Life in Norway Show Episode 83: Buying a house in Norway is not something you might think about early in your relocation, but for today’s guest it was the main reason they chose to move.
Christoph Graf is from Switzerland, and a big reason he chose to move to the Oslo region with his Norwegian wife was because of the better value housing than in his home country.
On this episode, we talk about the house buying process. We cover research, viewing, and bidding. We also chat about some of the other reasons Christoph chose to relocate, including easy access to nature.
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Introducing Christoph
Christoph is a 30-year-old Swiss citizen who has also lived briefly in England, France, several years in the United States, and of course Switzerland. Together with his Norwegian wife, he chose to move to Norway to raise their family.
He now works for the Norwegian company Nemko. Their core business is the market approval and certification of electrical appliances, but they have also started a digital arm to their business.
Christoph is very passionate about the outdoors and being active. He loves running, biking, skiing, kayaking, and climbing. Since moving to Norway, he's become involved with a local sports club as a volunteer.
The House-Buying Process in Norway
Unusually for a country associated with a high cost of living, it was the good value housing in Norway that attracted Christoph to move to the Oslo Region. That's because property prices in his native Switzerland have skyrocketed.
Having bought a place to live myself here in Trondheim several years ago, I was keen to hear how things work in 2024.
We discuss the similarities and differences between our house buying experiences, including the research, viewing, and bidding processes.
Christoph also talks of the administrative challenge he faced with Norwegian banks given his citizenship: “Being Swiss in a time of several wealthy Norwegians moving to Switzerland to avoid taxes has been both funny, but also quite a challenge.”
Links from the show
- Our article on Buying a House in Norway
- The Norwegian website Finn.no
