Norwegian expat delivers icy blast, calling Australian winters 'the worst'

Ellinor Stenhammer, 24, has been 'humbled' by the cooler conditions sweeping across most of Australia this week.

Sophie Coghill
·News Reporter
Updated ·2-min read

Parts of the country have experienced a dip in temperature as we well and truly bid farewell to summer, and even those among us more accustomed to colder climates have found the change a difficult one to accept, with one Norwegian expat admitting she has been "humbled" by winters here.

Ellinor Stenhammer, 24, has lived in the country for over two years and is already donning large jumpers and "wool socks" this week with the temperature dropping in Melbourne while regions in NSW experience the same. However, her biggest claim was admitting she found Scandinavian winters more bearable.

"Everyone is like, 'Oh, you're from Norway you should be fine with Australian winters'. No! Australian winters are the worst," the Melbourne-based woman said online. "It is so cold, it's April and already like, I can't feel my fingers."

Ellinor Stenhammer, 24, holds up her 'cold' hands to the camera claiming Australian winter is worse than in Norway. She wear pink wool socks (right) at home.
Ellinor Stenhammer, 24, claims the Australian winter is worse than those she experienced back in Norway. Source: TikTok

Reasons expat prefers winters in Norway

Stenhammer said winters in Norway feel "nice and cozy" and the frequent snowfall makes it an enjoyable experience, especially as it coincides with Christmas. In comparison she describes an Aussie winter as "grey" and "rainy" and something to endure until the warmer seasons swing back around.

After sharing her thoughts Aussies acknowledged parts of the country get "glorious" winters in comparison to other parts of the world, with one North Queenslander saying "it's not bad" having 32-degree days in winter. However, others were on board with Stenhammer's sentiment and pointed to possible reasons why the winters feel so chilly here, with one in particular coming up time and time again.

"Aussie homes aren't built for the cold," one wrote.

Many Aussie homes are colder than Scandinavian ones

A study carried out last year by the University of Adelaide found Aussie homes get colder in winter than those in Greenland and Finland, with minimum temperatures averaging well below the World Health Organisation's recommended minimum temperature of 18 degrees.

Victorian and Tasmanian homes in the study averaged 15 degrees while by comparison Finland averaged between 20 and 24 degrees.

Poor housing contributes to this as well as the attitude that, as Australian winters are more temperate compared to others in the world, dips in temperature can be ignored without appropriate measures to withstand it.

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