I live in Iceland AMA

[Whynotnowbaby]

As the title says. I’ve lived here for a couple of years now having moved from the U.K.

I moved with my husband and kids, we said we would give it a go for a year as we were both feeling ready for a change. We just loved the country and really decided to go on a whim on the basis that we could always come home again! I would recommend it but it’s not always easy to find work (and as I said before would be much harder now, post Brexit).

I think ten years ago there was very little variety of groceries but now I can get almost anything I want - we have Costco which stocks things like tea. Iceland grows a surprising amount of fresh veg too in geothermal greenhouses and has amazing lamb so it’s not all fish and yogurt.

I have seen the Northern lights looking spectacular but probably only five times in two years so you would have to be very lucky on a short tour. The midnight sun is always there in summer though and that is well worth seeing.

Have you found it easy to integrate? An English friend of mine spent a year working in Reykjavik some years back, and while she loved it and made good friends, she found people tended to spend weekends with family more than in the UK. Her twin toddlers attended a nursery and were quite fluent in Icelandic by Christmas.

What time of year would you recommend for tourists? I am hoping to visit with DD maybe next year. We are both a bit obsessed with the north (we're in southern Italy)

Have you read Burial Rites by Hannah Kent?

But more to the point, can you recommend any other novels set in Iceland? (in or translated into English)

Icelandic is very hard and, as everyone, even young children, can speak English, it’s hard to practise. I’m persevering and getting there slowly but by no means fluent. Every Icelander I know is incredibly proud to be Icelandic and delighted that I’m trying to learn. I think it would be very hard to fully assimilate here though as people meet their friends at preschool and it’s hard to join in fully as an adult - but that may change as I start to be able to join in with conversations more fully.

The kids go to Icelandic school and are much better at the language than me and dh. They learn a lot about the folklore and the country itself at school which is really nice.

It’s not EU but EEA which essentially means the same imitation rules apply.

cuddling good boots are all I’ve needed to keep feet warm. We all remove shoes inside Including in school so I have a range of pairs of socks and slippers too but it’s very warm inside.

Aldidl aisle 6!

Kayaking- I like your question! I'm also after books set in Iceland.

Ooh, so want to go! I have a few Icelandic friends and they are just the most interesting, cool people.

cressless that’s true, most of the good friends I have met so far are other expats but my work community are lovely and I’ve done quite a few social things with them.

I’m going to come back to this thread later, need to dash now!

That's so interesting about removing shoes! So you teach classes and everyone is in slippers?

We loved Iceland when we visited and would love to visit again. My husband who is just so awkward and uncomfortable everywhere felt immediately at home there, like he could really breathe and relax. All the open spaces and walks we went on were fantastic. Everyone seemed so friendly! Are the Icelandic ok with British people moving there generally, or feel protective of their country?

@Aldidl 🤣 I laughed!!!

There was a brilliant review of Ragnar Johannson’s Hidden Iceland trilogy on the paper this weekend (crime/mystery).

I'm reading the Dark Iceland series by the same fella at the moment. Very atmospheric, though translator is a bit stilted at times.

If you had to name the one best and one worst thing about living in Iceland what would they be?

Is everyone proud of sigur ros? (We love them)

I love Iceland. I would go back in a heartbeat. Would love to go in summer as went in February.

Do you travel all over and what is your favourite thing to see/do.

People are always proud of homegrown talent, not necessarily Sigur Ros but there are a lot of great music acts here.

I have found everyone to be very friendly although there are those that feel there are two many foreigners here - we represent a large proportion of the population. Generally they are lovely as long as you make an effort with Icelandic!

Favourite thing- being able to travel at weekends and see some beautiful things. We love the Westfjords as they tend to be quiet and not as busy as other beauty spots.

Worst thing: hard to say, the darkness gets tedious after a while but it ends just as you’re really getting fed up with it and there is something kind of magical about the sun struggling up around lunchtime! Probably when it is rainy or grey for days on end. I’m fine with the cold as long as it’s not wet!

We had a great family holiday last year with young kids, we spent a week cruising around and all loved it. There is a very special feel to the place. Iceland is a niceland!

So sorry, no question but I bet it’s a great place to live!

What is the healthcare like and is it expensive?

@Cattenberg

We saw the Northern lights in Norway (near Tromso so very north!) they were absolutely amazing, breath taking in fact.

Do you miss the English landscape?

What is the biggest cultural difference?
Are there a lot of 'expats' , what countries are they from?

Healthcare is good, although luckily we haven’t had to use it much up to now. You have to pay a small fee (it’s about £20) for anything, from a gp appointment to open heart surgery, but only adults who can afford it

I think the biggest cultural distance is the concept that everything will be fine. They say “þetta reddast” (which basically means, it will sort itself out). It’s a great feeling to live by and usually turns out to be true as there is a lot less pressure to have everything organised and planned out but it is unnerving when you arrive from U.K. and you get invited to parties on the day they happen or told to take a group of kids on a trip for work on the same day! It also means it can be hard to get answers to what feel like pretty important questions (to do with tax or making bookings for things). Once you learn to roll with it it’s fine and pretty relaxing!

Interesting you say that! Before we went on holiday there we felt that some key details were missing from the car hire, the tourist things we’d pre-booked, some of the accommodation etc but it all worked out superbly and we needn’t have worried!