Major Finnish newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, made a big article about a Finnish family living in Bærum. https://www.hs.fi/visio/art-2000011842624.html
It’s behind a paywall, but I used AI to make a short summary:
A Finnish family moved to the Bærum area near Oslo and quickly noticed how Norway’s oil wealth shapes everyday life. With massive national savings (over €300k per citizen via the oil fund), people enjoy more flexibility in how they spend their time—especially with family.
Key differences vs Finland:
- Bigger houses and generally higher living standards
- Strong belief in rising housing prices → people take large loans confidently (In Finland, housing prices have gone down for the past 4 years)
- Expensive country, but some things (like hobbies, daycare) are cheaper
- Heavy focus on family time; leaving work early for kids is normal
- Kids’ sports emphasize enjoyment over competition
Downsides:
- High cost of living and expensive services
- Schools have fewer resources (e.g. no free hot meals)
- Social integration can be difficult as an outsider
- Signs of over-comfort (e.g. high sick leave, rising drug use)
Overall, the family sees Norway as a “rich but slightly complacent” society where wealth has enabled a more balanced, family-oriented lifestyle—but not everything is better. The family describes Norway as a kind of “lintukoto” (utopia/safe bubble).
Major Finnish newspaper made an article about living in norway and the differences between the countries
byu/DotaWemps inNorway
Posted by DotaWemps
6 Comments
Houses in Bærum (one of the wealthiest municipalities in Norway) are likely bigger than the average house in Finland. Or the average house in Norway.
Personally, as a Finn who has lived in Norway for a few months now, I see both countries as very similar. Moving to Oslo felt more like moving to another city in Finland than to a different country.
The only issues I have encountered are linked to money and how expensive everything is. My salary is only slightly higher compared to the one I earned in Finland, but everything seems to be 1,5-3x pricier. My rent is over twice as high for a comparatible home, grocery bill has doubled and road tolls + parking costs + cost of fuel + cost of public transport make moving around very expensive.
I know that my current salary in Norway is not very competitive, so I guess this would be a lesser problem if I found a better paying work here.
I have also never seen traffic jams as bad as the ones around Oslo in Finland.
Bærum is not an average of Norway and it’s indeed one of the places where housing prices generally will rise.
When even Finns think we are difficult to get to know, it’s really saying something. Finns might be the most introverted people I’ve ever met. It was like they were some ethereal wood nymphs that wouldn’t look you in the eye or talk to you unless they were regaling you about their pain.
The hobbies being more expensive is mostly because of the EU. We can’t even get most stuff to Norway with smugling from Sweden.
>Strong belief in rising housing prices → people take large loans confidently (In Finland, housing prices have gone down for the past 4 years)
This is a good “sentiment indicator” but in reality it’s an extremely stupid thing to do, i.e. to tie so much money into a single asset and/or asset class, which is a particularly illiquid one and also a primary need for every single person.
Well done to the Finns for de-investing from the property market.