Ås, Norway

Bureaucracy is a persistent headache, with the tax burden heavy and the government's grip extensive. Ås is home to just 5,627,400 people, a fraction of Norway's total population. The climate is brutally cold, with permafrost common in the interior. Yet Norway's egalitarian values mean the wage gap between workers and executives remains modest. Overall, Ås offers the signature high quality of life found across this prosperous Scandinavian country, but the tradeoffs may prove too much for some.