Working remotely from Iceland!
It might not be on the top of many Digital Nomad’s list for locations to work. If it isn’t the very high living costs here, it might be the cold and the darkness that encapsulates Iceland for many months a year. Yet there is a charm to working remotely from this beautiful island. One of them being that hardly anyone does it! Are you looking for this “extra” location for your next Workation? You could definitely consider Iceland, especially after reading this blogpost!
First things first, how did I get here? Well in all honesty, this was mostly because of the research exchange that my girlfriend got to do here a the University of Iceland. A great opportunity for her to develop her academic career. And a great way for me to tag along and check out what Iceland is like for a Digital nomad location. We arrived on the second of January and we will be here until mid June.
We knew well over a year before actually coming that we would go here. For this reason we could start very soon with finding accomodation, something that can be very beneficial. The Reykjavik housing market is very tight, and if you’re looking to find a place, keep in mind it can be very tricky (and expensive!). We got lucky, we found a small studio (around 20 square metres) in the centre of Reykjavik, close to the Old West part. We pay around 850 euros per month including gas, water and electricity. A very reasonable price for accomodation in Reykjavík.
As you can imagine, a 20 square meter studio is not ideal for remote working (I am generally not a fan of working from home acutally!) so first thing I did was start looking for a coworking office. In all honesty, that was not easy. There wasn’t a lot of choice for me in regards to coworking offices. I found some, but they were quite a bit out of town. I managed to get a spot at Regus at Hafnatorg, in the city centre. A beautiful office with a view on Harpa, one of the most famous buildings of Iceland! I pay around 550 euros per month (including VAT). This might not be cheap, but it definitely pays back in regards to productivity. I got my own screen and a comfortable desk. Coffee and tea is included in this price.
As you might already have detected, cost of living is a thing to consider here. Iceland is a very remote and unique place, something that attracts many visitors. Since the country only has 400,000 inhabitants (they reached this number recently actually!), you can imagine that things might get pricy with so many people interested in coming here. By far most people come here for tourism, but Iceland has also seen a large influx op immigrants looking to stay here long-term. Of course there are also many exchange students that need a place in this beautiful city. All this demand takes a toll on housing prices, which were already climbing. Apart from the housing costs, food is unfortunately also rather pricey. Since Iceland is so isolated with a unique climate, by far most produce gets imported. Things have to come from far away and are of course taxed according to Icelandic rules. Of course it is possible to live cheaply on groceries, something we consciously try to do.
Part of being conscious on our spending is that we don’t go out too much for food or drinks, they simply are very expensive. Don’t get me wrong, we go out with friends many times, we often go to cafés, or most frequrently, to swimming pools. Reykjavík is littered with thermally heated swimming pools and they are very cheap to access (I believe I pay around 5 euros per visit?). This is a great way to meet friends and a good way to relax after a day of working.
Apart from swimming, I spend my time playing squash at the squash club here in Reykjavík. Every saturday we visit a library downtown that organizes entry-level games to learn Icelandic. These are often very well visited by expats from all walks of life. As our time progressed (and our days got warmer and lighter), we got more and more visitors from our home countries. This means we often rent a car and go on adventures in the country. I mean let’s be honest, Reykjavík is nice, but you come to Iceland for the beautiful landscapes! In that regard I 100% understand the hype. Iceland is a uniquely beautiful country that at times really feels like a different world. Caves, glaciers, volcanoes, snowstorms, northern lights, waterfalls, fjords, hot springs, steep cliffs, mountains, more snowstorms, geysirs, and many more things await you when visiting Iceland. We have been here quite some months already (and have seen our fair share of sights in Iceland), but we’re far from done exploring. I’m not sure it is even possible to see everything in this country.
It is nice to work in an Icelandic coworking office. Unfortunately there are not many fellow coworkers (most of the time I am alone), but when I meet some locals who join me, it’s a great way to get to know the local culture and way of working. My impression is that Icelanders are very laidback, things will be alright and they don’t seem to worry too much. It seems they have a very healthy work-life balance with loads of free time and days off. This relaxed approach to work is definitely something I will take home with me to the Netherlands.
Summarizing, I would definitely recommend choosing Iceland for your next workaction location. Come prepared though! It will cost you more than a few bucks to get settled here!
There is so much more to say and write about living and working in Iceland, but for now this is it. If you’re interested in getting to know more, or if you would like me to write another blog on a specific topic, feel free to reach out! I am more than happy to help!
