– We couldn’t do this in Oslo, to live so close to nature, says Atle Egeland. The father of the family scouts beyond the mountain home at Hovden at the top of Setesdal. A completely different view than the family had when they lived in the city. New technology made it possible to move while keeping their jobs. – Check that view to wake up to, says Egeland. – Did you sleep well, asks mum Merethe Trollsås Egeland, and shakes the hammock of her eldest son Jonas, 12. It takes a while before she gets an answer. The son has spent another night on the terrace with his little brother Isak, who is 10. The two boys are heavy sleepers, and love to spend the nights outdoors. Fun all year round The family of four got tired of driving up and down the mountain at weekends. One day they decided to stay in the village. – The joy of being able to be here while others were queuing to return to the city after the weekend was great, says mum Merethe. The boys have come down from the hammock and are eating breakfast. They eagerly list everything that is positive about living in the mountains. – There is a lot of fun here all year round. But the very best thing is that we have snow and can ski in the winter, says Isak. The family gathered around the breakfast table at home in Hovden. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / news Took the job on the mountain with her Merete is a nurse, and had to start looking for a job in the small town at the top of Setesdal. After a while, she got a full-time position in the municipality. Atle bet everything on his being allowed to take his job as pharmaceutical consultant at AstraZeneca with him. – It requires a large degree of self-discipline from me, and a good portion of flexibility from the employer, says Atle, where he sits in the office, in the center of Hovden. Atle Egeland in his office in the center of Hovden. He has nature right outside his office window. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / news Pandemic = new thinking During the pandemic, Norway had to think differently to keep people in work. Technological solutions were developed at record speed. Suddenly, many companies realized that it was possible to work, even if you were not physically present at the workplace. A small “high mountain hub” was developed at Hovden. There are now more people working remotely. People who have taken their work to the mountains with them. Here you can also rent on an hourly, daily or weekly basis. – We see more and more people who want to be in the mountains and work, says general manager of the destination, Unn Hovden. She is happy about the development and the fact that Bykle municipality is one of the municipalities in Norway with a positive development in the number of inhabitants. Bykle is a large cottage municipality. Now the municipality is making arrangements for people to be able to work from here. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / news Can give more residents Professor Øystein Sæbø at the University of Agder believes remote working can give small municipalities more residents. – If 10, 20 or 30 people from a big city move to the village, it will not have much to say for the city, but a lot to say for the village, says Sæbø. He works with information, and has looked at research that has been done around technology and flexible job opportunities. – Modern technology can increase settlement in some municipalities, he says. But he emphasizes that it is important that the small municipalities are attractive, with infrastructure, schools and leisure facilities. Øystein Sæbø is a professor at the University of Agder. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / news Going against the grain The big cities are growing, while many rural communities are being displaced and aging. But in Bykle they go against the grain. Here, the population has increased in recent years. According to Statistics Norway, 995 residents lived in Bykle at the turn of the year. There are 60 more people than the previous year, and a growth of 6.42 per cent. This is high compared to the total population growth in Norway last year. According to Statistics Norway, the population grew by just over 1 per cent in total. An unusually high number due to immigration from Ukraine. – Technology has done something for rural communities. And someone will be able to win the battle to get highly educated people to work anywhere, says Sæbø. From the center of Hovden you can see the alpine slopes. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / news Allure with free kindergarten and lift pass Hydropower has made Bykle one of Norway’s richest municipalities. Here, people get a free nursery place and help to pay the electricity bill. Lift tickets to the ski hill are distributed to all children and young people. Fjellbygda has more than 2,000 cabins, so on weekends and holidays the number of inhabitants multiplies. The municipality was also early on in rolling out broadband. In other words, a municipality that has a lot to offer. But for the Trollsås Egeland family, access to nature was still the reason they reported moving from Oslo to Hovden. – The mountain Hovdenut, which is 1116 meters above sea level, has got Sherpa stairs. I try to run up there during lunch if it suits, says Atle Egeland. – I couldn’t do that in Oslo, he says and smiles. Atle Egeland points to the mountain peak he likes to run up to during lunch. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / news
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Remote working made the family move to the village – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
