[https://e24.no/privatoekonomi/i/P4ge7J/kun-fire-av-20-norske-byer-har-billige-nok-boliger-for-enslige](https://e24.no/privatoekonomi/i/P4ge7J/kun-fire-av-20-norske-byer-har-billige-nok-boliger-for-enslige)
I got to admit I panicked at the interviewee essentially going “Living alone is ludicrous for economic and climate reasons”. I have sacrificed a lot of my income to rent by myself because I can’t stand sharing my house with a stranger and having strange people come in. I get easily drained by social contact and I am slowly discovering I have ASD. I need my private space. I don’t plan on ever having a family or children which I thought would be enough for the planet but now I’m expected to live like a student for the rest of my life even though I worked hard to get a job in engineering that would theoretically afford me this? I left the Netherlands in the hopes of getting somewhere with a better housing market but I guess I made a huge mistake.
4 comments
Living alone is completely feasible with the right budget. Try to find a new or newly renovated place with a very good energy rating so that power bills do not kill you. My husband and I came from the Netherlands and have our own space. Yes we are two people but we are starting a new company here so very low income and probably less than what you make.
Not sure if I understand. You came here, thinking that our housing market somehow was more affordable than the rest of Europe – and for singles even?
>I left the Netherlands in the hopes of getting somewhere with a better housing market but I guess I made a huge mistake.
Yeah, you f*cked up. No better way to say it. The first thing we natives tell ignorant foreigners is that our housing market is broken like the rest of the EU. Even worse, it’s one of the most vulnerable ones too due to the massive debt burden on Norwegian households. We’re one of the most vulnerable countries in Europe if the housing market crashes, and our economy screams in pain like no other when interest rates rise.
Your second mistake is thinking engineering affords you a decent place to live in Norway. As engineers, we’re paid below average compared to the rest of Europe when factoring in cost of living. Again, we usually warn you guys about that too (at least those of us who knows what we’re talking about).
Don’t worry. I know several people who live on their own. No one cares. Don’t get upset over a single article that hardly anyone will take notice of anyway.
But do you have to live in a city? Plenty of cheap-ish housing if you look outside the cities.