Developed model that says where you should live - moved from Oslo to Kongsvingerregionen

Developed model that says where you should live - moved from Oslo to the Kongsvinger region

A home-made "moving model" led Kay Henning Kleverud and her cohabitant to the Kongsvinger region. - Here we found a safe and good home, with good conditions for growing up and beautiful nature, says Kleverud.

Name: Kay Henning Kleverud

When Kay Henning Kleverud and cohabitant were to move out of the hectic life at Haugerud in Oslo, they let Kay use their expertise in IT and technology to develop a model based on various criteria that could point out the best place to move to.

- We first decided what was important to us in the search for a new place to live. It was primarily about proximity to nature, kindergarten and growing up conditions with a view to planned family expansion, as well as a good public transport service with a commuter road to Oslo of about an hour. In addition, we took out a buffer zone of 20 kilometers from Gardermoen, because it is a hectic area with, among other things, a good deal of noise. Lillestrøm and Skedsmo also gave us too much "city feeling", we wanted more peace, Kleverud explains.

- In addition, there was limited money in the wallet for expensive housing investments. In the Kongsvinger region, we found a house that met our criteria - and at an affordable price. Here you get a house and garden in a district with a wide range of activities at the same price as a 30 square meter apartment in Oslo. In the Kongsvinger region, you still have access to the big city's benefits through an hour-long train ride, he adds.

Moving on express time

It became clear early on that it was the area around Nittedal or the municipalities in the Kongsvinger region closest to Oslo that stood out as favorites. In the end, the choice fell on Sør-Odal and the hamlet of Ullern.

- In the course of three months later, we had sold the apartment in Oslo, bought a house in Ullern and moved in. We chose a house that was not a renovation object because the cohabitant was already pregnant. The whole process went incredibly smoothly, and we are very happy with our choice, says Kleverud, who still has to admit that there was one factor he had forgotten to take into account in his model:

- Property tax! I forgot. But I'm sure that the Kongsvinger region would have come out best anyway, he smiles.

Took the expertise «home»

When Kay and her cohabitant moved to the Kongsvinger region, they both worked as geodata engineers in the geodata department in the planning and building department in Oslo municipality. Since then, Kleverud has been employed as a GIS coordinator (management of geographical information) in Sør-Odal municipality, and during the past year, the inhabitants have several times benefited from Kay's very special expertise. One of his major projects was to create a VR model of Glommasvingen school that showed students and parents how the new school would be long before it was finally completed, but Kleverud has also carried out a survey of outdoor areas in the municipality.

- It was actually a funny coincidence that I started working in Sør-Odal municipality. A colleague in Oslo was in the process of finding a new job, and then we found out that there was a vacancy here. I had met GIS colleagues in Kongsvinger earlier and knew about the region's work with GIS, and thus knew that I could also have an important professional network regionally, Kleverud explains, and adds that it is exciting and rewarding to be able to contribute with their expertise in their new home region.

- You become a bit "the king of the mound" in the field when you are mainly alone with the expertise at GIS, but I enjoy it. In a smaller municipality like Sør-Odal, I also get to work with most areas, in contrast to larger municipalities where you often become specialized, he says, who also appreciates the cooperation within the field in the region.

The relocation criteria were met

In addition to being able to really influence and see visible results of his work in the region, there are several good reasons why Kay Henning Kleverud thrives in Odalen.

- In the Kongsvinger region you have all the facilities you need. We found an arena early on where we got a network privately, we think the nature is very beautiful, and as a hunter I think the Kongsvinger region is a very attractive area. In addition, our daughter dances at Victory Dance, where there is also an environment.

- If I am to look back to the starting point for the model, I would very much say that the points we emphasized were met. We will not move back to Oslo again, he says.

Gap between resources and expectations

New expertise in the public sector, of which Kay Henning Kleverud is an example, is one of many focus areas for the municipalities in the Kongsvinger region. HR manager in Sør-Odal municipality, Ambjørg Flaata, believes that the recruitment of new skills, innovation and further development of existing employees is absolutely crucial for success in the future.

- Today, all municipalities experience that there is a gap between resources and expectations from the environment. This gap will not be smaller in the future, and therefore we must work differently to continue to provide good services to the inhabitants, Flaata explains.

The HR manager believes that there is a need for innovation and new thinking, but also increased specialist competence and skilled generalists in the years to come.

- The work tasks of the future may look different than what we traditionally think, she believes.

Legitimacy depends on competence

Flaata also sees that there will be a tighter labor market, and a high average age means that many must be replaced in a short time. In addition, the municipal sector is characterized by high sickness absence and many young people who choose to move out of the municipality.

- Sør-Odal municipality wants to appear as an attractive workplace for competent and independent employees through the use of updated knowledge and a culture of innovation and learning. Our legitimacy and ability to implement depends on competent employees.

- Therefore, it is important for the municipality to both attract and retain attractive labor. New employees with high competence are valuable contributions to the municipality as a workplace, says Ambjørg Flaata.

Briefly about the relocation model

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The couple had the following criteria to be met when moving:

- About 1 hour + 15 min. by train from Oslo
Five kilometers of buffer from the stations as the crow flies
- 20 km buffer around Gardermoen
- Masking over large settlements
- Everything within the black circles and outside the transparent "gray color" are potential habitable areas (so-called "habital zone").
- Based on this, the other criteria came into play, such as budget and upbringing conditions.
- Most for the money at the time of moving was in the Skarnes area.