You know you live in Norway when...

Wednesday 5 December 2012

It's no secret, Norway is expensive.

It doesn't come as much of a shock to us as we find it quite similar to Gabon but where we notice it most is in the alcohol.  In Gabon, beer was cheaper than water.  In Norway, a bottle of domestic beer in the grocery store will cost you close to $5.  Yes, $5/can in the grocery store.  Hard alcohol seems to be the worst with a bottle of vodka costing around $70.

Our first flight into Norway, Joe and I sauntered off the plane into the terminal only to be pushed aside as a mass of Norwegians and expats literally began running to the Duty Free store.  We stood by and watched as they grabbed carts and rushed around the store filling it with mounds of alcohol.  We laughed and continued on our way to collect our bags.  Little did we know, we'd later regret that decision.
Our stock after Prague.
Now, we plan ahead of time.  We study the limits and work out exactly what we'll each get in order to make the most of our duty free shopping experience.  Some may think this is a sign of a problem, I think it's being budget conscientious.


{I'm also on Lost in Travels today with a post about perspectives after expatriations.  Check it out here if you are interested!}

16 comments:

  1. $701 for Vodka?? omg, why the high prices?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. $70, not $700... can you imagine?!

      Norway puts high taxes on things that are deemed 'unnecessary.' I suppose it's the same line of thinking as cigarettes in Canada.

      Delete
    2. lol i just realized I wrote 701! oops, hehe. But even if 'unnecessary', $70 is ridiculous.

      Delete
  2. Haha I would so have to plan around it too. I think I could get all of that in Germany for less than 30 Euro, so crazy. I can't imagine!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hah! I love this.

    Beer in Malta is about €0.50 a can at the grocery store! €2-6 for a bottle of wine, €10-€14 for vodka, rum, etc.

    Is it sad that this scares me off living in Northern Europe a little?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nothing but budget concientious! Man, sometimes it should be claimable on health insurance! Pleased to see you've got some Australian wine in there. C

    ReplyDelete
  5. such a lovely blog! just discovering it all thanks to Expats Blog awards!
    hugs from Brussels

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm a Norwegian living abroad, and I do the same when I come home. Or if I can, I buy stuff in the country I live in, which makes it even cheaper...

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've never done duty-free shopping, but definitely would in that case! $70!!! Wow! I pay $2.50 US for a bottle of vodka here in Honduras.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh my word! I would also be one of the people bolting for the duty free store - $70 is crazy!

    xxx
    Jenna

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yes, Duty Free is a must! Alcohol is crazy expensive here. -Heidi http://fabricandfrosting.blogspot.no/

    ReplyDelete
  10. i'm sorry $5 for a can???!!! they are out of their mind. so either there no alcoholics or they are all multi-millionares??

    ReplyDelete
  11. Same in Singapore! We would always stock up at duty free, and ask all friends passing through to get their duty free allowance for us, haha.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yup - you gotta stock up when going to the airport...

    ReplyDelete

I love comments! Thanks for taking the time to leave one!

These days, I'm replying to comments directly in the comment feed. Check back!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
by mlekoshi