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MARLA GOES NORTH
Notes from a life between places.
Marla Goes North began as a record of leaving full-time life in the U.S. in 2021. It has grown into a space shaped by curiosity, belonging, and wonder, alongside the realities of starting over in a new place.
Part travel journal, part creative practice, and part reflection, this site explores what it means to build a life rooted in two places. I write about music, nature, and travel, and about learning as I go.
Here you’ll find:
Mixtapes — seasonal updates from my life in Norway, featuring what I’m reading, listening to, and inspired by
Field Notes— snapshots of people, places, and stories that offer a closer look at everyday life and culture in Norway
Journeys — travel stories from Oslo, Stavanger, Denmark, and beyond
Life Stories — personal essays drawn from lived experience and reflection
Subscribe to receive new Mixtapes and Field Notes as they’re published. Learn more about me here.
“Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” ― Mary Oliver
I was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and grew up in Retreat, an unincorporated community along the Mississippi River, near where Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa meet. My childhood followed the rhythms of the land. Summers meant work in tobacco fields and long days outside. I spent my time fishing in creeks, picking berries, camping in the woods, getting lost in Laura Ingalls Wilder, riding horses, building fires and snow forts, studying maps and daydreaming about faraway places and people.
I was a first-generation college student and earned a degree in Human Ecology from the University of Wisconsin. For nearly two decades, I worked in public education in Madison. Along the way, I also spent time on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, supporting recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina. That experience allowed me to see how people lean on one another when everything feels uncertain, and how rebuilding happens slowly, through ordinary work and human connection.
In 2020, the pandemic and political unrest disrupted everything I thought I knew about stability. Like many people, I slowed down and took stock. I asked hard questions about how I wanted to live, talked to my future self and tuned in to what matters most. That process eventually led me to purchase a rustic cabin on three acres in the heart of the Wisconsin Driftless Region in the fall of 2020, then across the Atlantic, back toward the landscapes and histories of my ancestors in the fall of 2021.
Today, I live in a small village on Norway’s west coast, between Bergen and Stavanger, while I await a decision on my application for residency. I work remotely, write, and spend time in nature, fully embracing friluftsliv. I’m practicing patience, learning the language, building community where I can, and finding my footing in a landscape that feels both familiar and foreign at the same time.
Velkommen til Marla Goes North.