English chap seeking to move to Norway

chrisleeds · 2011-02-14T22:20:31+01:00

An English graphic designer explores moving to Norway, seeking work tips, living suggestions, and connections with locals in Oslo, Tromso, or Bergen.

chrisleeds Member

Member since 14 February 2011

chrisleedsMember14 February 2011 20:20:31

Hello Everyone!!

I am 33 years of age, and I Have lived in the UK all my life, however, I would love to eventually move to Norway (hopefully in the next year or 2) and start a new life.

I visited Norway some years ago when I was working in Finland and loved every minute of it. I currently work in Graphic Design, but was I was a chef for several years. Basically..I would be willing to work in any job and location to get my foot in the door and I intend on starting lessons in Norwegian soon.

I am seeking friends, penpals, or people who I can correspond with, who live in Norway.

Just a few questions to start with:

How hard is it for someone like me to find work over the there?

What cities/towns would I have a greater chance of finding work?
For example Oslo? Tromso, Bergen? And where are the nicest places to live?

Any advice, help, anything at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Chris

Sedona Leigh New member

Member since 02 February 2011

Sedona LeighNew member14 February 2011 20:35:17

Hi Chris,

If I had one piece of advice to make the culture leap easier on you...it would be as fluent as possible in Norwegian before you get here. Your job skills transfer fine if you are fluent and I don't even think you would need to worry about 'getting a foot in the door'. The Norse are very accomodating about you getting the job you are qualified for IF you have the language.

While most people DO speak English here, watch english TV and listen to english music, don't let that confuse you with being employable. Without the language, that puts you in the competition pool against other non-Norse immigrants for a very slim amount of available work. And frankly, there are a lot of us.

Where you want to go depends on the life you like to lead. If you like it urban - then the bigger cities like Oslo and Trondheim are the way to go (and also pretty pricey). Going a little more provincial puts you in smaller cities like Drammen or 脜lesund. Also depends on what kind of what kind of weather you want to endure. The central west coast has milder winters compared to the rest of the country.

Good on yens to make the preparations ahead of time...it's a big leap, but with the language already with you, it'll be a thousand times easier to transition.

Sarah