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Just arrived in Norway 1st week of January from Singapore for a 1-year work contract. I was surprised that the company hired me without even having the ability to speak Norwegian, I then realized that my company is sort of multinational so English is the main language.

They say Singapore is an expensive place but Norway has higher cost of living.

There are some prices that are almost the comparable but in general Norway cost more. I always convert to Singapore dollar to compare, so it's up to you to compare in your own currency to know the difference.

Eating out

It's expensive to eat out in Norway even in fastfood joints. My first day, I went for a McDonald's burger meal (1 patty cheeseburger, fries and cappuccino) which cost around 92NOK or 12 Singapore dollar. In Singapore, the meal may be about 70 NOK or 9SGD only. Not really big difference there, if I may say. But when I went to Burger King, that's where I got shocked of the price difference. My Burger King meal cost me 176NOK or 23SGD which in Singapore is around 10-11SGD only, that's double the price.

During the coldest days which hit around -25 to -30C, I was yearning for a hot soup and a comfort meal. I looked at Google map to show me any Chinese resto near my place, lo and behold there is one around 300 meters from my hotel. Off I went and found the place right away. I looked at the menu and ordered wonton soup, braised pork with rice and a glass of beer. Food was superb, the soup was piping hot and the braised pork was the best I've tasted and I've tried several from Chinese restos in other Asian countries. I was fully satisfied and it was indeed a comfort meal.

I know what are ya'll waiting for. How much did that cost me? That dining experience cost me 460NOK or 60SGD or 45USD. So you start asking how can Norwegians afford such expensive cost of eating out? No they don't do that every time, from what I learned, most Norwegians cook their meals and eating out is only for special occasions.

Public transportation

Norway transportation system is awesome. You will need to download the app Ruter because that's your guide and fare in one app. If you are in Oslo area, the whole Oslo is Zone 1 and nearby places are other Zones. Here's the thing, if you travel around Zone 1 only you only need to pay for that which can be daily, 24hour or 7 day if you're a tourist. Now, when you go to other Zones then you gotta pay extra, Ruter is your man to inform you of that. If your ticket is only Zone 1 and you want to go to Ikea Slependen which is in Zone 2V, Ruter will tell you you need to purchase ticket for that. With the Ruter app, it makes paying for the fare convenient as long as you link your card to it.

Housing

If you're alone, you can have the option to go for house sharing or rent a place all by yourself. It's not cheap to rent by your own, it can be as low as 10K NOK to 20K NOK. Of course, as in any cosmopolitan places, the closer to you are at the city center, the more expensive it is, Best place to scout for a place to stay is Finn.no

Phone subscription

If you're a tourist, you can go to data service providers like Airalo. You pay for data usage but without phone number. Mobile subscription in Norway requires Norwegian ID number which takes a while to get if you start to work here. There are some mobile providers that can provide a phone number that do not require Norwegian ID but the best one is MyCall. When I went to Narvesen, a convenience store much like 7-11, the seller ran out of MyCall and he had other SIM cards but he did not recommended it to me, he said better to go for MyCall .

Groceries

I find the grocery prices as similar to that in Singapore so I kinda heave a sigh of relief when converting NOK to SGD . It's almost similar to Walmart prices in US as well.

That's my experience so far after a month of staying in beautiful Oslo, Norway!

@mcregner

Hello and welcome on board !

I hope the transition was smooth and that you are adjusting to the cold climate.

Thank you so much for your detailed and informative post.

I really enjoyed reading your post. It will definitely help members who are looking forward to moving to Norway (Oslo)

All the best

Bhavna

@Bhavna Thank you. I believe I am well adjusted now in terms of the weather. The good thing is that I came to Norway at its coldest time. If there's baptism by fire, I got baptism of -30C.