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I moved from Scotland to Iceland just over ten years ago. The company I worked for exploded spectacularly and a company here came to pick up the pieces. I wante

I moved from Scotland to Iceland just over ten years ago. The company I worked for exploded spectacularly and a company here came to pick up the pieces. I wanted to visit but didn’t really have any intention to live here. Initially I thought I might be here a couple of years and then move on again. It was super easy to move here due to the UK being in the EU at the time. Brexit didn’t change anything for me personally but has made me more keen to get citizenship here to get back in to Europe. During the next decade I met my now wife, had two kids, bought and then rebuilt a house in downtown Reykjavik and then got married. Work hasn’t been a problem, I stayed at the original company for four years and then worked for a bunch of others. I’ve now been working remotely for a US based startup for the last three years.j I stayed because the quality of life here is fantastic. Living in Reykjavik, with the small, still very residential downtown is like living in a village with the amenities of a city. There is a vibrant cultural scene. It’s probably one of the best places in the world to raise kids. I love the outdoors and access to instant remoteness is often less than an hours drive. The most immediate downside is that everyone will speak English to you so it becomes a challenge to properly integrate. All my work has been English speaking for example. All my kids friends speak great English and so on. I can understand quite a lot of Icelandic but really need to brush up on speaking to pass the pretty low language bar for citizenship. Edit: The frivolous things I love are the pools and basically the entire country taking a month off in the summer time.

CodeGlitch 5y ago
> It was super easy to move here due to the UK being in the EU at the time. Brexit didn’t change anything for me personally but has made me more keen to get citizenship here to get back in to Europe. I'm don't quite follow what you are saying here - Iceland wasn't (isn't) in the EU? So I imagine Brexit or not would have made zero difference to your situation.
- EduardoBautista 5y ago
  Iceland is part of the EEA which still allows freedom of movement with EU members.
- meheleventyone 5y ago
  As noted Iceland is part of the EEA and so follows almost all of the same rules as countries in the EU including freedom of movement. When Brexit happened it was pretty up in the air what that meant for my permanent residency but the UK and Iceland signed an agreement before the UK left. Right now my wife and children can freely travel in the EU and I can’t or won’t be able to shortly. So getting citizenship here in Iceland will restore my rights in the EU.
  - CodeGlitch 5y ago
    I see yes it makes sense for Iceland with such a low population to still be part of the EEA. Hope it works out for you.
    - meheleventyone 5y ago
      I live in hope that at some stage the UK rejoins as well.
mdp2021 5y ago
> There is a vibrant cultural scene Care to elaborate? Thank you! By the way: have you found the cold an issue?
- meheleventyone 5y ago
  I’ve not found the cold to be an issue. It’s actually pretty temperate, we get a few days of really freezing temperatures a year but nothing very low or very sustained. The darkness is more of an issue, we’re high enough that days get pretty short in the winter time. But it’s also a very cozy time. Culture wise there’s just a lot going on. Currently the annual film festival is on with loads of ancillary events like playing live music to a live performance of a video game. There’s a strong tradition of authorship here so loads of books getting written. The music scene is always super busy which shows in the number of international artists Iceland has produced. Art shows abound, there are a number of theatres and concert venues and so on. Basically it’s easy to find something interesting to do.
gremloni 5y ago
I lived in Iceland for around 6 months and the people were nice enough but because of the cold it is an extremely home bound existence that I hated.
- meheleventyone 5y ago
  Yeah winter can be hard but summer is glorious. I also love to ski so I enjoy the cold.

CodeGlitch 5y ago

> It was super easy to move here due to the UK being in the EU at the time. Brexit didn’t change anything for me personally but has made me more keen to get citizenship here to get back in to Europe. I'm don't quite follow what you are saying here - Iceland wasn't (isn't) in the EU? So I imagine Brexit or not would have made zero difference to your situation.

EduardoBautista 5y ago
Iceland is part of the EEA which still allows freedom of movement with EU members.
meheleventyone 5y ago
As noted Iceland is part of the EEA and so follows almost all of the same rules as countries in the EU including freedom of movement. When Brexit happened it was pretty up in the air what that meant for my permanent residency but the UK and Iceland signed an agreement before the UK left. Right now my wife and children can freely travel in the EU and I can’t or won’t be able to shortly. So getting citizenship here in Iceland will restore my rights in the EU.
- CodeGlitch 5y ago
  I see yes it makes sense for Iceland with such a low population to still be part of the EEA. Hope it works out for you.
  - meheleventyone 5y ago
    I live in hope that at some stage the UK rejoins as well.

mdp2021 5y ago

> There is a vibrant cultural scene Care to elaborate? Thank you! By the way: have you found the cold an issue?

meheleventyone 5y ago
I’ve not found the cold to be an issue. It’s actually pretty temperate, we get a few days of really freezing temperatures a year but nothing very low or very sustained. The darkness is more of an issue, we’re high enough that days get pretty short in the winter time. But it’s also a very cozy time. Culture wise there’s just a lot going on. Currently the annual film festival is on with loads of ancillary events like playing live music to a live performance of a video game. There’s a strong tradition of authorship here so loads of books getting written. The music scene is always super busy which shows in the number of international artists Iceland has produced. Art shows abound, there are a number of theatres and concert venues and so on. Basically it’s easy to find something interesting to do.

gremloni 5y ago

I lived in Iceland for around 6 months and the people were nice enough but because of the cold it is an extremely home bound existence that I hated.

meheleventyone 5y ago
Yeah winter can be hard but summer is glorious. I also love to ski so I enjoy the cold.