I have little idea about eviction, but since I am an influencer and thus part of an industry where we are well known for speaking out about things we can’t, I will write about it anyway. There is something I don’t understand. I am a staunch opponent of the massive cottage development, partly because it is hopeless to destroy nature in the middle of a natural crisis, and partly because it “looks like shit”, as my Danish husband would say. At the same time, Bygde-Norge is being depopulated, and often when I read mayors commenting on the solution to the problem, they talk about building large cottage areas. Because it is supposed to provide jobs, which rumor has it is exactly what they lack. And then I can’t help but think: Is it only if you work as a carpenter, shop manager or ski lift operator that you are wanted in the countryside? What about all of us academics with home offices? Is it so read and agreed that we love to pay 30,000 on our mortgage a month, and therefore cannot be lured away from the overpriced city? My husband hangs over my shoulder and looks at Finnannonser: – Here we could be debt-free if we moved, I say. – And it’s a double garage, he replies. – And there the children could fish for crab from their own jetty, certainly without worrying about car traffic. Then the conversation stops, because the fact is that none of us knows anything about Kalvåg. I have to zoom quite far out on the map before I have identified whether it is in the north, east, west or middle of the country. Is it cozy there? Who knows. Are there good offers for the children? No idea. What about the social, are people nice, is there anything fun going on there? It will be with the surfing. The marketing of District Norway is absent. Or that is to say: At least it doesn’t reach me. With a few golden exceptions. In 2021, Fyresdal hired the influencer @firgisle to move there and document the good life in the countryside. I followed him with joy. There were cows, sunrises, Fyresdal pride and evening baths. Yes, simply sickeningly good advertising. – Call the mayor if you’re wondering about moving here, said @firgisle. And with that sentence, he made local politics in District Norway seem so pleasant that it almost became too much. Rumor has it that Fyresdal’s biggest problem now is getting housing for those who want to move there. It may well be that district politicians, like most Norwegians, like to have a distant relationship with the “influencer” species, and all respect for that. It really isn’t everything in that industry that is something to strive for. The fact is, however, that when you make your own Saturday afternoon entertainment for tens of thousands of people, and you make millions taking pictures of what you’re wearing on a normal day, then you know something about marketing. And marketing is probably the key word here, because now comes a scolding sermon: Most of the district Insta accounts I’ve seen seem like a big deal that has been put away to Ragnar for accounting. Of course in addition to an already full position. The awareness that social media, marketing and sales are fields that require knowledge and, not least, time to develop and produce content, build accounts and have a consistent presence over time, seems completely absent. I’m sorry to say that District Norway: Their social media accounts suck camel’s balls. Is there information about the municipality on their website, you say? It is not enough. There is no one in the world who surfs around municipality websites to see if Naustdal is exactly the place you and your family are going to move to. Can you take a look at @visitnaustdal on Instagram, then? Sorry, an Instagram with vacation photos is not the same as a some account specially designed to attract people who are going to move permanently. It’s like producing the world’s coolest car, hanging a sign at your local Prix and then complaining about poor sales. In other words: There is room for improvement here. Bygde-Norge actually needs some really good influencers or other professional marketing people. As mentioned, moving out and moving in is not my expertise. It may well be that I am terribly naive, and that the only way to populate District Norway is to build out another cabin field and dig up the open areas for the local population, so that the 2,000 new cabins will have electricity and water. But it is possible that there is a blind spot here. That it is actually possible to throw some money into some modern marketing, and lure a broke family or fifty away from the big city and out into the countryside. If there are any local communities out there that have a good school, an office community, a pleasant environment and a home that doesn’t require you to sell your soul to the devil to pay for it, then I think there are a good number of people from Oslogryta who can be seduced. My guess is that there are at least as many of us as there are potential cabin buyers. And the clear advantage of those of us who can be persuaded to move permanently is that we actually live and use shops and other offers all year round, not just on weekends and holidays. Not to mention that we already have a job and tax income that accrues to the municipality. Of course, it will be annoying that the electric car charger at the municipal hall will be constantly busy, and that we may have to be taught the rhythm and tone of closing fences around pasture, but otherwise I think we are pretty good. And even better: No one needs to destroy nature to get us there.
ttn-69
Lure us out into the countryside – Ytring
