot in my adult life, have British friends, so I would estimate from my observations both in terms of seeing the prices in the stores as well as hearing my friends talk about their budgets, that a Brit would probably spend roughly half as much on groceries than a Norwegian would. But I also have a friend (Norwegian, but moved to the UK several years ago) working in the UK who does the same kind of job as I do, and when comparing wages, she also earned roughly half as much as I did (and she had to use her own car, pay for special insurance to allow her to use her car for work - while whenever my job requires me to drive, they provide the car and I pay nothing towards it).
I think one thing to factor in with the prices is also the cultural norms in the place. For instance, eating out (especially in restaurants) is culturally a treat/luxury in Norway, not something we do every day. So prices reflect that (plus restaurant workers here have fair wages, which also contributes).
Looking forward to this, love learning about Norway as it's definitely a bucket list mission to go there, ideally on a cruise and see the northern lights :-)
You should!
Get the Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen trip with Hurtigruten.
Not a lot of diversity. So less crime. Fact
If you are allergic to Birch, you should stay away from estern Norway. Birch trees make up the bulk of the tree count in some places. But also, dryer weather in the east leads to more aggressive pollen spread. It's crazy. You may notice that "Bjørk" (birch) is an extremely common component in names for people, companies and places in Norway.
Thanks for the warning!
Pronunciation of the city: Ålesund (AW LEH SUN)
Thank you!
I have hopes to move to Norway in the future and the main reasons are the nature and the people. I want to move to Bergen which gives me a larger city but still near some amasing nature. The Salary is just a bonus in my opinion. To me things like living condition and health are more important. Things just seems better in Norway than where i live now and i dont live far away.
Bergen is a nice city, but you really have to enjoy rainy weather to live there. There are a lot of beautiful days along the west coast of Norway, but the wind and rain are very much an issue for me (i grew up in Oslo). You can check out "Yr" (.no) and type in different places and see what the weather is like. If you enjoy "real" winter with snow, you should consider some inland places. They get colder in winter, but have less wind and precipitation in general. Bergen is known by all norwegians as a very wet place to live:) The people who come from there are also known for their "funny accent" and general outgoing attitudes.
In the south of Norway the ocean temprature can get around 18-20°C freshwater lakes can get quite a bit warmer, thats just for a few moths though if we are lucky Norwegians are pretty hardy though so alot of us go swimming in 10°C and lower😂
The price for a house like hers juat based of the few shots you get of the outside can be anywhere between $400.000 and $800.000 depending on where it's located
Love this! It’s my dream after my undergrad to go to Norway and do my masters!
If you're a resident of the EU/EEA you can move and work freely. Americans will need visa (relatively easily, tourist visas are a formality only).
Access to nature/countryside, depending a bit on the town/city, coul easily be within the city/town limits.
Remember that temperatures vary a lot depending on where you are. If you put the Northermost point in NYC, the southernmost would be on the Georgia/Florida border. Temperature differences within the country on the same day of 30-35C (54-63F) is not uncommon.
Postal service: owing to a sharp decline in physical letters (say hello to e.mails and websites; including public information), letters hare noe delivered avery two days, weekends excluded). Packages too large to fit in a standard mailbox or is registered will arrive to the nearest "drop point" every working day.
Amazon sends items across borders, so things are ordrerd from om of their sites /and can be sent from soewhere else. I've ordered from the UK site, package came from Greece.) But there is no overnight Amazon Prime service as such (the market's too small, just over 5 mill people, remember.)
As for the wine shop, you can order from their website 24/7 from some 20-30,000 products. The website is also available in English www.vinmonopolet.no/content/english/about-vinmonopolet. And they deliver.
i am an Norwegian: Cons- very expensive rents between 1000-1500 dollars pr month outside big cities. In Oslo it's about 1500-2500 dollars pr month. This is for a smal apartment for 1-2 persons. Than you have electricity 100-250 dollars pr month. food very expensive, restaurants , cafes very expensive. but I love Norway, you have nature which is beatiful.
In the UK the best way to compare the cost of living is to compare the cost of a pint of lager. It’s about £10 for a pint in Norway compared to about £3.50/£4 in the uk. And it’s not a full pint… it s a half litre.
80 km/h is the speed limit "normally" in non-residnetial areas. The top speed limit is 110 km/h.
Norway is my fave holiday destination. Used to get there on a ferry. It used to be full of Norwegians who had been shopping in Newcastle England. Now I get why.
Norwegian postal service; it comes down to the cost of salaries and the cost of fuel vs. the price people are willing to pay for stamps.
TLDR version: We are only 5.5 million people in a relatively large area. The density of mail traffic isn't high enough to be as efficient as it was when the Postal service was a Govt. service and not a public company (still owned like 50% by the state). Now they have to make a profit.
Full version:
We used to get letters every worksay of the week, but basically that meant the postal service ran at an economical deficiency. So they changed it to be every other weekday per 14 days (so mon, wed, fri, tue, thur) on an alternating setup so half the town is on the oposite setup: the workers work every day, but they only need half as many workers and cars to deliver all the mail.
If you live in a really remote area, packages may only come twice a week because it is a long drive and few people along the route. Basically trying to have as full cars as possible, wasting as little fuel and sallary as possible.
However, if a letter is in a mailbox before 3pm and you happen to have your letter delivery day the next day and live in the same region, it is likely to show up the next day. Add 1 extra day for sending mail between regions and one extra day for the next day not being your delivery day that week.
Packages are on an independent setup, in fact sorted into another division of the post service entierly, named Bring. (Means exactly the same in Norwegian as in English.) Bring delivers a domestic package within 1-3 workdays (they don't move on Sat or Sun). Add 1-3 workdays if you live deep into the less populated areas. Typically in the innermost end of a fjord.
As for your question about cities let`s take Oslo, the capital of Norway. If u are downtown Oslo. It is a 20-25 min tremdrive and you are in the woods with tons of skislopes. Nature is always nearby.
My comments on the cons:
1. Groceries are not that expensive compared to the US. I was in the US this summer (Long Beach and Palm Springs). In the US there are some products that are cheaper (and you have dollar stores!), and some things are really expensive (often healthy stuff and lady products).
2. You can drive at 100 km/h (62.14 m/h) on SOME roads, but there are few of those. And yeah, compared to American roads that often go straight for miles and miles, Norwegian roads have a lot of turns.
3. You can swim during summer in most places. Yeah, the water can be cold, but it can get pretty hot here. This summer we had really nice weather where I live, and the water was really pleasant. In some places, the water is cooler because of underwater currents.
4. Vinmonopolet has monopoly on anything over 4.7% alcohol. You can buy beer at the local super market, but they close their alcohol sales at 8 pm Monday to Friday, and at 6 PM Saturday. You cannot buy alcohol on a Sunday. This does not include restaurants and bars, of course.
5. I used to work for the postal service, and trust me, I'm not so loyal that I would lie if I thought it was bad. If you post a letter before the postal service picks it up for the day, it should arrive within another destination in Norway the next day. If you get a letter from abroad and it takes weeks, it's often because it is delayed abroad. We actually have a very efficient postal service. I think she's just had a bad experience. Things can get delayed around Christmas time because of the crazy amounts of mail. I was once personally responsible for a small team whose job it was to decipher crap handwriting on Christmas cards to make sure it was delivered on time. Unfortunately, most people who write Christmas cards by hand are elderly, and they learned to write cursive. Old age and cursive is not a good combination! But yeah, we took our job really seriously and I did some proper detective work to even get illegibly written cards to their destination.
Really enjoyed learning more about Norway with you two! As I mentioned in chat, for one of your comedy reacts. You might want to consider checking out the Monty Python Dead Parrot skit, if you have not already. I am still playing catch up on your videos and having a great time doing it! Thanks for the fun content!
You also brought up this with the speed limits in Norway, and I, who live here, think they are too high in some places, and I know that many Americans would have been afraid to drive on long roads, for example in Western Norway, where it can be 80 km/h on a road that there is no room for two cars to meet each other, for example, and when on one side of the road it is 2-300 meters down to the water, then there are steep mountains up on the other side of the road that can stretch well over 1000 metres. But here she is slightly wrong, because on our motorways the speeds are somewhat different, but mostly 100km/h, and some 110km/h. Such as between Oslo and Krstiansand. But all Norwegians learn to drive according to the conditions, so where it seems a bit unsafe to drive at 80, we like to let off the gas a bit, and yes, there are a lot of bends on Norwegian roads due to the mountain landscape, and because many of the roads are in valleys. But most foreigners really appreciate the different roads and the differences can be big from one kilometer to the next!
To clear up where and when to buy alcohol in Norway.
Convenience stores sell alcoholic drinks with alcohol content up to 4.7%, so usually beer, ciders etc., anything stronger than that you have to buy from the "Vinmonopolet", which translates to: The Wine Monopoly.
Convenience stores can sell alcohol until 8PM on weekdays and 6PM on saturdays. The Vinmonopolet can sell alcohol until 6PM on weekdays and 4PM on Saturdays. It's illegal for stores and Vinmonopolet to sell alcohol on Sundays and on certain public holidays, usually Religious holidays. Gas stations do not sell alcohol, at all.
You can buy alcoholic drinks like beer and wine in most restaurants, bars, pubs, clubs etc. every day of the week, between 6AM and 1AM (local regulations may apply).
Liquor on the other hand is more regulated. Pubs, clubs and restaurants etc. need a special permit to serve liquor, and it can not be served before 1PM. It's illegal to serve liquor on sundays and most public holidays.
To buy and sell alcoholic drinks up to but not including 22%, you need to be 18 years of age. For alcohol that is 22% and above, you need to be 20 years old.
1. You can also buy alcohol in grocery stores, but not strong alcohol.
2. You can swim in the ocean in the summer. It’s at least 20 degrees in summer, but not in the north of Norway. ❤️
3. Groceries are ridiculous expensive, at least now a days. Many families are struggling to break even and differences are increasing between rich and poor. But it’s still pretty good compared to many other countries.
4. You can live close to nature 10 minutes from big cities.
5. And btw a pack of 20 cigarettes costs 170 NOK, about 16 USD
Post:
Our postalservice delivers mail every other day due to the limited amount being sent. Most official mail is done online through secure sites.
Norway is NOT part of the EU, and thus there is handling of taxes and control on anything moving across the border. So yes, it can take some time. Personally, I've gotten most things within 5 days ordering from the US or the UK, which I find to be well within acceptable time.
Amazon has been looking into opening in Norway, but have (if I understood correctly) run into some challenges pricewise as they can't dump salaries and neglect workers rights here. They've not given up, but no idea if they can manage to open here.
I hope Amazon never succeed there. Or if they do, that it's by accepting the local rules and treating their workers there properly, and that it results in pressure within the company to treat *all* their workers properly, everywhere. People need to stand up to those f***ers!
And I couldn't care less, even though I am buying some stuff from Amazon UK...
Speed limit used to be 80km/t, now it is closer to 110km/t. In summer we have around 20 degrees Celsius warm and comfortable. Yes it has changed. Amazon sends to Norway now.
Depends on where you live. 15 is traditionally the average temperature, but the last 10 years, it has only gotten hotter and drier due to climate change. So 25-31 is common. Also less snow during Xmas at least here in Østlandet. I hate aummer here. Too hot and I don’t like Syden either. Never been. I love fall and winter season. Tho less snow, milder and more rain and ice. I grew up in Akershus during the 90’s and 2000’s. Totally different than how it is now, especially climate and weather wise.
Norway is a rich country due to its gas and oil deposits, it has a population just over half the size of London , and as a country is half the size bigger than the whole of the UK ...also the Norwegian Govt own nearly 2% of all stocks and shares in the world which supports its pension and social practices such as free healthcare a great educational system ...this is all achievable due to the huge revenues they get via North Sea oil versus such a tiny population to support.....fun fact Norway has more islands than any country in the world other than its neighbour Sweden which has a little more
That is not correct! Norway has the most islands in the world: www.worlddata.info/islands-by-country.php this according to several statics and sites. included Wikipedia...
Everywhere looks so clean and fresh! I’d love to go someday to see the Northern lights! ❤
If you go further north to Trondheim the fjord is fed by the golf stream and bathing is OK as it is around 20 C in the summer..
Where she lived it's about an hour to Oslo by train. Not seen her whole house, but can imagine a house like that is sold for around 3-4 million NOK, which amounts to around 200.000-300.000 USD. (briefly checked out the listings there). Edit: It's considered countryside kinda, but it is actually a small town with 26.000 inhabitants.
Thank you!
Whoops - that should be 3-400.000 USD. Must have squinted while writing that 😅
Really informative video,about Norway.
The more we learn about Norway the more l like it and would love to visit . It does seem that things are the way they are for the benefit of the people and the country as a whole or health, wellbeing and the environment .ie no Amazon better for the local economy 👍👍👍👍❤️
You are so correct! Amazon doesn’t meet the working conditions and salaries her in Norway. That’s why they are not here.
@@oh515 but we get all savely delivered if we buy online in Amerika, China or Europe,even if we have to wait.
Do it in 2024, because the Exchange rate is pretty good now. And in 2024 is Bodø,north of the Artic circle culture capitol, it's very special.
@@biankakoettlitz6979 Yes, we do buy from Amazon, or who ever we want, but Amazon doesn’t have any physical storage and delivery services in Norway.
I live in Oslo, water temperature in the summer is usually atound 18°C/65°F, our beaches get crowded on warm summer days
Were you wondering how far it is between the cities? First, I just want to mention that there are only 5.3 million people who live in Norway, and Oslo houses about 600,000 of them + that there are some smaller cities less than an hour's drive away that do not even reach a hundred thousand. Trondheim is Norway's third largest city and only 180,000 people live there. Bergen is the second largest, and there are about 270,000 people there. In other words, you won't find anything like America in Norway, I have heard of Americans who thought Norway was a very boring country, because they can't find many clubs that suit them, and that Norwegians are so terribly boring because they only think about outdoor activities, summer and winter! Well, many Norwegians have cabins that they like to travel to, there are almost half a million of them scattered all over the country, and when you are lucky enough to have the nature we have in Norway, it should and must be enjoyed! And to flip the coin, there aren't many Norwegians who live very long in New York either! Too much noise and fuss. And it's not very nice there either! Sorry! But I hear more and more people travel to Seattle, and they have a good time there, simply because of the nature, and that everything goes a little more calmly for them. And when you first talk about Seattle, there are more Norwegian families in the USA than there are people living in Norway, and most of them live in Washington, Montana North Dakota, mostly in the northern states!
In the summer the temperature can be 15- 19 degrees pluss in the water, and never belove 0 degree celcius in the winter, this is why many bath in the winter too, because when it is - 20 degrees celcius, 0 degree celcius is warm
There are people from Poland that moved to Norway for the nature, the fresh air, and job
10:45 many people do, yes. Some swedes that live not too far off the border work in Norway to get a higher salary
13:20 an average full meal in Norway while eating outside would be around $20
03:30: Ålesund. North/west at the norwegian coastline.
It's because of the curvy roads. And because of a combination of mountainous terrain and because we're so far north it is insanely expensive to build new roads.
You have to dig down 6 meters and then fill it up in a special way otherwise the roads are going to warp and crack like an egg in wintertime.
Welcome to Oslo, then. 20 min subway ride from the city centre and you are in nature. ❤️ Water temperatures depend a lot where you are! In the Oslo fjord and south of Norway and in summer and in little lakes the water can be lovely. This video is a hit odd, but nothing is really wrong, just from the point of view from where she is from.
Yes, we have amazon now, i mean we order from England and that is fairly quickly and things don't go slow in the post I think. We have webshops for everything. In Oslo we can now order groceries and get it delivered to our door within half an hour. ❤️
People who move to Norway because they are refuges from war and repression, but also a lot of polish people and from Eastern Europe come and work especially in the building trades. There used to be a lot of young Swedish people who came to work in the service sector. Less jobs and lower pay in Sweden, but it is less so low.. In the 70s a lot of people immigrated to Pakistan to Norway for work. So we have a lot of second and third generation from them now.
Next watch the Norwegian kings speach.
I wanna clear something up, companies in Norway doesn't give benefits and high wages out of the goodness of their hearts all of this is negotiated for through unions. Labour unions in Norway are are very strong and is a foundation of how Labour is organised. All of this and "trepartsmodellen" would need a video to explain.
So no companies in Norway aren't nicer than elsewhere but the workers through a high degree of unionisation have a higher power of leverage in negotiations for wages and working conditions as compared with many other countries.
1. Not sure where she lives, but a house like that will probably set you back 10 millions NOK, depending on where. More rural areas it will be cheaper and in Oslo you might double that. Big difference south to north and everything in between. My house near Oslo would be millions NOK cheaper in the south where my parents live. Income is also higher in Oslo than the average. Also renting in Norway is fairly cheap, but most Norwegians own their own house/apartment unless you're a student or very young.
2. We have amazon here, but the cost of shipping makes it bad. We have options instead of amazon and almost all stores have a web shop (it's better to buy local than cheap products from abroad)
Also Norway is one of the cheapest countries in the world when it comes to electronics and diapers (and most baby related items)
3. Cost of living is not that bad compared to income. Example; gas prices are high (but not much higher than other European countries) but compared to income, gas prices are actually very cheap in comparison.
4. Temperatures; it's impossible to say that it is cold in Norway, because it's a huge difference in the south vs west vs north. In the south during summer, water temperatures are common to exceed 20°C in the ocean and lakes and canals can get up to 25-28°C in the water. In the north it's rare to have water temperatures above 15°C, but it happens. (Like this year). Be prepared for changing weather, don't expect sun throughout the day if the morning is sunny, you never know. Weather forecast is pretty accurate though.
5. It's very, very difficult for Americans (or non EU citizens) to get a job here because we prioritize European work force, and mainly eastern Europe. Unless your profession is something we're in high demand for, you probably gonna need to marry a Norwegian (or come here to study or work for a company that has Norwegian departments) if you want to move here, unfortunately.
6. Eating out is not that expensive, again it depends. We have Michelin star restaurants here and also street food, so you can eat out for as low as 10$ and up to thousands. It's actually cheaper to eat out in for example Oslo than in some smaller cities because you have more competition and more to choose from.
7. Speed limits are up to 110km/h on highways. She is mistaken though, fines are very high, but unless you are more than 40+km/h above the limits, the fines are set and not compared to income. Example; 30km/h above 80km/h speed limit sets you back about 1200$.
8. Postal service is not slow; if you ship packages or letters within Norway, it's maximum of 2 days delivery anywhere in Norway, but if you order something from abroad, it will be longer because we have a strict import/export law so the delay will be at the border, not the postal offices 😊 hence why amazon is not the best here.
9. Nature is awesome everywhere, but it's very different in different areas. Even here in Oslo it's a short drive/bus/subway ride away to forrests with hundreds of paths to walk or go camping. Holmenkollen is a very popular area, also Østmarka etc 👍
Regards from a Norwegian loving your videos 😊
There is an american couple with kids who moved to Norway and she is making videos from time to time, she call herself Heather Abroad, its worth a look.
Alot of our vegetables are produced in Norway, we have some steep import taxes to favor local farmers, same with meat and such. There are not alot of use of antibiotics in norwegian food.
People are swimming in the ocean, like in Oslo and in the south they have nicer temperatures, up here in the northen Norway I would say 10 degrees celcius is about right ... summertime, wintertime alittle above 1-2 degrees celcius.
Fun story about the postal service, they tested it up here in the north ... this year, they had 2 letter sent, 1 by normal mail ... and the other someone walked the old "Postman route" a distance at 93 kilometer. The person who walked the mailroute used 5 days before they could deliver the letter to the mayor of that town. The day after ... that is on the 6th day ... the letter they sent by the regular mailcarrier Posten came.
So they beated the regular mailcarrier with 1 day ... by walking the letter to its owner.
We do order stuff from Amazon, we don't have amazon stores tough ..
When we order from Amazon, it`s from a forgein Amazon warehouse. There are none in Norway and there is no next or same day delivery.
Good insight and who am I to say she's wrong - I have never lived in Norway as an outsider.
Cost of living is high, yes, but high salaries compensate. For that reason we have had lots of people coming in from other parts of the world to work. Sure, you'll hear people complain but some are never happy. Fact remains, stuff cost more but we also have more left over when the important things have been paid. Hence the high standard of living, we can afford it.
As for speed limit, we have up to 110 kmh, close to 70 mph, on highways.
Water temps, she's wrong. Over 68 F is common, it just depends where you are. Just a couple months ago I had a nice dip in a lake where the thermometer was at a delicious 79 F.
Amazon: I order from there all the time and have been for a decade and a half!
The steps view are not Aalesund, but Svolvaer. It's the capital town of the Lofoten region. Norways most famous tourist destination, located in the north of Norway.
Where my sister lives on the outskirts of London she is 5 mins walk from a park. There are so many natural areas in Central London too
My partner lives in norway I live in London. We have the best of both worlds, fjords mountains clean air and water beautiful scenery over there. Nightlife theater restaurants museums Castles and catherdrals here. Heading to oslo tomorrow to see him again can't wait ❤
You gals are reflecting in an educated way about what you are watching and listening to. Awesome :)
There are areas and bays in Norway where you can get 20 celcius or more in the summer, and most summers there will be days like that, but it is just a small timeframe, and not at all reliable. Norway is long horizontally, and in the north it is only special summers can give you up to 20 degrees water, so if you take a general average view of bathing temperatures for the country as a whole, she is quite right, but local conditions and especially in the south east, there are usually always some days in the summer with nice temperature water at the peak of summer.
The view from the steps look a lot like Ballsted in the Lofoten Islands. I used to live like 5 US miles from there. 12 years, actually. (Now I live in the suburbs of Oslo).
The nature is very close regardless where you live. But atound the bigger cities, you'll run into more people in nature then in more rural areas. But close to the fjords and generally along the coast, you'll run into more tourists.
A friend of mine once forgot the key to the front door in the lock for a month while beeing away on a summer holiday. Back in the 90's though. That was also in Lofoten.
Other important things to mention: Very low corruption. That is one of the reasons we trust our government. Even when "the other team" runs the country.
Free education the whole way including university.
Free health care system.
My Mother recently got her 2nd cancer opereration. The only thing we had to pay was the parking fee when we visited her at the hospital in Oslo. She even got free ambulance planer to her home city in northern Norway for free (1hr30 mins flight).
So generally speaking. We pay our taxes without complaints, because we know that the money will be put (mostly) to good use.
The speed limit she tells about is wrong. Up to 110 km/h (almost 70 mph) on the highways, and up to 90km/h (55mph) on single file roads.
We used to summer holiday near Arendal, which is quite south and the sea was warm enough there to swim. I learned to windsurf there. Fabulous memories!!
Anna has quite a few videos on Norway (and other countries including Italy, France and UK) which I have found helpful and give a good insight into living there. I'm not sure where she currently is, but she wasn't a permanent resident at that time, but I know how much she loved living in Norway and it sounded like she wanted to return. I can vouch from my visit all be it some time ago how expensive it was to buy food then in comparison to the UK. Although I am sure if you were living there I guess you would know how to seek out best value, while not missing out on quality.
She moved to the UK, went back to Norway for a short visit this spring, and regretted moving to the UK. As a Norwegian I can tell you that half her content on Norway is either inaccurate or false due to stereotypes, cultural bias, and ignorance. If you wanna learn about a different country, culture and society you go directly to the source and not foreigners who doesn’t seem to understand nor know the culture well.
Temperature in the Oslo fiord may be more than 20 degrees Celsius in the summer
It`s right that max speedlimit in Norway in general is set on 80 km/h, that is unless nothing less OR more is set on the road-signs. Nowdays there are several limited distances on modern highways set with speedlimits of 100 and even 110 km/h.
Reason I moved to Norway from Portugal was work life balance. You work less, feel more productive some how and have time to enjoy life. Things are cheaper in Portugal and I had a good salary, but there is a lot more money left at the end of the month in comparison in Norway.
Biggest issue for me is food, it is almost depressive, not just the price but the variety of fresh food. Most of it is imported.
Example of cost in Oslo: 1 Big Mac costs 92 NOK, a Big Mac Menu starts at 136 NOK
Well nobody is forcing you to live here so… I’m sure there are better places for you to live than Norway since all you do is complain🤡
Number one thing to remember about Norway is that it stretches for a very long way from the south to the north! And there are fiords all the way. And they all have different biomes. So don't think that the more popular things they show from the southwestern fiords are typical for the country as a whole! Oh, and do NOT come to those southwestern fiords aboard a cruise ship! The fiords trap the bad stuff the engines releases, and the locals are very unhappy about that. Especially as fewer live off tourism than those who suffer from it.
I'm from the northeastern part of Norway, right next door to the Russian border, so the only places I'd want to move to down south would be somewhere close to where trees stop to grow because it's too elevated. Up here it's around 300 meters above sea level. So probably inland somewhere.
I love VINMONOPOLET❤. It is very professional; the employees have high education in wine and they are very professional. You can ask for advice anytime and get the best tips for your party or gatherings. When I am in other countries (including USA) and ask for wine advice in stores the emplyees donˋt have a clue. And they donˋt care. Wine is not a profession for them. Wine is just one of many things they sell in the store. Vinmonopolet is like a concept store with high leval of knowledge and wine is art! I miss Vinmonopolet when I go to other countriesl
If you are an American and a city dweller, you may find living anywhere but in Oslo difficult. There you have everything within a short distance. It's big enough to have lots of subway lines, tram lines, buses, taxis, lots of entertainment, shops. For comparison, I suspect the rest of Norway has no subways and less than 5 tram lines. Other cities are quite small and boring compared to Oslo. Of course by US standards, Oslo is quite a small city.
Oh.. its soo cold in Norway at winter!!
Its cold at summer to, get used to it, stop complain and make you a life!
Norway have great roads, but they are narrow, goes around all fjords, and up and down all there mountains!
Be sure you have a stickshift and use engin breaking downhill.. but there is a lot carshops downhill, that renovates your brakes.. if you survived!
Oh, regarding water temps. In freshwater sub 10 c is normal. In the sea in the south the average is about 17 celsius. On warm days I've experienced 23 celsius but that is rare
Uk national speed limit is 60 not 70. You can only do 70 on full Motorways.
Uk is pretty cheap for food, though it kinda needs to be as social welfare is really, really low. (So the poorest can afford to eat).
Deliveries from UK around 2019, especially if they transit through europe, would have been severely delayed with all the brexit export chaos at that time.
In Norway cars have change to winter tyres and summer tyres
Our speed limits are ( in KMH) : 30, 50, 60, 70, 80 for the moast part, but we also have 90,100 and 110 in some plases. MPH : 18, 31, 37, 43, 49, 55, 62 and 68. still no Amazon but we have Ebay
Some people marry Norwegian people and dus live here, a lot move here for the nature, from the low countries mostly. A lot of Swedes come for the work and others are refugees from various places - now a lot from Ukraine- I was an immigrant to the US in the 60s but could not get out of there fast enough. Not for me - too much hate. Lived 8 yrs in Belgium but my hart is in Norway and moved back. Not an easy task. Nice watching you :)
Yes that is birch trees behind her. Depending on where you live, takeout isn't very comon like in some other countries. It would just ruin you, especially if you are a family with kids. Quite a few vegetables are grown in Norway and most times don't use pesticides on like tomatoes so there isn't really a need to buy eco versions and pay more. Of course fruit and vegetables that don't grow here is best to do more reseach on. When it comes to swimming, it depends on where in Norway you are, but even though the sea temperature is colder compared to Greece, it's never been an issue for most Norwegians.
I live a 20 minute drive from one of the largest cities in Norway, close to the sea, mountains and forests. But you would be close to all that even if you lived in the middle of the city. I grew up outside the city in what you could call a small village, but everything is very spread out and more remote. We still got everything we need and the city is still close by.
The speed limits here might be lower because there are many narrow roads with curves and sharp turns, houses are spread out everywhere and the kids walk to school and have to cross the roads.
Our winters are very dark and the days are short cause the sun rises late around 10 am and sets early around 4 pm, but the summers are bright and the days are long cause the sun can set around 11 pm and rise at 4 am. We don't get a lot of snow where I live (south west coast), winters are mild and often rainy, but the roads often get icy, lowest winter temperature here is usually around -10C (14F), but it's often warmer. Summer usually feels very short and the weather can be unpredictable, spring can often be late and fall can come early, but we can get summer temperatures around 30C (86F), but it's often more commonly around 15C (59F) to 20C (68F). Average summer temperature in the sea where I live is around 14C (58F).
Would love to watch you react to videos of Norwegian prison, Norwegian graduation (russ), the weather and climate, midnight sun and polar night, Norway and electric cars, culture like music and most famous Norwegians.
Here in south of norway you can get like 66 F in ocean.
Fully bathable.
Ppl forget norway is LONG af. Almost the lenght of us east coast, so the difference in north and south is vast
It might be worth noting that even if the average salary is higher the high-salary jobs are paid less in Norway. This is partly due to university education being more accessible to everyone which creates a greater pool of high skill workers. An Engineer in Norway will be paid less than an American Engineer, but since there is less competition for high-skill workers among the corporations that Norwegian Engineer will generally experience less pressure and demands than the American Engineer, this results in high-skill workers in Norway experiencing less stress and having more time for family.
The speed limits in Norway depend on the road and the surrounding area.
30 and 50 KM/H is what you usually find in city streets, residential areas, industrial areas and during roadworks.
60 KM/H is normal on stretches of road with several homes along the road and many exits.
70, 80 and 90 KM/H are mostly found on the main roads, such as county roads, national roads, and smaller motorways.
110 KM/H is reserved for the larger motorways.
But as always, these speed limits are only the upper limit. I know of roads with an 80 KM/H limit, but where I usually stay 10-15 KM/H lower because the road is winding and the road surface is not of the best quality. In addition, the weather and the time of the year in Norway can become an extra challenge, often forcing you to stay well below the speed limit. Otherwise, you will quickly become part of the accident statistics.
I also agree that the postal service in Norway is dreadfully slow at times. I'm only living about a three-hour drive from Oslo, where the primary terminals for the national post service are, but packages can take anything from three days to almost a week to reach me, depending on my luck. And it's not like I'm living far away from other people, as one of the main national roads in Norway is only a couple of kilometres away from my place. If it's that bad for me, I wish you good luck if you live in a faraway valley or on one of the many islands along the coast where the mail must be transported by boat.
Sorry I missed this live this morning I was busy. Great video , I can't believe they don't have amazon there and I will love to be a post woman there too . Thank you so much ladies
Just have to correct something she said, speeding tickets in Norway is not based on your income, they are fixed at levels depending on how much above the posted speed limit you were going and goes from ~110 USD (speeding up to 5km/h (3mph) above speed limit) to ~1450 USD (for speeding up to 35km/h (21mph) above speed limit). Above a certain point you don't get a ticket, but community service or jail time instead.
However, tickets for DUI are based on your income, so she might have just confused those two ticket types.