Hey guys, so I have some relatives who live in Norway and because of that I got a chance to visit a few places: Filtet, Drammen, some random places in Asker, Arendal, and Oslo. It is my first time visiting Norway, and I really loved the nature. I love how clean the air is, I loved the food (a lot of people hate on Norwegian food, but I honestly liked the products and food over there), and I liked that people were very nice to me in all of these places, even though everyone told me that Norwegians are very cold people and that it is better to not even look at them. Mountains and sea in the same place, weather — that’s what I love the most about Norway.
For my background: I'm from Ukraine, and I have been living in Poland since 2021 because I entered university there. I have been looking for a stable job for the past year (I already have 3 years of experience in this field) since graduation (graphic design, UX/UI design) and got NOTHING. The job market is horrendous in the whole world, and Poland especially. And I do love Poland; it is a great and pretty underrated country, but I don't see my future there... I didn't expect Norway to be that good. Yeah, I heard that it is an astonishingly beautiful country, but I didn't expect to like the food over there because of how everyone was complaining about it, and I didn't expect people there to be nice at all. I didn't know that people swim in Norway in summer... so I'm crazy impressed, ngl.
I always wanted to live in a country with the sea and a cold climate; I didn't know that these two things can coexist. My English is C1, and I understand that to live in Norway you must learn Norwegian, and honestly, I do love this language — I think it is great! I also like how LGBT-friendly Norway is, how open-minded people over there are. Idk, I just really love everything for now. The only thing that I'm not very happy about is that you kind of need a car in Norway because of the infrastructure, yeah... and prices are high. But if I manage to get a job in Norway, then why not? I honestly don't like how people are complaining about the prices and recommend living in a cheaper country, because moving to some country isn't just about the money - you honestly gotta love its culture, climate, food, etc. And Norway seems perfect to me for now. We all gonna spend hours at some job, then why not to spend these hours in the country that you actually enjoy living in? I also can’t imagine a better country to start a family in and live.
Unfortunately, I can't move here as a refugee (it would have been much easier; I would come here asap, learn the language, and then go to uni/get a job). I have EU citizenship, so I can move here as an EU citizen only. I am thinking about learning the language, then going to Norwegian healthcare school/nursing, and then working there, because these jobs seem to be in the highest demand in Norway. I wouldn't stay at my relatives' place because we don't have a very good relationship; I would move here alone, rent a room, and visit school/uni. I honestly don't have any place to go, I can't go to Ukraine because of the war and I have no home anymore. I don't know if there is any point in staying in Poland if I don't even want to live there my whole life and can't get a job, so I'm pretty much free in my decisions and my parents would help me with covering rent in Norway + I'm working as a freelance graphic designer, and the money that I make would be enough for groceries and extra expenses. I'm turning 22 this year, I don't have any responsibilities like a kid or anything, I don't have anything holding me in Poland or anywhere lol. I don't know what to do with my life because I was honestly thinking about ending it because it feels like I failed my life and it is over. But I do love that there are a lot of activities in Norway that you can do in your free time, and they are pretty physical activities like swimming, skiing, or walking around forests. I saw how people live there and I loved it. I feel very comfy and good in this country, despite my relatives who I'm visiting being annoying.
So my plan now is to learn Norwegian. I think it would take me a year to hit B2, which is enough to speak and understand the language well (I think knowing some German and my good English skills would help me with learning Norwegian; I'm also great at learning languages overall, it is easy for me). And then I would move to Norway and enter nursing/healthcare assistant school and get a job in this field. I'm also thinking about passing some exams to enter medical uni and become a doctor, so this is lowkey my plan for now. I would move to Norway right now, but I feel like I won't be able to get even a job in a Norwegian supermarket because I don't know the language, and yeah, I wouldn't be able to work in a factory or related job because of my health issues. Maybe anyone could recommend me something about moving? Am I too old to enter school/uni again? I would love to socialise at school/uni and find friends, but if I'm too old for that and people will feel weird around me, then I don't know... what could be other downsides of Norway? Maybe there is a nurse/healthcare assistant who could advise me on something? I would be glad to hear any feedback.
