For some people Oslo can be a perfect travel destination. It’s clean with a low traffic, very safe with a low crime rate, easy to get around and it attracts tourists with its impressive nightlife. Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy it. At least not as much as I thought I would have enjoyed it. I even kind of regret not going to Sweden or Spain instead. To be honest, the only one reason I liked being there was Megan – a fellow travel blogger who showed me around the city and, together with her boyfriend, invited me for a typical Norwegian meal, which was absolutely delicious!
Here are my top 5 reasons why I didn’t like Oslo:
1. Unpleasant Norwegians – It was winter time (early December) when I arrived in Oslo. I knew the weather was going to be freezing cold, but did not expect people to be cold as well. Every time I asked a local for direction, I was ignored. Nobody wanted to help me out with getting from one place to another and when someone finally stopped by, I was advised to take a taxi. Norwegians seemed to be in a hurry all the time and they did not like anyone to interrupt them. They seemed not to like Oslo visitors at all. They hardly ever smiled, always made funny faces when I was struggling with buying a subway ticket and pushed me a few times on the bus when getting off which I found very rude.
2. High prices – I need to admit that living in Oslo (even when doing couchsurfing) for under $25 was nearly impossible. I spent a half of my daily budget on a daily metro ticket and the high prices just knocked me down. I always knew Oslo is the most expensive city in the world, but realize how expensive it is when you go to the supermarket, see the price of a yogurt and start screaming “Whaaaaaaaaaat!?” Honestly, it’s really expensive. I have never ever in my life paid nearly $10.for a breakfast roll and small fruit yoghurt It was a joke for me!
3. No appetite for food – because of the high prices I hardly ever dined out. I simply could not afford it with my budget. I was doing some shopping in a supermarket and cooked at my host’s place. I prepared some Chinese food for us two on the second day of my stay and it was my one decent meal of the day. The meat and fruits are very expensive so I tried to avoid them as well. Unfortunately, I had no chance to try out many Norwegian dishes and I felt very disappointed with that.
4. Feeling bored and depressed – My host was working all day and I was on my own for most of the time. For the first day I felt lost and lonely until I met Megan. This girl made my day. She took me for a proper walk around Oslo and spent the whole two days with me. We had an awesome day, plenty of food, laugh and shopping.
5. Dark winter days – It got dark very early at 4 pm and it was freezing cold. The cold weather made everything even worse. I struggled with taking photos as my hands were freezing, my feet were always cold (despite my winter shoes and a couple of warm socks) and my face skin was getting purple. I am Polish and I am used to extreme weather conditions but Oslo was too much for me.
The taste of Norwegian hospitality and cuisine
As I mentioned earlier, Megan and her Norwegian boyfriend named Andre invited me for a traditional Norwegian dinner consisting fat meat with bones called Pinnekjøtt (cured, dried lamb ribs), Norwegian sausage, potatoes and salad followed by Christmas soda. Yummy!
The table looked just perfect for us three with little candles.
The dinner was yummy, but Norwegian cuisine is way too fat and salty for me. I would either put on weight or have to work out for hours to maintain my weight when living in Norway. That night made my day and the guys cheered me up!
To sump up, for an out-going person like me living in Oslo was very difficult. I found extremely hard to meet and get to know others, especially Norwegians and didn’t get any help from locals when being lost. The high cost of living scared me off and the weather made me feel even more depressed.
119 thoughts on “5 Reasons Why Oslo Did NOT Live Up To My Expectations”
This is a part of the world I have yet to venture to, and I appreciate your perspective before I moved it to the top of my travel list!;-) Happy that you were able to make a friend to make the trip a bit more pleasurable!
You should definitely make it to Norway and find out how this place will like you and how you will like this place. Good luck!
Came across your blog while researching on Oslo as I’ll be there for a month in June-July as a summer exchange university student. Preparing myself for the expensive prices that you’ve mentioned. :/ Being a student, I’ll have to find means to save on food as well. Nonetheless, interesting blog post! (:
Hi Elaine. Thanks for stopping by. I agree, Oslo will be a challenge city in terms of cheap food, but you can easily make it cheaper by asking your parents to send you some food parcels with your favourite food you can storage in your room such as cereal, any kind of biscuits, canned food, etc. I was there travelling and I guess it’s different from living there as a local. Good luck!!! Hope you will enjoy yourself a lot x
I haven’t been to Oslo, but my sister visited not too long ago, and I was horrified when she told me how much she was spending daily on food alone! The cost of living there kind of scares me off from visiting.
I know, it’s crazy and taking into consideration how much you like to experience with food on your travels, Oslo would be way too expensive :)
Too bad Oslo didn’t deliver (and was horrifyingly expensive!). Props to you for not sugarcoating it, though. Sometimes a destination is just not quite right – nice to read an honest post about why a place doesn’t do it for you. Megan and Andre sound great though!
I know. These two guys made my day!
I just had to leave a comment here, since reading all these negative comments.
Very sorry to hear you had such bad experience in Oslo. I can totally understand why you did not like it. I think it would have been different if you spent more time here, got to know people better, their culture. Sometimes people you randomly meet on the bus/train station are not great representatives of the overall culture, especially if you have only been here a few days.
Me personally, I think it is a great place to live, with little stress about unnecessary things, great salaries, and kind people. I guess I had way too many home cooked, candle lit meals with amazing Norwegian friends (and not necessarily fatty food, it s all up to you what you cook), many incredible walks out in the wild, many great concerts. I myself come from a big city, London, and after moving to Olso a year ago, completely fell in love with this place. I fell in love with Norwegian love of all things simple , its pace of life. I guess it was a great break for me after being surrounded by many materialistic and seem-to-be-always-busy Londoners. I love that everything works here, hardly any traffic, t-bane delays etc. Norwegians are not the type of people who would chat to you on the streets, I agree, but once you get to meet them somehow, you can be certain, they will stay your friends for life. It is just that you have to invest more of your time into getting to know them, but the result will be a more valuable that can grow into more meaningful relationships, rather then just ‘another bunch of people you know’ :)
Hi Tash. Thank you so much for your comment. A few friends of mine have recently moved from Poland to Oslo and they are very happy about the change. They don’t complain about Norwegian people anymore and they seem to be enjoying themselves. You are right, I was in Oslo way too short to make general statement about people, its culture and traditions. I had only a few days to get to know the place and I know the weather was not the best. I will give Oslo another go in the future and I am planning to see other places in Norway.
By the way, December isn’t the greatest month to visit if you really want to experience the true Norwegian snow and its whiteness. Best months for winter are late January and February. You can go skiing or sledding in Holmekolen, which is just 30 minutes from central Oslo by metro (t-bane). Sledding down the hills of Oslo, for about 20 minutes non stop, is something you have to experience if you decide to come back here at some point :) Some wintery photos are on my blog http://scandinavian-wanderings.blogspot.com/ , they can maybe inspire you to come back at some point. And if you want to experience Norway in its full beauty, it is better to come here with a much bigger budget too, that is for sure :)
I know, it’s true. The weather can change a lot. Next time I will travel with a bunch of friends and we might go skiing together :):). Thanks for the link. Will check it out x
Wow, sounds like Oslo is one place to avoid at least in winter – expensive, rude and dull, three strikes, you’re out! And like others commenting here, I love your honesty. If you don’t like it, say so. You do no one else any favors by being dishonest, better to tell it the way you feel it.
Hey Greg. I guess being honest when blogging is extremely important. That’s true, Oslo is not the best option for your winter getaway, especially when you travel solo.
I got the opportunity to go to Oslo a couple of years ago and I thought it was okay. I do think the things you pointed out — like the COST — really does make it a hard city to enjoy if you’re trying to save money.
Luckily, I got to go there at the end of summer, when the days were longer and the weather was much better. Perhaps SOME of the coldness you experienced from the Norwegians had to do with that. I know that cloudy days make me really grumpy.
One place you might want to check out sometime is Brazil, if you’ve never been there! They are soooo outgoing and friendly and talkative. I’ve never been there but I’ve met a lot of Brazilians and they may just be the opposite of Norwegians. ;)
Although I’ve never been to Brazil, I feel like I would love this country! My best friend went there for a 3 week holiday and she fell in love with the country and with a guy. It’s on my bucket list so I hope to get there soon, hopefully next year :). I agree, the weather can make you feel depressed and grumpy. I’ve learnt my lesson the hard way and will never ever explore any country alone during the winter season :)
I know this reply is a little late. Sorry you didn’t enjoy your stay. I am an US expat who moved to Norway 14 years ago. It IS a challenge, especially in the winter. People are much more friendly in the summer.. In the winter they are just sour and dour. They dont talk to strangers and even when I ask people for directions in Norwegian, they sometimes ignore me.. There are a few places to eat that won’tnbreak you, but I am glad you got a Nowegian meal. You didn’t miss too much not eating out as most of the restaurants are mediocre at best, but if you want one good Norwegian meal, save up for a fish dinner at Aker Brygge.. Yes it’s horribly cold, ugly to visit, in the winter. You have to come back in the summer when everything’s is green, people are happy and life is better
Ad then go to the ACCN (American coordinating council) for advice. Or just visit Megan, but it rains I. Bergen almost all the time.. Nice city though.
I have lived in Oslo for almost three years! And I can’t wait to get back to my home country! The people here are so rude, it’s horrible! It’s not any different in the summer time! And if you get polite answers from someone or help they always seems to be Swedish. I would go to one of the other Scandinavian countries next time (however not in the winter time).
Hi Karin,
I’m sorry to hear that. I have also noticed that Norwegians are not the most friendly people in Europe, but I am sure there are some nice people around. Check out other Scandinavian countries during the summer and see how you like them :).
This blog was funny, in the sense it reminded me of the time I spent in Helsinki… I ended up dating a guy who was an exchange student from Iran of all places. I found it nearly impossible to befriend finns, I can remember only a few old retired folks being normal/courteous (though they didn’t speak any english). The younger crowd specially seem totally uneducated/disrespectful. So, Karin, if you’re planning on visiting neighboring countries of Norway where people aren’t rude, make sure to stay awa from Finland too!
p.s. Nice blog Agnes, on the bright side, you didn’t get all the male unwanted attention I got in Helsinki, guys there are creepy! Norwegians on the other hand, look absolutely yummy!
I live in Norway, I don’t like Oslo either. It’s an embarassment to me. If you ever travel here again, please stay out of the capital. The southern – mid western coast is better and the winters are milder, despite being further north. There is more to see and do, and more natural wonders. I definitely recommend doing this. And if you do, don’t just stay in one place. Take the train or the ferry (hurtigruta) between cities. Northern Norway is also nice. Summer in Lofoten is beautiful.
I might be heading to Norway once again this winter. Thank you for sharing :).
Living in western Norway (Bergen), I would not encourage any foreigners to visit Oslo. It is a town we are not pleased with, and do not feel familiar with (unless you are from Oslo). If you want to meet good hearted folks, go visit Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bergen, Ålesund, Trondheim or Tromsø. Oslo is sadly our capitol, but Norway has much MUCH more too offer.
I was shocked at the food prices in Oslo when I went last month! Everyone says it’s expensive, but I thought they must have had bad luck and not found the cheap places. Nope – they just don’t seem to exist. And the beers were terribly pricey.
I actually packed food in my suitcase to go to Oslo, which turned out to be an excellent decision.
I know. The prices were SO HIGH I could not believe it!
You sound like you know everything about Norwegians but you don’t. you just probably had bad luck. and when you are responding to the person who got help when she needed it, it was not because “norwegians are nicer in april” its because they are nice with both strangers and when you get to know them. and i also think complaining so much about the weather and prices is unnecessary, you knew that when you came, it doesn’t stop norwegians to enjoy life to the fullest.
I spent in Oslo a few days and perhaps I know nothing about the local food and people, I totally agree. I was unlucky indeed, bad timing! However, I will travel across Norway soon and I am sure this country will surprise me!! :)
Great and very honestly post Agness!!!
I am from Luxembourg and lived in oslo for 14 years and totally agree with you. Most norwegians are indeed very rude and cold. I am a doctor and even with my salary i found it far too expensive ( a car cost three til four times more than for eks. in Germany). I managed to stay here that long just because of my lovely wife who is norwegian, but i never got any real friends here. So i moved back home last year and never ever recret a moment. I live a happy life now.
Your post really touched me as i felt excactly the same many,many times.
I wonder if the high expectations based on the high prices came into play during this experience? I faced similar problems when I visited Copenhagen (though admittedly I found the Danes to be generally pleasant and welcoming) and I think I would attribute it to expecting more from a city that was so expensive. I wonder if you were in a lot of the heavily touristy areas of Oslo? Many German and Swiss cities in particular I found to merely seem to tolerate foreigners around the big attractions but once you branched out to the quieter neighborhoods, the people suddenly become much friendlier and more willing to help. Very interesting post that I enjoyed reading!
Hey!
Go to Norway in the summer! Yes prices are high, but it is a different country. Remember: to a Norwegian, being polite is a defeat! We are like true settlers! Never ruled by an Empire. Not even the Americans can claim that!
Ahem… Norway was run by Denmark for over four hundred years and then Sweden for nearly a hundred years. The Nazi Germans took over between 1940-1945. And post WW2 due to the Marshall plan, Cold War with Russia and Oil exploration Norway takes it’s orders from London/Washington. I agree entirely however with your being polite equates to defeat assessment. It’s a real shame that most Norwegians have to be so small minded and stubborn when it comes to this point as spreading good vibes and letting others go before you just makes the day so much more enjoyable. I appreciate that these cultural norms have taken hundreds of years to aquire and consequently will not go quickly… damn!
Well, it’s a country in North…nothing can be compared to South countries with vibrant colorful cultures and warm people
Not necessarily, I’ve heard icelanders are a rather friendly and quirky colorful folk. I wonder if it’s true, but I’ve never actually met an icelander nor anyone who has ever actually gone there either.
Norwegians are wonderful people you just have to take the time to understand them. They aren’t like Americans. They take their time to see what you’re like before they warm up to you. But once you have made a Norwegian friend they will be your friend for life. Norway is a cold place, true, but that only makes you cherish the warmth of a friendly smile, a hug, a kiss all the more so when you are lucky enough to find a friend. So don’t write Norway off just yet.
I have been Stuck in Norway since 2010… I cant wait for The day that I can leave this over priced, borring and rude country. Just a couple more years :(
Hello Charles, could you give more details about Norway? (and where are you from, perhaps it’s a cultural thing?)
I’m sorry to hear that!