What I like about Oslo
Oslo is the biggest city in Norway. Compared to other capitals and big cities around, it's still not very big though. I think we're about 500 000 people, including suburbian areas. This is a good thing, if you ask me! The distances are small, so getting between A and B doesn't take much time at all. For example, getting from the city center and up into the woods takes like 30 minutes using the subway.
In Oslo, you are always close to the beach, the forest, the ski-slope, the shop, whatever. And that's why I like it so much. I can do pretty much everything I want to do without going away. Well, at least a lot of the things I like. I like cafés, museums, art galleries, walking in the forest, hanging out on the beach, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, dancing, hanggliding, horseback riding, going to music festivals,diving.
When I look at other cities, Oslo comes out as very green. There are parks everywhere, and on any sunny summer day they're all packed with people trying to get a tan while eating hot dogs and ice cream. As you can imagine, the summer is quite short, so we enjoy every minute of it to the maximum!
The public transportation system is by the way very good. When I moved back to Oslo in 2004, I sold my car and never missed it! So it's very easy to get around if you come to visit :)
So...after all this bragging, what are the things I don't like about living here? First of all, I don't like the winters. The snow gets dirty and wet, there's slippery ice on all the sidewalks and the tram is always late when I'm cold. There are to few roads for biking. There's a lot to do, but most of it is a bit pricy. And even though people are mostly friendly, I wish they were a bit more open and welcoming. People tend to be a bit private.
All in all, I love Oslo. It's not like I don't want to leave, but I'll be back late next year, and I'm looking forward to re-discover it after being away for 12 months :)
