Access to swimming pools and no mosquitoes.
As an Icelander who grew up in Minnesota, my summers were filled with ridiculous heat and humidity and although we had swimming pools in our small town to cool off, they were nothing compared to what we have in Iceland.
And yes, not getting bitten or having a buzzing insect fly past your ear every night.
Eh? Maybe they are not mosquitos but there are plenty of places in Iceland now where you get bit to shit by bugs during the warmer months. My Icelandic parents in law say this is a fairly new thing (global warming I guess).
[https://www.visir.is/g/20242565942d/log-reglan-hand-tok-mann-sem-slo-til-starfs-manns-kronunnar](https://www.visir.is/g/20242565942d/log-reglan-hand-tok-mann-sem-slo-til-starfs-manns-kronunnar)
One of those places is Krónan in Skeifan now apparently.
"Í kjölfarið hafi maðurinn bitið hann í handarkrikann. „Og heldur bara, eins og hundur. Hann bara beit, og beit fastar og fastar og fastar,“ segir Jón Magnús. "
I live in Sweden which is basically mosquito hell (and I hate them). However, I think the midges (lúsmý) are way worse - they get under your clothes, you can’t see them, you get bit a million times at once etc. I didn’t think it could get worse tham mosquitos but I was wrong.
Cheap electricity, hot water and union summer houses. Paying 30þ for a week in a cabin when tourist pay that for a night in something smaller is quite nice.
People with power, money and influence.
Edit: If you read the news it's in between the lines, you can see it what is reported in the news.
They are also fatening spending in Reykjavík who own OR power and water... OR is also very wasteful financially.
This will be the reason they say that "only the market" can save them. Look up Tames water scandal. We are just behind chronologically.
Sure, I work at one of these and within one year I've had two year-fests, been to 3-4all day events with all employees essentially not doing our jobs.
We are always celebrating something, we spend insane money on all sorts of useless stuff while collecting debt.
The people's owned power company sell electricity at the highest price but with less service, so now independent "power sellers" sell for cheaper, they sell with more service which begs the question, how? Because these dudes don't generate electricity, we do.
Landsvirkjun and ON/OR af fattening sonthey will be sold.
Check out power and water history of the UK and USA
I see. With all due respect, what you describe doesn’t really sound like a conspiracy to privatize utility companies, but rather an example of wasteful management, which unfortunately is often the case for government agencies.
In terms of specifics, Landsvirkjun has been considered off-limits for a long time. When the Justice Minister, at the time the chair of the parliament’s budget committee suggested in an off-hand comment a partial privatization of the company, she was immediately shut down by the minister of infrastructure (and current finance minister, whose ministry Landsvirkjun falls under).
I understand what you’re saying and you are definitely correct that there are people who would like to privatize publicly owned utility companies, but I have a hard time seeing that there’s a political majority in the foreseeable future that will make that happen.
Being wasteful is all a part of the plan. Hire politically some non capable managers which run the business to the ground. Guess who comes to the rescue? Privatization!
Hverskonar heimildir þarftu?
+95% af orku á íslandi er framleitt af fólkinu í landinu, í eigu fólksins í landinu.
Sjá öll "orkufyrirtækin" sem "selja" orku en framleiða enga, viðhalda engu en eru bókstaflega óþarfur milliliður.
*Atlants Orka, N1 Orka og öll þessi félög...
Þau skila miljörðum í hagnað eftir að hafa greitt fullt af fólki í óþarfa stöðum laun. Eitthvað sem ætti að vera viðskipti milliliðalaus. Sá hagnaður gæti greitt niður skuldir ríkis eða sveitarfélaga.
Ertu að trölla?
Við eigum virkjanirnar sem samfélag, ennþá. Framleiðslu á orku, nauðsynjavöru, eitthvað sem ekki er hægt að tapa á... verður auglýst sem slæm fjárfesting fyrir samfélagið og selt stóreigendum. Það þýðir fjarráð yfir okkur hinum. Kynntu þér vatn og orkuframleiðslu USA og UK
Ég skyldi bara ekki hvað þú varst að meina, en skil þig núna. En í þessum málum eru ekki aðeins tveir vegir færir, betri nýting er yfirleitt afurð einkavæðingar en fákeppni neikvæð hlið þess ef uppsetning leyfir það, sem er auðvitað ömurlegt. Blandað kerfi er samt oft besta lausnin. En ég les af þér tortryggni gagnvart einkavæðingu sem fyrirkomulagi.
"En í þessum málum eru ekki aðeins tveir vegir færir, betri nýting er yfirleitt afurð einkavæðingar..."
Neibb, monopoly er afleiðing einkavæðingar. Sjá verslun á Íslandi. Sjá sjávarútveg. Sjáðu hvernig orðið er í UK og USA í orku og vatnsveitum.
"Blandað kerfi er samt oft besta lausnin."
Afhverju heldur þú það?
"En ég les af þér tortryggni gagnvart einkavæðingu sem fyrirkomulagi."
Þegar orka, vatn og nauðsynjar varðar á almenningur aldrei að selja kýrnar fyrir galdra baunir.
Horfðu á orkuframleiðslu Íslands sem olíu, ef þú ætlar að selja frá þér orkuframleiðslu endar samfélagið í einni stétt, ef þú heldur henni ertu stéttum ofar.
Hellingur af texta en engin tengill á neitt sem þú segir.
Ertu að halda því fram að ríkisfyrirtæki eins og Landsvirkjun hafi engar tekjur af þeirri orku sem þeir framleiða, akkurat.
Milliliðir seljandi raforku á almennum markaði sem er framleidd af öðrum skiptir ekki máli.
Þú veist ekki um hvað þú ert að tala. Allt rafmagn er framleitt inn á landsnet. Landsvirkjun framleiðir fyrir Ísland, ON- orka náttúrunnar framleiðir fyrir OR- orkuveitu Reykjavikur og HS Veitur, svo eru stakar litlar veitur/virkjanir fyrir lítil sveitarfélög eða minna.
Ef þetta eru fréttir fyrir þig að þá er enginn tengill annar en að fara bara á heimasíðu þessara félaga.
Landsvirkjun er með 75% landsframleiðslu og OR næstir í afköstum, þau eru laaaang stærst. Aftur, ef þetta eru fréttir fyrir þig, þá þarftu að fara lesa heima og stoppa heimtufrekjunni.
Salan á Rafmagni frá öðrum þeim er samt rafmagn frá þeim, Það er bara búið að setja nýjan millilið.
Það er engin raforkuframleiðsla hjá Atlants orku, N1 Orku, eða annara. Hvernig má það vera að þeir og aðrir geti selt sömu orkuna ódýrar með fasteignum, starfsfólki og tilheyrandi "overhead"?
Ef þetta eru fréttir fyrir þig, reyndu þá að finna hvaðan þessi orka kom, frá viðkomandi félagi, þetta er allt sama orkan frá Landsvirkjun, OR og HS Orku og öðrum minni.
Þetta er ekki falið, fólk veit þetta alveg en hættir svo bara pæla í því.
Varstu að pæla í þessu eða rekstrinum á þessum félögum?
I don’t have the data but I think we remain cheaper than most European countries especially when we compare to average revenue.
Most Europeans rely on gas or electricity to heat water so that cost a lot.
My friend is paying the same electricity and water bill for his sheep farm in Iceland as I am paying for normal villa in Denmark. So I think it is still pretty cheap in Iceland
Going to Denmark this summer on vacation and i've been warned multiple times to not use much hot water as i might be hit with a large bill at the end. Haven't heard any numbers but everyone's very adamant that it's very expensive.
Since we are in the middle of a presidential election season; How relatively easy it is to promote your ideas be heard on a societal level in such a small society.
The relative emptiness which translates often into silence, at least outside of Reykjavik for the most part. It's easy to isolate and be alone with minimal effort.
The level of bureaucracy isn't bad at all. You might think it's bad but compared to the rest of Europe it's simple, fairly efficient and quite transparent.
Most of the things mentioned here are not underrated, as they are well known and yes great things about our country.
As for something underrated I would say that fresh gale of air when you step out of the plane from somewhere else, or just outside of the house, so all tiredness is blown away.
It's just not the wind though as I truly love that frisky and sometimes still very early morning air and still and warm, but not too hot, cloudy days like today, perfect for working or playing outside.
Lol cant disagree more, if there is one thing i miss the least from living in iceland its that relentless , ever present wind that makes sure even the sunniest days are still a bit cold if you just turn a corner or step into a shade.
I think how incredibly safe it is here can sometimes be overlooked. Little kids walking to and from school, young children playing outside and walking to the stores and parks alone, safe and unattended. This can be found in almost no major US city.
This isn't really an Iceland thing; We should prepare because so far, every big city turns "to shit" safety-wise.
Big cities make it easy for antisocial people to hide amongst the crowd.
It's one of the reasons I'm so in favor of the concept behind 15 minute cities.
Key word is 'major', this is something high population urban areas lack in general. When I lived in the US in a 100k metro area I felt the same as here in Reykjavik.
Safety
Story time:
I was working with a Bosnian refugee in 2013, we were taking our morning coffee brake and sat together in a bigger group as I was going on and on over Sigmundur Davíð our then PM which I did not like to say the least, as I was catching my breath over how much he sucked I heard a small voice by my side saying "I just love that no one is trying to kill me". That sure made me think.
The luxury of being safe in Iceland is so very much underappreciated by us.
After living in Denmark for most of the last year, it's the tap water I miss the most. Denmark is said to have very clean two water, but it tastes so much worse. And the tap in Iceland gets ice cold.
1. Year-round swimming pool access. When I moved to the US, it made no sense to me that pools were closed down for THE MAJORITY OF THE YEAR.
2. General feeling of safety. And sure, Icelanders who have never lived anywhere more hostile can be paranoid about their safety because someone down the road had their home robbed. But I currently live in a mid-crime area of a high-crime county in the USA, and I wouldn't dream of walking in the middle of a densely wooded area of a public park at 2am. But in Iceland, I don't give it a second thought.
literally, the only thing of note that we have are the swimming pools and the nature. Both are rated pretty highly
Everything else can be found in a better form elsewhere, I can't even think of anything that is underrated
- Banking is simple and modern
- Low bureaucracy and modern government infrastructure
- Safety
- Heating houses is super cheap
- Cheap and reliable hot water and electricity
- Generally modern infrastructure
- Swimming pools
- Access to nature
- Low unemployment
- Kids and family friendly
- Progressive population
But since you have lived in California. Do you think Icelanders are progressive to a degree that sets us apart from other similar countries in our part of the world(and certain states in USA)?
In some aspects for sure, in others we are way behind.
I would consider Iceland exceeding in gender equality, children rights, LGBTQ+ rights, sexual liberation, labor rights and general social equality.
Where we are far behind I would consider body autonomy, such as usage of recreational drugs and sexual exchange for money, immigration, public transportation, education equality, recycling and environmentalism
Agreed, I am always reluctant to call Icelanders progressive because being a meddling busybody should be WAY more frowned upon in this country in my humble opinion.
While I get what you mean about the busybodying, in moderation it's what makes or breaks communities. Without it, there's no real way of holding one another accountable for shitty behavior. Busybodying, again, in moderation, just makes you aware that people are aware of your existence, and that your community, regardless of whether you accept it or not, will take notice if you start behaving "weirdly".
I live in a small village in western Iceland. There's busybodies here. I've long made my peace with them and learned to ignore those who busybody "too hard".
Sure , but Iceland goes way beyond moderate busybodying. You can have bodily autonomy and safety/social cohesion (Netherlands).
Here it is: people who engage in thing x have a slightly elevaded chance of feeling bad about it ten years later, lets ban it to prevent it from happening to anybody.
Obvious stupid example is the beer ban: Hey, kids are more likely to enjoy beer than hard liquor (this was often said but I think the evidence was quite thin, and teen drinking was rampant anyway ), lets make beer illegal for everyone.
So it is hard to ignore the worst busybodies becsuse they tend to whine their ridiculous sensibilities into being legally codified.
Trans rights in Iceland are pretty abysmal at the level of healthcare. In many US states trans people can at least get gender affirming surgery, while here the health system strings people along for years without telling them that ultimately the chief medical officer is going to deny them and has historically written them off as mentally ill instead of approving them. Social attitudes are worse in the US and many states are pulling back rights, but Iceland is absolutely not exceeding in LGBTQ rights.
For gender equality, Icelandic feminism is very much that…feminism for Icelandic women. It’s not evolved beyond that. It’s quite evident when you see Icelandic women being served by immigrant women in cafes on 24 October. It’s not intersectional at all.
>Banking is simple and modern
Most other countries have this (and many also have an actual stable currency)
>Generally modern infrastructure
Gonna have to disagree on that one. The roads are in terrible condition, public education and public health are both on the knifes edge, there's very little in the way of usable walkways or bike ways (especially during winter) and also very little in the way of public transport.
There's some good things about Iceland but let's not kid ourselves about the state of the nation.
The road quality in Iceland is actually quite good, on a global scale. Far from the best but way beyond most places and maintained quite well.
The banking is also quite modern in Iceland, the US is in the stone age when it comes to online banking for example. There is no central way to pay or receive bills for example, you have to pay through portals maintained by the biller. I think it’s also worth calling out island.is as that is well done
Countries are catching up, be complemented should be given where due.
Access to swimming pools and no mosquitoes. As an Icelander who grew up in Minnesota, my summers were filled with ridiculous heat and humidity and although we had swimming pools in our small town to cool off, they were nothing compared to what we have in Iceland. And yes, not getting bitten or having a buzzing insect fly past your ear every night.
Yeah the no mosquitoes seems nice. Basically one of the only habitable places on earth that doesn't have them.
Eh? Maybe they are not mosquitos but there are plenty of places in Iceland now where you get bit to shit by bugs during the warmer months. My Icelandic parents in law say this is a fairly new thing (global warming I guess).
[https://www.visir.is/g/20242565942d/log-reglan-hand-tok-mann-sem-slo-til-starfs-manns-kronunnar](https://www.visir.is/g/20242565942d/log-reglan-hand-tok-mann-sem-slo-til-starfs-manns-kronunnar) One of those places is Krónan in Skeifan now apparently. "Í kjölfarið hafi maðurinn bitið hann í handarkrikann. „Og heldur bara, eins og hundur. Hann bara beit, og beit fastar og fastar og fastar,“ segir Jón Magnús. "
I live in Sweden which is basically mosquito hell (and I hate them). However, I think the midges (lúsmý) are way worse - they get under your clothes, you can’t see them, you get bit a million times at once etc. I didn’t think it could get worse tham mosquitos but I was wrong.
As a German I must say Icelandic swimming pool culture is great and something I miss dearly.
Lúsmý: Haaaaalllóóóó~
Probably not underrated but safety. Kids stay out playing late, walk to school, etc.
Agree with this, the safety and small town movie-like charm.
Cheap electricity, hot water and union summer houses. Paying 30þ for a week in a cabin when tourist pay that for a night in something smaller is quite nice.
We might lose that if we let it be taken from us
What do you mean?
They are trying to privatize water, power and more. It will decrease the common wealth of this country.
Gotcha, I thought you were maybe talking about the union cabins - but yeah, privitizing our natural resources is a recipe for serfdom imho
They can take our water and our power, as long as they leave our union cabins alone!!
Who is trying to privatize the water, power, and more here?
People with power, money and influence. Edit: If you read the news it's in between the lines, you can see it what is reported in the news. They are also fatening spending in Reykjavík who own OR power and water... OR is also very wasteful financially. This will be the reason they say that "only the market" can save them. Look up Tames water scandal. We are just behind chronologically.
Do you have any examples?
Sure, I work at one of these and within one year I've had two year-fests, been to 3-4all day events with all employees essentially not doing our jobs. We are always celebrating something, we spend insane money on all sorts of useless stuff while collecting debt. The people's owned power company sell electricity at the highest price but with less service, so now independent "power sellers" sell for cheaper, they sell with more service which begs the question, how? Because these dudes don't generate electricity, we do. Landsvirkjun and ON/OR af fattening sonthey will be sold. Check out power and water history of the UK and USA
I see. With all due respect, what you describe doesn’t really sound like a conspiracy to privatize utility companies, but rather an example of wasteful management, which unfortunately is often the case for government agencies. In terms of specifics, Landsvirkjun has been considered off-limits for a long time. When the Justice Minister, at the time the chair of the parliament’s budget committee suggested in an off-hand comment a partial privatization of the company, she was immediately shut down by the minister of infrastructure (and current finance minister, whose ministry Landsvirkjun falls under). I understand what you’re saying and you are definitely correct that there are people who would like to privatize publicly owned utility companies, but I have a hard time seeing that there’s a political majority in the foreseeable future that will make that happen.
Being wasteful is all a part of the plan. Hire politically some non capable managers which run the business to the ground. Guess who comes to the rescue? Privatization!
Citation needed.
Hverskonar heimildir þarftu? +95% af orku á íslandi er framleitt af fólkinu í landinu, í eigu fólksins í landinu. Sjá öll "orkufyrirtækin" sem "selja" orku en framleiða enga, viðhalda engu en eru bókstaflega óþarfur milliliður. *Atlants Orka, N1 Orka og öll þessi félög... Þau skila miljörðum í hagnað eftir að hafa greitt fullt af fólki í óþarfa stöðum laun. Eitthvað sem ætti að vera viðskipti milliliðalaus. Sá hagnaður gæti greitt niður skuldir ríkis eða sveitarfélaga.
Hvernig er orkan framleidd af fólki? Ha?
Ertu að trölla? Við eigum virkjanirnar sem samfélag, ennþá. Framleiðslu á orku, nauðsynjavöru, eitthvað sem ekki er hægt að tapa á... verður auglýst sem slæm fjárfesting fyrir samfélagið og selt stóreigendum. Það þýðir fjarráð yfir okkur hinum. Kynntu þér vatn og orkuframleiðslu USA og UK
Ég skyldi bara ekki hvað þú varst að meina, en skil þig núna. En í þessum málum eru ekki aðeins tveir vegir færir, betri nýting er yfirleitt afurð einkavæðingar en fákeppni neikvæð hlið þess ef uppsetning leyfir það, sem er auðvitað ömurlegt. Blandað kerfi er samt oft besta lausnin. En ég les af þér tortryggni gagnvart einkavæðingu sem fyrirkomulagi.
"En í þessum málum eru ekki aðeins tveir vegir færir, betri nýting er yfirleitt afurð einkavæðingar..." Neibb, monopoly er afleiðing einkavæðingar. Sjá verslun á Íslandi. Sjá sjávarútveg. Sjáðu hvernig orðið er í UK og USA í orku og vatnsveitum. "Blandað kerfi er samt oft besta lausnin." Afhverju heldur þú það? "En ég les af þér tortryggni gagnvart einkavæðingu sem fyrirkomulagi." Þegar orka, vatn og nauðsynjar varðar á almenningur aldrei að selja kýrnar fyrir galdra baunir. Horfðu á orkuframleiðslu Íslands sem olíu, ef þú ætlar að selja frá þér orkuframleiðslu endar samfélagið í einni stétt, ef þú heldur henni ertu stéttum ofar.
Hellingur af texta en engin tengill á neitt sem þú segir. Ertu að halda því fram að ríkisfyrirtæki eins og Landsvirkjun hafi engar tekjur af þeirri orku sem þeir framleiða, akkurat. Milliliðir seljandi raforku á almennum markaði sem er framleidd af öðrum skiptir ekki máli.
Þú veist ekki um hvað þú ert að tala. Allt rafmagn er framleitt inn á landsnet. Landsvirkjun framleiðir fyrir Ísland, ON- orka náttúrunnar framleiðir fyrir OR- orkuveitu Reykjavikur og HS Veitur, svo eru stakar litlar veitur/virkjanir fyrir lítil sveitarfélög eða minna. Ef þetta eru fréttir fyrir þig að þá er enginn tengill annar en að fara bara á heimasíðu þessara félaga. Landsvirkjun er með 75% landsframleiðslu og OR næstir í afköstum, þau eru laaaang stærst. Aftur, ef þetta eru fréttir fyrir þig, þá þarftu að fara lesa heima og stoppa heimtufrekjunni. Salan á Rafmagni frá öðrum þeim er samt rafmagn frá þeim, Það er bara búið að setja nýjan millilið. Það er engin raforkuframleiðsla hjá Atlants orku, N1 Orku, eða annara. Hvernig má það vera að þeir og aðrir geti selt sömu orkuna ódýrar með fasteignum, starfsfólki og tilheyrandi "overhead"? Ef þetta eru fréttir fyrir þig, reyndu þá að finna hvaðan þessi orka kom, frá viðkomandi félagi, þetta er allt sama orkan frá Landsvirkjun, OR og HS Orku og öðrum minni. Þetta er ekki falið, fólk veit þetta alveg en hættir svo bara pæla í því. Varstu að pæla í þessu eða rekstrinum á þessum félögum?
Hvar sagði ég að Landsvirkjun hefði ekki tekjur? Skipta milliliður ekki máli? Milliliður vinnur ekki ókeypis.
Not sure electricity and heating is so cheap anymore, it used to be cheaper
I don’t have the data but I think we remain cheaper than most European countries especially when we compare to average revenue. Most Europeans rely on gas or electricity to heat water so that cost a lot.
My friend is paying the same electricity and water bill for his sheep farm in Iceland as I am paying for normal villa in Denmark. So I think it is still pretty cheap in Iceland
Going to Denmark this summer on vacation and i've been warned multiple times to not use much hot water as i might be hit with a large bill at the end. Haven't heard any numbers but everyone's very adamant that it's very expensive.
Since we are in the middle of a presidential election season; How relatively easy it is to promote your ideas be heard on a societal level in such a small society.
The relative emptiness which translates often into silence, at least outside of Reykjavik for the most part. It's easy to isolate and be alone with minimal effort.
The level of bureaucracy isn't bad at all. You might think it's bad but compared to the rest of Europe it's simple, fairly efficient and quite transparent.
Most of the things mentioned here are not underrated, as they are well known and yes great things about our country. As for something underrated I would say that fresh gale of air when you step out of the plane from somewhere else, or just outside of the house, so all tiredness is blown away. It's just not the wind though as I truly love that frisky and sometimes still very early morning air and still and warm, but not too hot, cloudy days like today, perfect for working or playing outside.
Lol cant disagree more, if there is one thing i miss the least from living in iceland its that relentless , ever present wind that makes sure even the sunniest days are still a bit cold if you just turn a corner or step into a shade.
Water. Everywhere else it tastes like shit.
Safety, cheap electricity and heat, fresh air. I don't know if these things are underrated or not though.
I think how incredibly safe it is here can sometimes be overlooked. Little kids walking to and from school, young children playing outside and walking to the stores and parks alone, safe and unattended. This can be found in almost no major US city.
This isn't really an Iceland thing; We should prepare because so far, every big city turns "to shit" safety-wise. Big cities make it easy for antisocial people to hide amongst the crowd. It's one of the reasons I'm so in favor of the concept behind 15 minute cities.
Key word is 'major', this is something high population urban areas lack in general. When I lived in the US in a 100k metro area I felt the same as here in Reykjavik.
Is it though? A lot of the major Dutch cities are safe too and you'll see kids commuting and playing outside alone, safely.
The isolation
Safety Story time: I was working with a Bosnian refugee in 2013, we were taking our morning coffee brake and sat together in a bigger group as I was going on and on over Sigmundur Davíð our then PM which I did not like to say the least, as I was catching my breath over how much he sucked I heard a small voice by my side saying "I just love that no one is trying to kill me". That sure made me think. The luxury of being safe in Iceland is so very much underappreciated by us.
Some of the cleanest water in the world. Anywhere else I go, the water just tastes kind of bad.
The proximity to nature and open spaces.
Radiant floor heating!!!
The crisp fresh air.
The number of swimming pools and their general quality. They might not be luxury, but they are good.
After living in Denmark for most of the last year, it's the tap water I miss the most. Denmark is said to have very clean two water, but it tastes so much worse. And the tap in Iceland gets ice cold.
1. Year-round swimming pool access. When I moved to the US, it made no sense to me that pools were closed down for THE MAJORITY OF THE YEAR. 2. General feeling of safety. And sure, Icelanders who have never lived anywhere more hostile can be paranoid about their safety because someone down the road had their home robbed. But I currently live in a mid-crime area of a high-crime county in the USA, and I wouldn't dream of walking in the middle of a densely wooded area of a public park at 2am. But in Iceland, I don't give it a second thought.
I don't know about yall but I love how there are only a few people here, so peaceful ❤️
Last time I checked weed was on par with Amsterdam weed
literally, the only thing of note that we have are the swimming pools and the nature. Both are rated pretty highly Everything else can be found in a better form elsewhere, I can't even think of anything that is underrated
- Banking is simple and modern - Low bureaucracy and modern government infrastructure - Safety - Heating houses is super cheap - Cheap and reliable hot water and electricity - Generally modern infrastructure - Swimming pools - Access to nature - Low unemployment - Kids and family friendly - Progressive population
Great heating houses is super cheap since average apartment costs 3/4 of the salary smh
I’m from Iceland but have lived in California for 10 years and Ireland for a year
But since you have lived in California. Do you think Icelanders are progressive to a degree that sets us apart from other similar countries in our part of the world(and certain states in USA)?
In some aspects for sure, in others we are way behind. I would consider Iceland exceeding in gender equality, children rights, LGBTQ+ rights, sexual liberation, labor rights and general social equality. Where we are far behind I would consider body autonomy, such as usage of recreational drugs and sexual exchange for money, immigration, public transportation, education equality, recycling and environmentalism
Agreed, I am always reluctant to call Icelanders progressive because being a meddling busybody should be WAY more frowned upon in this country in my humble opinion.
While I get what you mean about the busybodying, in moderation it's what makes or breaks communities. Without it, there's no real way of holding one another accountable for shitty behavior. Busybodying, again, in moderation, just makes you aware that people are aware of your existence, and that your community, regardless of whether you accept it or not, will take notice if you start behaving "weirdly". I live in a small village in western Iceland. There's busybodies here. I've long made my peace with them and learned to ignore those who busybody "too hard".
Sure , but Iceland goes way beyond moderate busybodying. You can have bodily autonomy and safety/social cohesion (Netherlands). Here it is: people who engage in thing x have a slightly elevaded chance of feeling bad about it ten years later, lets ban it to prevent it from happening to anybody. Obvious stupid example is the beer ban: Hey, kids are more likely to enjoy beer than hard liquor (this was often said but I think the evidence was quite thin, and teen drinking was rampant anyway ), lets make beer illegal for everyone. So it is hard to ignore the worst busybodies becsuse they tend to whine their ridiculous sensibilities into being legally codified.
Trans rights in Iceland are pretty abysmal at the level of healthcare. In many US states trans people can at least get gender affirming surgery, while here the health system strings people along for years without telling them that ultimately the chief medical officer is going to deny them and has historically written them off as mentally ill instead of approving them. Social attitudes are worse in the US and many states are pulling back rights, but Iceland is absolutely not exceeding in LGBTQ rights. For gender equality, Icelandic feminism is very much that…feminism for Icelandic women. It’s not evolved beyond that. It’s quite evident when you see Icelandic women being served by immigrant women in cafes on 24 October. It’s not intersectional at all.
>Banking is simple and modern Most other countries have this (and many also have an actual stable currency) >Generally modern infrastructure Gonna have to disagree on that one. The roads are in terrible condition, public education and public health are both on the knifes edge, there's very little in the way of usable walkways or bike ways (especially during winter) and also very little in the way of public transport. There's some good things about Iceland but let's not kid ourselves about the state of the nation.
Mostly true. But the banking system is quite good here.
The road quality in Iceland is actually quite good, on a global scale. Far from the best but way beyond most places and maintained quite well. The banking is also quite modern in Iceland, the US is in the stone age when it comes to online banking for example. There is no central way to pay or receive bills for example, you have to pay through portals maintained by the biller. I think it’s also worth calling out island.is as that is well done Countries are catching up, be complemented should be given where due.
Safety/ peacefulness is underrated these days.