I live in Oslo and not in Tromsø for many reasons. Oslo has a much better weather, and has more sunlight during winter. It's much closer to other parts of the world, thanks to the international airport, the trains, the boats, and the roads. If you travel a bit, it's a huge difference. You have much more jobs in Oslo, so a higher chance to find interesting jobs. You also have a lot more people, and events, and culture. International music bands do live music in Oslo, rarely Bergen or Trondheim for example. And it has everything I want on the outdoor style, beaches, lakes, islands, sea, ski resorts, thousands of paths for biking, hiking, skiing. All that is well connected to public transport. You can take the subway from work to go skiing in the forest, and it's pretty nice.