Never kill a good story, whether it is true or not. Well-informed ears told me that the decisive moment when the journalists from Monocle fell in love with Oslo, was when Einar “Fuglen” K Holthe invited them to a fjord trip in his simple, but heartful boat. It was one of these sunny days in Summer-Oslo when everybody understands the word-art found at one of our beaches: “Fuck the South, the Oslo summer is best”. During the fjord trip their boat had to manouver between sailboats competing in a regatta. At one point Einar points to the skipper on one of the boats: “By the way, there is our king”. That can only happen in the capital of Norway.

The Monocle survey is a massive documentation of Oslo`s entrepreneurial spirit, bringing Oslo onto the global stage as a emerging world city. As Monocle points out in their welcoming column: “As one of Europe´s wealthiest and fastest-growing cities it is branching out, shaking off its Nordic modesty and stepping up to take the initiative in everything from urban planning to entrepreneurship.” The survey highlights entrepreneurs and movers and shakers in every field; from business & entreprenurship, culture, art & media, design & architecture, retail & fashion.

In what Monocle call “Five city fixes” they suggest that people of Oslo should work longer hours. Maybe it is the other way around. Oslo`s secret ingredient in our success-formula is that people have found a perfect balance between life and work, and that is where our creativity nourishes. This work-life balance provide people of Oslo with the materials necessary for life and growth.