Living Abroad : Articles : Iceland


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ICELAND - SO NEAR AND SO REMOTE

The People
Standard of Living

It is not as far away as one might imagine, just five and a half hours from New York (closer than San Francisco) and closer to London than Athens or Helsinki. What's more, it's not as cold as New York or Zurich in winter. In summer, though, it's never really warm.

Iceland is different. It is extraordinary, in fact, and always has been since the first brave souls settled on this island over a thousand years ago. Island had a national assembly in the year 930 and abolished slavery in 1117. Although it waited until 1915 to give women the vote, it was ahead of the U.S. in this by two years, and what's more, it elected a woman president in 1980.

Iceland has six chess grand masters and several world class bridge players. The literacy rate is 100%, and it is perhaps the most literary of nations, with the largest number of poets and the largest number of books published (about 20 times as many as the U.S.). One night every year, members of the Parliament must all speak in rhyme. Icelandic is the oldest living European language and people read the medieval sagas with no difficulty.

In Falling off the Map, Pico Iyer writes that it has a "never-never quality: it is a cozy, friendly, Christmas-tree kind of place." But Iyer is not deceived. He witnessed the untamed quality as well. Writing about a midsummer visit there, he describes the "ghostly light" after midnight, and "the sun landing on the sea at 1:00 AM." To some, the landscape is starkly beautiful; to others, surreal and barren. Of the few trees remaining, most are dwarf birches. There are no ruins to visit because most structures were built of wood and turf, and did not last. It is the most volcanic place on earth, and only 1% of the land is under cultivation. Iyer calls it "otherworldly...a country so lunar that NASA astronauts did there training there..."

For about 2,400 hours during the summer, total darkness never comes. Iyer reports that young Icelanders cruise in their cars until the wee hours during "the saturnalian summer" when "everything is topsy-turvy, and golf tournaments start at midnight, and three-year old toddlers caper around till one...." And when "people believe that rolling naked in the dew will cure you of nineteen separate ailments and that you will be granted a wish if you walk naked in the grass or cross seven fences, collecting a flower at each one of them."

Returning to Iceland in the dark of winter, he found these rites had not abated. He observed, "people barking, people lying flat out on the street, their beautiful faces shining with illicit glee."

THE PEOPLE
As Terry G. Lacy points out in Ring of Seasons, two seemingly contradictory values dominate: equality and individuality. In a 1990 Gallup poll 51% said they valued equality most while 46% valued individual freedoms. She finds islanders to be highly individualistic and often prone to disagree yet able to work together and to give emotional support to others.

People here avoid playing roles dictated by their occupation or anything else; they let you know you are dealing with an individual. Employees take orders willingly but need to know what part their tasks play in the whole project.

Icelanders are happier than the citizens of other nations, according to a Gallup poll, although some are not satisfied with their financial statues. The poll showed too that most Icelanders equated happiness with marriage or with living together. Couples who live together without the benefit of marriage are not legally responsible for each other and are not each other's heirs. Three out of four children are born to unmarried mothers, but Icelanders explain that usually just the first child born out of wedlock. The state pays a benefit to those whose income falls below a certain level if they are supporting children. Same-sex couples who live together can have their relationship legally confirmed and enjoy virtually the same protection under the law as married couples.

Lacy reports that belief in fate is strong here, which is not surprising in a place where weather can upset the best laid plans. She also observes that depression is rare and that people usually manage to maintain a positive attitude even in the worst of situations and are calm and competent in emergencies. In 1973 when a volcano erupted on Westman Island, 5,000 people were successfully evacuated.

Promptness is valued, but because the weather can intervene, delays are excused. People avoid planning ahead because of the unpredictable weather. Also, Lacy points out, they make decisions quickly, and even political decisions are reached efficiently because there are not many layers of command.

Icelanders love fashionable clothing, nice cars and above all, on gadgets, especially electronics. They're avid users of cell phones and the newest telecommunications devices.

Iceland has its cafes, especially in Reykjavik where there is one for every taste and subgroup imaginable. The place to meet people, however, is at a thermal pool. There are many of these, too. One public bath, just outside Reykjavik boasts not only a luxurious Olympic-sized pool, but also five hot tubs offering different temperatures, ranging from warm to scalding.

STANDARD OF LIVING
The standard of living is among the highest in the world with a per capita income of US$ 30,575 (2000). Life expectancy rivals that of Japan despite being a nation of drinkers and meat eaters. One of the safest countries in the world, Iceland has a crime rate is so low the police don't carry guns.

Trade unions are strong and unemployment is only 1.9%. Many Icelanders hold two jobs, sometimes out of necessity, but not always. Some children go to work at eight years of age at jobs in construction, public maintenance and gardening. Icelanders assure outsiders that they are not exploiting children since half their wages are put away for their eductions. Children are treated with considerable respect: for example, they are not usually corrected in front of anyone from outside the family.

For more information, order the Network for Living Abroad newsletter, June 2002.

Resources for Iceland

Embassy of Iceland - www.iceland.org

General information about Iceland
-www.travelnet.is/

Also see

Falling off the Map, Some Lonely Places of the World by Pico Iyer.
Iceland: Land of the Sagas by David Roberts (text) and Jon Krakauer (photographs).
Iceland's Bell by Halldor Laxness and Philip Roughton.
Lonely Planet, Iceland, Greenland & the Faroe Islands by Graeme Cornwallis, Deanna Swaney.
Ring of Seasons: Iceland--Its Culture and History by Terry G. Lacy.

Also consider popular music from Iceland,

Medulla by Bjork 101 Reykjav’k (2000)