On an expat stint, it's often best to compare prices against one's earnings rather than against costs elsewhere.įresh seafood is generally reasonably priced, but most food is imported and there is a high VAT charge on food items. Expats from countries with a low cost of living may be overwhelmed at first when comparing prices to their home country.
There is very little that is considered 'cheap' in Norway when compared to other European prices. It is also challenging to save money in the short term, and unless new arrivals have secured a good expat relocation package, they may find that they will need two incomes to get by comfortably. Making more money is not necessarily as advantageous when someone ends up paying higher taxes on that income.
Executive-level expats may find that, due to the tax structure, they won’t have much more disposable income than someone working in a trade. In Norway's egalitarian social system, the margin between low and high salaries is fairly narrow. But while many things are expensive in Norway, the social benefits such as education and healthcare make up for it. Oslo, Norway's capital city, ranked 76th out of 209 countries in Mercer's Cost of Living Survey for 2020. Expats should carefully calculate their budget for Norway before moving, and take a look at a cost of living index to gain a better idea of comparative costs of specific goods and services. The cost of living in Norway is high, but there is some consolation for expats in that high salaries offset some of these costs, as do the public services offered by Norway's welfare state.
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