My reason: More stability

Interesting work and a safe environment

For the last 13 years, Venezuelan Aleyne Castillo has been living in Norway with her family - her husband Carlos and their 9-year-old twins Alejandro and Victoria who were born in Norway. The decision to leave Venezuela was prompted by the difficult situation in the country, where Alleyne's father-in-law lost his job after a strike in the company he worked for.

– Everybody lost their jobs after the strike. He couldn´t find anything else to do, so he started looking outside of Venezuela. Luckily, he found a position in the oil industry in Norway.

While the in-laws were planning their move to Norway, Aleyne and her husband started thinking. Would it be crazy to follow them?

– We wanted more stability, a house of our own and a good environment for our children to grow up in. We decided to take the chance.

Carlos applied for a job in the IT sector, he had a remote interview and got a quick answer for a job opportunity, so they packed up their life, and left Venezuela to live at the Norwegian west coast. For Aleyne, it was a little more complicated.

– The language was difficult; it still is after 13 years. And there were more challenges, both me and my husband lost our jobs due to the oil crisis. However, we persisted, and Carlos eventually found a job in Oslo. We stayed for a while and then we moved back to Stavanger again for new opportunities. Now, I have a job, he has a job, we have our own house, and the children are happy at school.

Aleyne works as a designer in the IT- and design-company, Solv, with around 50 employees, while her husband is in the IT-business in a consultant company.

– We both love it here; the work is interesting, and our children are very happy and safe. As a bonus, the job opportunities here are increasing.

When she’s not at work, Aleyne likes to spend time with her family. They go hiking, attend local events and love to travel around the country.
– I have a lot of family and friends here now. It is not so easy to make Norwegian friends, they can be a bit reserved, but when you get to know them, they can be the best friends you’ve ever had.