THIS IS THE ICELAND OF THE POOR | The B side

[@daffidkane8350]

I live in Jamaica. It’s hot, expensive, crime ridden, with poor utilities, roads, schools, and hospitals. Plus many of the people are rude and dishonest. Even Iceland looks good from here.

[@harryireland1935]

Dishonesty is everywhere. People are people, whereever you go I'm afraid. But at present time, the dishonesty is amplified by the stunning failures in economics, politics and media. While it might seem worse in lower income countries, the lies get exponentially greater and more destructive in the so called rich countries. Which aren't really rich, considering the monetary system built on debt is slowly but steadily collapsing. This is what happens when deregulate the financial industry and you give banks total and utter control over society. Of course, the whores in the media quickly came to the rescue of the elites by calling the runaway inflation transitory at first and then when even the most gullible people realized it's not transitory, they coined the phrase 'cost of living crisis'. That way, they can blame it on a scapegoat like Trump or Putin. But the truth is of course the Western World is in stages of collapse and decay. So while it might seem better in the West, the stench of the rot and lies is exactly the same.

[@daffidkane8350]

@@harryireland1935 I largely agree.

[@anotheryoutubechannel4809]

@@harryireland1935obviously you have never spent time in the third world. Your diatribe is such 1st world elitism and is pretty offensive to the life experiences of the commenter that you could never fathom let alone comprehend.. That said Trump 2024! 💯And o agree with your points.

[@harryireland1935]

@@anotheryoutubechannel4809 Just another dumb American, lecturing the rest of the plebs on how to think, speak and act. Here's a tip for you, if you're offended by something, just suck it up and go do something else. Don't go telling people how offended you are. The rest of the world laughs at the current state of American society.

[@yawningkitty457]

I live in England and I'd much rather live in Iceland.

[@johncothren8861]

I was stationed in Iceland in 90 and this country boy from the Ozarks first forgien experience. The wind can get pretty strong as I've been picked up off the ground by my parka hood and carried a few feet, also been blown down several times. Getting out of a vehicle with a tail wind catching the door can push it all the way forward into the fender. Beautiful scenery, gentle people, interesting culture, much respect.

[@ThunderStruck94660]

All of the rental cars there have a crease in the drivers door where the wind caught it and blew the door so wide open that it damaged the door.

[@thetrueoneandonlyladyprinc8038]

I can understand why Icelandic has so many different words for wind like logn (no wind) and blær (gust of fresh wind) and gola (gentle wind that is warm and constant) and rok (strong wind) and vindur (the word that means wind in general) and the name of the wind Kári as the wind himself is called Kári in Icelandic - nafnið vinds er Kári! I highly recommend learning Icelandic + Norse + Gothic and Dutch and Norwegian as these languages are the prettiest languages ever created and are way too pretty not to know, as pretty / refined / poetic as English! Icelandic is very easy to learn, having a category 1 pronunciation and a category 2 spelling - I am upper intermediate level in Icelandic and Norse after learning them for about 3 to 6 months! Icelandic and Norse and Gothic are the most Alpha languages ever - they are so heavenly and magical, and they are perfect for lyrics and art, just like English and Dutch and Norwegian, and the sound and aspect are so modern and so cool!

[@johnryman-f3c]

Happy memories to forget.

[@HerveMendell]

Please, please, please don't let the Muslims in.

[@sigmundson]

​@@thetrueoneandonlyladyprinc8038spelling and pronunciation are the easy parts, of course. The grammar of Icelandic is particularly of the kind I dislike 😅

[@Paul-eb4jp]

I went to Iceland about 10 years ago in mid July, I left 28 degrees in England and landed in 10 degrees in Iceland, the locals all told me it was an unusually bad summer but it didn't matter to me I loved every minute of my time there, the nature was wonderful and the people even better. I was surprised when the narrator said wages are very high, yet some of the examples given in the video were on the low side.

[@Magni87]

Yeah, I wonder where these wage number come from. He didn't source it at all. I make over $40k a year as an un-educated, low-experience aid at a kindergarten. Not working full-time. I can maybe wrap my head around these wage numbers if they are supposed to be after tax, minimum wage for their jobs.

[@gunsi2107]

@@Magni87nákvæmlega, smiður er með miklu meira en 4.5 milljónir t.d

[@thomasmaughan4798]

Given that education is state paid through university, and healthcare is also state paid, that small salary needs to go only to food, shelter and transportation. It still seems low but be sure to "normalize" the income and outgo.

[@inzichte]

In juni it was just 6 degrees one day. And snow lading 500 m high 😂. Crazy ❤

[@jharchery4117]

Where was the part about the poor of Iceland? You spoke about the bad weather, the difficult language and the fact that people have a difficult time with depression, but I missed anything about the poor of Iceland. Did it get lost in translation?

[@msr1116]

Clickbait....whether deliberate or accidental I'm not certain.

[@Lordosvk]

Its point of view annual salary is 27355€

[@kipponi]

Yeah average salary is low and prices high. Bad equation.

[@theresedavis2526]

​@@kipponiThey still have a superior quality of life when compared to the US. Their taxes provide their healthcare, education, their social safety nets, and good infrastructure, so there's no need for a large income to live.

[@arbiter8246]

@@msr1116 Obviously it was deliberate.

[@Yuusuke020393]

I have been living in Iceland for more than 4 years now (moved from Toronto) and I agree with a lot of people here that this is a very expensive country to live in. However, salaries do make up for it. Learning the language is not necessary (at least in my experience) but is definitely helpful to integrate more into the society and maintain connections with people. I notice that Icelanders do appreciate it a lot when they see a foreigner learning the language. One thing that I have been struggling with (til to this day) is the lack of sunlight during the winter months (late Oct-May). But after living here for a while, I learned that if you make the most of the summer months hiking out, absorbing sunlight, and just being with nature, you´ll definitely look forward slowing down in winter months and do your indoor hobbies. Similar to Canada, majority of the people here are snowbirds, flying down south to Spain or Tenerife during the winter months. That being said, I do enjoy living here atm but who knows how long will that last :)

[@alanguages]

Should still learn Icelandic though?

[@dingo8babym20]

..then something is lost in translation concerning wages. 32k for a carpenter; 40k for a painter; 51k for an electrician? REALLY?? Perhaps it's after tax income.

[@cehaem2]

@@alanguages If you're really planning on staying for longer - yes. I mean, you will always remain an outsider (in Iceland almost everyone has some sort of social or family connection) but it will be easier to blend in and forge connections on a deeper level. Like Israelis use their army service as a conversation starter, Icelanders will often break the ice by talking which school they went to and in most cases someone will always know someone that you could have come across earlier in your life. You went to school with them, played together football, worked with etc....If you're a foreigner you're automatically excluded from that.

[@amdnagh.initiative]

❤❤❤❤

[@PatG-xd8qn]

​@@alanguages That's the mentality of a lot of english speakers from North America unfortunately. They think it's up to others to make efforts to learn and speak english for them I'm from the French speaking part of Canada by the way

[@pinchelilly]

Was in Iceland in 2021 for my birthday. I love that country, so beautiful and all locals so kind. We rented a camper and had leftover food. I felt bad throwing it so asked these two kind locals where the nearest food bank was. I recommend others to do the same. ❤

[@mudza92]

Oh you are such an amazing person, such caryng person you are cause you didn't throw the food away. Because your good heart didn't allow to throw that food away while there are hungry people in the world, that's why you are so amazing character in this story. I hope I can become a great amazing person like you one day.

[@ThunderStruck94660]

I was stationed there. It is really fun, but really expensive. I am a pilot and I remember taking off at Keflavik with sunny skies and coming back two hours later with blinding snow storms.......One day I was flying with some Icelandic pilots and I was making an approach down to minimums with a 35 kt crosswind and I turned to them and asked "how do you guys fly in this"?, they laughed and said "we don't"! ha ha ha

[@AntoniOrszykowski]

😂😂😂

[@MJ19438]

If you have a 35 kt crosswind on landing, but it's in Iceland, do you immediately think of 'puffin-ing' instead of crabbing? 🤔

[@grantbratrud4949]

I hear Greenland's tougher.

[@ThunderStruck94660]

@@MJ19438 Never crabbed in the P-3, always wing down top rudder. You couldn't do this in commercial flying becasue everyone in the back of the plane would be barfing....ha ha ha

[@ThunderStruck94660]

@@grantbratrud4949 never been there, but I can imagine.

[@32shumble]

I've a friend who went to Iceland and he told me 'imagine how cold it could be - and then understand that it's much colder than you can imagine'

[@stromghouls]

iceland is not that cold at all. all time record low is -39,7 celcius. this is a normal winter day where i live in northern quebec. -51 celcius is record low in my area.

[@chrisx5127]

Minnesota is colder.

[@tyrone-tydavis5858]

@@chrisx5127 Great comparison....pick the coldest place you can think of and say what about......

[@stevehicks8944]

So is Alaska

[@jackryan2135]

@@stromghouls Yea Insanely warm compared to Neptune.

[@gisellethomas4579]

I did live in Iceland for 2 years , I do recall the WHITE out , and the wind blowing me away that how strong the weather is , overall is a beautiful country unique,clean, many waterfalls I did used to go to the blue lagoon quite often .

[@HeimirTomm]

Me and my family moved away from Iceland over 8 years ago. Now, with the news of corruption, economic mismanagement and skyrocketing prices, we literally give our thanks every day that we moved away. Smartest thing we ever did.

[@kingjayapala]

And where would you move to? What country is better managed and less corrupt than Iceland? Name one and I will move there.

[@bisratezra8247]

​​@@kingjayapalaI believe Iceland is (or has at least until recently been) the most corrupt of the 5 Nordic countries. (That doesn't necessarily mean that it's a big problem, though.)

[@fenixrising75]

What country did you move to? Curious as to whether you stayed with a cooler climate or went for somewhere warmer. I live in a place where our winter is warmer than summer in Iceland.

[@magicunclefergaloreilly6699]

​@@fenixrising75Ireland 😅😅

[@ElMexicanDonald]

Don't forget the crimes growing sky high also.

[@ivarraven]

I love Iceland, probably because it is similar to home in Alaska but with a very open, sharing culture. Many similar problems, though the added problem of very expensive/inaccessible healthcare and insurance outside of employment. The only saving graces are low tax rates, cheap land to build your own house on (still very possible due to little regulation of buildings at your own risk), endless opportunity for work, and good people.

[@gpfan4300]

I live in Northern Canada. It sounds about the same, only I pay 53% taxes on my income.

[@monsieurmike2072]

Been to Iceland just for 7 days and and i must say it's bloody expensive to live there no doubt about it. Much love and respect from NYC. Exceptional content.

[@ILIJA2002]

Yooooo, when someone from NYC says that... Damn👀👀

[@heimirhkarlsson]

Very true. But icelanders today, we are like the icelandic Trolls in the past, we live on tourists. ;-) Icelandic Troll in the past tokki more litterally. :-)

[@monsieurmike2072]

@@ILIJA2002 🤙

[@monsieurmike2072]

@@heimirhkarlsson 🤙

[@amdnagh.initiative]

😊😊😊😊❤❤

[@johnmiller5679]

I am an American who lived in Reykjavik for 3 years. You don’t need to speak a single word of Icelandic as about 95% of the population speaks fluent English. The worst things about the country is the weather and how expensive it is. Crazy offensively expensive. Young people come from other countries to find work and then find out it’s so expensive they can’t live there.

[@juanjots]

I guess they have high salaries

[@Dailymailnewz]

An old man once said, " We human can live without TV or radio or even furniture in most cases but we cannot live without people."- this country just needs more people that is all, and to do that , they have to build more and more places and bring may be a million people from abroad where they can stay in one big city close net and some sort of gathering, this will reduce the suicide rate and all others, but given it tough wheather and loneliness and also expensive with the government not doing anything about it , i guess it will remain this way for a thousand year until only those creeping reptiles lives there , ha ha ha. The reason London and others are so popular is because there are too many people, go to leicester square and how people site around so nicely in the square and then some go to cinemas and then some even go to casino others to brothels and basically the show is on and because of it all and the people there in causes other rich men from abroad to keep coming and coming and coming, it is basically a magnet for the whole world and this is what Iceland needs but where will be find politician in iceland who has the brain???

[@rgtunderworldrgt7773]

​@@juanjotsthey do. Have too. Locals tell you, say it Allll the time how expensive it is. It's the NYC of Scandinavia

[@animated000]

I've been there 3 times for a total of 20 days. i love everything about that place, EXCEPT, the cost If i can figure out how to live there and not work or work part time, i'm on the next plane. As it stands, Thailand is what i can afford

[@RayQ101]

Lots of indirect racism too, I worked there for 2 seasons in guest relations and every white person gave me sneering looks and had 2 incidents of people telling me where I’m from and I shouldn’t stay there.

[@arnthorsnaer]

I’ve seen a number of these but as an Icelander I’d like to say you captured a lot of nuance in this video. Great work.

[@bakerstreet101]

Not every country must be multi-cultural. May Iceland continue being a society centered on its unique language and culture.

[@michaelcraig9449]

Diversity usually sucks.

[@salgoud12]

​@@michaelcraig9449sucks for who?

[@duckmercy11]

​@@salgoud12 For their supremacist asses 😂

[@duckmercy11]

OP Nice strawman, no one argued otherwise.

[@Aster.2006]

@@michaelcraig9449no

[@janluszczek1223]

I spent about two weeks on assignment in Iceland working along locals. They were very nice, spoke fluent English and complained that the young generation growing up with Internet doesn't want to use Icelandic daily and communicate in English with their peers. So the language is not as much of a barrier as the video makes it out to be.

[@Gumardee_coins_and_banknotes]

So like every other country in the World.

[@swiggles4342]

​​@@Gumardee_coins_and_banknotesNot at all, people in most places rather speak in their native languages

[@PS987654321PS]

You understand nothing.

[@Volundur9567]

These are facts. 40 years ago it was Danish, now it's English. The younger folks speak more English than Icelandic in a sentence.

[@Gumardee_coins_and_banknotes]

@@Volundur9567 I go to Hong Kong, and they use alot of English in Cantonese, I hear the same with Mandarin and Hindi from new immigrants and online. So Icelandic is not the only language, and this is normal.

[@sudhindrakopalle7071]

All that glitters is not gold, Iceland is a prime example.

[@1polonium210]

My wife and I spent about three weeks in Iceland in 2019. We loved every minute of our time there. If we ever return (and we look forward to that), we'll schedule a trip when we can drive the entire Ring Road.

[@animated000]

Ring Road is awesome. Just don't do it in the winter! The northern part has good outdoor spas The eastern part has amazing views of the coast line. And the south east has glaciers that are so unreal, they look fake

[@tanker6473]

@@animated000 I did the ring road in December with my wife. We had a great time. Of course, they had to open hotels/B&B's so we had someplace to stay.

[@animated000]

@@tanker6473 my GF and i almost died in the North. No visibility, no guard rails and no traction. I am not exaggerating when i say our tickets almost got punched Middle of a blizzard, in the hilly north...driving a yaris!!! Parapharasing a conversation GF: This is bad babe. Are you ok Me: Yeah, I've been in worse Me Inside: So this is how Im gonna die. At least my kid knows where the insurance policy is.

[@MrWaterbugdesign]

Vacations are normally fun anywhere in the world. Not really the same as living in a place.

[@AntonAtan]

​@@animated000what month did you go ?

[@greychi]

as an antisocial hermit who hates sunlight and loves freezing snowy weather, iceland sounds like an absolute win

[@arianathearyan]

bruh from april to september the sun barely sets

[@Sugarpanda_87]

Your skin is BROWN RIGHT?

[@Sabbathissaturday]

I agree.

[@VerkaterterStiefel]

N.Iceland

[@jitendrakumar-ih8hz]

And must have butt loads of money

[@ufosrus]

When we visited Iceland in 2005, on our way to Norway, the first thing I asked myself is where's everyone. There was hardly anyone about in the streets of Reykjavik and we saw more sheep traveling in that country than people. It was August and I guess not many tourists since it was expensive in those days. So when we arrived in Oslo it felt like a multitude of people and it was pretty overwhelming at first. Anyhow, Iceland is a pretty, exotic country and we ate the best ice cream ever. And we're glad we went when we did because it's more popular as a destination nowadays.

[@sazji]

I’m so sick of this censorship where we have to listen to bleeps over words like “sui***e,” because hearing the word (when we all know exactly what it is), will somehow damage us? It’s such nonsense.

[@dafnickmalzkov3173]

Well it's to protect children who watch these videos.

[@sazji]

@@dafnickmalzkov3173 So saying “unalive myself” instead of “sui***e”, or adding asterisks instead of letters, is going to protect the kids?

[@chmuso1017]

@@dafnickmalzkov3173 no its not. its so the video gets a better algorithm rating. its mainly tik tok that started it

[@dafnickmalzkov3173]

@@sazji idk? Why are you asking me, I just pointed out their reason, "it's a trigger word for many". Personally children should not be hidden away from these kinds of things.

[@Marcel-rq8jt]

It's mainly for the youtube algorithm as they want youtube to recommend the video to as many people as possible

[@-kingofsaiyannappa-9057]

Iceland language is so much closer to the old norse viking language. Pretty cool to learn it¬¬¬¬

[@christopht3242]

I try learning it since 3 years because i lost my heart to iceland a bit and I like the language. The spelling itself isn´t the hardest challenge but the grammar I think. And tbh I didnt meet one person who couldnt communicate in english, most even very very good.

[@stevehicks8944]

Spent several days in Iceland during January. It took a bit of time to get used to the four hours of daylight, but it was NOT that cold. We stayed fifty kilometers outside of Reykjavik; the temp never got lower than the low 20s F. We lived in WI for a few years. Winter temps there could reach the lower 20 F there as well….-20 or lower F. Iceland has great people and is absolutely beautiful. I would go back there in a heartbeat.

[@msr1116]

I'm in the Great Lakes area....the Windy City to be exact, and the low 20F is my limit. Any lower and it gets painful to navigate outside even with a light wind. If cold weather were that much of a deterrent, nobody would be in any super chilly country. People are hearty and adaptive.

[@OttoMatieque]

I am good at being depressed and would fit right in

[@guyinpajamapants6892]

Lol

[@lacabraquecanta4083]

I lived in Iceland for a year in my early twenties. I would never, ever, had stayed more than the year I had originally planned for. It has some great attractions: nature is ever present and beautiful, though harsh and really really cold; it´s quiet and practically silent, so if you come from a crowded place the first few months are heaven; and people are nice and tolerant, hardly anyone is agressive or unpleasant. BUT, the negatives outhweigh the positives for me very quickly: prices are sky high and salaries are not a great deal, so we´re talking Norway prices with English salaries. Most people in my age bracket would spend their ENTIRE salary on alcohol, it was wild. Plus, nature may be beautiful but the weather SUCKS. My best friend was from Bournemouth and he said English weather felt tropical in comparison (in the middle of the fking SUMMER the max temperature is 15 celsius). And the culture is just... cold. These are some of the worst conversationalists in history, it´s practically impossible to have a proper conersation with someone you don´t know because of how shy and mute they are, and the only exeption is when they get drunk, as it´s the only way they know to open up. So all in all it´s depressing after a while, That being said, I´ve made some good friends, and just like anywhere, people are people so you can always find someone amazing, charming, etc that breaks all stereotypes.

[@PS987654321PS]

Well said and truthful.

[@castronator-mu3ye]

Very similar to the Finns I know. It's all about the booze. They can't talk without it. When they do, it's great, but when they get sober again, they become closed people as before.

[@PS987654321PS]

@@castronator-mu3ye many Americans can be similar, especially midwesterners. If you are emotionally closed off or live in a culture that does not value expression then this is the result. Italians, Latin Americans, Greeks, French, Spaniards, Jews don’t have this problem. Germanic, Nordic, Scandinavian, Baltic countries have this problem.

[@garycooper9207]

Sounds a lot like my country Finland

[@TeamCGS2005]

Maybe it's just you?

[@Blueskyworld2025]

I am an Aussie from Sydney. I always wanted to visit Iceland, especially the northern town of Akeyuri 🇦🇺 🇮🇸 ❤️

[@rossbabcock3790]

I live in Minnesota and have been to Iceland. Iceland is NOT cold, it's very pleasant in the winter.

[@plainman9887]

Lol 😂 you tell em man...Minnesota the ice ring

[@rossbabcock3790]

@@plainman9887 Uffda!!

[@edoardostrambio5496]

There is the gulf stream that mitigates a lot. But surely summer is very very very colder than minnesota

[@bnic9471]

​@@edoardostrambio5496Certainly is. Minnesota gets all the extreme weather.

[@johnryman-f3c]

Compared to deep freeze Minnesoda....it gets the gulf stream sweeping by..It's the darkness Minnie.

[@sammurphy1381]

It seems that Ireland and Iceland are having very similar problems. Too expensive to live, not great weather, lack of opportunity... I hope that soon this will change for both countries

[@magicunclefergaloreilly6699]

Ireland and Iceland are promoted by their governments as warm and friendly 😂😂

[@macca2342]

Can you sort something out with the weather please.

[@jamesdaple9951]

Same thing in Miami Fl low wages high rent!

[@philipcooper8297]

There is a huge difference between those two countries. Iceland is a very isolated country, so it is not viable to have any big industries there. Therefore, there are no well paid low to medium skill jobs.

[@sammurphy1381]

@@philipcooper8297 That's why I said similar, and not identical. There are similar issues facing both countries, and there are different issues facing both too.

[@avatopmin]

I am from Ethiopia. The weather here is very pleasant. The cold I used to complain about when I was in Iceland isn't present here.. But the hospitable community in Ethiopia is also present in Iceland.

[@sgsgsg666]

There is an Ethiopian restaurant located at Flúðir. It's the only one but it's a good one :)

[@metroplexchl]

Thank you for giving us a realistic understanding of life here. Everyone makes it look like Barbie Doll land. But there's always a realistic side.

[@MiguelGlez-English]

Tks too

[@redMaple_QC]

I never thought of Iceland as a Barbie Doll land. It's ICE land.

[@kengruz669]

Maybe Iceland can host the BarbieVision Song Contest.

[@llywrch7116]

I never thought of Bjork as a Barbie Doll type

[@bogami2126]

Q😊

[@henryloo2448]

I absolutely love Iceland but to live there it would be difficult because it’s so expensive economically and it’s cold year round. I traveled there during July summer of 2021 and there were still snow and ice glacier !!! It was gorgeous 🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸

[@darbyheavey406]

It’s similar to Maine or the American west….not that cold.

[@oddursigurdsson9637]

​@@darbyheavey406 Iceland's position is the same as the middle of Alaska, so think colder and wetter than Anchorage. Maine is still far south compared to Iceland but the coastline might have similar North Atlantic storms. People think its not cold because it's an island and there is no dry cold that goes under -20°c (-4f) but the constant wet weather and cold coastal winds make being outside impossible without proper clothing. It is always windy, often raining and storms are regular. The only time that island is close to being habitable are the 3 months of summer and the only reason for that is because the sun is up 24 hours every day and night making the place warmer. Even so it will be windy and rainy and there will be several storms so bring good clothing.

[@MrWaterbugdesign]

Would make sense there would be ice glaciers still in July since that's the definition of "glacier"...persistent body of dense ice. "Persistent" being a keyword.

[@motormouthalmighty]

@@oddursigurdsson9637 and what of Jehoshaphat?asa begat him but who did he begat?what if he didn't get the girl,walk off into the sunset and what if they didn't live happily ever after eh?hmmm!what then eh?other than that I enjoyed reading the full history of your family tree,included in your autobiography!

[@oddursigurdsson9637]

@@motormouthalmighty pretty funny but made u read an 3 paragraphs about shitty weather and apparently wrote it so well you didn't skip any of it 1 in every 10 Icelanders is a published writer. Probably because we never leave our fucking house because the weather sucks so much. Got you again

[@stevenalvarado-doc7334]

The favorite sport in the First World is telling everyone how bad they have it in their country while at the same time imagining that everyone else has it so much better.

[@Hindukushsailing]

Iceland is a cool place. The camping and outdoor activities are stellar. I never seen so many waterfalls pouring right into the ocean before. Amazing.

[@FlushGorgon]

It's not a cool place, it's a freezing place.

[@asbisi]

@@FlushGorgon Not as cold as people tend to think. Windy though.

[@ryanpedersen5722]

Im an Aussie, and Iceland was probably my favourite country I've been too

[@aflaz171]

Without fail, we aussies need to proclaim to the world, "I am an aussie!" Why is that? Or, "As an aussie!"😂

[@ryanpedersen5722]

@@aflaz171 not sure why 🤔

[@frogwaffle7]

@@ryanpedersen5722 it is good the reader knows where u r from...not just an 'aussie' thing.

[@mxn8972]

because we're all proud to be living here i guess haha@@ryanpedersen5722

[@larsbjrnson3101]

I am not Icelandic but Norwegian and everyone I have asked who has traveled the world has said their favorite country is Australia. Maybe you have something in common? :)

[@jimbandit1250sa]

We had our dream holiday there last year on a guided tour what a fantastic chilled out and most welcome place it is, we learned a lot about Iceland and its soo peaceful and calm the landscape and volcanic mountains are truly beautiful, thank you Iceland for making us so welcome 🥰☺️👍😀 we will be back

[@SHARAD9930]

For a tourist from India, Iceland was a fantastic out of the world experience. The Volcanic areas, the glaciers and the bubbling geysers and the waterfalls were enchanting and wonderful. English was understood by most of the locals. It’s costly , but we could afford it for about 8 days.

[@philosopher2king]

I had the pleasure of visiting Iceland with my wife a few years ago and we absolutely loved it. The people were gentle, nice, welcoming and sassy and upfront. Being from the Dominican Republic myself, I realized island people are the same everywhere, even in the far, cold North. The nature is astounding, Reykjavik is clean and organized and the food was great. I told my wife the only thing I regretted was not visiting Iceland when I was single 😆What an absolutely beautiful place. P.S 5:45 Damn, that's Morten Harket's young double.

[@truthray2885]

And the Viking busker in his medieval helmet is playing a YAMAHA acoustic guitar in the city square. How I love it. Yamahas are loved and valued EVERYWHERE!

[@brybryguy6314]

I lived in Iceland for some time. As an American, I would say the country is amazing. Very very little crime, clean, extremely friendly people. The climate and weather I didn't mind at all honestly. The little sunlight in winter I did not mind either. My only real grief. The cost of living is through the roof. It's deemed Reykjavik is one of the most expensive capital cities in Europe, and one of the most expensive capitals in the world. Food alone is outrageously expensive. But. If you look. Everything down to grains are imported. You cannot grow many crops in Iceland due to its geography of mostly volcanic rock. The interior of the island is very sparsely populated with harsh climates. The constant looming threat of volcanic eruptions. The island is one mega volcano basically.

[@maxsteele4555]

It's their home. How about Korea, Japan, or China?

[@royjohnson465]

@@sparklesparklesparkle6318~ ~Nigeria has about 219 million people. Over 1 million people living in Nigeria ‘or’ 0.5% (one half of one percent) of its total population are from a continent other than Africa. 800,000 people living in Nigeria are from India, 100,000 are from the United States, 75,000 are from Lebanon, 60,000 are from China, and 16,000 are from the United Kingdom. >>About 99% of the people in Nigeria are “black people” so is there racism in Nigeria because of lack of deversity?>“Personally I found the lack of diversity in Iceland to be VERY upsetting…but I can smell a racist society when I see one and Iceland rings ALL the alarm bells”

[@royjohnson465]

@@maxsteele4555~Yes, I explained that exact thing in my post above ☝️.

[@pyellard3013]

I am not sure how a country that only appears to be have fish as a resource has such a high standard of living but well done!

[@pyellard3013]

​@@sparklesparklesparkle6318When visiting Agr ca I never experienced racism but I smelt it..

[@madhusudan]

I appreciate the window your videos provide into this rather mysterious land.

[@MiguelGlez-English]

Thanks my friend

[@fbksfrank4]

Because some people are like plants, they require 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of night.

[@johnanthonyp]

I loved Iceland. The scenery and people are fantastic. However, like the narrator raises, I was rather taken aback by the paucity of range in the supermarket. It seriously looked like it had been looted or was on the brink of permanently closing down in some sections. I left it questioning how they remain such an impressively robust people.

[@xapaga1]

They just cull goats and sheep in galore but not to be seen in supermarkets. The head is such a delicacy food for those gourmet and gourmand Icelanders.

[@gujono.eiriksson8553]

It's probably because of the massive increase in tourism compared to what used to be the baseline.

[@Volundur9567]

Þorramatur traditional food keeps you going.

[@polonezkombi]

It's because they don't have enough locals willing to work in lowest salary shopkeeping, comparing to tourists coming in amount 10x more that Icelanders population (over 3 million of tourists, over 300k of locals). Guess what happens in food supply in season. Worst that every tourist is demanding and totally not aware of the scale they are building and the fact that stores are the worst paid sector in Iceland, where nobody wants to work. In season permenently understaffed, with less than a minute for 1 customer to serve per hour

[@misstrekfreak]

Iceland doesn’t import all it food. Have you seen the size of those greenhouses! I made an effort to eat as much Icelandic food as possible. Fabulous place, love it ❤

[@lucylane7397]

It’s the largest banana producer in Europe

[@thomasmaughan4798]

"I made an effort to eat as much Icelandic food as possible. " That would be hardfisk.

[@meredithheath5272]

​@@lucylane7397Very interesting!

[@BiglerSakura]

All the seafood must be harvested by the local fishery industry, I'd suppose. However, the cost of locally grown food may me even higher than import.

[@capitalb5889]

​@@lucylane7397 my grandfather was stationed there for 6 months in WW2 and was able to acquire some at a time when the war made them unavailable in Britain..

[@holagayz1050]

love your videos. They're always so detailed ❣

[@MiguelGlez-English]

Tks my friend

[@nbprotocol5406]

I bet they drink a lot. I reccomend Rum and grapefruit juice.

[@trainsplanesandotherthings5187]

Interesting that the grass is always greener on the other side . I live Los Angeles plenty of sunshine good weather and lots to do.. Downside traffic jams, tons of "homeless", high crime , murder, mass shootings and horrible politics.

[@LukeXMV]

For Australians: Iceland is a very advanced country with great housing standards, insulation etc Not more expensive than Australia. And people are nicer, cleaner and not as duplicitous as in Australia or other Anglo countries. I had a great time in Iceland.

[@gurriato]

The eternal anglo isn't exactly a high bar to pass.

[@Mere-Lachaiselongue]

@@gurriato Uh yes it is. White Protestant countries are ranked top in the world. Everywhere else is a sh*thole, just look at what became of India after they pushed soo hard for independence.

[@richardwitherow5289]

@@gurriato Get stuffed.

[@mshara1]

As an Australian with brown skin, I second this opinion about Iceland.

[@stevensamuels4041]

Why duplicitious?

[@ofacid3439]

Been to Iceland for a week in February of 2019. A lot of wind and vodka; the overall sense of a very small bored to death society living from weekend to weekend next to stunning nature they barely see due to weather and prices. Would come back in summertime though

[@charlibrown686]

It looks terribley depressing 😞

[@colingoldthorpe5918]

Sounds like northern Canada !!!! I used to land in Iceland when i flew back and forth to Canada 30 years ago. One thing i do recall was the women were absolutely gorgeous.

[@TimeTraveller010]

Could never live there, nope. And I am well travelled...the woman to the left of the screen in the opening passage, angel, beautiful

[@BernhardSchwarz-xs8kp]

The best part - and actually the message of such a video - is presented in the first 20 seconds. Does this dog care in which country he is getting loved? To him - live is good - why worry about average whatever - he is being treated with respect and love and able to trust. Isn't it what we have to learn again - that who we are living with, who we can trust, who not only respects us but sincerely cares for us - that this is more important than at which place on this planet we are living?

[@leptonsoup337]

I have to say as someone that currently lives in Iceland, the cost of housing is ABSOLUTELY out of control.

[@southofthemersey7351]

Unfortunately this true of pretty much all of Northern and Western Europe. We're all experiencing a hit to our standard or living and disposable incomes.

[@BunnyWatson-k1w]

Language at 4:30. My friend lived in Iceland for 2 years. He really struggled with loneliness since he was learning the language. Fortunately his landlady was fluent in English. He found the country was very closed to foreigners unless they had fluency. He eventually made friends and had a good experience but that was only after a year.

[@leprechaun7667]

95% of the population speaks fluent English 🤦‍♂️🤣🤣

[@invasion8318]

@@leprechaun7667 but they want to use icelandic obviously so what difference does this make if they speak english?

[@leprechaun7667]

@@invasion8318 communication obviously 🤦‍♂️

[@BunnyWatson-k1w]

This was in the 1970s so not many spoke English like today. And he was an anthropology PhD student, so interviews were done in Icelandic.

[@invasion8318]

@@leprechaun7667 if every person speaks icelandic and there is this one guy who doesn't - guess what? He will get excluded quickly

[@hrs6480]

This is basically an Please don’t immigrate to Iceland ad

[@bali2633]

I've never been to Iceland, but after this video I already feel depressed 🫥

[@airgaborpara3824]

Iceland expensive as hell. Very depressing weather.

[@x13xmonkey]

Canada,West Coast Vancouver here. Love it here but really expensive as well. Thanks for vid❤

[@Halli50]

Learning Icelandic (a Germanic language, as close to Old Norse as you can get) is about as hard as learning German. The grammar is eerily similar and so is the plethora of compound words.

[@walkingstick6655]

For sound reasons, emigrating to Iceland has long been an impossibility. One thing I noticed on a February visit to Iceland one year, was that there were no visibly homeless people. Of course not, I told myself, they would freeze-to-death. So, if there are homeless, the receive some sort of shelter. I suspect that as a sort of socialist state, the poor are far from the poor of many countries, poverty being a very relative thing.

[@JimCastleberry]

They don't have Democrats rioting looting, exploiting black people and promising welfare for votes.

[@scapegoat762]

​@@TheBliepbliep The biggest concerns for most of "the poor" in America are 1. Available bandwidth for their phone, 2. Ensuring the ready availability of street drugs. 3. Rampant obesity due to the endless cornucopia of food provided by the taxpayer.

[@PoldarkGodzilla]

Keep immigration low to Iceland , it’s ruining Europe

[@tiltil9442]

I could listen to these tipsy la-di-da MAGA-hat rants all day long...

[@scapegoat762]

@@tiltil9442 Alternately, I seldom enjoy condescending, insight less, glib prattle by those who believe that "irony" is the height of wit...

[@BashoStrikes]

Sadly, even beautiful Iceland is not immune to general international corporate greed and the controlling grasp of the international banking cartel.

[@delphiniapickett2934]

Bingo

[@ricksundberg5659]

I'm a commercial fisherman and I've often thought about relocating to Iceland with my seiner.

[@wvanderwahl]

As many have said already Iceland is a beautiful country with extraordinary natural attractions. The language as stated more than once in this video is not a accessible language in any way. In hotels and restaurants there should be phonetic pronunciations on signs & menus for basic words that a tourist can learn. I found the Icelandic people to be polite and kind but reserved and somewhat introverted.

[@Volundur9567]

Or, you know, watch vids on it, read books as well. Nobody wants to put in the labor. Immersion is the best way to acquire a language. Watch Rúv, the kid version too (Krakkar), listen to the bands, get into it. If you mess up, that's okay. Tell folks to talk to you in Icelandic, that you're trying to learn (as long as you're not holding up things).

[@bechri9573]

I'd love to visit Iceland one day. As a German from the north of the country, I am pretty much used to bad weather and to cold climate. But I can imagine the lacking light once in a while would make me depressive and suicidal ....

[@VeggieRanger]

Na dann liebe Grüße aus Ostfriesland, mein Lieber! Bin seit einem Jahr hier. Der Winter war krass! Hab mich gefühlt wie auf island..😅

[@bechri9573]

@@VeggieRanger Haha, ein Ostfriese und ein Hamburger unterhalten sich übers Wetter; wir wissen, wie es ist, sonnenverwöhnt aufzuwachsen 😅 Liebe Grüße zurück 👋

[@blueocean2510]

There is no comparison, Ireland is in the EU and it's population is much larger than Iceland. The climate in Ireland is good, good food and living is ok. The Anglo version of both Iceland and Ireland is biased.

[@plainman9887]

You can always move to Las Vegas Nevada where it only rains about 7 times a year, plenty of burning hot sunshine on those 110-118 degree summer days and breathing in nuclear waste particles from all the dust here...

[@flynncrawford1960]

largest Icelandic speaking population outside of Iceland is Gimli, Manitoba, Canada.

[@bernardquasaar1254]

Iceland is going to blow out it's own flame by valuing the wealth building over a very few people vs supporting its families and young people. With an complex language, a closed kingdom mentality, and an isolated arctic location. It's too bad. Such a beautiful place, such a great people.

[@Mercmad]

Ice;land was the only place in the World where someone got punished for the engineered GFC in 2008. It would appear that Iceland was used by wallstreet to be a scape goat.

[@utistudent099]

@@Mercmad Inside Job narrated by Matt Damon gets into this quite deep. It was far reaching and plenty of corrupt bankers that took it down. The top dogs never served time. Just the small ones.

[@meredithheath5272]

Agree - I remember thinking the people hold others accountable. - but, some say it has changed for the worst?

[@catherinemira75]

I first visited Iceland in 1971. It was a totally different world/country to this. The only bit of tarmac in the whole country was between Keflavik and Reykjavik. Globalization and. Capitalism changed a traditional way of life too fast. But the language remains the same.... hence the tension between the two.

[@thomasmaughan4798]

"Capitalism changed a traditional way of life too fast." Iceland has always been capitalistic. Socialism is the recent invention.

[@BiglerSakura]

@@thomasmaughan4798 It used to be tribal and early-feudal as well :)

[@thomasmaughan4798]

@@BiglerSakura "It used to be tribal and early-feudal as well" Agreed. I have Hjálmar Bárðarson's book Iceland: A portrait of its land and people

[@amdnagh.initiative]

❤❤❤

[@jdd5886]

Must be depressing in winter

[@alanfaulkner6329]

Better there than anywhere in the UK.

[@RichardAHolt]

Just spent over a week in Iceland for my retirement trip. Yes, it is expensive, but you can't beat the views of nature. Took 1000+ images between my phone and camera. The folks we met were friendly and accommodating. My wife and I were so impressed, that we are planning for a return trip in 2026 and plan on driving so that we can take a slower pace to enjoy what we will be seeing. We live in the heat and humidity of Florida, so the change in temperature is appreciated. We just won't visit during the dead of winter.

[@delphiniapickett2934]

I live in Tennessee and I visit the panhandle of Florida is much more human and I get it and the weather has changed so much that we don't have any real fall or much of a winter in Tennessee anymore and I live in Middle Tennessee so I would get it if I want cold weather I want dry cold weather and like to stick around it goes up and down here in Tennessee it'll be 42 next time it's going to be 60° and then we have less rain. We used to get a lot more snow 15 years ago and it would go away now it's like you don't know what's going to happen. Humidity is something that you have to get used to but I think it's mainly it's going up and down week to week and the weather has drastically changed I don't think we have much of a falling more like we used to

[@jamesarnette1394]

You are planning to drive from Florida to iceland?

[@RichardAHolt]

@@jamesarnette1394 Hardly, will stay in the capitol and use it as a base to drive around, instead of taking guided tours.

[@jamesarnette1394]

@@RichardAHolt okay, that makes sense. To drive from Florida would have been very hard anyway because Greenland is not full of interstates. By the way, I think that's the way I would handle such a trip myself.

[@LeungGeum]

I wonder what Floki the boat builder would think of the place more than a thousand years after landing there. 😄

[@dmmness]

Definitely a bucket list place for me.. One of my school friends was born and raised there. I used to live in Minnesota and love that weather. On that point, I would be more than ok in Iceland. I unfortunately would have an issue with learning the language though.

[@corujariousa]

40% taxes well used in comparison to 33-37% in the USA for really bad use seems like a good deal to me.

[@pectenmaximus231]

This video reminds me of the early days of KZbin, or more accurately reminds me of the documentaries on TV in the late-90s to early-2000s. Just good quality, straightforward video journalism.

[@leochen887]

Having visited Japan a few times, I can say that it's much safer than any other country. Women from North America and Europe say that walking, they feel very safe day or night, and that the Japanese are gracious and polite. If someone has lost their purse or wallet, that very often it's found and returned to you!

[@UncleWally3]

Not saying living in an often dark and frigid environment causes it, but is there extremely high alcohol (and drug) consumption and, if so, what is the resulting legal and social consequences?

[@delphiniapickett2934]

That would be the highest probability

[@sigurdurgretarsson8527]

Good video and while much is spot on I have to say there are a few things I want to raise a small objection to. The numbers quoted for salary seem to be a bit off. Minimum wage in Iceland is around 33,000 USD, not sure how these numbers of >30K are reached unless that´s after taxes? The median wage in Iceland is about 60,000 USD. And while I know that there are many people getting paid less than that, nobody is paid 26,000 USD for working full time. "Outside Reykjavík there is virtually nothing but glaciers, volcanoes, lava deserts, rivers, some animals and very small populations." Come on! That´s not very fair, I have to say. I know Iceland has a small population and our towns only have generally around 3-8000 people living in them (which yeah, I agree that to most of the outside world is very small) to say that we have to deal with a feeling of "total isolation" is a bit harsh. For most of my live I´ve lived in towns of 2-5000 people and never have I had that feeling. I like the peace, the feeling of safety and as long as you´re a bit self-sufficient there is plenty to do even if you live outside Reykjavík! ;) And while it´s not for everyone, it certainly isn´t near as bleak as this video makes it sound. However, it´s very expensive to live here and the selection in our shops is pretty limited because as mentioned most of our items are imported. The housing market is terrible, it´s very expensive to buy and to rent and our housing loans are probably the highest in Europe. Right now I´m paying about 10% interest on my mortgage which is insane. I´m optimistic it will go down but 6-7% interest here isn´t uncommon. Speaking for myself I´m ok with the Icelandic weather most of the time but if I had three wishes one of them would be to have a longer summer. And the wind, the damn wind... I´m ok with most any kind of weather but the wind here can drive me nuts. Less wind would probably be my wish number two. I´ll have to think about the third wish. Our language is quite difficult to learn, but I think it doesn´t matter where you go in the world, if you don´t speak the local language you will always be "left out." I know that if I moved to another country I would do my very best to learn the local language. And we are a bit reserved I think, I´m not sure it´s easy to fit in here as a foreigner because of that. And not being able to communicate well will always be a hindrance. But as mentioned in the video most Icelanders speak pretty good English. Thanks for an interesting video, Iceland has it´s ups and downs like every other country and it would be wrong to think otherwise.

[@CAROLGAMERLIFE]

I'm living in Iceland for 4 years , the bad things I can say it's THE WIND, that is annoying doesn't matter the month and the degrees outside, the wind is going to mess up all of your plans And the lack of attractions in the city. Is pretty dead to me. You can count on your fingers the days that actually has some free concerts and attractions to go I'm from são paulo Brazil so I was used to more energy and heat of the culture and people. But in general icelandic people are one of the most polite people in Europe.. so this helps in your daily life.

[@susanharris5926]

You forgot to mention the greatest setback to living in Iceland which is the fact they live on an island on top of a mantle plume, hence the recent volcanic eruptions, which happen frequently and can be devastating.

[@Mustangaein]

I lived in Iceland in 1975 for over a year. It is very different now as compared to then. The people are still very pleasant to be with.

[@itslogical3884]

poor, cold, little daylight, depressed, suicidal, but not homicidal, and that is the key of a civil society.

[@Mercmad]

Iceland. the only country in the world where someone went to jail because of the GFC in 2008.

[@alldayubum]

I always wanted to visit Iceland its on my bucket list

[@stan-qf3dk]

2:40 you make it sound like a swear word it's so funny lmao

[@kiliipower355]

What I don't quite understand is why not build greenhouses? Half the island is heated by geothermal energy. Why not use that for greenhouses and grow vegetables or fruit. The construction costs at the beginning would be there, but in the long run it would create jobs and the population would not have to import expensive every tomato.

[@Rimrock300]

Oh they do, for years. Plenty of greenhouses.

[@lightbringer2938]

wages are not high. A carpenter or a farmworker barely scrape by. Forget spending the winter in southern europe.

[@kipponi]

It is like Prison Island😟. Landscape is like Mars but with ice and water falls. And what grows there? No trees?

[@MonTube2006]

So stay where you are. They are doing just fine without you

[@oliverstianhugaas7493]

When you are surrounded by billionaires, the millionaire is poor. This is not a joke and this is actual poverty.

[@FreyaVanBuren-go8qn]

Iceland looks interesting and charming but the weather would kill me😂😊.

[@presentmnd]

A bunch of Beautiful Snowbunnies

[@eelnorris8196]

My last day in Iceland was a Saturday and I absolutely had to visit Kolaportið. Got some dope patches, a Megas records and some Björk CDs. Loved it.

[@AdLockhorst-bf8pz]

Iceland is kind of "out of the way" and has a small population; so lots of things have to be imported. And that means that things are on the pricey side. Of course!

[@JaceVibe]

I think Iceland is seriously overhyped. It has some unique nature, but so do many other countries. I think going to Iceland is in fashion at the moment, but tourism will come back down to moderate levels in a few years.

[@Mere-Lachaiselongue]

Weed is illegal there, thats why so many people are depressed. If only the s***idal people could kick back and relax with a joint...

[@ofacid3439]

​@@Mere-LachaiselongueI don't know mate, some bars in Reykjavík that are lucky enough to have a second floor are flooded with pipe smell. One night I came from a bar back to a hotel room I shared with my Canadian fella and he said I smelled like if I've spent a day in a tent with homeless weed chainsmokers

[@Mere-Lachaiselongue]

@@ofacid3439 "Cannabis is illegal in Iceland, and you can be arrested and fined for carrying small amounts meant for personal use." All Nordic countries have awful weed laws. I got fined 3500 SEK because I had trace amounts of thc in my urine.

[@brosef5033]

Lol have you even visited?

[@Ingip95]

​@@Mere-Lachaiselongueiceland has actually one of the highest rates of cannabis consumption per capita in the entire world

[@Beardlovesdog]

Looks like a nice place to visit in summer. I suggest all Iceland come to Kentucky in the USA. There is plenty of room and lots of Green space. And many jobs are open of all kinds. I suggest the Lexington area. Which is welcoming and has a large university and hospital.

[@vamsavardhanavijay5532]

You saw the pretty girls didnt you? And you went, come here hunney

[@jamesw4895]

Stay where your at . You have social safety nets there plus I bet you have a more affordable Healthcare system. You get sick in the US you are screwed.

[@23merlino]

@@jamesw4895 ...and yet no other country spends so much on healthcare per capita as in usa... it's so hard to understand why that is so from a continental european standpoint (not britain which has a massively malfunctioning health system)...

[@bobsacamano7653]

Kentucky has the lowest average life expectancy in the U.S. and the highest tobacco use per capita in the U.S.

[@douglaskeen873]

@@bobsacamano7653 That's good news for the leftists who love to whine about overpopulation.

[@JscottSears]

Cant wait to visit! Love the beautiful people of Iceland 🇮🇸 ❤️

[@jackdaniel4325]

If I ever had any interest in visiting Iceland you talked me out of it. Thanks. Saved me some money.

[@delphiniapickett2934]

If you like to visit a Arctic Island check out Slavard I hope I spelled that correctly

[@leandrodafontoura]

When you put the 2 most beautiful women in the world right at the beggining of the video, it makes really hard not wanting to move to Island...

[@aleksandernam]

I used to live in Iceland for 3 years. Having traveled in many countries around the world, I realized that Iceland is the place I miss and there I felt truly free. Few people, safe, good economic situation are just some of the many pluses of Iceland. The worst were the long and dark winters, but Iceland's distance to Europe is close so you could always visit some warm country for a few days in winter. Yes, I call Iceland my second home.

[@corneliuscornia3189]

Now i am depressed 😢😢

[@xanderunderwoods3363]

I live in Alaska, its just as beautiful, cold, and miserable as Iceland, but our crime is pretty high in the cities and native villages. Its amazing how similar Alaska and Iceland is, aside from the crime, and our poor quality of our cities, cost of living here is just as astronomical, but our state is also the size of Western Europe. You can go well over 1000km in some parts of Alaska and not run into another person. We are like one big family though, I love that. If crime and education was not so terrible here, I'd consider staying.

[@faieruz]

I just came back from Iceland. We toured for some eighteen days clockwise on the island and yes, it is expensive but the it is stunningly beautiful and people are quite friendly too. Would love to see more of Iceland in future, maybe in summer time.