Studying English and Danish (or another Scandinavian language) is mandatory for students in compulsory schools and also part of many secondary-level study programmes, so knowledge of the two languages is widespread….

Icelandic

Icelandic is an Indo-European language, belonging to the group of North Germanic languages, to be specific. This group also includes Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, and Faroese. Of those languages, Norwegian and Faroese (spoken in the Faroe Islands) are the most closely related to Icelandic.

Taxes, taxes, taxes Norway has one of the highest rates of personal income tax in the world, at some 39%. It has been even higher – at 47.5%, but is now dropping. Having said that, it’s lower than the highest rate in the UK.

Rent Prices The average rent across the entire country is 8,740 NOK (952 USD). Keep in mind that when renting in this country, you will be required to put down a large security deposit. This can be between three to six months’ rent!

Yes. The Norwegian housing and property market is largely unregulated, and anyone can buy a house or property. One caveat is that some properties have a residence requirement (“boplikt”). This requirement typically applies to farms and houses in areas that are very attractive vacation destinations.

Because while yes, any Norway travel guide will tell you Norway is more expensive than a lot of other places, it doesn’t have to be prohibitively so. Norwegians are the first to admit that their country is really expensive, but the truth is most Norwegians can afford to live in Norway in an expensive way.

Most Norwegians are indifferent to tourists. There are mostly foreigners working in the local tourism industry, so Norwegians don’t really deal with that many foreign tourists on a personal level.

A hamburger, a pizza, or a sandwich meal at a café costs around 150-220 NOK/ 15-25 EUR. Pasta dish costs from 170 to 250 NOK/ 18-28 EUR.