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Thread Statistics | Show CCP posts - 7 post(s) |
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CCP Whisper
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Posted - 2009.02.08 12:06:00 -
[1]
Not sure what the conditions are like now, but up until six months ago as a foreigner you had to be resident in Iceland for over three years before being able to get the sort of credit you would need for a home purchase loan. This search ought to show you houses in the 101 district of Reykjavik. Note that in Iceland, the living room is counted as a room so if you want 3-4 bedrooms plus living room you need to search for a 4-5 room house. Right now it's a renter's market so you can find rental properties for bargain prices (well, compared to what they were half a year ago). However Icelandic law requires three months notice on fixed-term rental agreements and six months notice on open-ended agreements. Be warned.
In a house that had about 180m2 with four people living in it we averaged around 9000 to 10000 ISK a month for electricity, heating and water. Food for a family of four...no idea. I spend about 5000 to 6000 ISK a week on food so perhaps 20k a week is a good average? Don't have a family yet so really can't say. A full tank of petrol (about 40 litres) for my Toyota Matrix currently sets me back around 6000 ISK. Insurance for that car costs about 10000 ISK a month, plus around 11000 ISK every six months for road tax. We're with Vodafone for our ISP. Their ADSL rates are here. Your other choice is Siminn. I think there's one other ISP out there but it is crap.
If you're only finding Icelandic sites while researching the possibility of moving, Tungutorg.is is a rather effective Icelandic to English translator. A lot of us foreigners at CCP use it on a daily basis. It's not always accurate but it certainly lets you get the gist of what is being said.
Let's see, other considerations. Well you are likely to have to pay 37% income tax. Sales tax is around 25%. Things are expensive and you do not have much choice in terms of consumer goods. However most places will ship to Iceland and even with paying import duty you sometimes come out cheaper. Getting stuff sent by family members a couple of times a year and marked as gifts also works (sometimes). To state the obvious: Reykjavik is small. Really small. While at the start this can feel quaint and charming, after a while there is the risk that you feel claustrophobic because you're always seeing the same people in the same places at the same times. It is also quite expensive to get flights out of Iceland, thanks to the effective oligopoly Iceland Air and Iceland Express have on routes.
Despite all of that Iceland is a nice place to live. Health care is top notch (but you have to be paying social insurance contributions for six months before being covered), it is safe and clean. You have no idea how much polluted big city air hits your lungs until you've lived here for half a year and they've gotten used to clean air off the Atlantic. Social attitudes are very Scandinavian...I think this is a good place to raise children, but not having any that is just an opinion based on observation not fact. As long as your income is relatively stable and your demands are not excessive in terms of consumer goods and choice it is possible to live a good life here. Winters have gotten a bit warmer but there's still snow. The summers are nice and temperate with the long days giving rise to long grill parties. I like it here.
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CCP Whisper
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Posted - 2009.02.08 22:00:00 -
[2]
 Originally by: Pan Crastus
- Iceland is on a geologically unstable spot and the only reason the island hasn't sunk yet is that the volcanic activity beneath it results in the gap below being filled up with lava.
I've been here for nearly two and a half years and in that time have felt one earthquake in Reykjavik. So yes, geologically unstable but not earth shatteringly so. 
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CCP Whisper
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Posted - 2009.02.10 09:09:00 -
[3]
Originally by: Genya Arikaido
Mostly meat & potatoes type of eaters with some pasta and the occasional Mexican dish (my wife is Mexican).
Potatoes are not a problem. Meat though...oof. Let's see, 600g of chicken breast will set you back approximately 1800 to 2100 ISK. I can recall one incident where the frozen kangaroo meat imported from Australia had a cheaper per kilo price than the fresh chicken breasts. Meat here is expensive and unless you are willing to pay a premium it is also not the best quality. I've given up on trying to buy good steaks in the supermarket. I would try a butcher but I can't find one.
I'm popping out later for a new torx bit and a countersink so if you want prices of stuff let me know. The supermarket is right next to the hardware store and I could use the distraction.
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CCP Whisper
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Posted - 2009.02.10 17:47:00 -
[4]
I'm putting a lattice floor down in the bathroom of the flat I am renting. It's a basement apartment with a cement floor so it's a bit cold and damp. Don't want to spend loads of money finishing a floor I don't own, but a lattice is relatively easy to build and does the job of not being as cold in the mornings and keeping the bathmat off the wet floor on the occasions where the shower leaks. Stripped the torx 15 bit last night and the countersink I had was totally blunt. Going to finish it once the varnishing on the last pieces has dried. |
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CCP Whisper
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Posted - 2009.02.12 09:46:00 -
[5]
I did think about starting up a blog, but tbh not that much interesting stuff happens. It would probably consist of me whining about how expensive things are, how I can never find jeans in my size and how it is impossible to find a decent bar in Reykjavik that serves reasonably priced beverages and doesn't insist on cranking the volume to 11 after ten thirty, thereby preventing any good conversations from taking place.
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