Amerifag here...

Amerifag here, I'm moving to Norway in two months or so to go to school for electrical engineering (specifically electronics engineering and signal processing). I plan on registering with EU citizenship, renouncing my US citizenship, and living in Norway indefinitely. But who knows, things change.

Only problem is that I cannot decide where exactly in Norway I'd like to move...

I have narrowed it down to:

>Tromso area

I hear Troms and Finnmark get tax breaks to incentivize people to live there. But admittedly, I'd like to live here mostly because it is a gorgeous area, and being able to step outside and see the northern lights engulfing the sky is a lifelong dream of mine... I know...

>Stavanger

Stavanger and Bergen are my favorite cities in Norway. UIS in Stavanger has the program I want to pursue, and the west coast has some mind-blowing nature.

>Trondheim

Mostly because of NTNU, but also because I hear the people in the area are very down-to-earth. The city seems nice as well.

>Oslo, Kongsberg, or Ostfold

All three have the exact kinds of programs at the universities that I'd love to take, but I'm not a fan of the idea of living in the Oslo area. I'd rather be closer to nature.

Any advice or suggestions?

nice spacing
you can't expect people to read all this though

I saw how long it is after I posted. You're probably right

I'd help if I could. Can I know why you want to GTFO of the US? Although I can understand wanting to live in Norway.

I've wanted to leave for about 7 years now. The list of reasons is long, so I'll condense heavily to some major reasons.

>shit wages and extreme wage gap
>cost of living is too high in relation to wages
>the cost of education is ludicrous
>in fact, nearly every single god damned thing about our society revolves around making money and "getting rich"
>worker's rights are nearly non-existent. Paid vacation time is either in very short supply, or in a majority of jobs, entirely non-existent.
>people here are willfully ignorant, excessively arrogant, and generally speak far too much and far too loud
>baseball is fucking stupid

I just can't see myself making a life for myself here without going into a gargantuan amount of debt.

can you speak norwegian? do you know anything about norwegian culture? do you have a job lined up in norway? do you have a marketable skill that would allow you to get a job? have you ever had a job????

>every single god damned thing about our society revolves around making money
>people are willfully ignorant
>baseball is fucking stupid

ok either ur larping, ur 15, or ur literally retarded; maybe a combination of all 3

>I plan on registering with EU citizenship

Norway is not an EU country.

Fair enough.
Although two points I can't possibly agree with :
>shit wages and extreme wage gap
It's gonna be way worse in UE, even in Norway (Europoor isn't just a meme)
>cost of living is too high in relation to wages
same, housing is much more complicated and expensive than in the US.
With this out of the way, I wish you good luck.

Fucking this lol
And also surely you'll work out where you want to live when you actually go there.

I could never leave the USA for an entirely new country with an entirely new language, and I'm a Norwayaboo studying Norwegian.

It's pretty good here. Every country has its own problems

>. I plan on registering with EU citizenship
So you have EU citizenship or you are eligible?

reading this makes me think youve never left the country before. i mean i want to leave the US too but not for most of these reasons.

I can speak a little bit from taking the Duolingo course. Just basic conversational stuff, maybe B1 level. My plan is to take Norwegian courses when I get there to become fluent.

I know a bit about Norwegian culture, but I'm no expert. Seems like they're the kind of people I could relate to from what I've read.

I do not have a job line up, but I won't move there until I do. That would obviously be monumentally stupid to move to one of the most expensive countries in the world without a job...

I'm not 15, I'm not LARPing, so I must be literally retarded. Thanks for the insight.

Even though Norway is not in the EU, the registration process for permanent residence in Norway as a citizen of an EU country is much much MUCH easier than registration for a US citizen.

i'm not op but i could see myself possibly moving to another country for a "fresh start" i guess, and an entire culture shift.

but i'd be sure to at least learn the language, especially if its a language as relatively easy as norwegian; which i doubt op has done

Have you actually finished the Duolingo course?

you think you're b1 from duolingo? most polygots and linguists consider b1 to be fluency, it took me 1-1 1/2 years of talking to dutch people every day, reading textbooks and learning grammar to get to a b1 level in dutch. you're maybe a1 after a duolingo tree, maybe a2 in really good courses.

not OP but B1 is far from fluency

My application for citizenship needs one more signature, last I was told. The embassy told me to call back in February to schedule an appointment to turn in my passport application, since my citizenship application will likely have been approved and in their hands by then. Going to call tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, I can't make any more progress towards moving without that passport...

i thought so too, but steve kaufmann (and a few other permavirgins) explained it in a way that made sense to me at least, maybe i evaluated my lvl at that 1 year time too low since i had 0 problems in communicating in 90% of circumstances and maybe i'm wrong in that case, but i think even textbook b1 is probably a real strong place to start if you're moving somewhere; especially in a high english speaking country

Oh boy, a juvenile.

Fresh start implies I actually had a start... I've been working in restaurants right out of high school because I can't afford an education to get myself into a better field. $50,000+ for a chance at a half-decent career is steep.

I only have 11 more lessons, so I should be done with it pretty soon. Maybe another 3 weeks or so

I guess an eloquant person with a "textbook" B1 could conversate a bit without sounding like a child but that's nowhere near fluency.

maybe so france friend, i will reflect on your words

I have B1 in German (even got a diploma after a shit tone of tests to get it) and I'm hardly fluent but I can get around pretty well. I think you're undermining it a bit.

You don't have to go to an Ivy League school.

It's not prestigious, but you can go to community college for $1000 a year and do two years there, and then transfer to a lower tier state college and pay $5000 a year. The degrees are just as valid as degrees from fancy colleges

op have u ever been out of the country before?

>Even though Norway is not in the EU, the registration process for permanent residence in Norway as a citizen of an EU country is much much MUCH easier than registration for a US citizen.


How the fuck do you think you will get EU citizenship from beeing in Norway though?

Where are you that tuition is that low?

Community college by me is right around $5000 per year, state college is closer to $10,000 with in-state tuition. Ivy league is upwards of $100,000. A regular at work was talking to me about student loans, and he mentioned that his son's law degree cost him $400,000

or maybe you're underestimating what it means to be "fluent"

Not a letter

Yes, some places are definitely worse off than the USA, but this is not by any means the best country in the world.

I'm getting EU citizenship through the country that my grandmother was born in, not as a result of being in Norway... I need that EU passport in order to register in Norway as a permanent resident.

>renouncing my US citizenship
lmao. yes, that's the most important first step otherwise you can't live in europe.

So, nobody from Norway can give me insight about living in these areas? Or any area, really. I'm interested in what you all think of the areas that you live in, wherever that may be.

I've heard the living costs in Texas are lower than in other parts of the US. The local college, Houston Community College charges $1000 per year, and University of Houston is $10,000 per year.

I admit, I had one of those fancy expensive educations paid for by my parents, so I feel a little guilty telling you to get the cheapest education you can.

Where are your parents, btw? Why are they making you work minimum wage jobs in restaurants, instead of helping you with rent costs and college tuition?

>the degrees are just as valid as degrees from fancy colleges

This is what community college brainlets tell themselves at night lmao

That's more to avoid the US income tax from income I'll make abroad. Absolutely absurd, and I'll renounce my citizenship to avoid being a part of that.

It's 02.23, they're all sleeping

>shit wages and extreme wage gap
So you think salaries are higher in Norway? Life is much more expensive there too. And norwegians keep saying that unless you work in an oil or fish industry there are better opportunities abroad. You are larping, right?

I'm kind of surprised by my fellow Europeans who don't know that the four freedoms of the EU still apply in EEA countries like Norway.

It's important if he doesn't want to get taxed to death because the American government is the only one in the world that taxes citizens abroad.

He's a young man, disgruntled with his life. He imagines Norway as a paradise with affordable education, free healthcare, and perfect socialist society

jesus
how old are you?

your mom

Fluent isn't that you can speak the language as good as a native. Don't act so arrogant.

Amerimutts ITT can't comprehend that there are actually quite a few countries out there with a better quality of life than the US

OK, I thought that's a protest and you are going to burn your passport in the airport.

No shit? Wow. Uncle Sam is greedy.

Ah, Texas. I had a friend who almost convinced me to move to the Austin area. I hear lots of good things about Texas, although nobody really talks about the weather lol

My dad offered to pay for my tuition as well, but he ended up going to jail, and the IRS cleaned out his bank accounts (which was unrelated, he just put off doing his taxes for years and years...) Been in and out ever since for violations like being at a restaurant that makes over a certain amount of revenue from alcohol sales... He's doing okay now, as far as I know.

My mom remarried and moved to Florida. She's doing well.

The only reason I'm able to move to Norway is because when my mom and step-father moved to Florida, they offered to let me stay in their old house rent-free until it gets sold, and it's been on the market for a very long time now... I'm very thankful for that, and I'd be living like a cockroach if I had to pay rent living in this area.

Timezones. It's in the middle of the night on a workday. What do you expect?

The IRS is ruthless. As a dual citizen the American one is actually one of the worst ones to have because of this and all kinds of problems it brings.

Ah, a broken family. I'm sorry about that, user

Btw, Scotland is tuition-free as well, OP.

Sorry, didn't mean to come across as arrogant.

This is what I meant when I said that the people here are willfully ignorant and excessively arrogant. Blind patriotism runs rampant here, and it's quite unsettling, and even creepy at times.

Lol no. It will cost me about $2400 to renounce if I remember correctly, just a fun fact

I just wanted to call an Frenchman arrogant tbqh.

have you tried desu archive. just search jobs norway. here is one

The average person won't be paying US taxes on their foreign income: the first ~100k you make is excluded and there are also deductions you can take for taxes paid to your host country.

I've really only lived in one place in Norway so I'll talk about the place I'm familiar with

>Ostfold
There's no university in Ostfold, although there is what's known as a ''Höyskole'', which is a more pracitcal, less theoretical, tertiary education.

Naturewise Ostfold is more reminiscent of Swedish landscape, with agriculture, forests and generally low and flat landscape. And outdoor opportunities are readily available. But if you're living in Oslo, outdoors activites are almost as easily available with an hours bus ride out of town.

I've also heard that people from Ostfold tend to be more open and welcoming (granted you're not a nigger) than the rest of Norway. But this is a seriously retarded time to post a thread aimed at Norwegians, you might want to ask in the Norway general if you're ready to get a lot of
>56%
>lmao nigger
>americans not welcome
>ha deg ut av landet vårt din jævla blåmann
responses

Wages in Norway are pretty high and if he ends up working as a specialized college-educated engineer he might end up earning a lot.

lol then why the hell is he going to renounce his fucking citizenship.

I worked in Oslo for half a year after high school so I might give some insight of how it's to live there. The thing is that living in Oslo was basically like living in any Swedish city so I would probably just draw a lot of correlations to that.

That didn't even cross my mind, if I'm being honest... Maybe I'll try again in 12 hours haha

Germany too, isn't that right? Germany was originally my second choice to move to. Maybe if I end up hating Norway, I'll try living in Germany

Yes, even for international students but English-language undergraduate degrees are rare.

So, Italy

Cause IIRC only Italy does that kinda thing

Dont you think havign italian citozenship withouth speaking a word of Italian could have unforseen problems in the future?

This isnt meant as "LMAO fuck off burger" btw, just that... Like, why not have a double citizenship instead of renouncing your US one?

Thanks for the response, I didn't expect to see one considering my poor planning for posting this thread lol. I also didn't expect to hear that people in the Oslo area would be particularly welcoming, I was under the impression that people in that area were largely cliquey and stand-offish. I guess I didn't have anything to base that off of, maybe just something I read somewhere.

Thank you for your insight, much appreciated!

If I decide to live in Tromso, the electrical engineering program at UIT has a focus on energy. Would probably be a boring and unfulfilling sector to get a job in, but the pay would be great.

>Like, why not have a double citizenship instead of renouncing your US one?

He would be taxed by the US government as well if he's keeping it.

If he becomes a specialized college-educated engineer, he would make a lot in the US too.

Some countries require you to renounce your citizenship if you want to apply to theirs. Like Norway or Germany

Some foreign banks have the tendency to deny American citizens the opening of bank accounts because they don't want to get bothered by the IRS for example.

Lithuania. Special circumstances make me eligible for dual-citizenship, even though it is generally illegal under current Lithuanian laws. My grandmother was born in and forced out of Lithuania during WWII because of Russian occupation, and her emigration was particularly well-documented.

I eventually want to hold Norwegian citizenship, and since Norway does not currently allow dual-citizenship, I would have to renounce both my Lithuanian and US citizenship anyway.

With US citizenship, I would have to pay income tax to the US on the income I make abroad. According to that only applies to any income higher than $100,000 per year, I'll have to look into that. But either way, I'll have to renounce US citizenship eventually.

>I was under the impression that people in that area were largely cliquey and stand-offish
Depends on the people I guess. I study law in Oslo which is often thought of as the most decadent, arrogant and preppy place in Norway but the people I've met have all been perfectly agreeable despite the fact that I'm a weirdo from what has been described as ''the sluttiest county in Norway''

>Lithuania.

Lucky you. AFAIK Latvia still requires you to pass a language test under tgese circumstances.

Sure, but I'd also be paying off loans for years and years for an expensive specialized engineering degree. Not willing to do that to myself.

>''the sluttiest county in Norway''

I have made my decision. Thank you.
/thread

How dare you display a confederate flag OP

Yeah, but, I want you to think thsi through.

You should hold onto your US one until you ahve that Norwegian secured, and are 100% sure you want to life there. like, you havent been there for long time before, right?

Because, what if Norway doesnt want you as citizen after all for whatever reason cause its a crazy world and shit happens. Suddenly youa re stuck with a Lithuanian citizenship and might have to deal with Lithuanian goverment crap.

Like, seriously, keep your US citizenship for now dude. Look how shit pans out. You aint superman, you cant just go "Fuck my US citizenship" and then just get it back if you might actually want to.

>>worker's rights are nearly non-existent. Paid vacation time is either in very short supply, or in a majority of jobs, entirely non-existent.
this really needs to change
shant be working 40 hrs a week for the next 50 years

>I eventually want to hold Norwegian citizenship, and since Norway does not currently allow dual-citizenship, I would have to renounce both my Lithuanian and US citizenship anyway.

You realize you have live there for 7 years before you can the citizenship right?

I wouldn't have to renounce until after 7 years of residence in Norway, which is when I would become eligible to apply for citizenship. And even then, I don't have to apply for Norwegian citizenship right away if I am unsure about it.

I have some time to make that decision, but for right now, renouncing my US citizenship is my plan. There's not much in the USA that I'll be leaving behind.

get*

Southeast Texas is a shithole is why our tuition is a bit lower than the average. LoneStar community college systems in the Montgomery area charges a little under $1000 for the max 15 credit hours for a term and most Texas universities if not all accept LoneStar credits.

My last job had me working no less than 45, and up to 90 hours per week, averaging ~70-75, and I was still only able to afford eating instant ramen with an egg in it twice per day (along with whatever I could get away with stealing at work). Was a victim of wage theft as well, they took about $8,000

There was one month that I had two days off. One day I went to the ER, and the other was Christmas and we were closed.

They offered us paid time off, but we only accumulated starting after the first January after we had been working there for one year. We got 8 hours per year, and it capped at 40 hours. So basically, we got 5 days of vacation time after we had been working there for 6+ years, and we would only make about 60% of our normal pay. This time was also used against our will if we called in sick, or had to take time off without giving two week's notice.

Idk about you but I think that's bullshit. My current job offers no paid time off.

Yes, this isn't some impulsive hair-brained plan to get out of the USA because "hurrrr Trump is ruining my life"

This has been my plan for the better part of the last decade, and it's not exactly what I'd call a small step in life. I did my research.

so what:?