No matter what is the carrot being hung, I would not wish to be in this land.
Yes, although don't let the bus out from Keflavik fool you, the south west tip of the island is lava flats and it does look a bit like the moon. The rest of the country is a lot more interesting than that.
However you _never_ go to Iceland for the biodiversity, same way you don't go to Bangladesh for the diarrhoea. You go for the pristine wilderness, the ice and glaciers, the volcanism, the aurora borealis, the perma-day in the summer, the people (they're amazing!), the partying, the new year celebration (most households fire a firework at 00:00) or the language which is as close to ancient norse as you can get.
Also what is unique to Iceland is its size and culture, it is very Anglosphere, and a curious blend of European and American in culture (due to the legacy of the US base) Reykjavik has elements of both city and village life in a single spot and its an interesting test bed for services or products as a consequence.
Would I like to live there forever? No way. Would I work remotely there for 3-6 months to explore a unique,bio diverse island? Hell yea!
Which is the incredible thing about this life. You are free to decide not do participate in things you don't want to participate in.
Of course, there are about 10 billion things you don't want to, and that's cool!
Things I love about Iceland compared to the US
- Almost zero crime
- Police, I only saw three cars in nine days
- No one can carry a gun
- All citizens (free healthcare) well paid compared to US
- Hot water from a faucet comes directly from the ground
- Geothermal govt run bathhouses in each neighborhood for after work socializing.
- Hike to an active volcano or to a hot river to bathe in
- Beautiful outdoor scenery
- The Northern Lights
One negative is it's expensive i.e. a large pizza from a pizzeria here in the states will run you $12 to $15 while there it's $21 to $25.
Iceland is one the more expensive European cities for food at least.
- There are still crimes, particularly against women during the nightlife which isn’t investigated and reported in crime statistics.
- Police just acquired permission from the minister of justice to carry stun guns. There are recent cases of racial profiling which are particularly worrysom
- Gun laws are increasingly un-enforced and gun crimes are on the rise. Iceland has one of the largest per capita gun ownership in Europe.
- The healthcare system is increasingly underfunded, wait lists for healthcare are getting longer. A recent immigration bill denies health care to asylum seekers.
- Hot water is a plenty so this is mostly true.
- The swimming pools are amazing places to socialize and still relatively cheap... So this is also true
- The volcano has stopped erupting, this last one was indeed very approachable. More likely volcanoes form way in the highlands and are not approachable unless you can charter a plain or a helicopter.
- The outdoor scenery is relative. I much more favor the trees in the pacific north west where I live now over the mossy lava-fields where I grew up.
- The northern lights are cool but light pollution is a problem in and around the city or any town and village.
There are no school shootings yet here there's almost one a day it seems.
Seemed as safe as Norway where moms leave their babies out in their carriages bundled up for fresh air while they go into their house to clean. A mom who did that here would be possibly arrested
So Iceland is paradise if you are a tired of seeing all the crime in America. I didn't know it was that bad here til my dates (locals) I met and talked with at one of the neighborhood family bathhouses pointed it out. How scared they are of going to the US. Which I replied it's not that bad not everyone has a gun yet once I was home I had a crazy gunman who shot police hiding in the woods of my backyard and we were told to shelter in place. Sure that's not happening in Iceland cause even and only police only have stun guns!
I promise you it's very easy to find sub-400k person communities in the US that have never had one either.
This video from American idol where a contestant went thru a school shooting further hits home for me ..school shootings are a pathetic part of American life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slhz5ZM2x94&t=310s
Iceland is indeed tiny, and that's a benefit… Too many people in America with too many conflicting views to ever make it safe like Iceland
I have never been out of the US and experience another culture… It was eye-opening
To those saying "but Iceland is tiny" and "there are 400k-person communities in the US with no history of school shootings", here are the stats for countries with the most school shootings (total incidents Jan 2009-May 2018)[1]:
United States — 288
Mexico — 8
South Africa — 6
Nigeria & Pakistan — 4
Afghanistan — 3
Brazil, Canada, France — 2
Azerbaijan, China, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kenya, Russia, & Turkey — 1
[1] https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/school-sh...