3 Things I Enjoy The Most While Living Abroad: Norway
#1: Balance Work — Personal Life
In the series of things I miss and enjoy the most while living abroad, today’s I will be exploring some of the things that make my stay abroad enjoyable and worth the “struggle” :)
#1: Balance Work — Personal Life
In Norway this is among the national top priority: people are not only their jobs. People are perceived as individuals who have value above the fancy job title. Norwegians tend to be little /not entitled (as in all areas there are some exceptions) but culturally from what I got familiar to: people don’t brag about their achievements nor social status. You are who you are and not what you do. Therefore the global management styles here allow one to easily find a balance between personal and professional life. You get time to have leisure and a decent family life beside your full time job. At work, we have what is called “flexitime”: you choose to get at the office between 7 and 9 a.m. and leave between 3 and 5p.m. It is rare that you get to see any offices still opened passed 5pm around her. And on Fridays after 3.p.m most of employees are out there getting a life.
The remote work is also a practice that is common in Norway. They didn’t wait for the pandemic to have it well implemented.
Usually when you know you will get a plumber or electrician coming over during the week and middle of the day, remote work is an opening you get to work from home. It can also be that the daycare is closed and you have to be home with your little one/s: remote work is there available. No much procedures is set around that, you communicate with you line Manager and when you have the need, you use remote work.
Globally, the work atmosphere in Norway offers a considerable amount of flexibility, something that is important; especially as a parent.
Therefore this one is an element that weights positively in the scale.
When not at work, I spend some time out closest to nature. Fortunately, it isn’t that far away, only few steps from our house.
#2: Nature’s Proximity
Living only 20 min away from the closest wild forest is a blessing. I love nature and living in an environment that allows me to have it accessible at a walk distance is a dream come true. In my wildest dreams I often visualized that lake house in the woods, when you wake up in the morning and you have in front of you the wide lake view surrounded by the trees. Well, I’m not there yet, hahha, but 20 min walk close enough.
In the previous post I talked about the fact that Norwegians weren’t the most social beings on earth…but in the woods? They become the most social people you could ever meet. Especially during ski season. Everyone you meet smile at you and say hi without knowing you. At the beginning it was super odd: like at the subway station If I say hi or smile I seem totally out but in the middle of the woods that’s totally fine? I guess they feel less threatened by the unfamiliarity when they see you doing something similar to them?.. Well go find out.. I stopped wanting to figure out. I do me, they do them.
#3: Equality Male-Female (Work & Parenting)
This one is special. I am like 50–50 shared. One side of me agrees and the other not fully at all fronts.
On one side I love the idea of equal pay for the same type of roles, responsibilities in a company. And equal amount of opportunities in all areas. In the household the idea of having shared responsibilities is also a super plus. But 50/50 isn’t fully accurate from my perspective of things. Because in the household, it is sustainable that one focuses on what they’re best at. And all things in life cannot just be shared 50/50. There’re some areas that it’s best when done spontaneously without being so focused on always being mechanical 50/50.
To the extreme feminists out there: please don’t eat me raw for the following perspective, I fully take responsibility for my sayings. But let’s get real. If God created female and male, it is well that we ain’t totally similar (no one being superior or inferior, but different), otherwise we would all have been unisex; so why want to mix it all up? It ends up mixing things up and creating some biological imbalances.. (I am not a specialist in the biology areas, so I won’t get any further). My concern is (that is already the case — at least in Norway): the more the feminism, the least the masculinity. The more women want to rule all things (even though we are naturally better in some areas than men, and vice versa), the more males loose their masculinity, testosterone…
But all in all I adhere to the Norwegian equality mindset when it comes to parenting. Hubby who is Norwegian takes evenly care and is involved in the life of our son as I am. That is something that I find admirable and honourable. I think men around the world could get inspired by the Norwegian (Nordic) mentality: children deeply need equally their mothers as they need their fathers.
I am grateful that I live in Norway and have it the Norwegian way when it comes to pay (still some way to do, but Norway is among the leading countries when it comes to salary equality), opportunities and parenting. The other areas… still to be discussed. Feel welcomed to share your thoughts in comment section about this. Happy to read what you ladies and gentlemen have as perspectives when it comes to machinal equality male-female at all fronts.
Until next time dear reader, take gorgeous care of yourself. I am thankful that you took some of your precious time to read my story. May all the best you visualise for yourself come to be.
One love ✨💜