These American Habits Feel Normal Until You Live in Norway

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]There are certain habits Americans have that just would not work in Norway and you don't realize you're doing them until you're actually here. Now, I'm an American who's been living in Norway for over a year now and there are some habits that I have done since coming here that I realize a lot of other Americans do and they don't work here.

[00:00:18]They just don't. So, in this video I'm going to be sharing five American habits that just would not work in Norway. So, if you're planning on coming here or visiting, just know you should not do these when you're coming to Norway. All right, so the first American habit that wouldn't work in Norway is talking loudly. Now, I was a victim of this when I first came to Norway. I remember I was on the bus and it was really quiet and I thought I was talking pretty normally, right? My normal indoor voice, but then I realized everyone was kind of looking at me and it was as soon as I stopped talking I realized, "Wow, I am talking very loudly." And this wouldn't work in Norway because in Norway people are very quiet, they're reserved, they don't make a lot of noise. It almost feels like the entire country is on mute and people don't talk loudly as I said.

[00:01:06]In cafes they're very quiet, on public transport they're very quiet. It's very different from the US where in the US people would just speak, you know, they don't really have that indoor voice necessarily. They'll just talk however they feel and it can be pretty loud sometimes. So, that habit would not work in Norway at all because it's just not the culture. You know, the culture is is very reserved, very quiet and I kind of appreciate that more than the loudness because at least when you're calm, you know, or at least when the environment's calm, you'll feel better, right? You'll feel more relaxed, you'll want to you can chill out more. It's it's better for your mental health I feel like than constantly talking loudly and, you know, that overstimulation. Now, the next American habit that wouldn't work in Norway is trying to fill the silence immediately. In the US you always want to fill the silence. Grocery store, mall, gym, cashier, every scenario, you know, especially the elevator too. Don't get me started on that. You're going to always want to fill that silence because it's awkward. No one wants to stand in silence and you know, Americans feel like they want to fill that space, but in Norway people are the opposite. In Norway people like to be that. They like to not fill the silence. It's actually normal and if you try to fill the silence, you're going to come off as awkward, maybe a little weird and people can definitely tell you're American. I remember the first time I tried to do this was I was at a grocery store checking out, you know, buying some groceries and I tried to talk to the cashier. I said, "You know, how's your day? How are you doing?" And she looked at me like I was insane, literally. And that's when I learned, "Okay, this is not normal.

[00:02:47]People don't want to be bothered. They want to just, you know, they want you to just do your job or get your items and leave." And if you try to small talk with them or fill the silence, they might even think you're flirting with you. You know, I've heard that one a few times which I was like, "Now I get it." Right? So, um trying to fill the silence would definitely not work in in Norway and if you're an American coming to Norway, don't try and do that because you'll just come off as awkward, they might think you're strange and it's just not the vibe. Another American habit that wouldn't work in Norway is just opening up too fast. I feel like Americans, especially myself too, can open up very quickly. We'll tell you our life story, you know, we'll tell you all these different things about ourselves and in Norway people don't really like that. They won't really understand why you're doing that because in Norway people are a lot more surface level. Or not they're they're not very open until they get to know you. Sorry, that's the correct term. They're not very open until they get to know you, but once they get to know you, that's when they open up and I think in Norway it's different, you know, you don't want to tell the person your whole life story right away. You want to get to know them a little bit and then once you're comfortable, then you can open up.

[00:03:56]That's how it works in Norway. So, if you are coming to Norway and you are thinking of making friends or talking to people, don't open up too quickly because I've tried to do that here and it doesn't really work. People don't like that. They kind of find it awkward or weird. You know, they want to interact get to know you on a basic level first before you tell them everything. So, that's another habit that definitely wouldn't work in Norway.

[00:04:19]All right, the next kind of American habit that wouldn't work in Norway is just being very outgoing. I feel like in the US people are always on the move, you know, they're very outgoing. They want to do the next thing. They're very energetic you could say and in Norway the energy is different. Yes, people are, you know, energetic sometimes.

[00:04:39]They're very social, especially on the weekends when they're in in the clubs or in the bars drinking, they can be very social, you know, they turn from that introvert to extroverted, but in general in the day-to-day sense, I don't think being very energetic would work because people here are calm, you know, they like to take their time. They'll sit in cafes for hours, they'll walk slowly. They'll just be very, very calm and in the US it's fast-paced. People are into the next thing, you know, as I said all the time.

[00:05:08]So, I think that wouldn't [clears throat] really work. It wouldn't really work to be very outgoing here in the daytime at least or in the day-to-day in the day-to-day sense and I think that was very interesting cuz I'm a person who's very extroverted and very outgoing and I like to do things all the time. So, it took me a while to adjust to. I mean, there are still times when you can be like that, but I think if you're an American coming here or in general if you're visiting Norway, you should not really you should you should be ready to adapt to the culture and to kind of not be as energetic or social as you normally would be, you know? I mean, of course it can work. You could probably meet some people who are like that, but in general if you want to fit into the the culture here, I would say stick to being a little bit more calm because I've had to learn that and honestly, it's been really nice, you know? It's good to be calm sometimes.

[00:05:58]You know, I've I've never really knew that that that being calm was something I actually loved. I thought I always like to be on the go, but after being here for a year now, it's really changed me and I've I've realized that it's okay to be calm and it's actually good. It's good for your mental health, it's good for your for you in general, you know? So, that's another American habit that probably wouldn't work in Norway. Now, the next American habit that wouldn't work in Norway is smiling and making eye contact with people. Now, in the US it's very common when you walk by somebody or enter a store, to you know, give them a subtle smile, some eye contact, you know, you recognize them.

[00:06:35]But in Norway people do not do that.

[00:06:36]You'll just walk by the street. You usually don't look at the person. You'll just walk, focus on your own thing and it's very interesting because I've tried to make eye contact with people here.

[00:06:45]Just subtly, you know, cuz it's an American habit I have, but it hasn't worked. People don't reciprocate that and they don't really like that. They like to be reserved, kind of in their own bubble and they don't really like that kind of social pressure. It's awkward for them, right? And it took me a while to get used to because it's just something I do without even noticing, but now I've realized I don't really do that as much unless of course I go to a store and the person greets me or says, you know, "How are you?" Then I'll, you know, reciprocate it, but for the most part I just focus on my The last habit that wouldn't work in Norway, American habit, is just overall flexing. Now, in Norway there is a unwritten rules unwritten rules called Janteloven and that basically is a series of different rules that say, you know, you don't you can't be better than anyone else, you don't want to, you know, show off clothes to pretend you're better, you don't want to flex. It's not a thing to flex here and in the US, you know, that's kind of the thing or at least where I came from people would do that all the time. It was all about how much money you had, how much you were working, who could make the most money and then you try they, you know, buying cars, buying clothes, buying shoes, but that doesn't work here. People do not like that and it's crazy because a couple days ago I was walking around Oslo and I actually saw a Lamborghini, you know, which is a very expensive sports car and I think it was nice to see, but people here didn't even turn their heads. And in the US if people saw a Lamborghini, they'd be taking pictures, they'd be staring at it, but nobody even turned an eye and it was super loud. You could hear it, you know, rev its engines and nobody even looked and I thought that was so weird. I was like, "Huh, why aren't people taking pictures?" But here people do not like that kind of flashy items which makes sense. So, if you come to Norway or if you want to visit, just don't try and wear, you know, very expensive clothing or try and and when somebody talks to you, don't try and say the first thing you use you make a lot of money because people won't like it and it'll come off as rude, maybe you're trying to pretend you're better than or show you're better than the other person which it just doesn't work. So, that's the last habit that would not work in Norway. So, yeah, those are some habits that would not work in Norway if you're an American or if you're just coming to visit, those would not work. It's not how the culture works. It's very different from a lot of other cultures. It's similar to kind of similar to other European countries, but also different in its own way as you've probably heard throughout this video.

[00:09:08]And yeah, that is the video. Also, I want to say something. It has been amazing weather.

[00:09:13]Spring is finally coming. It's been sunny for the past few days.

[00:09:17]I mean, honestly, it's some of the best weather that I've experienced here. It's been amazing. I'm so happy. Let me know what you guys feel about the weather, if you're excited for the summer and maybe we'll do a video outside next time cuz I know it's inside a lot of the time, but maybe I'll change it up and let me know what videos you guys want to see. If there's any specific things you want to see and yeah, thank you so much for watching and with that being said, I will catch you guys in the next video. Also, sorry I haven't been posting a lot. The uploads will come consistently starting very, very soon starting now basically. So, make sure you subscribe so you don't miss those. Leave a like, leave a comment and I'll see you guys in the next one. Nicholas signing off.

[00:09:58]Peace.