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question on moving to oslo

Last activity 18 July 2015 by NicoNiceguy

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paromitajoshi

Hi 

I  am  currently  working  for a Norwegian  Apparel  Brand with  its Laison  office in  New delhi  .
I  have an  open  position  in  my  head office in  Norway  , Oslo   and  I  am  planning  to  apply  for the position and  a re locate there .the position  is permanent  .
The question which is coming  to  me   is  that  :

What  should  be a fair  salary for  a comfortable  stay  of family  of 3 ?
I  have a son  5yrs old  and worried about  his scholling  .
As  we are from  India  My  son  is not  fluent  in  English  yet  and  i  am  wondering  if  he can  manage there  if  we opt for an  international  school .
I  am  really  worried of my son  getting  setteled there  in  day  cares as in  India  when  me and  my husband is at  work  , he has his  grand parents  to  look  after .
How easy  it is  for a  kid  coming  from other countries  to  get adjusted in  the Norwegian  culture .
I  myself loved the country  but  little worried about  my  Son .
Pls help  me thanks

fornight

First of all, international school is VERY VERY EXPENSIVE and the quality is not exactly there.

My husband came to Norway at the age of 5.  He is vietnamese and he managed to get integrated in norwegian culture fairly well.  Kids are very adaptable.  There are areas in Oslo that have more foreigners example Grorud, Stovner etc.

paromitajoshi

Thank you dear Friend , i am worried because of the language problem.
Since he do not know local language or english well how will he communicate to others

fornight

They have their ways.....think about it...when they are baby, they do not know our language as well....how did they learn?

NicoNiceguy

I'm sure your son will be fine even at an public school. He will also be getting free extra classes in the norwegian language.
It's easy to get integrated in the Norwegian society as long as you dont live on the east side of Oslo.
As fortnight said; places like Stovner, Grorud, Romsås and Furuset is very multicultural and that's fine, but it's not an ideal place to live if you want your kids to get adjusted into the Norwegian culture. Places at the east side of Oslo lacks of the Norwegian culture. Kids who are growing up there don't learn to speak proper Norwegian. I love the place but It isn't the best place to raising a child. The rent is cheaper than the rest of Oslo but it comes with a much higher crime rate, kids are dropping out of school etc. I speak from experience.

Regarding your question about the salary:
Oslo is a very expensive city to live in. The rent is sky-high and the prices for everything else is also very high, so if you do move to Oslo you have to be sure that your salary is set to the norwegian standards. I guess 25.000 - 35.000 kr a month will do.
Welfare in Norway is really good tho. If you are alone with 2 kids I'm sure you will get help with your economy.
Except from the prices and the cost of living in Norway, I can't come up with anything else which is negative about this beautiful country and I'm sure both you and your kids will love it here! ;)

paromitajoshi

Dear Friend

Thank you so much for sharing your valuable experience. To be honest I do not want  to be in an Indian community even if i am from India. 
When i am in other country i would prefer to be with the locals and learn the country culture and be part of that country.
I am only worried because my son cant even speak english but i am sure in 6months he will be ok.
I would love to stay little outside of oslo to be more with nature😊 i m a big time nature lover .. My office us in Billingstad hence may be near there.
But i really thank you for ur honest feedback😊

NicoNiceguy

I'm happy to help :)

I understand that you are worrying about your son but I'm sure he will be all fine. In that age they learn languages quickly and the kids are usually very curious and including to new kids. Especially if they are foreigns.

Billingstad is a great place to work. A little outside of Oslo (south-west) and that's gives you many options for places to live. You can Google these places:
1. Sandvika.  2 min with train to Billingstad / 5 min with car.
+ Location
- Rental cost
2. Asker. 5 min with train to Billingstad / 10 min with car.
+ Nature & facilities
- Not very charming
3. Lier. A beautiful small town between Asker and Drammen. 15-20 with car to Billingstad (cheapest of these 4 places)
+ Nature, Hiking trails, Ski trails, the people there
- The lack of facilities and things to do there.
4. Drammen. In my opinion the most beautiful city in Norway. 20 min with train to Billingstad / 30 min with car. (cheaper rentals than Sandvika and Asker. The city has everything and are a great place for kids to grow up. Places in Drammen that I recommend: Konnerud, Gulskogen, Åssiden.
+ The river, facilities, low crime rates, nature, beaches, cultural activities and everything else.
- A little far from Billingstad.

fornight

I like Sandvika but surprisingly I found lots of foreigners living there as well.  It is a beautiful city but expensive as well.

Just  note that the further west you go, the more expensive it gets because the "rich folks live in the west".

We have a colleague from africa who is determine to get a house.  Our office is in Lysaker which is between Sandvika and Oslo.  He has a wife and two kids.  He could not afford any of the houses from the east of Oslo (including Stovner where you do not want to be in because it has foreigners) and drammen.  In the end, he bought a house really far east which is all the way beyond the airport and close to Sweden border.

In the end, he has to take 2 hours train ride (each way) daily to go to work. 2 hour is fine when weather is nice....but when it is harsh winter, you do not want to be standing in the train waiting for a train which might be hold up due to snow piling on the tracks or faulty system.

fornight

You may not want to live in the Indian community but please note that there is also very subtle xenophobia among the norwegians.  they will not admit it but there is!!!!

NicoNiceguy

Yes, the farther away from the big cities the more xenophobia you will find, but it really isn't much of a problem around Oslo and Drammen. I haven't lived in neither Sandvika or Asker so I don't know how it is there but I will find it very strange and hard to believe that xenophobia is prevalent among the Norwegians there.
In Oslo and Drammen and the small towns around these big cities, the xenophobia is close to non existing, especially not against Indian people :)

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