Post: #26

Can anyone in lay man's terms explain why Norway, and Scandanavia in general is so outrageously expensive? It almost seems incomprehensible that a beer can be $15 and a taxi across town can be $80-100.

Post: #27

(09-26-2013 09:50 PM)MaleDefined Wrote:  Can anyone in lay man's terms explain why Norway, and Scandanavia in general is so outrageously expensive? It almost seems incomprehensible that a beer can be $15 and a taxi across town can be $80-100.

After living there my guess is as follows:

- Higher minimum wages for service industry. For the most part, these countries have not relied on import labour (yet) in order to drive down wages. Therefore the community prospers. This is the foundation for the amazing quality of life in this region.

- People tend to spend smartly no matter their income. Also, most professions at a certain level make about the same. A doctor friend makes about the same as another friend who is a pilot for SAS. They do not live any more extravagant than a friend who is a plumber. They all drive Audi or Volvo, live in a nice place and holiday in the same places. The biggest ballers I know there are a DJ and a shady tech investor.

- Vice tax. Get used it in Scandinavia. Especially Norway. If you have no "vice" then the places are not expensive at all. Cheaper than Canada even.

Post: #28

Minimum wage in Norway is 25/hr.

Post: #29

(09-26-2013 10:50 AM)Aer Wrote:  Been to all three:

Helsinki is definitely the easiest of the three, girls are much looser. But don't go to Milliklubi or anything like that.

Stockholm is great during the day seeing all the women, but the clubs are all mostly creepy tourists and immigrants. I would suggest nightlife in Uppsala, all students.

Oslo is... a no go. Super expensive, girls may be slightly easy, but the price isn't worth it. $40 for a liter or so of vodka. Nope.

I keep telling people, but your best option here is second tier cities where you're more of a novelty. Check out Tampere, Turku, Jyvaskylä, Lund, Hammerfors, Bergen, and most definitely check out Åland. Hottest, most pure Scandi girls I've ever seen.


If you want a true experience, go on the Scandinavian booze cruise (a thread for that /thread-12537.html)

Is there anything to do or see on Aland ? Does it make sense to visit the island during winter or will the place be dead ( I guess there is no university there) ?

Post: #30

I was just in those 3 cities. Here are my thoughts. My opinions on these countries are a bit harsh, so no offense to the Scandinavians in here...

-Stockholm has the prettiest girls, but the city itself is a bit boring. I find that Swedish attitudes can be pretty harsh, and they generally act no different than Americans. NYC would be a better choice than Stockholm. I'm in Barcelona right now.. last night I went up to this Swedish girl in a bar, asked her a simple question, and she started RAGING at me for no reason. Her attitude rivals the most miserable cunt I've ever met in America. Swedish people seemed a bit too polite for my taste. They take pride in being straight forward, but believe me, they're not very straight forward/direct.

-Oslo is an overpriced dump. It's not fair to call it overpriced, because Norway is a rich oil nation, but it's VERY expensive. I've never seen so many homeless people in my life. If you venture 5 minutes away from the city center, Oslo seriously feels like a 3rd world country. The girls were pretty friendly though, but nowhere near as physically attractive as in Stockholm.

-Helsinki was awesome. The city itself isn't very exciting, but there are an abundance of super cute (not hot) girls, who are generally approachable and have decent personalities. If you have some money to blow you can get some excellent food in Helsinki. They have some really good Micheline rated restaurants which are worth the price. The main downside with Helsinki is that weeknights are not very exciting. Miliklubi is a complete sausage fest, so don't base your decision around what Roosh has said about it.

Tallin has a bunch of stunning women. Most of the best looking girls are Russian though. Being in Estonia just made me want to go to Russia. I found the city of Tallin to be quite boring, and the food to be horrendous. Cold approaching was a bit unproductive in Estonia. Finding a social circle seems like the best option in this country.

In conclusion, out of these 3 cities I'd choose Helsinki as my #1 option. Next I'd chose Gothenburg (not on your list, I know, but it's a lot better than Stockholm), and I wouldn't even bother with Oslo. Bergen is a beautiful city, but for meeting girls I'd avoid it. Just make sure that you have plenty of work or a hobby, because none of the Nordic countries have much to do during the day. I might go back to Helsinki in the future and spend more time there, but I have no plans on returning to Norway or Sweden, UNLESS I have an excellent reason to go back. As a final thought- I think all of these countries need some time (at least 1 month+ each). I think it's absolutely necessary to establish a group of friends in these places (as opposed to a place like NYC, where you can have a great time by yourself).

EDIT: Sweden has the cutest girls, then comes Finland, and Oslo has the worst. Everybody says that Helsinki has weird looking hipsters, but I found the opposite to be true. I was actually blown away by the quantity of good looking girls walking around. For the 2 weeks I was there, I probably saw only 2-3 hipster looking girls that had completely fucked up looking style. Lots of Finnish girls dress like squares.

Post: #31

(09-26-2013 09:50 PM)MaleDefined Wrote:  Can anyone in lay man's terms explain why Norway, and Scandanavia in general is so outrageously expensive? It almost seems incomprehensible that a beer can be $15 and a taxi across town can be $80-100.

Norway has abundant natural resources (oil), they're a rich nation, and salaries are high.

Post: #32

A lot of Scanadanavia's huge expense also has to do with the tax system there. There's extremely high taxes put on alcohol for example to discourage it.

Anyhow, getting back to the question...I have only been to Stockholm My experience was that the day game is awful. I didn't see many hotties walking around during the day and I was very disappointed. There are definitely a ton of average/ugly Swedish girls. The night game, things got a lot better. But I did notice the pretty girls did like to hang out with other Swedes. No trouble getting into any club and I'm definitely too old to pass for a student. A bouncer told me the only rule about Swedish nightclubs is that you "CAN'T COME IN DRUNK". Other than that anything goes, age, dress, appearance etc. Stockholm as a city is actually pretty nice and a must see, packed with museums and nice scenery within the city.

I heard the big problem with Oslo is that there is no nightlife on Weekdays. Stockholm was decent on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Oh and another thing, if you go in the summer, don't be fooled by the term "beach" anywhere on your map. There are no beaches within Stockholm, you need to go far outside the city.

Post: #33

Fuck...I can't decide.

I think I have to do all 3! Will do a big write up for you guys, as thanks for the insight.

Booking logistics and filling out my Google maps now. But first, let's talk daygame locations. What are the go-to spots? Which universities, parks, malls?

Post: #34

Ever think about second tier cities?

Gothenburg, Bergen, Trodheim (university town), Turku etc

I would say Helsinki / Tallinn and try to take that party ferry to Stockholm.

Post: #35

MaleDefined. I wrote two posts about Norway/Oslo cost and living some time ago here; /thread-14483.html
check it out!

-Rdp

Post: #36

I'll be in Stockholm in 2 days and staying in the Sodermalm area. Can't fuckin wait!