...Big City, baby!
I've been wondering when to break the news online, but today I've decided to say what the hell and let you all know:
These country mice are moving back into Oslo.
This is old news for a lot of people, especially family members and Facebook people, but I felt I had to hold off on announcing our decision online until everything was set in stone. So yes, as of February, we'll be back in town. I don't know if it will be for good-for good, but I hope it will at least be for a number of years. I am dreading the thought of moving an entire house worth of stuff into a city apartment (futile already, this will require a fine flea comb inventory of important things and casting off the unnecessary). It will also require a large investment in beer. How else are we going to get anyone to help Sverre get his gigantic sofa up one flight of stairs, much less up a probable four or five flights?
We originally moved out to the countryside, and to the farm, for all the right reasons. And over the course of the year, those reasons and our needs have shifted away from each other. We originally believed I would be able to commute easily from the farm to school, all the way on the other end side of the fjord...from Buskerud to the ass-end of Akershus. Not so much, I spend at least two hours traveling one way to school. I was also hoping that I would have greater flexibility in scheduling my classes. Turns out because of my university's small student population, and my small class size (for my degree the bachelor class this year is a whopping 44 students), I am set on a pre-determined schedule. I have more flexibility with my elective courses, but once again, due to small population size these classes are usually offered by one teacher, one semester a year, with one class on offer. I have to carefully juggle the courses I select with my schedule.
I'm not the only one affected. Sverre needs to be closer to work as he takes on more responsibility, takes more names, and generally kung-fus his way up the corporate ladder. Our long distance from the city limits his flexibility with work, business meetings, foo-foo fancy dinners, etc.
And so we've spent a lot of valuable time on Finn. The February openings are slowly starting to emerge, and we've been comparing previous availabilities so we know what we can expect to find within our budget. Sverre would love to live downtown, preferably in something old and classic looking. We'll see what's out there. It's a hell of a project, that's for sure. Good thing I've got January free from school this year, I'll be able to concentrate on sifting through all of our stuff before the big day. We'll also be going home to California for Christmas, so I'll be able to go through my things in storage and decide on what needs to go, and what needs to come to Norway. Hmph, yes, it seems nothing really is ever easy.
I am looking forward to cutting down my commute from two hours to a half hour. I'm also looking forward more opportunities for things to do, and a greater opportunity for Sverre and I to have a social life together (one of the major drawbacks of country life being that someone must always drive, and that someone must possess a Norwegian driver's license). Most of my friends from school live in Oslo, which will make arranging study groups a lot easier. I will miss the clean air, the horses, and the ability to walk my dog off-leash from directly out my back door. I may even miss having a back door. And a yard. There is a bittersweet tinge to this decision.
In the end, though, I think we've made the right choice. Now we just need to get lucky on our apartment hunt....
