Life in Norway has had many myths. Some of them are untrue, while the other part is true. How do Poles live in Norway? It turns out that it is not as bad as some internet users claim on Polish forums devoted to the Country of the Fjords. We ask Poles living in Norway how they live here.
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“It's not perfect, but better than in Poland”
During Polish groups, some people wonder - why do so many "newbies" keep coming from Poland? Life in Norway turns out to be a disappointment for some visitors. Mainly after calculating the salary less everyday living costs. It turns out that the image of this country in their minds quickly collides with reality.
– “The cost of living is high in Norway,” says Majka G. (name for editorial information) in an interview with Radio Wataha – “But it's not that bad. Food prices are now rising everywhere after an exceptionally dry summer. Despite rising prices, you can still live prosperously in Norway," he adds.
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It's not that bad with food
In fact, growing tendencies in food prices can also be observed in Poland. Already in 2017, the inhabitants of the Republic of Poland were shocked by the drastic jump in the prices of such products as butter (35%), eggs (25%) and fruit (10%). This year it turns out that it doesn't get much better. The average price increase was 2,7% in June with a 7,5% increase in wages in 2018. However, fuel prices went up by 15,2%.
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The situation was slightly different in Norway - in the first half of 2018, food prices are growing at a rate of 3,8% with a similar increase in wages. The average salary in Norway is much higher than in Poland. In order to better illustrate the relationship of the purchasing power of money, let us take into account how many per hour of work you can buy fuel in Poland and how much in Norway.
How much fuel per hour of work in Norway and how much in Poland?
The average diesel price in Norway is approximately NOK 15,88 (data from www.e-petrol.pl). The average hourly rate is NOK 200 net. The average Norwegian can therefore afford to buy 12,59 liters of fuel per hour of work.
Meanwhile, the average diesel price in Poland is 5,02 (source as above). The median salary in Poland is PLN 2000 net, which gives an average hourly wage of PLN 12,5. Let us assume, however, that the remuneration is higher and amounts to PLN 20. So in Poland you can buy about 3,98 liters of fuel per hour of work. This is over three times less than in Norway.
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“We are happy here”
As another of our interlocutors says, you can live happily in Norway. On a daily basis, Sam lives near Stavanger and sees an improving situation on the local labor market.
– “There are more and more job advertisements,” says our interlocutor. “I personally don't know anyone who doesn't work,” he adds. We also asked him if this means that it is easier to find a job without knowing the language - "It varies. The most interesting job offers are aimed at people who are able to communicate in Norwegian or English. But I guess knowing the language in force everywhere guarantees better employment conditions.”
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Loan costs in Poland, and in Norway
Living in Norway describes well how much time you would have to save your entire salary to buy a home in this country. For the calculations, let's make assumptions:
- the minimum hourly wage for a qualified builder in Norway (190 NOK) and the cost of housing 1 300 000 NOK,
- the average hourly wage of a plasterer in Poland (PLN 33) and the cost of an apartment PLN 285.
The monthly salary for a builder in Norway is NOK 29. It would be enough to save all your salary for almost 925 months to afford to buy a flat.
On the other hand, in Poland, the average monthly earnings of a plasterer is PLN 5544. It is easy to calculate that a plasterer would have to save his entire monthly salary for over 51 months in order to be able to buy an apartment for cash.
Life in Norway - how is it finally here?
Taking into account the opinions of our interlocutors, who have been living in Norway for many years - they live in this country quite well. The ratio of the cost of living to earnings remains attractive, as evidenced by, inter alia, how many liters of diesel fuel can be bought per hour of work in Poland, and how many in Norway. Compared to the earnings, the cost of housing is also lower - a Pole working in Norway can buy a small apartment after 44 months if he devotes all his salary to this purpose. A Polish plasterer would need over 51 months for this.
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