Gordon Barlow

The best way to find a job in any town or country is to go round knocking on doors. The best way? It's probably the only way! My son (aged 38) has just moved to Stockholm on spec, found a job the first morning driving a truck, and started then and there. He took his accommodation with him, so no problem there. Mind you, he did speak Norwegian, which the employer could understand.

So my advice for Mr X is to do the same thing. Just get up and go. You will be handicapped by not speaking or understanding the local language, but I think you already know that.

MrX

Yes they are but the language counts a lot when it comes to seeking jobs.
Thank you very much for this post Sir

I am very certain that I am paying a visit to Norway in September and then relocate in October. I would like to visit it once again and find as much information as I need and then decide if relocating to that country is really worth it. I am positive my decision is final but still it is not a bad idea to visit it next month as a tourist once again and then decide to relocate to Norway in October.

Dancin

I am English ,I speak Norweigan, you will not get any help in this country, It is probably the most xenophobic country in the whole of the western world, I have been here since December, not received any help... only the fact that they say you can leave to another EU, to go back, or just leave. The Danish are more welcoming , but it is not easy to get work all over Europe at the moment
most countries require minimum time for having had a license... for driving taxi's

Gordon Barlow

Well, I guess you must have had some bad experiences, Dancin. My son's experiences - during the ten years he has lived there - have been quite, quite different. He began his life there working the late-night shift in a pizza shop for a pittance (while he learnt Norwegian), then spent some time squatting with the homeless, then graduated to work erecting and dismantling concert stages. Have you looked for construction work of any kind? There seems to be a strong demand for workers in that industry, and with an EU passport you shouldn't have much trouble.

You said you have "not received any help". What kind of help were you looking for, and who refused it? Government should probably have helped you if you had been contributing to its tax revenues - not if not,though, of course.

scot47

There will almost certainly be a REQUIREMENT that you pass a test in Norwegian.

Dancin

Hello Gordon ,
I also lived in Oslo 10 years ago for a period of 6 years , but like life , things change and Norway certainly has changed and is changing , and at 52, not really looking to have to go through the squatting with homeless, as an upgrade .Mine is just an observation on the status quo. in Norway. One of the biggest changes , well at least in Oslo that you can't help noticing the influx of the Muslim community, it is now reported to be at 25% of the city, not being of a faith that openly discriminates against people that are not of the same beliefs is not what I returned to Norway for, Yes I have a bank account here and yes have in the past payed the taxes, I really do understand this community having lived it and felt it .. But it is the only place I have lived that I feel 3rd class , I come just under the asylum seeker , and of course you can tell by my retorict that my days are numbered here.. Pleased to here that at least one expatis doing well , all my friends that didn't marry here have just about departed for more convivial shores. I am somewhat of an anomaly as I also live somewhat by the doctrines of Neitsche... Just saying in 2013 , if your an ex pat thinking of coming here, have plenty of start up money eg: milk is 4x the price etc...
And you will not be welcomed with open arms unless you are marrying a norweigan , then Good luck... for me life has more to offer and after this project, maybe back to Copenhagen ...

Gordon Barlow

Well, I'm sorry to hear your story, Dancin. It must be a fantastic project you have going there, to make it worth your while coming back to a place you dislike. I can see that age 52 you would of course be facing far different conditions than my son faced when he was 28. I thought from your post that you were much younger.

We all have our different objectives and priorities. I've been in much worse places in my long life - and I enjoy my annual visits. Neither my wife nor I speak Norwegian, which is a handicap for us - but we get by, when we have to. Our son has children there, which I wrote about in a blog-post in July last year (2012) called "The weather in Norwegian". (Not a very original title, but what can you do?) Of course it's the weather that stops us going to live there full-time. We much prefer our life here in the Caribbean, naturally enough.

scot47

Without exception all my Norwegian friends are totally opposed to immigration. And I am not some sort of closet Nazi who only mixes with the far right !

Gordon Barlow

Well, they're probably not TOTALLY opposed, Scottie. My son has sired two Norwegian children by two Norwegian women; the children and the mothers both need the father in their lives, and all (to the best of my knowledge) the mothers' friends are glad that he is still in the picture. The authorities put legal obstacles in the way of his becoming a Norwegian citizen, but not to his immigrant status.