How to find an accommodation in Norway?

Oslo and most other cities in Norway are not very big as compared to other large international cities. Therefore, you can live anywhere in Oslo reach anywhere else, in less than an hour. However, in general, the west side of the city is considered more Posh and safer than the Eastern Oslo.  

Prices in Downtown tend to be more expensive than the Suburbs. However, practically speaking, it may not be possible to find accommodation anywhere in Oslo for under 5000 NOK/month for even a Studio apartment. A more realistic price would be about 7000-10000 NOK/month.

In accommodation hunt, your first bet would be try the site, www.finn.no, the largest property listing site in Norway and use Google translate to bail you out. Secondly, you could try searching for service apartments followed by Budget hotels or Youth Hostels.  Lastly, if you are coming for a short term, have a look at this site, to get some leads: http://use-it.unginfo.oslo.no/WP/sleep/hotels-hostels/

Note:

1. People usually prefer renting the apartment for long-term (Read 3 years!!) and it is generally more expensive to find short term accommodation (less than 1 year).
2. It is complicated to break the lease agreement, without paying for the entire duration so make sure that you read the lease agreement before signing up.
3. Rents may or may not include maintenance (warm water, heating, electricity and internet). Electric heating for a 1 BHK house can be as expensive as 1000 – 1500 NOK during winters. So centralized heating (water / oil based OR floor heating) options should be preferred (Tip Courtesy : Nikhilesh)