Best Scandinavian country (POLL) (cultures, experiences, quality, famous)
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Only "vestkantfolk" pronouce "Oslo" in such a manner. I, and serveral others, got a "thick L".
Oslo is not an international metropolis. Only "hipsters" from Grünerløkka and so-called urbanists (like Erling Fossen) like to think so. But Oslo is the captial and by far the largest city in Norway, so I think it's only fair that the Greater Oslo Region gets a bigger slice of the budget compared to other regions in Norway. Vestlandet got enough tunnels and bridges, or what?
obviously oslo should get a bigger budget than the other cities its the capital and the biggest city!
but ffs oslo is twice as big as bergen, but oslos budget last year was.. ten times as big and with the attitude most oslo people have towards the rest of norway (and thats including all the "villages") its too much to expect us to actually like you.
yes, vestlandet (western norway) gets a lot of tunnels.. but remember, 70% of norways economy comes from vestlandet.. so IMO we are entitled to some of that money. you dont think all the oil comes from oslofjorden, do you?
did you know there is a political party called "vestlandspartiet"? they say they want to seperate western norway from the rest of norway.
obviously this is very unrealistic, so i think the main purpose of the party is to shed light over the crazy way our money is spent.
and also, ive never heard anyone from eastern norway who did not pronounce oslo "oshlo". even my two friends from oslo pronounce it that way. im not sure where in oslo theyre from, though.
Remember, Bergen is not that popular in the rest of Hordaland. A friend of mine is from Sotra. He likes the city but not the inhabitants, as many "bergensere" are seen as snobby and excluding. No wonder he is not a Brann supporter and decided to move to Oslo after high school . The word "stril", usually describing the inhabitants of the more rural parts of Hordaland, was used in a highly derogatory way for many years by "bergensere".
By the way, Stavanger is the oil capital of Norway, not Bergen .
I believe "bergensere" are especially negative towards Oslo. Is it an inferiority complex and the fact that Bergen used to be the largest city in Norway centuries ago?
I was in Sweden this summer - so far the only Nordic country I've been to. Hopefully I'll visit them all. From talking to friends, this is what I gather:
Norway has the best scenery hands down.
Finland has the worst climate.
Denmark has a slightly more flexible labor market.
Sweden is kind of in-between . I liked Stockholm.
Ok I'm done with generalizations until I actually visit those countries
Remember, Bergen is not that popular in the rest of Hordaland. A friend of mine is from Sotra. He likes the city but not the inhabitants, as many "bergensere" are seen as snobby and excluding. No wonder he is not a Brann supporter and decided to move to Oslo after high school . The word "stril", usually describing the inhabitants of the more rural parts of Hordaland, was used in a highly derogatory way for many years by "bergensere".
By the way, Stavanger is the oil capital of Norway, not Bergen .
I believe "bergensere" are especially negative towards Oslo. Is it an inferiority complex and the fact that Bergen used to be the largest city in Norway centuries ago?
inferiority complexes? see, THIS is the reason why oslo and its inhabbitans are so hated around the country!! maybe you wouldnt be as hated if you had a reason to be proud of your city (or world megapolis, as i suppose you would call it), but its actually one of the worst looking capitals on the continent atleast in WESTERN europe.. and this is no lie.
none of us want to live in oslo the only reason why we would feel inferior, is cause you act FAR superior.. like you did right now, which is ridiculous.
I know Sotra.. ive been there a couple of times. Its basically a part of bergen, and more and more of the inhabbitants there are bergensere, anyways. Stril isnt really a negative word.. whenever someone seems ashamed of being a stril, bergensere say he should be proud of being a stril
calling someone a stril CAN be offensive, though.. because of the stereorype stril who comes from the middle of nowhere and doesnt know anything about the modern society. there have been made a lot of stril-jokes.
i know that stavanger is the oil capital of norway, but the bergen metro area sure does have a lot of oil, too right now i can only think of øygarden, though.. besides, bergen gets a crap load of money from tourism. we have many of the most visited attractions in the nation.
Hated? I know people from all over the country but I have never encountered such animosity towards Oslo. Take me, for instance. I am not even from Oslo but from a rural place about 2.5 hours northwest. I know several people that dislike urban areas and the central government (especially regarding environmental issues) but no one that actually hate Oslo itself.
I guess I hit a nerve with the "inferiority complex theory". As the second largest city and the capital of Western Norway, Bergen is the only real competitor to Oslo in terms of political, economical and cultural power. No wonder they may feel inferior and ignored at times.
You seem to downplay the unpopularity of Bergen in the rest of Hordaland. My friend is not the only one that dislike the somewhat condescending attitude held by several "bergensere" towards non-inhabitants.
Hate it for not, Oslo will be the capital of Norway for decades to come.
Hated? I know people from all over the country but I have never encountered such animosity towards Oslo. Take me, for instance. I am not even from Oslo but from a rural place about 2.5 hours northwest. I know several people that dislike urban areas and the central government (especially regarding environmental issues) but no one that actually hate Oslo itself.
I guess I hit a nerve with the "inferiority complex theory". As the second largest city and the capital of Western Norway, Bergen is the only real competitor to Oslo in terms of political, economical and cultural power. No wonder they may feel inferior and ignored at times.
You seem to downplay the unpopularity of Bergen in the rest of Hordaland. My friend is not the only one that dislike the somewhat condescending attitude held by several "bergensere" towards non-inhabitants.
Hate it for not, Oslo will be the capital of Norway for decades to come.
okay, so maybe other parts of western norway dislike us for whatever reason. im not going to deny that, as i havent really spent much time and talked to people in other places of western norway.
i also don't know how much bergensere hate oslo in general compared to other places in norway.. but one thing is for sure, oslo is not as popular to the rest of the country as most other capitals are. many people dislike oslo because of the crime.. prostitution, drugs, violence.. and like i mentioned before, its not like its an oasis when it comes to looks, either.
and i never said oslo shouldnt be the capital of norway.. my rant started with the fact that oslo is an economical leech to the nation.. it steals the budget and gets MUCH more money than the other cities (per capita), despite the fact that well, it in reality isnt a really rich region. oh, and the mindset of many oslo people, acting like oslo IS norway, and that there are no other cities here.
im fine with oslo being the capital. it makes sense, as it's the biggest city and it'd be stressful to change all this. im totally fine with just leaving it as it is, with oslo being the capital.. just as long as the politicians and oslo people dont forget that there are other places in norway, cause this really seems to be the case.
I'm going with Norway. I understand the language in some places, read and speak it okay, and like the scenery. I have relatives and friends to visit there.
I'm giving Sweden second place--I understand Swedish somewhat well, although better the further north you go. Can't read it decently, though.
Denmark gets third, because while I can read Danish, I can't understand a word. It's also the most continental of the three.
All three countries are nice in their own right, and I certainly wouldn't avoid going to any of them. My choice is based on the idea of going somewhere for a somewhat extended period of time.
Also, as far as Janteloven, I think you can find that pretty much anywhere that there are small towns in rural settings. It's alive and well in the Upper Midwestern USA, although to a somewhat lesser degree than Norway or Sweden.
I live in central Virginia and Janteloven is in full force here. Many Scandinavians think it is a Scandinavian thing.
It is not, it is an attitude you find in rural communities.
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