Cross-country skiing is for retirees
Tiffany Otis
Tiffany Otis, an architect originally from Montreal, Canada, finds Norway—and Trondheim in particular—close to what she considers the fulfillment of the Canadian dream, although Trondheim can be hard to reference to her fellow Canadians.
I looked at a list of Canadian cities with similar populations to Trondheim, and I hadn’t heard of any of them. I was trying to find a reference point I could use to tell people, ‘Hey, it’s just like this city—it’s the same size and everything.’ But it’s different. In Norway, you get a metropolitan feel with much fewer inhabitants, whereas in Canada, it’s different.
- Tiffany Otis
But a lot of things about Norway are similar to how Canada is often portrayed. Canada is known for being tightly connected to nature—you can go out skiing or play hockey on frozen lakes. "I grew up in Montreal, which is a big metropolis with 3.5 million people. Those typical Canadian experiences aren’t as easily accessible there. But in Norway, they are" says Otis.
So, it almost feels like being home. It’s the culture I grew up with, but it wasn’t as accessible for me in a big city. I love it here. I really feel like I belong.
- Otis
Tiffany Otis
As a student Tiffany went to Zurich, Switzerland, on an exchange program. There, she met her future husband. A long-distance relationship for two years ended with Tiffany applying for jobs in Norway, getting hired, and eventually moving there. She was determined to learn the language as fast as possible.
There’s a big difference between being able to understand and read a language and actually being able to speak and communicate. For me, reading and understanding came very quickly. Then, in my first job here, I started developing relationships with people, and those relationships are also built through language.
- Otis
Nils Heldal
It was surprisingly difficult to switch languages, because when you do, it feels like you're starting from scratch. You don’t feel like you're speaking to the same person anymore. So, I actually switched jobs, and when I started my new role—after being here for four years—I didn’t speak a word of English there. I started all of my relationships from scratch in Norwegian, and from there, it progressed exponentially.
Sometimes I get questions about my dialect, but a lot of the time people stay quiet because they're unsure and probably don't want to ask. It’s actually a good thing that people don’t always ask where I'm from, Otis explains.
Tiffany works at Husbanken, the Norwegian State Housing Bank. Husbanken's primary goal is to support the development of affordable housing in Norway, focusing on social housing, sustainability, and ensuring that everyone has access to good living conditions. Tiffany loves her job and appreciates the time it allows her to spend with her family.
And the working hours are much shorter compared to many other countries. So not only is outdoor activity easily accessible, but you also have the time to enjoy it.
Nils Heldal
Work-life balance is probably one of the biggest competitive advantages here. You can even go cross-country skiing after work, which is something new for me. In Canada, you typically start cross-country skiing when you're too old for downhill skiing—it's seen more as a sport for retirees.
- Tiffany
Nils Heldal
Nils moved to Trondheim many years ago. Since then, he has definetily made his mark on the city.
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