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Living in Iceland: Yes, it’s icy, but it’s steamy and lava-y too Nevertheless, Iceland is generally considered a part of Europe due to the variety of cultural, linguistic, political and historical connections it has. It’s also closer to Greenland, considered part of North America, than it is to Europe - and by a lot too, at only 180 mi (270km) away. While it’s true that Iceland may have been settled first by Norsemen, and was ruled for a long while by Denmark, it’s actually closer to Scotland (470 mi, 750 km away) than Norway and mainland Europe (600 mi, 970 km) by over a hundred miles. Iceland is an island nation located where the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans meet, a bewitching place that legends and ancient manuscripts say was first settled in 874 AD by Norwegian explorers. Here we’ll lay out all the pros and cons of living in Iceland as an expat, and give you a rough guide of what to expect if you decide to make the jump and move to the place that magical creatures like fairies, trolls, and Bjork call home. You’ve got Instagram-ready vistas of rugged beauty surrounding you on every side, kind and beautiful citizenry welcoming you to their land, a sophisticated nightlife and thumping music scene, and pristine cities in the Nordic/Scandinavian tradition of orderliness and attention to detail.īut the benefits of living in Iceland go way beyond hiking near epic volcanoes, visiting steaming geysers and hot springs, dining in Michelin-starred restaurants and dancing the night away to some of the best DJ and club music in the world. Living in Iceland: Without compareĪs anyone who has ever visited this stunning Nordic country knows, living in Iceland even for a short time is incomparable. The wide, wild world is calling, and one of the wilder-and more popular-places where people answer that call is Iceland. Remote work is on the rise around the globe as companies seek to lower costs and become more nimble and responsive.Īnd with the globalization of high-speed internet and low-cost travel, more and more people are seeing that there is simply no good reason to limit themselves to a humdrum life staring at the same old cubicle walls in their home country. It’s getting easier to pull off living overseas too.
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With the fallout from Brexit still a long way from being fully sorted, and the perpetual, seemingly intractable political conflict ongoing in the U.S., it’s no surprise that lots of people from those countries are considering setting up shop elsewhere as an expat. Elves, trolls, volcanoes and more: Everything you need to know about living in Iceland as an expat…Įxpat life is only getting more popular these days.
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