what's the best european country to move to - Forum

Basil
Youtube Star

Basil wrote:

whydoiexist wrote:
Atp creating your own country might be the only decent option

i wish

Obliviate
Queen of Pop

Obliviate wrote:
Feels like it's chaos everywhere these days

Basil
Youtube Star

Basil wrote:

glowed wrote:
just avoid the Balkans 🎀

will do 🫡

Basil
Youtube Star

Basil wrote:

remains wrote:
finland would be great if our government wasnt fascist genocide supporters haha x but who isnt these days you know

damn against the sami? when i look it up what comes up is rroma people (which yeah that's all of europe) and ingrian finns

Basil
Youtube Star

Basil wrote:

Azriel wrote:

Basil wrote:

Sera wrote:
oof, i've only lived in germany and the netherlands apart from my home country. germany is conservative but affordable and (based on my own experiences) has a good job market. the netherlands has a housing crisis but it's more open-minded (in germany i would hear some racist shit shouted in malls...). i think nordics isn't a bad option but be prepared for the winters and the lack of light during them. this came as a shock to my german bf when we lived in finland together

see i was thinking about the netherlands but the whole being underwater thing and housing crisis already does not bode well for cost of living as the sea levels rise

thank you for the input though! it's good to hear about perspectives, especially about germany being more and more blatantly racist lately D:

netherlands should be fine with the sea lol .. we r good at .. infrastructure
but yes the housing crisis is very real especially for students
its not impossible tho, depends on ur budget as well

i really hope the housing crisis gets easier there!!! it is crazy for a whole country to have a housing crisis... (i say as if the usa is not having the same issue BUT STILL)

Basil
Youtube Star

Basil wrote:

Aske wrote:
norway is a decent place to live, some of my favourite things is how calm and unpolarised the society is, how trust-based and overall safe it is and its also just really pretty. and you're allowed to go almost anywhere you like in nature by the freedom to roam

but yea, as has been mentioned already, some things to keep in mind;

cost of living is one of the highest in the world. the salaries are also high, so in theory its supposed to be manageable, but thats not really the reality for a significant amount of the population right now

we're on the same latitude as alaska, the climate is not for everyone. in the inland and eastern regions the winters are very cold and summers are warm ish, while along the atlantic coast (where most major cities, except oslo are located) the winters are mild and summers are cool. do not make the mistake of assuming mild means pleasant

while the language is relatively easy to learn for english speakers, the spoken language is not standardised, so everyone you meet will be speaking their own local dialect, in any and all situations. switching dialect to make conversation easier is not a thing. pretty much everyone knows and is willing to speak english tho

if youre looking to have a farm, there are some areas that are good for that, like the south east, trøndelag, jæren, sogn and hardanger (i guess?) but being a farmer full time in norway is pretty tough, especially economically but also cuz the weather might not cooperate. in recent years we've seen a lot of extreme weather that has ruined crops, and thats only going to get worse. but i guess thats the case everywhere. sweden or denmark seems more farmer friendly but thats just an impression i have i know nothing

this is a really interesting breakdown, thank you so much!

that point about how the spoken language has a lot of dialects is really interesting. in the us, in english, there are not nearly that many dialects. despite being a big country, we all speak basically the same words, but the accent we say them with might be hard to understand. in contrast, in (latin america) spanish, some words might be one thing in one country and a very different thing in another country, so there is definitely dialects that are important to know about beyond just accent. which one is norweigian more similar to?

i plan to have a farm but just a personal one to support me and my family (when i have one), not industrial! mainly just space to set up greenhouses and have farm animals, not really trying to grow a specific crop.

Private
International Star

bexxi wrote:
im from germany and i understand u dont wanna move here
id personally choose sweden because thats where a lot of sexy ppl i know are from and i liked the scenery when i visited. lots of water. many woods. very nice

ICantWhistle
International Star

ICantWhistle wrote:
what climate do you prefer? the more north you go, the colder brrr
i like spain and portugal, the climate is more on the warm side, the people there are very open and friendly, not a rich country but very pretty nature and country side

Private
World Famous

saoko wrote:
depends on what you are looking for! are you going to move indefinitely?

Account deleted

wrote:
german bureaucracy is hell on earth so don't even bother

Aske
Prince of Pop

Aske wrote:

Basil wrote:

Aske wrote:
norway is a decent place to live, some of my favourite things is how calm and unpolarised the society is, how trust-based and overall safe it is and its also just really pretty. and you're allowed to go almost anywhere you like in nature by the freedom to roam

but yea, as has been mentioned already, some things to keep in mind;

cost of living is one of the highest in the world. the salaries are also high, so in theory its supposed to be manageable, but thats not really the reality for a significant amount of the population right now

we're on the same latitude as alaska, the climate is not for everyone. in the inland and eastern regions the winters are very cold and summers are warm ish, while along the atlantic coast (where most major cities, except oslo are located) the winters are mild and summers are cool. do not make the mistake of assuming mild means pleasant

while the language is relatively easy to learn for english speakers, the spoken language is not standardised, so everyone you meet will be speaking their own local dialect, in any and all situations. switching dialect to make conversation easier is not a thing. pretty much everyone knows and is willing to speak english tho

if youre looking to have a farm, there are some areas that are good for that, like the south east, trøndelag, jæren, sogn and hardanger (i guess?) but being a farmer full time in norway is pretty tough, especially economically but also cuz the weather might not cooperate. in recent years we've seen a lot of extreme weather that has ruined crops, and thats only going to get worse. but i guess thats the case everywhere. sweden or denmark seems more farmer friendly but thats just an impression i have i know nothing

this is a really interesting breakdown, thank you so much! @Aske

that point about how the spoken language has a lot of dialects is really interesting. in the us, in english, there are not nearly that many dialects. despite being a big country, we all speak basically the same words, but the accent we say them with might be hard to understand. in contrast, in (latin america) spanish, some words might be one thing in one country and a very different thing in another country, so there is definitely dialects that are important to know about beyond just accent. which one is norweigian more similar to?

i plan to have a farm but just a personal one to support me and my family (when i have one), not industrial! mainly just space to set up greenhouses and have farm animals, not really trying to grow a specific crop.

the us is also a much younger country and culture! it might be big, but the communities werent isolated for all that long
and correct me if im wrong but i feel like if someone had a different way of pronouncing smn, people would correct them, sooner than they would work to understand? like the language is more standardised, there is one correct way to pronounce a word, so any potential differences wouldnt be preserved as much?

norwegian is a bit in between, there are some regional differences in terms of vocabulary, but the dialects are mutually intelligeble mostly speaking. i think the main challenge is how different the overall pronounciation, spelling and sentence melody can be

that sounds nice, i hope you get that some day! tiny farms are quite common in rural areas, its just not rly something you can live off as your source of income i think, but i know very little abt this😭 my next door neighbour growing up was grazing sheep i rly should have picked up some info but i didntt

Private
International Star

xbabyspiderz wrote:

Aske wrote:

xbabyspiderz wrote:

mymble wrote:
hi, norwegian here!
everything is expensive, and the prices are only going up. the weather is also something to keep in mind, a lot of foreigners arent prepared for the winters. people are often a bit closed off (until you get them drunk fhdskf), thats just the culture here.
BUT! other than that, i think its a good option. we have nice healthcare slay, and is just generally very safe.
have you looked at any particular cities in norway?

seconding this!! also adding negative things lol

we have a bit of gang violence and also roofie culture (girlies gettin stabbed w syringes in clubs) nd other crimes in the capital but way less gang stuff than sweden hehe. but yeah only last week there was gun violence in a park a few 100 metres away from where i live (gang related)

occasionally we've had terror attacks/ppl going insane in public, but i think what ive heard most is crime against spouse or just crimes bc of grudges

also the electricity crisis (power costs a LOT bc politicians decided to sell our power to the rest of europe ect nd ppl r struggling a lot esp in the winter bc u need to heat up ur living space during that time)

+ everythings expensive nd prices are increasing. if ur american be prepared to pay a lot of taxes lol (if u have a normal income u pay like idk 20% of what u earn to taxes??)

also during the winter months (october-march) very dark, little to no sun, and it's cold. we r used to it, but even norwegians get depressed bc of the winters here.

the general population are generally kind of aloof nd not very warm to strangers (with exceptions ofc) and it can be hard to get included/socialise if u dont drink (and ppl might ask u a 100 questions why u dont drink lol)

we have some similarities to japan i think, except that we're a lot ruder and also are not v mindful of many people living/existing close to each other so many r generally bad at being respectful in that sense (taking up seats/using unnecessary space, being loud, coughing loudly in the air on public transport)

i just love dragging my own country lol.

but besides from that we have privileges, it is quite safe here compared to other places in the world, and esp if you're young (under 30) it's easier to receive help should you end up in a crisis situation or get sick.

i feel so weird abt whole being cold to strangers thing, like i get how we got that reputation, but its genuinely not coming from an uncaring or hostile place, youre just not supposed to bother people for no reason? minding your own business and not taking up someones time with shallow pointless conversation is the nice and polite way to act idk😭 its perfectly acceptable to reach out to or strike a conversation with a stranger but there has to be some sort of natural reason ifyou just ask someone how they're doing or whatever most ppl will be like dude thats super personal wtf

i kinda like when its like that so to me its a positive T_T but this is just what ive heard ppl say tbh. compared to canarian or chilean culture we might come off as rather cold or at least stiff (which is what ive been told by some ppl from diff cultures at least) even though there are always exceptions. it is waayyy worse in the countryside than where we both live tho (with exceptions, but still)

when tourists try to chat locals up (which for some is a natural thing to do), norwegians are polite but kind of uncomfortable w that (imo) which can come off as aloof to ppl. i feel like norwegians are very cat-like compared to other cultures, which can be considered rude if ur from a culture thats different or if ur not used to it :3 so thats why i mentioned it

Private
International Star

xbabyspiderz wrote:

Basil wrote:

xbabyspiderz wrote:

mymble wrote:
hi, norwegian here!
everything is expensive, and the prices are only going up. the weather is also something to keep in mind, a lot of foreigners arent prepared for the winters. people are often a bit closed off (until you get them drunk fhdskf), thats just the culture here.
BUT! other than that, i think its a good option. we have nice healthcare slay, and is just generally very safe.
have you looked at any particular cities in norway?

x.

i am taking notes, norway is seeming better and better compared to most other countries. the energy crisis thing is so strange, is it a change that started when russia invaded ukraine?

i dont think its related to the war no, i heard its bc of selling the power and having to buy the power back which makes the price inflate or something like that?? not sure if that statement is entirely correct, but its kind of ridiculous if it is, bc theres no reason it shud b like that u_u its the govt's fault at least

Private
Living Legend

lain wrote:

xbabyspiderz wrote:

Basil wrote:

xbabyspiderz wrote:
x.

i am taking notes, norway is seeming better and better compared to most other countries. the energy crisis thing is so strange, is it a change that started when russia invaded ukraine?

i dont think its related to the war no, i heard its bc of selling the power and having to buy the power back which makes the price inflate or something like that?? not sure if that statement is entirely correct, but its kind of ridiculous if it is, bc theres no reason it shud b like that u_u its the govt's fault at least

i think its somewhat related to it, because russia was the biggest uhm idk in english... gassleverandør, and no gas means expensive electricity for the whole of europe + norway has to sell to europe i guess?? and then we have to buy it back inflated yes
but its also the weather, we've been having dry and warm summers which affects our vannmagasiner
like europe has/has had an energy crisis in general
i THINK atleast.... thats what came up when i looked into it lol

but my brain is bad at explaining
govt shoudl just pay it for us!!!

Varulv
World Famous

Varulv wrote:
I think Sweden would be the better choice, Norway and Sweden are kind of similar and Norway is super expensive atm. Sweden is also part of the EU and getting citizenship in a EU country will give you the freedom to live, work and travel to other EU countries. You can also get by really well only speaking English.

Downsides are the unemployment rates and gang violence, but it honestly depends on your degree and what areas you live in. I'd stay out of the big cities like Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö since everything is generally more expensive there.

And if you decide to move to Sweden, get in as many "bostadsköer" as you can. Especially if you decide you do want to live in a bigger city. It's basically queuing to be able to rent, I've never done it because my town is kinda small but I've heard of the stuggles lol