Cost of Living

Norway is an expensive country, with Oslo consistently maintaining the dubious title of one of the most expensive cities in the world. Cost of living is about 30 percent higher in Norway than in the United States and 25 percent higher than the United Kingdom.

The standard of living in also among the highest in the world. Healthcare, education, transportation are all excellent and residents make a very reasonable wage. The high cost of makes anything seen as a service more expensive.

Day-to-day living costs bottom out at around 600 kr/day by staying in hostels and avoiding restaurants. A more comfortable budget would be around 1000 kr/day with about 2000 kr/day needed for good hotels and restaurants.

Alcohol and tobacco are some of the most expensive items you can buy. A 400 or 500 ml beer in a pub will cost upwards of 60 kr. Cigarettes cost about 80 kr for a pack of 20. Even fast food is more expensive here.

An example of prices:
• 1 summer dress in a big clothing store (Zara, H&M, etc) = kr 300
• 1/2 Kg (1 lb.) of chicken breast = kr 55
• Internet 8MB (1 month) = kr 352
• Big Mac = kr 96
• 1 liter whole fat milk = kr 12.59
• 40" plasma TV = kr 7,995

Many Norwegian's bypass these costs by buying supplies in their cheaper neighbor Sweden.

Short Term Accommodations

For short term housing before you settle into a more permanent place, there area variety of hotels, sublets, hostels, and short term housing.

Options include:
http://www.redappleapartments.com/oslo/en
Thon Slottsparken Apartment
Biz-stay
Oslo Apartments
Sublet.com
Moveandstay.com

Flatsharing

An important trait in any roommate situation is having boundaries and a clear understanding of what each roommate requires. To protect yourself against potential problems should the worst happen, try to arrange it so that your roommates co-sign the lease. This makes all the roommates responsible for whatever happens to the property. If the worst was to happen, such as your roommate losing their job and not being able to pay rent, they will be held financially responsible- not you.

FLATSHARING : A NEW WAY OF LIFE Instead of living in a pokey attic room with huge rent, why not try shared accommodation? Frequently associated with students, sharing is spreading nowadays towards older established workers and covers people from 18 to 49 years old. Without falling into a community style of life such as in the 70's, you can choose to share an accommodation in Oslo for a bigger space, less expense. Flatsharing is a way to meet more and more followers who choose to break a lonely life, save money or just find an affordable acommodation in a difficult market. This way of life has numerous advantages in term of money, practicality or social life. EASYEXPAT in partnership with EASYROOMMATE number one for flatsharing, offers this service to its users to present all the chances to find the ideal flatmate or to join an existing household. Discover all EasyRoommate offers in Norway, search for a flatshare, advertise a room in Oslo: go through the ads and enter your profile. If you've got a room to rent in Oslo, you can put a free ad for house/flatsharing. If you look for a room or a flatshare in Norway, it's free to search into the database with thousands of offers.       I am looking for a room I have a room Country:    Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada Czech Republic France Germany China India Italy Ireland Luxembourg Mexico Netherlands Norway New Zealand Poland Portugal Russia Singapore Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom Usa City:     Language: Deutsch Español Français Italiano English Nederlands Polski Português Русский

Hostel

Some examples:

Anker Hostel
Centrally located
Tram 11-12-13-17, bus 30-31 to Hausmanns gate.

Haraldsheim Youth Hostel
The biggest HI hostel in Oslo is just outside the main ring road. Both dorm accommodations and separate room with baths for 330 NOK/person with breakfast included. Reception is open 24 hours.
Tram 17 or bus 23-24-31-33.

Holtekilen Hostel
Outside the city border, extra fee needed if you have Oslo Transport card. Open May-August.
Train to Stabekk, or bus 151, 153, 161, 162, 252 or 261 to Kveldsroveien

Rafanningen Youth Hostel
Open June-August, inconveniently located but nice.
Tram 11-12-13 or T-bane 4,5,6 to Storo, change to infrequent bus 56 to Rafanningen.

Perminalen
In the center, this hostel is slightly more expensive and slightly higher quality. There is a cafe with traditional Norwegian meals at decent prices.
T-bane to Stortinget, bus 30-31-32-54 to Wessels plass, tram 10-12-13-19 to Kongens gate.

Norske Vandrerhjem
Part of Hostelling International this search engine offers 75 different kinds of hostels from north to south. You can book single, double or family rooms online.