We were absolutely clear about wanting to come to Karljohansvern.

 

What made us really want to live here was the combination of the feeling of living

in a great big park, which is very beautiful, no distance to the sea, no distance to town,

and then we loved these old protected buildings.

 

So what’s not to like?

 

I think it’s Karljohansvern that makes Horten a very special town.

 

Then there’s the combination of the extreme quiet when you go out in the evening, when you can’t hear anything, and then just about any Saturday or Sunday, there’s something going on if you’re out for a walk. Either at Garasjetorget or at one of the museums or a concert.

 

It’s like a combination of peace and quiet with lots of life. And it’s ten minutes into town.

It’s the kind of place where you can put on your dressing gown in the morning and go down to have a swim both summer and winter. And then you’re bound to meet neighbours wandering across the grass in their dressing gowns too. On fine summer mornings, Saturdays, it’s typical to bump into lots of neighbours having a morning swim and a coffee on the beach.

 

So I think it’s a place you can move to without knowing anyone and you’ll soon get to know somebody. And the people who live here, they’ll really wish you welcome.

And I think that’s pretty unique about Horten.

 

I said just now, we’d been to my parents and were driving home, and as we drove across town I got the feeling... now we’re going home.

 

You can get a space for your boat immediately if that’s what you want. That doesn’t go without saying where I come from. We bought a boat and called on the way down that we needed a space, and it was ready by the time we got there.

 

We cycle a lot. Enjoy cycling, going for walks. Having dinner on the beach or afternoons on the beach. It’s 200 metres and you can sit on a beautiful beach looking out over the Oslo Fjord.

I think that’s what I like most of all.

 

My office is in Oslo. That’s our base, but I’m usually out with customers. I could almost live anywhere, but here is an excellent place to start out from. When you’ve got a home office here,

you can just take five minutes and go down to the bench down there when there’s wind and a few waves, blow your head clear, and then you’re ready to go back and work some more.

 

I work in Tønsberg and am sometimes at home but usually in the office, and I think that’s the perfect distance – exactly 20 km each way, which is brilliant. And there’s a cycle path from door to door. People from around Oslo think that’s hardly any distance but down here we call it commuting. People from Horten commute to Tønsberg and it’s 20 minutes. They think either you walk to work or you commute.

 

The coast path goes all the way around Karljohansvern. It’s five kilometres and great to run.

It’s lovely to walk and nice to cycle too. It follows the sea the whole way along and is maybe one of the things that add to this being a very attractive area for walks.