WE MOVED TO… OSLO

Friday 1st December 2006

Sharon Aldren, 43, and husband Simeon, 38, have two sons, Toby, 12, and Joshua, six. They moved from their home in Edinburgh to Norway in March 2004

Why did you move?
Simeon works as a sales manager for the international arm of the Dixons group and was offered a job covering Scandinavia. I did some research on the internet and we chose Oslo as our base. Simeon came out in October 2003. The boys and I joined him in March 2004.

What was the biggest change?
Definitely the language—you have to learn it to feel integrated, although the locals speak perfect English. Simeon and I had intensive lessons and now he speaks it all day at work. I've got pretty good too. Getting used to the long winters can get you down—you can have just six hours of daylight in the midwinter. But the reverse side is that it doesn't get dark until 11pm in midsummer. We've totally changed to an 'outdoorsy' family and love being outside whatever the temperature.

How does your home compare?
We had a three-bed house just outside Edinburgh, which we rent out. Here we pay about £1,200 a month for a traditional 1930s home, with four bedrooms and loads of space, apple trees in the garden and a view of the fjord. It's about six miles from the centre of Oslo. Our neighbours are a mix of Norwegians and expat families.

What about childcare?
Joshua's nursery cost £503 a month in the UK, but here it was £176 because the government encourages mums to work if they want. Joshua's fluent in Norwegian and did so many things he'd never have experienced in his nursery at home, like sitting around a big table and chopping up carrots and turnips to make a traditional soup. The older ones are taught how to whittle wood—one of the things Norwegians enjoy doing. At first I was amazed at giving little children a knife, but they teach them from a very young age to be responsible. They also learn the old folk tales, as the nation's immensely proud of its history.