Former actor AJ Dee opened up about his journey relocating to Norway and leaving his showbiz career in the Philippines.

In an interview with Bianca Gonzalez for the TFC show BRGY, AJ admitted that initially, it took a while for him to decide to leave the entertainment industry.

"It took me a year I think because this [was] a big decision. I have to pack everything and I have to leave my career and start a new one and this is not a country (referring to Norway) that speaks English. This is a country that speaks another language so it was a big decision for me," he shared.

Ultimately, what pushed him to move to Norway was his family. "This is what I always say—once a person gets a child or children you now start to live for them not for yourself so it would be selfish for me if I continued my career and 'yung asawa ko naghihirap especially sa western country you do everything on your own," he pointed out.

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He went on: "So I decided that's it for me. Close this chapter [in showbiz] and start with a new chapter which is to live in Norway."

On the major adjustments that he made when he moved overseas, AJ relayed: "I think it would be the language barrier kasi a lot of people here can speak English but siyempre you want to be integrated di ba so that's very challenging."

Another challenge that he had to face was looking for a job. "You don't know where to start. How could you get a job if you don't know anyone? So sabi ko I want to work in the retail or in the fashion business but I don't know where to start so that was really a struggle for me."

Eventually, AJ secured a job in retail in Oslo and is still currently working in the industry.

Aside from his day job, the former Kapamilya star also has two businesses in Norway. One is a tailoring business called St. James Oslo.

READ: AJ Dee, ikinasal sa non-showbiz partner

"I found a new passion which is tailoring so I learned a lot and then studied on my own...  I [now] own [a] tailoring company," he relayed.

He went on: "It's challenging to start a brand if the owner or the ambassador is not Norwegian but then again I believe in the concept, I believe in the products that we are selling."

AJ also owns a food business. "A year after [when] I moved here to Norway, I met this guy half-Filipino, half-Norwegian he used to be part of the Manoeuvres. We had a concept of what if we sell Filipino frozen food products," he recalled.

"We started making our own longganisa, tocino, and tapa. We tried it out at the Philippine Independence Day here in Oslo and in two hours we managed to sell around 150 packs of it so we know that it's going to be a successful one, there's a market for it."

Today, AJ also owns a takeaway restaurant in Oslo. "We sell rice bowls like longsilog, tapsilog, tosilog, adobo... And aside from that we used to go around Norway holding events where we showcase and present boodle fight so we have guests, mixed of Filipinos and Norwegians, and everyone loves it."