Iceland AMA

[Puffinshop]

I'm a naturalised Icelandic citizen, born and raised in England and living in the capital area of Iceland for over a decade. Fluent Icelandic speaker, mother of Icelandic children.

Can't offer a native Icelandic perspective but if you have any questions about Iceland please feel free

I'm really pleased that you started this thread.

Do online "shops" like eBay and Amazon exist in Iceland? Online takeaways? Supermarket deliveries?

Is Airbnb becoming problematic?

Is global warming messing up the weather there?

I moved when British citizens still had freedom of movement within the EU and EEA, so it was very simple and easy for me.

I'm not 100% on the details now but non-EU/EEA citizens need to be sponsored by an employer who technically can't employ them unless they can't find someone with the same skills within the EU/EEA. So you need to have skills that are in demand in some industry here.

Or get a student visa or marry an Icelandic citizen.

You'd just have a matronymic probably. Using the mother's name instead of the father's.

I like that, can you choose that for your daughters anyway? Does anyone do that?

No idea, but definitely not as an English teacher. That is not a skill that Iceland is lacking.

Student visas are the easiest to get I think. She could come and learn something more sought after and then try to get a job in that field.

😂

Food prices are high because it's an island and most foods are imported. Yes there is some poverty and people that struggle for various reasons. Not as prevalent as in the UK, though.

What’s the shopping/style like?

Dried fish with butter. It's delicious! The Icelandic word is harðfiskur.

Apollo liquorice (the green packet).

Icelandic hotdogs are way better than Danish hotdogs.

Langoustine soup.

Did you hear about when Iceland the shop tried to sue the country for breach of copyright 😄

To keep learning Icelandic and because I really liked Iceland. That's the long and short of it. I was an au pair for the first year and then just didn't leave.

I met DP in my second year of living here, at a house party of some mutual friends.

Yes, you can order from abroad or from Icelandic shops. I don't really use Amazon here because the tolls are too high. Boozt is good for clothes and that.

Yes, takeaways and supermarket deliveries are available, though supermarket deliveries only really started during the pandemic. A lot of takeaways you still have to go and pick up and I've never found anything very reliable except for Domino's pizza.

Airbnb is a scourge but at least the government have been taking the tax avoidance more seriously recently it seems.

I don't know, the weather's always been highly erratic and unpredictable ever since I've lived here. I couldn't say but I know the glaciers are certainly shrinking.

Im learning to knit and follow some Icelandic women who make the beautiful traditional jumpers. Is knitting taught in schools there?
Also, is there a gay/lesbian community and do they face discrimination?

People wouldn't randomly use a different system for daughters rather than sons. But yes some people use matronymics either in addition to patronymics or alone.

It would not be at all common to have no patronymic if the father is a normal decent guy who is present in the child's life. But in that case families may use both, e.g. Maríu- og Jónsson.

God, I'm the wrong person to ask I'm afraid.

We're spending 4 days in Reykjavik in the middle of August at the end of a cruise. We'll have a rental car and will be staying in the centre of town. I haven't researched the local area yet, would love some recommendations please of what not to miss and any local restaurants etc. I can't wait!!

Airbnb is a scourge but at least the government have been taking the tax avoidance more seriously recently it seems.

That's a shame (there are some really beautiful looking places out in the countryside).

Is June off-season? I'm surprised at the hotel/apartment prices (though London is £££ at the moment).

Yes, they learn knitting in school a bit.

It's a very LGBT friendly country. There are probably still some issues, nowhere is perfect, but I don't think anywhere in the world is better than Iceland in that respect.

Well June is summer holidays here. So I wouldn't call it off season.

The summerhouses are fine, people can't live in those year round anyway. It's the fact that there's hardly anywhere to rent in Reykjavík but hundreds of flats on Airbnb that's the problem.

Thank you for this thread!

My question: are you and your family planning to stay in Iceland forever, or do you think you'll spend some time in the UK at some point?

Also, do young people in Iceland tend to stay in the country once they have finished education?

Yes, we plan to stay in Iceland. I can't think of anything that would be better for my children in the UK apart from the weather is a bit nicer. I don't miss England.

Lots do go abroad, especially to Scandinavia, but I think most stay in Iceland or come back. Iceland does have trouble retaining healthcare professionals, in particular, as they can get better pay and opportunities in Scandinavia.

hoping i can jump on and get your advice on where to stay for one of our stops on a week long stay in Feb half term! we are staying 2 nights Reykjavik, then 2 nights on the golden circle here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/4eoczoh5bKviAAZX8. so we have 2 nights where we were going to do the south coast but have found 2 really nice places. one is 15 mins from Vik and the other is in the middle of nowhere but looks lovely in Hvolsvöllur. i havent nailed down the activities/ things to do for the time were in this last place but the teens would like a glacier hike/ ice climbing. im thinking ice caves/ waterfalls etc.

are most things to the west of Vik in which case prob doesnt make a lot o difference except that the drive back to the airport which is the last drive would be shorter if we do Hvolsvöllur - argh - cant decide!

Any thoughts or knowledge to share much appreciated! another thought is if we want to eat in restaurants any time apart from our reykjavik stay i guess thats another point for the place near Vik?

@Oldfriends I don't live in Iceland but have been 6 times on holiday.

My advice for February is to err on the side of caution if you are driving yourself. The weather in Feb can be horrendous and the visibility on the roads very difficult.

Some of the best waterfalls are on Route 1 towards Vik and if you can get to Vik then do, it's magical. I would probably stay in Hvolsvollur as it is a shorter trip back to Keflavik.

We love Selfoss and Hveragerdi.

I'm jealous! Iceland is truly magical!

Thank you so much this is great! I think we will do that then, the Airbnb I've found there looks lovely. Fingers crossed for "good" weather so we can get where we need to go.. yes driving ourselves and have booked a 4x4.

We have active boys - a 15 year old and an 11 year old so any other top tips of must dos gratefully received! 🙏🏻

@Oldfriends

Few tips

Skogafoss waterfall - go up the steps to the right of the waterfall and view from the top, also, go through the gate at the top of the steps and there are loads of other smaller waterfalls.

When you go to Seljalandsfoss waterfall. Also go to Gljufrabui too which imo is the best one. To find it, stand back and face Seljalandsfoss and turn left, carry on walking until you see people coming in and out of the rock, you walk through to a big cavern with a magnificent waterfall running through it.

Secret lagoon is fab.