Norway
In the footsteps of many other authors, and probably ending the wave of topics and conversations about emigration and immigration, I will write about how I went to Norway almost two years ago, what is good, and what is not.
This is only a collection of my opinions, it in no way pretends to objectivity (though it does not). In many ways, Norway is similar to Denmark and Finland, about which both tafe and rg_software have already been written. Here are links to their topics: Denmark and Finland .
Post updated after comment igneous
I will try to pay less attention to the common between these countries and tell you more about the differences.
The reasons for my move were relatively simple and ordinary: I was interested in seeing the world, I wanted to experience life in a new cultural environment, the Russian authorities caused me more and more idiosyncrasy, I did not have a wife and children, and I did not particularly risk anything.
')
Norway is a relatively large country on the server of Europe, whose main economy now is the North Sea oil and gas found in the 70s. It builds and develops Scandinavian socialism, with the strongest social system. guarantees, high taxes and equal incomes. All this is being sponsored now and will be supported in the future by the state investment fund, which receives profits from the sale of oil.
Until 1905, it was actually part of Sweden , before that part of Denmark , before that all three countries were part of Kalmar Union . From the fact that Sweden voluntarily agreed to secession of Norway, peace and mutual friendship reigned in Scandinavia.
The only one of the major countries (besides Iceland) of Europe is not part of the European Union, and so far is not going to (the referendums on joining were held in 1972 and 1994 ended unsuccessfully). For working foreigners, this means that the Norwegian permanent residence permit does not give any rights to work in the European Union, but on the other hand, it is easier to get it. Namely, it is given after 3 years on a work visa.
The crisis has so far not noticeably affected the economy of Norway, in particular, the fact that banking legislation was tightened after the Scandinavian banking crisis of the mid-90s affected this.
The language is very similar to German. Of the foreigners, it is the Germans, with the exception of the Scandinavians, that the easiest way to learn Norwegian is, even a secondary knowledge of German will be of great help in learning the Norwegian language. Although everyone speaks English. Films in movies and on TV, TV shows are not duplicated at all. Even some cartoons for children are shown in the original (but with Norwegian subtitles).
You can read more about Norway here: Wikipedia , visitnorway.com .
Here I can refer to the tafe post about Denmark (from which I borrowed part of the structure of the topic, thanks to him for that). Everything is extremely leisurely, exclusively from 8:30 to 16:30, sipping coffee and taking breaks in order to go out on the veranda and bask in the sun (when it is).
In the IT field, everything is relatively good, there are fewer vacancies, but they still exist.
Major IT companies in Norway are Opera , Fast (now Microsoft ) and Trolltech (now QT Software as part of Nokia) .
Salary levels range from 350 thousand crowns (40 thousand euros) per year before taxes on initial positions, up to 400-450 thousand crowns (45-50 thousand euros) on average development positions, up to 500-600 (60-70 thousand euros) with more experience. Do not forget to deduct 35-40 percent tax.
As a flea market vacancies can be advised to look at the relevant section on
* finn.no: finn.no/finn/job/fulltime/result
* zett.no
* jobb24.no
* jobbsok.monster.no .
They are all in Norwegian, but Google.Translate is already here and ready to help.
You can look at the websites of agencies, for example: Kelly Services , Jobzone , Adecco , Manpower , NAV .
Everything is very, very similar to Denmark and Finland, namely, there is no strong difference between the richest and the poorest, taxes can go up to 40 percent, everything is relatively expensive.
A funny feature is that the three income parameters of all Norwegian taxpayers (tax base, amount of tax paid and state) are published annually in public access. Here, for example: http://skattelister.aftenposten.no/skattelister/start.htm , you can see how much each earned and paid in 2007 (I also have it there). Data for 2008 will be published in October.
Here are a few basic components of expenses (all prices in NOK, now 1 EUR ~ 8.8 NOK, 1 NOK ~ 5 RUB, 1 NOK ~ 1.2 UAH):
* 2 bedroom apartment in the center of Oslo: 8 000-12 000 NOK (about the same in Stavanger, in Bergen and Trondheim cheaper)
* Transport: In the city center you can ride a bike all year round (in winter on spike tires on ice), so the travel card costs 650 to 1250 NOK
* Food: About 2,000 - 3,000 NOK. If the food is at work, this amount is suddenly greatly reduced, I somehow did not spend money on food at all for 2 weeks (not from a good life).
* Internet: Relatively expensive, ~ 300 NOK / month for 3 Mbit
* Car: Expensive and pointless, since it is not very cheap by itself, taxes will increase (the tax base will increase), a lot of money will go to maintain it in working order, and so on. In Oslo, the most reasonable thing is to have rights and, if necessary, rent a car for the weekend, if you want to go somewhere.
* Alcohol: Beer in the bar from 60 crowns for 0.5 (or 0.4, as lucky)
* Cigarettes from 55-60 CZK per pack
Also constantly feels trepid care state about a person, which is expressed in the fact that vodka is poison. Namely, alcohol stronger than 4.5 degrees can be bought only in the state monopoly ( Vinmonopolet ). And if in Oslo there are relatively many of these stores, then in the outback this is not the case, and you can imagine what queues form for them somewhere in Sjøvegan , especially on the eve of the holiday. Perhaps that is why most of the colleagues from under Trondheim (and almost everyone studied there, the country's best technical college of higher education, NTNU ) talked about local moonshine with such aspiration. Unfortunately, I haven't tried it yet, but everything is ahead, I'm sure.
And yes, in Vinmonopolet they do not take credit cards in order not to allow a resident of the country to spend that kind of money on alcohol. But on the other hand, everything that you buy is guaranteed to be of good quality, and in Norway, alcoholic beverages are taxed depending on the alcohol content. therefore, for example, very high-quality light wines and champagne here can cost even less than in other countries.
Bank cards are accepted in 99% of places. Even for parking everywhere you can pay by card. Moreover, the Norwegian banking system is slightly different from other countries. Any bank card is a valid ID, contains a signature and a photo of the owner.
Here I can again refer to the tafe , a lot of very beautiful blondes and no, most of the local girls. The only thing that spoils them is relatively small growth. But this is a question of taste, nothing more.
The relatively ordinary side of life is that everything is really infinitely sized and calm. On the other hand, despite the fact that Oslo, though a small city, is still the capital, and if desired, you can find joys and adventures. You can start searching here: underskog.no (by the way, one of the best web 2.0 sites for joint posters and communication from those that I have seen). So, despite the fact that only a little, so far I do not miss. And as I get bored, I can go to Stockholm, the benefit is not far away by train.
They bathe here for a relatively long time, from June to August, the fact is that the fjords warm up quickly and keep warm for quite a long time. But if you want to swim early, there are always many lakes in the forests.
A traditional Norwegian holiday is a trip with the family to a country house, the hytte . Its important feature is that it should be as far as possible from civilization, there should be no electricity, the telephone should not work, and there should be at least 2 kilometers from the nearest road on skis.
The traditional Norwegian festival is arranged in the following way: one or several orchestras from each school of the city are walking along the center of the city, each in his own uniform, with the school flag and the orchestra pennant. They play drums and brass, people rejoice. On big holidays everyone dresses up in folk costumes, children participate in the parade, and once a year the king welcomes everyone from the palace's balcony. It takes place on May 17, the day of the constitution, and here are some photos of this year (by the way, it was celebrated the day after Norway won Eurovision):
I really liked that only children and musicians participate in the parade because the children are not tired yet, and the musicians need a chance to perform.
And sometimes there are such things with red flags, sickles and a hammer (the first of May):
In any case, the important part is the demonstration.
Car rights get very difficult and very expensive. The training here is complex - a preparatory theoretical course, a theory with an exam, then practice. The practice includes a course on safety, driving on a slippery road, driving in the dark, a course of long driving (4+ hours), then an exam. For each course you have to pay separately, the total cost, depending on the number of hours with an instructor, can go off-scale for 30-35 thousand crowns. From the first time, 15-20% of people pass the practical exam at most.
If you already have the right, then in principle you can immediately sign up for a practical exam ... two friends who came to live here from Moscow, having twice failed the practice, decided to take some lessons with an instructor and were able to pass only 3 attempts.
Machines are very expensive. You can buy the same new one for the proceeds from the sale in Norway of a five or six-year-old car in Russia, and there is still some money :) Petrol is also expensive, 95 is now around 11 kroons per liter.
Suffice to say that she is beautiful and very close. For example, if there are not enough parks in the city, then you can always take the subway and after 15 minutes go out into the forest, where wonderful blueberries grow.
Here is an example of local forests:
If you drive further from Oslo, then around will be inhuman beauty fjords, waterfalls, forests and mountains. In the farthest North - tundra and taiga (but I have not been there yet).
Of course, everything is not magical and surprising, something that oppresses, that I want to change (all this is relative detail and can be fixed in a year or two):
Perhaps that from the trivial life is all.
I got and get what I wanted, namely: adventure, new work and life experience, the opportunity to travel more, peace of mind and understanding that you can not worry about the means to live and do interesting work.
What have I lost (assuming that I will not return to Russia): Perhaps the main thing is that my children will not be Russian and it’s not so easy for me to see relatives and friends live. However, airplanes fly to Moscow regularly, and carry people in both directions.
I will be glad to answer any questions, expand the article.
As I wrote at the beginning, one of the reasons for my moving to Oslo was the desire to live in a new culture. And after spending less than a year in Norway, I realized that I wanted something new. After talking with the heads of this, he was sent to Germany for half a year to work in Munich. What was a wonderful adventure, and you can write a separate topic about it. I have inherited from him the understanding that beer can be a tasty drink and a noticeable American accent.
So if it is interesting to learn something about Munich and Germany, I may be able to help with something too.
And traditionally, photos from Bavaria:
Foreword
This is only a collection of my opinions, it in no way pretends to objectivity (though it does not). In many ways, Norway is similar to Denmark and Finland, about which both tafe and rg_software have already been written. Here are links to their topics: Denmark and Finland .
Post updated after comment igneous
I will try to pay less attention to the common between these countries and tell you more about the differences.
About myself
Born and raised in Moscow, he graduated from the university ( RGGU ) and became a computer linguist . He worked and studied in graduate school, but in early 2007 he decided to change jobs, and, by mutual agreement of his former employer and his Norwegian partner, he went not to another company in Moscow, but to a vendor, and moved to Oslo.Why did I go there?
The reasons for my move were relatively simple and ordinary: I was interested in seeing the world, I wanted to experience life in a new cultural environment, the Russian authorities caused me more and more idiosyncrasy, I did not have a wife and children, and I did not particularly risk anything.
')
A country
Norway is a relatively large country on the server of Europe, whose main economy now is the North Sea oil and gas found in the 70s. It builds and develops Scandinavian socialism, with the strongest social system. guarantees, high taxes and equal incomes. All this is being sponsored now and will be supported in the future by the state investment fund, which receives profits from the sale of oil.
Until 1905, it was actually part of Sweden , before that part of Denmark , before that all three countries were part of Kalmar Union . From the fact that Sweden voluntarily agreed to secession of Norway, peace and mutual friendship reigned in Scandinavia.
The only one of the major countries (besides Iceland) of Europe is not part of the European Union, and so far is not going to (the referendums on joining were held in 1972 and 1994 ended unsuccessfully). For working foreigners, this means that the Norwegian permanent residence permit does not give any rights to work in the European Union, but on the other hand, it is easier to get it. Namely, it is given after 3 years on a work visa.
The crisis has so far not noticeably affected the economy of Norway, in particular, the fact that banking legislation was tightened after the Scandinavian banking crisis of the mid-90s affected this.
The language is very similar to German. Of the foreigners, it is the Germans, with the exception of the Scandinavians, that the easiest way to learn Norwegian is, even a secondary knowledge of German will be of great help in learning the Norwegian language. Although everyone speaks English. Films in movies and on TV, TV shows are not duplicated at all. Even some cartoons for children are shown in the original (but with Norwegian subtitles).
You can read more about Norway here: Wikipedia , visitnorway.com .
Job
Here I can refer to the tafe post about Denmark (from which I borrowed part of the structure of the topic, thanks to him for that). Everything is extremely leisurely, exclusively from 8:30 to 16:30, sipping coffee and taking breaks in order to go out on the veranda and bask in the sun (when it is).
In the IT field, everything is relatively good, there are fewer vacancies, but they still exist.
Major IT companies in Norway are Opera , Fast (now Microsoft ) and Trolltech (now QT Software as part of Nokia) .
Salary levels range from 350 thousand crowns (40 thousand euros) per year before taxes on initial positions, up to 400-450 thousand crowns (45-50 thousand euros) on average development positions, up to 500-600 (60-70 thousand euros) with more experience. Do not forget to deduct 35-40 percent tax.
As a flea market vacancies can be advised to look at the relevant section on
* finn.no: finn.no/finn/job/fulltime/result
* zett.no
* jobb24.no
* jobbsok.monster.no .
They are all in Norwegian, but Google.Translate is already here and ready to help.
You can look at the websites of agencies, for example: Kelly Services , Jobzone , Adecco , Manpower , NAV .
Money
Everything is very, very similar to Denmark and Finland, namely, there is no strong difference between the richest and the poorest, taxes can go up to 40 percent, everything is relatively expensive.
A funny feature is that the three income parameters of all Norwegian taxpayers (tax base, amount of tax paid and state) are published annually in public access. Here, for example: http://skattelister.aftenposten.no/skattelister/start.htm , you can see how much each earned and paid in 2007 (I also have it there). Data for 2008 will be published in October.
Here are a few basic components of expenses (all prices in NOK, now 1 EUR ~ 8.8 NOK, 1 NOK ~ 5 RUB, 1 NOK ~ 1.2 UAH):
* 2 bedroom apartment in the center of Oslo: 8 000-12 000 NOK (about the same in Stavanger, in Bergen and Trondheim cheaper)
* Transport: In the city center you can ride a bike all year round (in winter on spike tires on ice), so the travel card costs 650 to 1250 NOK
* Food: About 2,000 - 3,000 NOK. If the food is at work, this amount is suddenly greatly reduced, I somehow did not spend money on food at all for 2 weeks (not from a good life).
* Internet: Relatively expensive, ~ 300 NOK / month for 3 Mbit
* Car: Expensive and pointless, since it is not very cheap by itself, taxes will increase (the tax base will increase), a lot of money will go to maintain it in working order, and so on. In Oslo, the most reasonable thing is to have rights and, if necessary, rent a car for the weekend, if you want to go somewhere.
* Alcohol: Beer in the bar from 60 crowns for 0.5 (or 0.4, as lucky)
* Cigarettes from 55-60 CZK per pack
Also constantly feels trepid care state about a person, which is expressed in the fact that vodka is poison. Namely, alcohol stronger than 4.5 degrees can be bought only in the state monopoly ( Vinmonopolet ). And if in Oslo there are relatively many of these stores, then in the outback this is not the case, and you can imagine what queues form for them somewhere in Sjøvegan , especially on the eve of the holiday. Perhaps that is why most of the colleagues from under Trondheim (and almost everyone studied there, the country's best technical college of higher education, NTNU ) talked about local moonshine with such aspiration. Unfortunately, I haven't tried it yet, but everything is ahead, I'm sure.
And yes, in Vinmonopolet they do not take credit cards in order not to allow a resident of the country to spend that kind of money on alcohol. But on the other hand, everything that you buy is guaranteed to be of good quality, and in Norway, alcoholic beverages are taxed depending on the alcohol content. therefore, for example, very high-quality light wines and champagne here can cost even less than in other countries.
Bank cards are accepted in 99% of places. Even for parking everywhere you can pay by card. Moreover, the Norwegian banking system is slightly different from other countries. Any bank card is a valid ID, contains a signature and a photo of the owner.
Girls
Here I can again refer to the tafe , a lot of very beautiful blondes and no, most of the local girls. The only thing that spoils them is relatively small growth. But this is a question of taste, nothing more.
A life
The relatively ordinary side of life is that everything is really infinitely sized and calm. On the other hand, despite the fact that Oslo, though a small city, is still the capital, and if desired, you can find joys and adventures. You can start searching here: underskog.no (by the way, one of the best web 2.0 sites for joint posters and communication from those that I have seen). So, despite the fact that only a little, so far I do not miss. And as I get bored, I can go to Stockholm, the benefit is not far away by train.
They bathe here for a relatively long time, from June to August, the fact is that the fjords warm up quickly and keep warm for quite a long time. But if you want to swim early, there are always many lakes in the forests.
A traditional Norwegian holiday is a trip with the family to a country house, the hytte . Its important feature is that it should be as far as possible from civilization, there should be no electricity, the telephone should not work, and there should be at least 2 kilometers from the nearest road on skis.
The traditional Norwegian festival is arranged in the following way: one or several orchestras from each school of the city are walking along the center of the city, each in his own uniform, with the school flag and the orchestra pennant. They play drums and brass, people rejoice. On big holidays everyone dresses up in folk costumes, children participate in the parade, and once a year the king welcomes everyone from the palace's balcony. It takes place on May 17, the day of the constitution, and here are some photos of this year (by the way, it was celebrated the day after Norway won Eurovision):
 |
| Syttende Mai 2009 |
I really liked that only children and musicians participate in the parade because the children are not tired yet, and the musicians need a chance to perform.
And sometimes there are such things with red flags, sickles and a hammer (the first of May):
 |
| Første Mai 2009 |
In any case, the important part is the demonstration.
Cars
Car rights get very difficult and very expensive. The training here is complex - a preparatory theoretical course, a theory with an exam, then practice. The practice includes a course on safety, driving on a slippery road, driving in the dark, a course of long driving (4+ hours), then an exam. For each course you have to pay separately, the total cost, depending on the number of hours with an instructor, can go off-scale for 30-35 thousand crowns. From the first time, 15-20% of people pass the practical exam at most.
If you already have the right, then in principle you can immediately sign up for a practical exam ... two friends who came to live here from Moscow, having twice failed the practice, decided to take some lessons with an instructor and were able to pass only 3 attempts.
Machines are very expensive. You can buy the same new one for the proceeds from the sale in Norway of a five or six-year-old car in Russia, and there is still some money :) Petrol is also expensive, 95 is now around 11 kroons per liter.
Nature
Suffice to say that she is beautiful and very close. For example, if there are not enough parks in the city, then you can always take the subway and after 15 minutes go out into the forest, where wonderful blueberries grow.
Here is an example of local forests:
 |
| Harestua - Kikutstua - Ullevålseter - Sognsvann |
If you drive further from Oslo, then around will be inhuman beauty fjords, waterfalls, forests and mountains. In the farthest North - tundra and taiga (but I have not been there yet).
What is not so good.
Of course, everything is not magical and surprising, something that oppresses, that I want to change (all this is relative detail and can be fixed in a year or two):
- A distance from the Moscow company of friends. I try not to lose contact with them. On the other hand, there are already friends and comrades in Oslo, and it’s not boring here.
- Tongue. Despite the fact that everyone speaks English, it is important and necessary to know Norwegian for a full life here. However, I will fix it.
- The girls. Very different in their behavior and difficult without Norwegian.
Perhaps that from the trivial life is all.
What is the result?
I got and get what I wanted, namely: adventure, new work and life experience, the opportunity to travel more, peace of mind and understanding that you can not worry about the means to live and do interesting work.
What have I lost (assuming that I will not return to Russia): Perhaps the main thing is that my children will not be Russian and it’s not so easy for me to see relatives and friends live. However, airplanes fly to Moscow regularly, and carry people in both directions.
I will be glad to answer any questions, expand the article.
Bonus, Suddenly: Munich
As I wrote at the beginning, one of the reasons for my moving to Oslo was the desire to live in a new culture. And after spending less than a year in Norway, I realized that I wanted something new. After talking with the heads of this, he was sent to Germany for half a year to work in Munich. What was a wonderful adventure, and you can write a separate topic about it. I have inherited from him the understanding that beer can be a tasty drink and a noticeable American accent.
So if it is interesting to learn something about Munich and Germany, I may be able to help with something too.
And traditionally, photos from Bavaria:
 |  |  |
| München | Deutsches museum | Bayern |
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/59996/
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