Norway is not a socalistic country, that's just absurd (unless you are on the right wing of US politics - where everything left of for-profit healthcare is socialism/marxism/communism).
Our cost of living is often absurdly high though, and the increased wages can't completely make up the difference (it's AWESOME for travel though). Therefore we can't afford as much "stuff" as Americans can, but I think it's worth it due to increased quality of life the Norwegian system brings.
True. I despise the Norwegian winter. I'll get through it this year, but I'll likely find somewhere warmer to be next winter.
The summer in Norway on the other hand is magical. I didn't realize what a huge privilege is it to be able to chill/drink beer/barbecue in the park the whole evening and watch the sunset at 23/11PM (or the whole night in the north of Norway) until I lived in Thailand for a year (where the sun always goes down around 18-19).
Sure, it's always warm there, but I really missed the long summer nights. Living far away from the equator has both its advantages and disadvantages.
Ok its a "parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy" according to Wikipedia. Doesn't change the fact that socialist systems operate inside Norway. Including heavy centralized govt control of goods and services e.g. taxing cars to force people's choices.
Our cost of living is often absurdly high though, and the increased wages can't completely make up the difference (it's AWESOME for travel though). Therefore we can't afford as much "stuff" as Americans can, but I think it's worth it due to increased quality of life the Norwegian system brings.