my husband and I would like to move to Norway at some stage. What would be some cultural dos and dont's compaired to the UK?  

Norwegians are nice but not the same as the British. You won't have doors held open for you entering shops and if standing talking outside lift and shop doors and at the top and bottom of escalators blocking the way was an Olympic sport, Norway would have all the gold, silver and bronze medals.

Norwegians ask for a beer by saying "beer". Not "Can I have a half of Ringnes please?" This may appear rude until you bump into a Norwegian and spill his pint and discover he isn't bothered. Do learn the language otherwise you will get into a horrible mess and know which language to learn before you come. Bokmal, Samisk or Nynorsk. 4.5 million people. 3 languages and many dialects.

It might help, before you come if you do as much of the paperwork involved in moving as possible as a kind of dummy run. It may put you off the country for good.

The bottom line is you need to be pretty much guaranteed to make a success of your move to justify it. If you put a price on your own time, the cost in every conceivable way of getting here may not be worth the reward and if you find you think you know Norwegian but can't understand the paperwork before you've even moved there, it could be an eye opener BEFORE you've burned your bridges.

It's beautiful here but understand you'll be viewed by the Norwegians pretty much as the Poles, Latvians, Lithuanians etc. are viewed in the UK. They want you to do your job then go back where you belong so you'll be tolerated civilly as long as you make yourself useful. I have lived in the same house in Norway since 1998 and have been inside just 5 houses in the whole kommune since I arrived.

Most of the British I knew in Norway have gone back to the UK after their marriages broke up and they couldn't afford to live here, pay the taxes, the child support and were all the time aware they weren't really allowed to be ill here either. The system is far more keen at taking your tax from you than letting you know if your national insurance contributions are registered on the system.

Might be better to buy a holiday home here.

I was amazed to read that out of 27 cases against Norway in the European court of Human Rights, 20 were found against them. Something like that .... worse than Ireland, Sweden in terms of percentage and head of population.

If you need to work here, make sure you know what you're going to do for a living before you come and put together a business plan / spreadsheet. The money may seem fine but a Swedish barmaid here pays 36% tax. She may get some of it back, she may not but in the meantime, she's using her credit cards to live on.

Lots of Norwegians are depressed, sick, 45 year old students who've never worked much so most of he work seems to be done by foreigners who are leaving getting sick of not actually having much left for their labours at the end of the month. tax and national insurance are deducted but I still have to go back to the UK for all but minor medical problems. A trip to the doctor 9for a prescription for example) will not cost about £30 at current exchange rates. I don't bother going anymore since I'm merely referred to specialists who don't exist locally and can't afford to be off work long enough to sit on a bus all day to go to a specialist 3 hours bus ride away.  

Sounds like a fun place.
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Twofilas 

Some reading for you www.udi.no/Norwegian-D...#RESIDENCE  

thanks for your answer  

Hi,
Some of the things JonInNorway says are correct but I wouldn't want you to have such a negative vision of this wonderful country. I moved here with my Norwegian wife from Devon, UK in 2008 and whilst I found some of the typical traits of the Norwegians rude to start with I actually came to find it funny after a while, seeing the bemused look on their faces when you do hold the door open for them..... they know immediately your a foreignor! I often remind my wife when she is "being Norwegian" that she spent 12 years in the UK so should no better! But lets not knock them for it, it is their character and the way they are, and afterall we are the ones in THEIR country, I have found Norway to be a place where you will get out of it as much if not more than what you put into it, it is all down to you, to get to know a Norwegian can be difficult, but once you have made a freind you have a freind for life, after over coming the initial barriers they are warm, welcoming and I have found will go out of their way to help or accommodate you. But to do this JonInNorway is right when he says you need to learn at least some of the language, it makes a huge difference. Depending on where you plan on living will have a small factor on which dialect you learn, but it is a safe bet to learn Bokmal, NyNorsk is spoken mainly outside of the cities but everyone understands eachother in any case, we visit the countryside regular and I am perfectly understood when I speak Bokmal... my wife steps in if they speak NyNork even though her dialect is Bokmal also she understands them. Of course everybody knows Norway is expensive, but you get used to it and your higher salary makes up for that, I personally find £ for £ Norway cheaper to live than the UK, and yes, I drink and smoke! You just have to look at the bigger picture, cheaper housing costs, we actually bought 2 because of my work rather than stay in ahotel 4 nights a week, household bills other than food are cheaper but then look at what is around you with low crime, scenery, etc and I have found the Norwegian health system simply fantastic, from minor ailment to having been in a car accident.

I hope this has given you more of an insight and positive view, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.

Regards

Eamonn  

Thank you, Eamonn

It's always great to get first-hand information. I've been reading a lot about Norway, but personal experiences are the best. Appreciated your entry