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Anonymous
How is living in Iceland as a foreigner?

Or Lapland for that mather? I am Dutch btw.
>> Anonymous
Everyone here speaks english so you wont have problems making yourself understandable. But I'm a local so I cant tell you anything about moving here from another country.
>> Anonymous
You must really like the cold, eh?
>> Anonymous
>>63071
beats the shit out of 30 C + humidity.
>> Anonymous
>>63034

Everyone speaks English? That's a great relief for me. I'm not OP, but I've thought about moving to Iceland myself, as well. I'd definitely do my best to learn the language over time, a lot of which beforehand, but at least I wouldn't have to be 100% immersed in the language if I had the backup of asking help in what I'm trying to say in English.

How do you guys view Americans who come to live there? I tend to consider myself not the stereotypical American (along with everyone else, I'm sure), but would solely coming from the United States really set me back as far as fitting in in general?
>> Anonymous
>>63077
God what I'd do for that heat. ;_;
>> Anonymous
>>63079

I don't think that you would run into any problems just for being american. You might have some problems fitting in simply because this place is so different. I found this article for you but it's pretty pretentious and doesn't answer any of your questions http://www.grapevine.is/Home/ReadArticle/American-expats-in-Iceland

You might want to secure a job before you come here though. There's plenty of jobs around (CCP is always hiring http://ccp.is/jobs/move_to_iceland.asp) but I've heard that there's some bureaucracy to handle for americans who want to work here.
>> Anonymous
>>63080
Yeah, me too, and I'm Dutch aswell, so I'm wondering what the hell OP is talking about.. He's right about the humidity though, shit sux.

>>63079
I think Icelandic(Old Nordic) is pretty goddamn hard to learn. You'll understand all other scandinavian languages really easily though, and it's the language of the Vikings, which is awesome.
>> Anonymous
Op here.

The thing is after my study is done i want to get out of Holland for a while.

Iceland came up, but i was afraid that living there would be exspensive as fuck.
>> Anonymous
>>63102
>>63079

Americans aren't really hated by the rest of the world.. They are just being looked down upon because of all the stupid, retarded things they do.. But don't worry so much, when you travel to the rest of the world, you'll see that not everyone is as ignorant as americans are..
>> Anonymous
>>63195

Iceland is becoming very cheap very fast. Recession is hitting us pretty hard.
>> Anonymous
Not really related, but i'm curious. Do you yet get taught norse mythology like the Sagas and stuff at school?
>> Anonymous
>>63205
In iceland i mean.
>> Anonymous
>>63027
Sorry to hear that man. So i take it finding steady job is quite hard?
>> Anonymous
>>63205
Dont count on it.
>> Anonymous
>>63113

No, Icelandic/Faroese and the Scandinavian languages are not mutually intelligible. Only the most provincial Norwegians in the north east will have any idea what the hell an Icelander is saying. The reason people in Iceland understand other Scandinavians is because they have to learn a Scandinavian language in school (usually Danish for historical reasons), it doesn't work the other way around.
>> Anonymous
How hard is Icelandic really and how long can i go without it? I mean people say Dutch is very hard to, but to me only the writing seems more difficult that other languages.

Btw i dont think i would be staying, i just want to make the obligatory "after college" journey there.

I thought of scandiavia to, but its not far away enough for me.
>> Anonymous
>>63205
Yeah we read the sagas and learn about norse mythology.
Icelandic has changed very little in the past 1000 years. In fact we read the sagas pretty much as they were written. If we didn't learn Danish in school we would have a very difficult time understanding the scandinavian languages (Norwegian is probably closest though).

Icelandic is difficult to learn but probably not too difficult. You'll have problems with the grammatical cases and pronunciation but I've seen foreigners grasp the language very quickly. Just resist the temptation to switch to english when you run into problems. I also know foreigners who have lived here for years but couldn't put together a simple sentence.
>> Anonymous
>>63243
Oh man i know the feeling, English born that learn Dutch always "smuggle" english words in. I freaking hate that.

How are the "quick" job oppertunities? I can save up a nice amount before i go (still got 3 years). But a job can give me some routine and security that i need.
>> Anonymous
>>63233
I have heard that it is one of the harder languages to learn from a cold start.
>> Anonymous
>>63264
In Iceland it would be a cold start... :D
>> Anonymous
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Fuck yeah laplands!
I had to cover myself like a ninja or else i be eaten alive by musquitos
>> Anonymous
As long as you aren't non-white, welcome to iceland broski.
>> ??????????
>>63233

If you don't know anything about linguistics, the best word to describe it would be "hard".

Comparatively, Dutch is not hard for an English speaker. It's practically the same.

The noun cases and extensive verb/adjective + gender/number agreement will keep you busy.
>> Anonymous
>>63432
> Dutch is not hard for an English speaker

As a Dutchman I can assure you our language is quite easy to rape, but hard to master.
>> Anonymous
Living in Iceland IS expensive as fuck. Basic jobs here are relatively well paid though, so the difference isn´t as terrifying as you might think.
Protip: A typical 50 sq. meter house is listed for 20 million ISK, about 220.000$. Rent is through the roof as well, typical months rent in Reykjavik being around 650$ or more.
>> Anonymous
>>63079
Yes, ever since you built a military base here, we have been taking after the USA on many levels. Damn shame though, EU seems so tempting now with their Euro and all...
>> Anonymous
>>63412
100% white germanic blood:)
>>63434
Well u think i'll take a vacation first to see if i can find a job in that amount of time. Also the high rent can disrupt my plans... cant hang around with no place to live.

Btw how populated is Iceland anyway? Wikipedia says around 300.000. But that seems way to small.
>> Anonymous
>>63451
That's correct.
>> Anonymous
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