Com’è vivere qui… nel Nord Nord della Norvegia.

cold

Cold

Cold and mosquitos?

Cold … and hard

That’s more like North-East.
It looks a lot of land on the map, but it’s because of mercatore projection.

In reality the whole Finnamrk area is about the size of Denmark.

It is around 1 degree northern than Tromso.

Apparently the only people that buy houses there is because after 2y they can get quota for fishing kingcrabs

Funny thing is: it is so far east that if you go directly south from there you will end up in Istanbul

it’s nice to travel there

You don’t see any responses from people actually living there, as they are currently outside enjoying life.

Quiet for the most part. Except for that one time of the year when the helicopter-sized mosquitos come swarming. -.-

Well there is a reason why the government has “subsidize” a lot of things on that region.

I have been there a couple of times for work, I am not so outgoing person so I really dont mind the cold, the long night and the loneliness that comes with it.

But I really hate the summer there, it could be an unpopular opinion but I do not see the beauty of this midnight sun.

Probably not as extreme as most people would think. It’s mostly like normal small town life anywhere else in Norway.

It’s not always that cold. It’s much colder inland than on the coast, but the coast has more wind and humidity. Inland you can get temperatures of 30 C in summer, normal to get down to -20 or sometimes 30C in winter. But climate is changing and winters are not as consistently cold as they used to be.

The nature is quite different than a lot of Norway, but stunning in it’s own way. Especially the Varanger peninsula.

There’s a lot of Finnish heritage here and lots of Finnish culture still. Vadsø is the sauna capital of Norway.

The nature is beautiful but it can be quite sparse and boring. The towns are small.

Lives there for a few years and it kind of sucks heh. Nice if you like nature and hiking I guess, and there are some really cool undeveloped climbing and bouldering sports “near” the Russian boarder. Maybe it would be cool to get a snowmobile or something. But yeah cool or suck based on what you like to do I guess. 

Most Norwegians have never been to Finnmark. So you should be careful to read from someone who is actually from this area or lives in this area.

I’ve lived there my whole life and this is what I can say:

– We have the same standard of living as the rest of Norway.

– It is very common to hobbies that involve the nature, such as fishing and hunting.

– We live closer to the nature, because nature is often right out the back door.

– I believe that life in Finnmark is somewhat calmer and less stressful.

– We have certain tax benefits for living here. This is because it is strategically important that people live here.

– As for mosquitoes, it’s true that there are a lot of mosquitoes, but they are mainly inland. Along the coast, I don’t experience mosquitoes as a big problem.

– When it comes to the weather in Finnmark, one must distinguish between inland climate and coastal climate. In inner Finnmark, it can be very hot in the summer, and correspondingly very cold in the winter. It can be just as hot in inner Finnmark as it can be in southern Norway. But there is of course fewer hot days than in the south.

– When it comes to darkness in the winter, it can be challenging for the body. If you live up here, you should take extra vitamin D supplements. Even though I’ve lived here my whole life, my body reacts to the darkness by making me tired in the middle of the day. The midnight sun, for me, is a non-existent problem, compared to darkness.

– People from Finnmark have historically had a closer relationship with Finns than the rest of Norway. This is because there has been a lot of Finnish immigration to Finnmark. An example of this is the strong sauna culture in Finnmark.

– People often think of the relationship with Russia in terms of geography, but the view of Russia here is at a standstill as a result of the war. I don’t know of anyone up here who is pro-Russian. There may be the occasional Russian who supports Putin, though.

I had a trip to that area last summer. It was cold in July! I’m scared of winters there! And the nature is less forestal than other parts of Norway so to my eyes it’s less beautiful (still fantastic just not as much as other parts). You’ll get cheaper electricity and lower tax though. Still not worth imo.

Winters are long, but stable -5 to -10 along the coast and -10 to -20 inland (usually every year there’s a -30 week or so, which is fun to experience). Summers are short, but with climate change they become better every year now.

Weather is windy, and along the coast it rains/snows more than most places. During summer, the sun never sets; and during winter, the sun never rises. It’s not complete darkness during winter, it’s a kinda of nice atmosphere—and gives you higher appreciation for stars, the moon, and northern lights.

Everyone owns a car, kids (and adults) have fun on snowmobiles and ATVs, distances are long, but you stay inside your home, your car, or your work most of the time—so who really cares about the weather anyway. When you go on vacation in Spain or whatever you appreciate it more than most people.

It’s peaceful and slow.

I went to Vardö last summer. Super interesting place.

Apparently the area is filled with russian spies that are trying to change the narrative for local people.

In my opinion locals were really nice, nature is nice, water is nice (cold). Cool museums and sites to visit. Lots of fishing, raindeer and sandy (and windy) beaches! Otherwise it was pretty normal village in the middle of nowhere.

My family on my mom’s side is from Lakselv, and she lives there now. I haven’t visited often, but when I have, it’s clear that it’s a small and very tight-knit community where everyone knows each other, and snow mobiles are very popular in winter times, with many long snow-mobile paths stretching as long as roads do.