Five places to find a sense of community in Norway
One of the easiest ways to adjust to life in another country is to feel a sense of belonging, either by feeling part of the wider community or carving out your own path.
While plenty of factors, such as work-life balance, access to nature, and the country's great potential for child raising, make it attractive, foreigners in Norway find it a difficult place to settle.
In previous surveys among foreign residents, internationals in Norway have said that the culture and difficulty making friends made Norway a hard place to settle.
Finding a sense of community and belonging can help people feel settled and at home.
Even if you need to fit in more places, there will likely be somewhere in Norway where you can embed yourself into a community.
Start with your neighbourhood or local area
This may not be possible everywhere, and not everyone is guaranteed a great relationship with their neighbours.
However, life in the big cities in Norway could be set up for strong micro-communities. This is because many apartment blocks are arranged into housing associations.
These business-like entities allow the residents to get involved with the running of the community. You could contribute by joining the board, or you may wish to get involved with dugnad (voluntary work) in the spring and autumn.
There may also be seasonal parties and meetups organised by the neighbours.
READ ALSO: Seven ways you will accidentally annoy your Norwegian neighbours
Volunteering
Giving back to your local community can definitely make it feel like you are an important building block.
Norway has around 100,000 volunteer organisations that offer several opportunities to get involved and help others.
From coaching kids' sports teams to helping other immigrants integrate, there are hundreds of ways to go about volunteering.
There are a number of places where you can find some volunteering work, such as Frivillighet Norge, Norges Frivilligsentraler, and Frivillig.no.
READ ALSO: How can I find volunteer work in Norway?
Sports, old and new
One of the best ways to feel involved in something is to be part of a team. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to get involved with sports in Norway.
If you live in the big cities, there are plenty of ways to pick up a new sport, keep a lifelong passion going, or pick up the baton after a few years off.
Oslo, for example, has facilities for sports of all types, from rock climbing to cricket. There are also plenty of chances to get involved in a number of sports just beginning to take off in Norway, such as padel, pickleball, or racketlon.
There's much more than just racquet sports too, it's simply a case of looking for something that suits your fancy. If there is a sport from where you are from that you miss, you likely aren't the only one, so be sure to check if there is an equivalent close to you.
Many of these sports will have an associated club, meaning there will be several social opportunities to gather.
Not all sports require you to be an athlete, either. There are plenty that require a degree of skill, but are also inclusive, such as the game cornhole.
Hobbies
It's not just being part of a sports team that can help you get close to others over a shared interest.
There are also plenty of opportunities to get to know people and feel a part of something while enjoying your hobbies. If it's gardening, consider an allotment, cars or bikes, and you could join a motor club.
If you speak a language other than English, you could consider a language café. From there, you could consider sharing your language with others in a community full of people interested in other languages and cultures.
Foreign resident groups
Sometimes, the community you might be missing has more to do with where you have left than it has to do with where you are.
In that regard, it might be nice to surround yourself with people from a similar part of the world. Thanks to social media, there are groups for pretty much everyone in Norway, as well as groups for new residents or foreign residents, more generally.
These groups will typically act as support networks where people can ask questions, rant, arrange meetups and generally support one another.
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While plenty of factors, such as work-life balance, access to nature, and the country's great potential for child raising, make it attractive, foreigners in Norway find it a difficult place to settle.
In previous surveys among foreign residents, internationals in Norway have said that the culture and difficulty making friends made Norway a hard place to settle.
Finding a sense of community and belonging can help people feel settled and at home.
Even if you need to fit in more places, there will likely be somewhere in Norway where you can embed yourself into a community.
Start with your neighbourhood or local area
This may not be possible everywhere, and not everyone is guaranteed a great relationship with their neighbours.
However, life in the big cities in Norway could be set up for strong micro-communities. This is because many apartment blocks are arranged into housing associations.
These business-like entities allow the residents to get involved with the running of the community. You could contribute by joining the board, or you may wish to get involved with dugnad (voluntary work) in the spring and autumn.
There may also be seasonal parties and meetups organised by the neighbours.
READ ALSO: Seven ways you will accidentally annoy your Norwegian neighbours
Volunteering
Giving back to your local community can definitely make it feel like you are an important building block.
Norway has around 100,000 volunteer organisations that offer several opportunities to get involved and help others.
From coaching kids' sports teams to helping other immigrants integrate, there are hundreds of ways to go about volunteering.
There are a number of places where you can find some volunteering work, such as Frivillighet Norge, Norges Frivilligsentraler, and Frivillig.no.
READ ALSO: How can I find volunteer work in Norway?
Sports, old and new
One of the best ways to feel involved in something is to be part of a team. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to get involved with sports in Norway.
If you live in the big cities, there are plenty of ways to pick up a new sport, keep a lifelong passion going, or pick up the baton after a few years off.
Oslo, for example, has facilities for sports of all types, from rock climbing to cricket. There are also plenty of chances to get involved in a number of sports just beginning to take off in Norway, such as padel, pickleball, or racketlon.
There's much more than just racquet sports too, it's simply a case of looking for something that suits your fancy. If there is a sport from where you are from that you miss, you likely aren't the only one, so be sure to check if there is an equivalent close to you.
Many of these sports will have an associated club, meaning there will be several social opportunities to gather.
Not all sports require you to be an athlete, either. There are plenty that require a degree of skill, but are also inclusive, such as the game cornhole.
Hobbies
It's not just being part of a sports team that can help you get close to others over a shared interest.
There are also plenty of opportunities to get to know people and feel a part of something while enjoying your hobbies. If it's gardening, consider an allotment, cars or bikes, and you could join a motor club.
If you speak a language other than English, you could consider a language café. From there, you could consider sharing your language with others in a community full of people interested in other languages and cultures.
Foreign resident groups
Sometimes, the community you might be missing has more to do with where you have left than it has to do with where you are.
In that regard, it might be nice to surround yourself with people from a similar part of the world. Thanks to social media, there are groups for pretty much everyone in Norway, as well as groups for new residents or foreign residents, more generally.
These groups will typically act as support networks where people can ask questions, rant, arrange meetups and generally support one another.
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