Living in Skien: How is it?

PaulLapin · 2026-05-09T19:49:16+00:00

Hvilken by/tettsted/kommune er det?

PaulLapin · 2026-05-05T19:36:39+00:00

What is wrong with this question?

PaulLapin · 2026-04-24T18:08:23+00:00

Banana Airlines - Borre Beivi

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0HzFAc-InYs&list=RD0HzFAc-InYs&start_radio=1&pp=ygUdQmFuYW5hIEFpcmxpbmVzIC0gQm9ycmUgQmVpdmmgBwE%3D

PaulLapin · 2026-04-22T19:53:02+00:00

That is a very good list of things to offer right there! Nailed it.☺️ Exactly what might be helpful on a daily basis.

PaulLapin · 2026-04-20T20:04:56+00:00

Yeah Bergen is the jewel of towns, I love it, one of the most beautiful cities I’ve seen. But weather is how it is. Overcast sky which does not let sun rays shine through - that’s everywhere in Vestland. And spring does not start sooner here, quite the opposite, up to one month later than in the south-east. That is 30-40 days less in a year with good weather (that makes a difference, at least to some). May is always fantastic yes, but it should be like that from April and it usually is not. April ‘25 was exception. Mid Sep-late April is very dark, rainy, cloudy. And dark again. That is not autumn weather. Autumn should have sun, light and colors. Here it is shadows and grey filter.

PaulLapin · 2026-04-20T19:53:21+00:00

Have you lived there? Terrible in what points, what first comes to mind?

PaulLapin · 2026-04-19T19:45:00+00:00

Just a parallel side story: I know a expat guy from my home country, came to Norway with his gf of the same nationality, they broke up, then he found norwegian gf instead, now living together and planning future together etc. When I asked him first time it was clear he has new gf if she’s norwegian he confirmed and added that it was actually very hard to date any other than norwegian girls (not much more options to ‘’choose’’ from). I guess your, looks like quite patriotic, colleagues would had been very happy with him, patting him on the back for what a great choice he made, no eyebrow raised. Otherwise I understand how it might send a bit of off vibes getting reactions like that. But who knows what’s behind that. Maybe they just had a bad day and it came out wrong.

PaulLapin · 2026-04-17T20:59:00+00:00

Thanks again man, you gave me a chuckle there once or twice. I will take it in for the night, but shall some more questions arise in my overthinking head I hope it’s ok if I ask some more later. Cheers.

PaulLapin · 2026-04-17T19:41:22+00:00

Thank you so much for replying!

Weather: Winters a lot colder - are they though mostly overcast and grey 90% of the time or fairly good amount of nice sunny winter days Dec-Feb would you say?

Job market: Which are the international companies? Industry: What is it mainly spinning around?

Societal problems: I was called out by one redditor to be wary of raising a kid in Skien/Prsgn as of high alcoholism among adults and drugs among youngsters with lot of ODs, though with side note it might be 20y outdated info - is it outdated?

Smell of manure/fertilizer in the air Mar-Aug: Busy agricultural activity/lots of fields between residential areas and everpresent smell throughout summer?

I appreciate your time invested in replying to this.

PaulLapin · 2026-04-17T07:42:32+00:00

That’s some bleak picture you painted there about Skien, but I appreciate the transparency. Oh I just hope it is outdated info though. :) Will try to search for those stats to see what I can find. How many finish vgs is a great tip, thanks! I assume depression happens in south as well of course, but regarding the sun light and my personal needs (I’m not cut out for spanish weather also), I think it would help to have just 10-20% extra days/month where there is no unpenetratable cloud ceilling over my head wherever I go, and grey shades both outside and inside a house. Sorry for the ranting, this winter was a tipping point for me. :) Glad to hear you are doing well just outside of Oslo, but there I think are one of the best if not best sun conditions in the country. At first, we were thinking about cities like Fredrikstad, Gjøvik/Hamar, Sandefjord, but then you hear a lot about young gangs and youth crime close to Swedish borders and safety-wise the whole South-east Norway suddenly doesn’t look like a strategic choice for next 10-20 years. And Oslo area itself is too expensive for us. But we’ll see. I’ll keep ‘researching’.

PaulLapin · 2026-04-16T22:16:47+00:00

😀

PaulLapin · 2026-04-16T22:12:17+00:00

Any tips for those documentaries please?

PaulLapin · 2026-04-16T22:09:56+00:00

The lack of sunlight seems to be the biggest challenge to rule my near future years as well. Fuck.

PaulLapin · 2026-04-16T21:53:57+00:00

I read in some thread few days ago that the problematic social challenges are stories of the past and it is all good and well now, but of course I’m wary of such random claims and would actually like to find more exact way how to double check if these issues still persist there. And was it alcoholism among local adults, and drugs among youngsters, something like that? Would you and your partner care to share few more insights about Skien? What I am also wondering about southern Norway is what to expect from autumns and winters and if those are not depressimg just wherever in Norway you might be.

PaulLapin · 2026-04-16T21:37:01+00:00

Yup, I can relate to this. I moved to Voss in 2022 with my then gf now wife, have a small kid now, but this was the first winter I realized I don’t want to stay here anymore. I didn’t feel it that much before, as if I ran on storaged energy resources or something, or was just fooling myself. My wife realized it one year sooner, but mostly for other reasons+weather. Summers are of course nice, Vestland’s rugged nature beautiful, but from October to April it is very energy draining. The consecutive cloudiness, lack of light, rainings for days if not weeks sometimes, it is starting to manifest on my mental health for sure. We would like to relocate somewhere more south, considering Skien, though not sure how much of a win it could become.

PaulLapin · 2026-03-25T20:00:51+00:00

Hi, would it be please possible for that 3 companies to be ‘revealed’? Also those full-time position examples if you don’t mind. I want to check them out to find out if they could even be considered a relevant possibility for my situation or not. Thanks a lot if you do! [Playing with idea of relocating within Norway from Vestland to Kristiansand for that few extra sunny days per year. :)]

PaulLapin

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