Freysta.com
Explore Norwegian villages through in-depth profiles, articles about Norwegian culture, and practical moving guides. All freely available, no account needed.
Explore Freysta.com
About Freysta
Helping You Find Your Dream Village
A new kind of matchmaking — between people and villages.
This is Freysta
Many dream of a life in the Norwegian countryside. A life closer to nature, with more breathing space. A safe place for children to grow up, clean air and clean water. But how do you find that special place that suits you the best?
It's not always easy. There is a jungle of various websites about villages, municipalities, and regions. Some in Norwegian, some in English, some in other languages. It can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack, and it's challenging to find good, relevant, and comparable information about different rural areas in Norway. Many of the smaller villages aren't even written about on the web.
Freysta wants to change that. We are building the first comprehensive portal for Norwegian villages, where you can search for the place that matches your own desires, interests, and needs. From village profiles and local employers to articles about Norwegian culture and practical moving guides. We aim to be useful, informative, and entertaining. (Also, we are completely free and ad-free.) Also, we want to present rural Norway as it truly is: not as a postcard fantasy, but as real communities with history, opportunities, challenges, and everyday life.
Our goal is simple: to help people see the possibilities in rural living. Or simply visiting. No two villages are the same; neither are the people looking for them.
In short, Freysta is a new kind of matchmaking. Between people and villages.
60+ Village Profiles
100+ Articles Published
2024 Launched
Three Surfaces, One Ecosystem
How Freysta Works
Freysta Portal
Our matching technology connects you with villages based on what actually matters to you. Nature, activities, and available services. Message village representatives directly, browse local job listings from NAV (the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration), and get alerts when opportunities arise in your favourite villages.
Sign up for freeFreysta Ferd
A case management tool for municipalities to track and follow up newcomer cases. From initial inquiry to settled resident, fully integrated with the Freysta ecosystem.
Learn more about Freysta Ferd (in Norwegian) The Team
The People Behind Freysta
Marion Solheim
Co-founderMarion grew up as the oldest of three kids on a sheep farm in Solheim, a hamlet of Hyen in the Nordfjord region. She went on to work as a radio and TV news reporter in NRK and later became a communications advisor in academia, with extensive experience in presentation techniques, media training, and communication strategies.
The interest in village life has always been strong. When the idea of Freysta was born, Marion decided that this was the best way she could use her skills to make a difference.
Because, to be honest, she could never be a farmer; she didn't get her father's practical genes. (But she insists that she has mad skills with the chainsaw and wood chopping.)
marion@freysta.com
Tom Arild Rysjedal
Co-founderTom is in many ways the opposite of Marion. He grew up as the youngest in his siblings' group in Norway's second-largest city, Bergen. However, his childhood summers were often spent on his grandparents' farm in what he himself believes is the most beautiful place in the world, Unstad in Lofoten.
He studied child protection and child welfare, but his interest in computers quickly took over. For the past 15 years, he has worked as a senior consultant in a software company. From his first Commodore 64 in childhood to the modern PC, he has always enjoyed creating in the digital world.
For someone who is well above average when it comes to order and system, the lack of well-structured information about Norwegian villages, combined with an information jungle of hundreds of different websites, presented an irresistible challenge.
tom@freysta.comPeople are different, and so are Norwegian villages.
The Freysta Philosophy
Get in Touch
We'd Love to Hear From You
Whether you have questions about a village, want to suggest a new one, or just want to say hello — don't hesitate to reach out.
post@freysta.com