'I can't say I wasn't warned': Why foreign residents leave Norway

“Whyyy?” That’s usually the reaction following a shocked jaw drop or a long, empathetic look when someone says they’ve decided to pack up their life and leave Norway for good. 

The jaw drop comes from disbelief.

Why would anyone leave a calm, rich, beautiful, and well-functioning country? The empathetic look appears when the listener understands the unspoken subtext: the quietness, the weight of tradition, and how hard it can be for foreigners to access the same opportunities and sense of belonging as the locals.

The feeling of not fitting the 'A4 mold'

“There’s more out of life than I got when I was living there,” says Marina, a graphic designer from Mexico.

For her, Norway felt like a country with limited space for people who don’t fit the so-called A4 life - the Norwegian shorthand for a conventional life path and lifestyle. “There’s little room for thinking differently, looking differently, and living in different ways,” she explains.

Marina, who lived in Berlin and Barcelona before spending six years in Oslo, made the decision to move back to Spain. “I realized I was trying so hard to fit in that I forgot who I was,” she says.

“I ended up picking mushrooms and berries in the forest on a Sunday morning, and that’s when I knew something was off”, she jokes.

She swears she loves the access to nature in Norway, but she missed the human connections.

“The spontaneous conversations, meeting new people without having to sign up for awkward networking events where success stories on stage didn’t match what success meant to me," Marina says.

READ MORE - REVEALED: What's the main reason driving foreigners to leave Norway?

When careers stop moving forward

For many, the decision to leave Norway is closely tied to work.

Dev, a software developer from India, moved to Norway with his wife and children after receiving a job offer. While his career progressed, his wife’s did not. “As in many immigration situations, it’s harder to compete with locals who speak the language fluently, understand the work culture, and already have strong networks,” he explains.

After months of sending CVs, his wife accepted an entry-level position, despite having over ten years of experience as a manager back home and intermediate Norwegian language studies. “The frustration builds up,” Dev says. “And when your social life isn’t great either, you start wondering what the point of the experience really is.”

Dev and his family are moving to Dubai in February, right after completing the three months leave notice from work.  He also notes that Norway’s once very attractive salary levels no longer stand out as much. “In 2018, the salaries in Norwegian kroner and the market were clearly competitive. Today, that’s not necessarily the case compared to other countries.”

When The Local launched a survey asking readers why they plan to leave Norway, many mentioned their love for Norway, but complained about the lack of job opportunities.

"There aren't any jobs in Norway. It is a country that doesn't believe in meritocracy and native candidates are given positions just based on ethnic bias even if they lack competency," said a Polish reader named Aaleroy, who has lived in Oslo for seven years.

Waqas Hussain, a 29-year-old Pakistani national, who left after three years in Bergen said: "I couldn’t find a job or even secure an interview even after applying for more than 80 jobs."

"I was depressed and was so unsure that why companies are avoiding me. Many told me to change my name to a Norwegian name and I would get a call," Waqas said.

Other respondents spoke of the increasingly high cost of living, the expense of raising a family and the difficulty of learning the language as reasons they eventually left Norway.

Loneliness behind the comfort

According to the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR), around 30,000 people emigrate from Norway every year. The majority are immigrants returning to their home countries. 

So what makes people leave a rich, democratic, and safe country like Norway? Researcher Tone Maia Liodden, who interviewed around 55 people who had moved or were considering moving away from Norway, found that the reasons were often complex. Climate was frequently mentioned, but rarely as the main driver.

“The most striking finding,” she said in an interview to Forskning.no, “was loneliness.” Many interviewees described having a comfortable life materially, yet still felt deeply isolated.

In answer to The Local's survey some respondents cited the difficulty in making local friends as a reason why they eventually left Norway.

"Outside of work, I made zero friends," said Patrick from Northern Ireland, who lived near Fredrikstad for nine years. "When I first moved over, I put this down to a language barrier. I then learnt the language, became fluent and realised it was more of a cultural thing."

Among immigrants with a non-Western background or different skin color, experiences of racism also played a role. Some chose to leave because of it. Negative media coverage of immigrants and a sense of low social status were recurring themes. “Several felt it was difficult to find real acceptance in Norway,” researcher Liodden explains.

Wanting more excitement 

“I can’t say I wasn’t warned,” says Daniel, a financial consultant from the UK who lived in Oslo for three years before moving back to London in early 2024. “People told me it’s hard to make friends here,  especially if you didn’t grow up in Norway or don’t have a Norwegian partner.”

While he had a stable job and a good quality of life, something was missing. “I missed the cosmopolitan energy. The spontaneous social life, and not a three-months ‘save the date’ Google calendar invite for a night out."

Not a failure but a chapter

Leaving Norway is often framed as a failure. But for many who leave, that’s far from the truth.

Stella, a marketing specialist from Milan, moved to Sydney after 4 years living in Oslo.

“I don’t know how to describe the feeling but I'd say Sydney has been a city that keeps you company unlike Oslo, for example, which I loved to death but most of the time felt nostalgic or heavy”. 

“Living in Norway wasn’t a mistake,” says Marina. “It gave me perspective. It taught me patience and resilience, but also made me realise what I truly value: connection, creativity, and spontaneity.”

She pauses, then adds: “Norway made me grow. And growth doesn’t always mean staying.”

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