Yes, coming to the U.S.A was a good experience for me. But some items shocked me when I came back to Norway and saw the price. If you’re an american and thinking about going to Norway sometime soon, please reconsider. Or, do it the best way possible: call me and I’ll host you and show you around. A lot more inexpensive and a whole better experience.

I’ll give you some overview of the different prices between the two countries as I experienced it.

Dollar price: When I lived in California about 6 years ago we saw the top of the dollar reaching 9.7 NOK = 1 USD. When I came back in 2008 it fell to about 5.1 NOK = 1 USD. Almost half the price. The cost of one semester at MIT Sloan was about 30.000 USD. In 2001 that would have been 291.000 NOK. In 2008 it equals 153.000 NOK. The difference is 138.000 NOK just because of cheaper dollar. That difference translated to USD of 2008 = 27.059 USD. Almost an entire semester at MIT.

Water: Going into a 7-eleven store in Norway to buy a bottle of water cost me close to 30 NOK, or possible something like $5.60. Consider that a bottle of water at a 7-eleven in Cambridge, MA cost me about $1.50. In addition, tap water in Bergen is possible better quality than what you can get from a bottle.

Frappucino: Too bad Starbucks hasn’t made it to expensive Norway yet. But some of their products have. I recently saw a bottled Frappucino from Starbucks. I can’t recall exactly, but I don’t think they cost more than $3.50 in the US (fairly expensive for some cold coffee someone might argue). In Norway the price was 49 NOK, or close to $10. Talk about trusting your brand!

Beer: Why do I even want to go there? The average beer in the U.S (still, Cambridge MA) would probably be $6, including a dollar tip to the bar. When I got to the U.K I paid £3 for a pint at a pub (including £0.50 in tip), which is fairly the same price as in the U.S. In Norway you don’t want to tip more than a kroner probably. Given the price is most likely around 59 + 1 kroner tip = 60. Or should we say, close to $12 for a 0.5 liter? And yes, go to a more fancy place and expect to pay closer to $15 for a beer. And still some Norwegians gets completely hammered every week. Go wonder [Bårdism]…

Gas: The Americans LOVE to complain about high gas prices (and still wonder how they can become more environmental friendly… those two issues actually depend on each other!). The average gas price passed $4 a gallon. I will do the easy calculation of going for NOK/liter gas to USD / gallon gas and say in Norway a gallon of gas is about $8. Still Norway is not the most expensive country in Europe, and far down on the scale when it comes to the world. And yes, most Norwegians don’t live in vicinity of public transportation and have to drive just as much as Americans (to kill that very argument I get whenever I tell this fact).
Tax: In Massachusetts the state tax for bought items is 5% of price. In California it’s ( I think) 8.5%. In Norway (hold on…) it’s 28% for most commodities while 14% for food articles.

So, what about the stuff that’s (by faaaaar) less expensive in Norway than in the U.S?

Healthcare: So if something bothers you, if you have an ear infection or you dislocated your thumb and you don’t have any considerable insurances beyond what the government provides you, what do you do in Norway? You go to the emergency room and get it fixed. Maybe get some medications as well. You can be pretty sure it won’t cost you more than NOK 400 (about $80). If you’re unlucky and get hospitalized too, it’s free. In the U.S the first treatment at the emergency room could easily cost $1.000 - $2.000 depending on what medications you would have to buy. Hospital costs would also be very expensive IF you didn’t have health insurance.

Insurance: MIT had an insurance complemented in the school fee. However, they required an “extended insurance” if I got injured outside campus. This would cost me $800 (about 4.000 kr) for a semester, fairly cheap compared to the price to be hospitalized without insurance. However, this is free in Norway. And since I was a Norwegian Student, the government provided me membership with an American insurance company that covered me even better than what MIT could… all free.

School tuition: Going to MIT is an expensive affair. After all, it’s a private school. But I also went to a public school in the states, Cal Poly. Also expensive considering I had to pay out-of-state tuition. While a school year might easily go into $20.000 (about 100.000 kr) at a public University out-of-state, a year at a public University in Norway would probably cost you about $80 a semester, $160 a year (about 800 kr).

I guess my conclusion would be this: make sure to go to a public University in Norway and take benefit of inexpensive healthcare and no need to worry about basic insurance policies (you’re covered just by being in Norway). But go back to the states for your beer, cappuccino and driving a car. For me? I did the opposite ;)