I am an Indian IT Professional being deputed to Norway for a project for a minimum period of 1 year. Can you please let me know what would be my experience there on following parameters:
I understand that I have a lot of queries below and you may not be able to answer all of them, but please help me by answering at least a few of them. Based on the responses to other questions on this forum I believe that cumulatively I can get all the answers from the members of this group.
1. Salary in Oslo:
a. I work for an Indian IT Services company (in the league of Infosys, HCL, CTS etc). What is the average pay I can expect from my company per month.
b. I have heard that the taxes are too high, what percentage of my salary would go in taxes?
2. Accommodation in Oslo:
a. I don't want to stay too lavishly but a shared accommodation should be fine.What is the best way to find a place to stay for long term.
b. How much would a single occupancy room in a apartment cost me per month?
c. Are there any Indian families who provide paying guest option?
d. What are some of the locations in Oslo which I can look for which are neither very expensive nor too distant from work locations?
e. If I bring my wife for 3-4 months and during that I want to stay in an individual place then how much will I need to pay for a 1 bedroom place?
3. Food:
a. What kind of food will I get there. Are there any places to satisfy my Indian taste buds? Can you please name a few?
b. I have read in other blogs that there are shops which sell Indian spices and other staple food items like wheat flours, rice and lentils. Can you please provide names of a few stores and their locations?
c. As an Indian who eats both veg and non-veg food, what could be my monthly expense on food if I cook mostly at home?
4. Must bring items:
a. I have some time in hand before I come there, but what are the must bring utensils, clothes, medicines, and other items to Norway along with me to make my Indian life style easier?
5. Health:
a. I have a deviated septum in my nose and hence I have to take special care so that I don't get infections and don't expose myself to extreme cold. Well I understand for cold we can't do much but what about other factors. Can somebody share there experience having similar issue and are living in Norway.
b. What kind of medical facilities are available in Oslo in case I need special care for my condition?
5. Commute:
a. How difficult or easy is it to move around within cities and outside for weekend outings?
6. Indian Diaspora:
a. Is there any Indian community in Oslo which gets together and help each other and celebrates festivals together?
7. Work culture:
a. Although I have heard that the people there are very warm. What is the work culture like on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being super busy and demanding like US and Indian and 10 being balanced like New Zealand.
Thanks in advance for your answers...
Indian IT professional moving to Norway
Hello rishikant
I invite you to browse through threads in the different sections of the Norway forum to gather as much info as possible.
It is always a best practise to create a thread for each query and choose a category, such as Cost of living, or accommodation to increase chances of response on your thread.
Regards
Kenjee
Expat.com Team
1. Salary in Oslo
a. Average pay is based on your experience, skills, qualifications etc. Your company will have their own standards and you will get similar salary as what Norwegian employees also get.
b. Taxes can be anywhere between 35% and above. It depends upon whether you are staying alone, with family, children etc. You will not regret paying huge taxes, as you would enjoy the facilities that you get by paying taxes.
2. Accommodation in Oslo
a. Accommodation = Go to the website finn.no since this is the lifeline for anything to be purchased, sold, rented in Norway. Recommended to use Google Chrome to browse this site and do translation from Norwegian to English.
b. Rent is high and is based on whether you are looking for furnished, non furnished and / or location etc. You will find much details in finn.no site itself.
c. Indian families providing paying guest options would be very less or just none.
d. Travel is not a problem in Oslo. So you dont have to really worry about distance. What you need to look for is what kind of house / room you are looking for and probably, what you can pay as rent. The transportation system is amazing and you will never feel the "pinch" even if you are staying far away from office.
e. One bedroom apartment may cost around 10,000 NOK to 14,000 NOK depending upon you need furnished, semi furnished or unfurnished apartment.
3. Food
a. You will get all kinds of food in Oslo, just that you need to search for the right food for your taste buds. Eating out is expensive in Oslo and generally people do not prefer eating out (probably once or twice a month, maybe!)
b. The most prefered place for Indian items is Siddique shop at Norbygata, Gronland. This is quite famous and you will get to know once you are in Oslo
c. Around 4000 to 6000 NOK. Depending upon what are you spending for.
4. Must bring items
a. Bring utensils that are induction ready. Most Norwegian apartments have induction cook tops. So many times the normal utensils wont work. Medicines are not available across the counter in Norway. So you will have to get your own medicines starting from crocin, vicks, paracetamol etc. Clothes should be warm, ofcourse. Throughout the year the weather is cold and wet (except summer when temperature goes up to a maximum of 25 degree celsius)
If you are tea drinker, get enough tea powder since you wont get the kind of chai powder that you get in India
Pressure cooker is expensive to buy, so you will need to get that. When you are coming, try to get as much of food items that can sustain you for a week or so. You will need time to settle down before going out for shopping.
5. Health
a. I am not an expert in this.
b. Norway is known for being one of the best countries with regards to healthcare. Therefore, you should be fine. However, please do some research in google for your specific condition.
6. Commute (You have put 5 twice...so this should be the 6th bullet heading)
a. Travelling within Oslo is the best. You have trams, buses, metros, cycles that can be used... transportation is amazing.
6. Indian diaspora
a. There are Indian communities which you can fetch in facebook or get to know once you are in Oslo. You can reach out to your friends and colleagues here who would be able to help you based on what you are looking for.
7. Work Culture
a. I will give 8. You can have a well balanced work and family life. Vacations are good. Norwagians will encourage you to take vacations and spend time with family. They are warm and welcoming too... so you will enjoy your stay here.
Welcome to Norway!
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