I do not know where in norway you live, but what you describe...doesnt sound like the same country i live in, here in western norway ( bergen ) people push the speedlimit, average speed on a 80 kph highway is about 85, police wont bother you until you're over 90-95.
The same city in question, has historicly been a major trading city, even before americas was discovered ( Hanseatic League 1200 AD->), and is still one of the most visited ports in the world, in trade and in tourism. There has also been allot of cultural trade ever since the vikings headed over to England to have some fun.
The food. You can basicly get the exact same food here, that you can get in every other european country, and the food is -cheaper- in norway, then in any other country in europe, if you compare it with the wages we get here. ( you make about 23us$ an hour working at Mcdonalds.) So offcourse food has to be expencive, people who work at slaughterhouses and shops needs to get payed too. If you dont like that you can make 60 000 us$ a year working at McDonalds, while you as a MD make about 100 000us$ a year , too bad, move back to US where there are more social differences, and therefore, crime. Cant even understand why you would live here, if it bothers you that much.