Any tips and thoughts on Norway?

[ertyu]

I'm finding myself thinking about Norway as a country where I'd like to spend a couple of years and I'm wondering what thoughts and tips people have. An acquaintance on an island has offered to charge me 500 euro per month in rent, which I gather is cheap for the country, or if I don't want to settle there, has offered to let me loaf around for a couple of months while I look for a job. How would you approach settling in Norway as an EREr?

ETA: the subreddit (r/norway)'s top pinned post is a how to move to norway guide with many helpful links to websites explaining the legalities involved.

[zbigi]

There are plenty of Polish people who go to Norway to do menial jobs and save up money. I bet over there you could save a lot just by driving a city bus or doing something similar.

[DutchGirl]

We were there once in summer and talked to a Belgian guy who was our B&B host there. We told him how lovely it all was. He said that in winter he always fled Norway (back to Belgium), because it was very dark and very cold. He said that lots of people suffer from winter depression there, and so to avoid it he just goes away.
So I would keep that in mind, and if you find yourself depressed in winter, consider that it's not (really) you but that it's "Norway", and have an escape plan if it gets really bad.

[2Birds1Stone]

I would watch the Netflix show, "Lillyhammer" if you have the service. It's pretty funny and goes into a lot of the quirks of Norway from an expat/foreigners perspective.

[jacob]

I've never lived in Norway, but I've known a few Norwegians and basically consider it a "colder version of rural Denmark" (No offense Norway ). We'll come back to that.

Most importantly, Norway is not part of the EU, so you need a visa to live there and to get a visa, you first need a job lined up. Career-wise, Norway (and Denmark) are a bit of a dead-end for any kind of specialized career on account on their small size, which explains the persistent brain drain. Of course, if you want to be/can get hired as a ski guide or construction worker, it's different.

Nordic culture is kinda "closed" and it is hard to make new friends as an immigrant (or even a national). People tend to make lifelong friends and they do that in school. When done with work, they usually go straight home and if they hang out they hang out with their existing friends (at home). Extroverted immigrants or new arrivals (say from another part of the country) will suffer in this environment. The key to this is to take a very active role involving yourself in some kind of association or club(*) life, say the local hockey club or the association of bird watchers. Make sure you're the only foreigner as this practically forces you to speak the language. While everybody (under 60) speaks fluent English, you're not really accepted into the in-group until you learn and speak the local language. (The language is pretty much what makes the national identity.) I know this holds in Denmark and I'd expect it to hold in Norway too. The irony is that many larger companies use English (some exclusively) as their working language, which takes away the opportunity to practice the local language at work.

(*) Clubs and associations are huge. They can be about anything and they are.

Norway is smaller and further to the north, so there's less "to do". If you want museums, concerts, and going out, you're kinda limited. If you like nature and outdoor sports, you're golden.

[radamfi]

Most importantly, Norway is not part of the EU, so you need a visa to live there and to get a visa, you first need a job lined up.

However, Norway is part of the EEA (European Economic Area) and is also part of the Schengen Area. Freedom of Movement applies to Norway just like it does to EU member states. Therefore EU citizens can move to Norway and get a job without a visa.