Hi everybody! I’ve just wanted to share our overall experiences from working in Norway and maybe ask some questions in a brief post. It’s all about seasonal work for and me (25) and my girlfriend (21). We love to work here, take the sights, occasionally go on long hikes if there’s time, but I have a disclaimer, that we’re not interested in moving-in and so we don’t speak Norwegian.

If you’d like to skip to our current, BAD situation, go to the TL;DR

Experience #1 was in a beautiful hotel in Vestland. We were both waiters and aside from my own, personal lack of skill in this, there weren’t any major problems and I’ve learned a LOT and liked it in there as well.
The pay was average for Norway (175NOK/hr), but they’ve made it up for by charging us only 1200NOK for our room BOTH in an old school building turned accommodation for hotel staff. While it was quite dated and at one point, when I’ve tried to open a shower window and the entire thing fell-out with me having to hold it until a co-worker grabbed it from the outside, it was still very clean and home-y, 7/10 experience!

Experience #2 and our second job was on a small strawberry farm with an apartment building ran by a middle-aged couple. They were extremely nice, we’ve learned a lot and it was a wonderful experience. So much we’ve worked a lot of hours and while enjoying the work!
While the pay was lower (150-160NOK/h) and the accomodation was a little more expensive (3000NOK for both) it was still extremely cheap and they were very nice to us plus the accomodation was AMAZING. Clean, well-equipped, no issues anywhere. 10/10!

Experience #3 (today) Now… both were summer jobs and we’ve found we’d rather like to work during winter and have some time-off during spring to prepare for uni and then work some more in the summer et cetera. So we’ve applied for a work in a stockfish production on Lofoten and went with expectations somewhere along 5000NOK for a decent accomodation for both of us and a boring, but well-paid job.

Wrong.

**(TL;DR)**

We’ve arrived in a small settlement near Leknes. The owner of the small stockfish-making company’s said on his own, through a video call without us even asking, that we don’t have to worry about the accomodation and he wants his workers to live like he does.

He’s either a liar or lives in a rundown house from the 60s, because that’s what we’re living in. Not only that! We’re BOTH paying 3000NOK + energies for;
– rats in the walls. I am not kidding, they also chew on the wires, by the way –
– ancient wiring, with all fuses going-off if I plug my notebook in and turn-on the oven at the same time
– a VERY moldy shower, which doesn’t drain, so we have to both shower in the bathroom sink, while the bathroom has probably the same temperature as being outside the house, which resulted in my girlfriend getting terribly sick the first week we were here
– an unreliable owner of the house we’ve never met, vaguely connected to our employer, who’s only PROBABLY checked the water for drinkability after our complaints (god knows how old the boiler is and even the cold water feels slimy) and who’s already 3 days late for replacing the lightbulb in our kitchen (luckily, there’s one more light, but three other lights in the house are about to go too)
– I’ve checked everything in the house and looked at it from the outside as well and I’m 100% sure it’s not safe to live-in. The roof is made out of wood so old and cracked, it looks like driftwood and the gutter is so old it has RUSTED-off!

We’re considering staying until march to cover our losses and then trying to go work elsewhere, so we’re already desperately mailing our contacts and occasionally checking Eures to no luck.

So my questions are;

What would you do in our situation?
Are there any portals for work in Norway for foreigners with accomodation provided, like Eures, that we can check for work?
What’s the usual monthly cost of energies for two people per month? I have a feeling the ruined wiring is going to cost us extra.
What is a common price for accomodation, when it’s provided by the employer? I know we’ve lucked-out the first two times.

Thanks a lot for any replies and I’ve added some photos of our “lovely” home on top for you to enjoy.

22 comments

  2. Tub drain looks normal. Light fixture is a botched job, wire, possible hazard. Wallpaper looks old, but good. Nice hallway.
    Nice looking retro kitchen. Accomodations look overall ok+

  3. Seems you get what you pay for. 3000 nok is extremely cheap for each person. Id expect you to share kitchen with 5 others for that price of it were modern high quality appartment. Keep in mind living cost in Norway, food plus cheap housing, takes up majority of the pay from uneducated work.
    You say expect 5000 for both of you.. I’d expect 5000 each, so 10 000 would give you decent appartment if you want modern appartment, living room that is not cramped and your own kitchen. But don’t expect too many modern high quality houses to pick between in Lofoten. No one are building new houses there, no one wants to move there. It’s a nice place to visit once to see the nature. Not to actually live.ymif you see a free house its probably an old one where the previous owner was an old widow that got too old to take care of it and eventually died.

  5. Hotels and restaurants. Just start calling anyone and everyone. That’s what I would do. Expect to pay quite a bit more for accommodation, though. How much do you currently earn?

  8. Hang the employer out to dry on FB and write to a few news outlets. You write well enough to attract attention.

  11. Looks like a typical house from the fifties or early sixties that’s never been renovated, at all.

  12. First time in northern Norway I’m guessing? This is pretty typical, property prices can be really low, so it doesn’t make sense with as much upkeep as you have in more popular and richer areas. If you think this is bad, then don’t go to Finnmark.

  13. I would let the employer know and or the home owner know you are not happy with the housing. Then see if they could find something else or fix the current problems. If they can’t, you find somewhere else to live on your own. You can still keep the job.

  14. Take ‘vaguely connected’ as ‘good ole mates’ and they’re laughing behind your back. It happens. Hope you turn out okay 👍🏼 💪🏼

  15. Call an electrician or make an anonymous tip to lofotenkraft and ask for a checkup of the electrical system. If the wires in picture nr1 is live the house could burn down.

  17. Try and find another place to stay while youre looking for something else, i know its hard to find when is so remote and little houses around. But this is not a liveable standard, and i not sure they are even allowed to rent it out like that. Try to come to Tromsø in sted, you can probely find work here and pretty cheep accomdation just outside of town and the buss traffic is pretty good here and hotels and service jobs are always looking for pepole and thats jobs you dont need to speak norwegian to do properly.
    So sad this is experience this time, it should not have to be like that, and i hope it works out for you guys as soon as possible, this is not the experience we wish workers that come to Norway to have. And in my eyes its unacceptable behavior from a emplyer that most likely just want to exploit workers from outside Norway.
    Also, try and ask what the other workers are earning, the once that are norwegian. I bet its a lot more per hour.
    190 seems like a low salary for working in the fish industry, i would think 220-250nkr is more correct, but he might just be a cheep bastard and dont pay his workers properly

  18. I admire you guys and your spirit and attitude. I don’t have anything to add that will help you but I want to wish you the best. If there is a will there is a way.

  19. Let your employer know it’s not up to scratch and just won’t do.

    There are plenty of assholes in Norway who will take advantage of seasonal workers. Considering you are staying pretty remote (we’re not talking Oslo here), I think you are taken for a ride.

  20. >What’s the usual monthly cost of energies for two people per month? I have a feeling the ruined wiring is going to cost us extra

    How much electricity you use will have little to do with the age of the wires or the number of people in the house. The main thing that uses electricity is heating. It probably takes a lot of energy to keep this old house warm. Since you have not shared any information about the size of the house or the method of heating it is not really possible to give an estimate of energy usage. The easiest way to find out is probably to locate the meter and keep track of the consumption yourself. That would also help you figure out if the landlord is trying to scam you on the bill.

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