From Ireland to Norway

Who are you and where are you from? 

Annmarie from Co. Roscommon, Ireland.

Where do you live now?

Oslo, Norway.

Do you live with your family? 

My husband.

How old are you?

27.

Share your reason for leaving your country. 

I married a Norwegian :-) Ortherwise I wouldn't have moved to Norway.  

Were the adjustments difficult? 

Not really, Norwegian is quite an easy language to learn so it just took me 3 months to learn. The only difficulty was not being able to get a job despite having a University degree. I missed my friends and family but there again it was my choice to move to Norway.

What was the immigration process like (visas, work permits, residency, etc.)? 

No major problems at all as I'm an EU citizen. I got a lot of help whenever I asked for it. 

Do you work?

Yes, I'm now working a a civil servant.

What are the pros and cons of living in your new country? 

Pros:

Good job, good money, good public transport system. Fantastic health system also. One can be 'anonymous' in Norway....people don't bother you. Television isn't dubbed, hence you can watch TV and read the text in Norwegian.

Cons: 

Too much immigration of non-western people to do jobs that Norwegians couldn't be asked to do. Weather is a bit of a pain in the winter :-) Norwegians are quite hard to get to know, you kind of have to break the 'outer shell' to really get to know them. Of course, alcohol always helps :-) 

Do you miss 'home'?  How often do you visit?

Yes, I miss my parents. I travel home/see my parents 4 times a year.

Any advice to share? 

Don't be afraid to ask for help, most of the time you'll get it. Try and learn/undrstand Norwegian culture and try to learn Norwegian as Norwegian's really appreciate it if you learn their language. Learn how to ski :-) .

Any web resources to share?

Help with job seeking in Norway. 

Yahoo! group for Irish people in Norway. 

Yahoo! group for people who are new to Oslo