Moving Abroad?

[Ganryu]

Hey, I am looking for some advice on living and working abroad, Norway and Iceland in particular. Anyone with any advice/ideas, I would appreciate it.

Thanks.

 

[ChefWide]

Er... uh... yeah, I know a bit about working/not working (lol) in Iceland.

Advice? Stay the hell away!


J/K


need more data from you....for instance, if you are a Palm Tree Grafting specialist, the work up here is a bit thin...

 

[Ganryu]

Er... uh... yeah, I know a bit about working/not working (lol) in Iceland.

Advice? Stay the hell away!


J/K


need more data from you....for instance, if you are a Palm Tree Grafting specialist, the work up here is a bit thin...

LOL! I was hoping you would reply. I do IT shit (there isn't very many of us), so I am assuming that could maybe be a little hard to come by over there. My background is in Networking/LAN/WAN/NOC Operations. Thanks again.

 

[Hengst]

expat american here, living and working in Holland.......

Easiest path to working abroad it to get hired by an american company and get transfered overseas.

second easiest way is to marry a native of the country you want to go to...... (sound familiar - Chefwide?)

 

[Ganryu]

Well, I am already married and I don't forsee being able to be transferred. Thanks for the input, though. K to ya.

 

[Robert Jan]

Norway has a high standard of living and salary and virtually no unemployment but lots of internal issues

and its hard as hell to get into

 

[Ganryu]

Bump for more input.

 

[ChefWide]

LOL! I was hoping you would reply. I do IT shit (there isn't very many of us), so I am assuming that could maybe be a little hard to come by over there. My background is in Networking/LAN/WAN/NOC Operations. Thanks again.

You are being facetious, yes?

Dude, I don't want to sound like I work for the tourist board, but IT is one of icelands strongest suits: Fishing, of course, Genetics and IT. Did I mention drinking like fish after working at their IT jobs?
?

Your only way to get into this market, short of marrying/getting transfered in, is to be granted political asylum. Depending on how the next few weeks go, you might have a chance at that...




Seriously, you will get paid less here than in the states and your cost of living is the highest in the world here... are you ready for that kind of change of lifestyle? MAJOR changes for most of IT friends that have come from other countries. I have only known a handful of folks that have assimilated and stayed for more than a year without freaking and leaving.

Case in point: My new little 2000 sq ft house cost me just under $300k. We pay our Mutlitple MS Certified, Degree in Computer Science YEARS of experience guys just less than $60k. A pack of smokes here costs $8, a beer in a nice pub costs around $7.50, in a club: $10+, a gallon of gas is $6.28, a Quarter Pounder with Chesse Combo: $9.50, toss 24.5% sales tax on pretty much everything and 37% income tax and VOILA! Most folks have nothing left.


IF you have a high paying job or are independent of those concerns and can travel when the cold and dark get you down: go for it. Then it works... almost.

I am stuck here. Literally. So I make the best of it (I have a unique postion that pays quite well and have most of my income coming from investment sources) and most of the high points are VERY good... there is just a lot of the other kind to more than balance out the +'s.

1. You will get paid a lot less, period. Had to stress that.
2. You will love the weather. It never gets above 70. It was 75 hear last summer, the government shut down because of the strain on the workers...
3. It rains ALL the time... well... most of the time....
4. You can't see the rain for half the year: it's DARK.

]

I have talked a lot about the good parts, so I wont bore you, but if you want to visit Iceland, you will love it. If you want MOVE here, you will more than likely implode. Sad but true.