# 4th bank down (Icelandic economy mess) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 10, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957 "2009-03-10T14:27:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/21 "2009-03-10T20:52:39Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Actually, it might be. Mid-oceanic climate, extremes moderated by the sea? Never gets very cold or very warm? Yup. It rarely gets below -10c in winter and rarely goes above 20c in summer - true coastal climate. But -40!?! WTF!?! My personal cold record is -35 and that was one day on a ski-trip. And that day, even the ATM.s decided to call it quits (yeah, they said: closed due to it being cold as hell) And some more news from tonights evening news. Apparently, 30’000\* families now have a negative net-worth, if they only count mortgages. That figure does not include credit card debt and car loans. \*Out of a grand total of 300k inhabitants ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/22 "2009-03-10T20:53:45Z")
> [@WormTheRed](#): > > …previously owned by **Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson** Economic woes aside, that’s the coolest name ever. Such a shame it’s wasted on a banker. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/23 "2009-03-10T20:57:00Z")
I suspected as much for the climate of Iceland. It’s basically like that of Ireland or the UK, but cooler. The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan on [the climate of Saskatchewan](http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/climate.html): > [@](#): > > The climate of Saskatchewan is characterized by its extremes… > > It is common for temperatures at any point to vary more than 65°C within any year… The south Saskatchewan town of Midale had the highest temperature recorded in Canada at 45°C, and many sites have had record low temperatures of at least -50°C. These extremes of temperature are usually attributed to the province’s mid-continental position: the thermal character of the vast North American landmass heats and cools extremely well seasonally. It is also strongly influenced by the West Coast mountains, which inhibit the passage of moderating air from the west. The lack of terrain impediments to cold, Arctic air from the north is also a strong factor… > > An important feature of the climate of Saskatchewan is the frequent clear skies and the resulting sunny conditions. The province’s position in the lee of the Rocky Mountains and in the middle of the continent means that high surface pressure is frequently experienced. This high pressure in part explains the general aridity of the climate but also has other effects. One is the abundance of bright sunshine hours: many places in Saskatchewan have considerably more than 2,000 hours of bright sunshine each year, and Estevan, in the southeast, is known as the “sunniest place in Canada…” Sunniest place in Canada, eh? Sounds great for passive-solar houses. We already know that they work in such conditions–it gets to -35C in Bancroft, Ontario, where my friends have theirs. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/24 "2009-03-10T20:57:36Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > Economic woes aside, that’s the coolest name ever. Such a shame it’s wasted on a banker. 🆒 He [looks](http://www.vb.is/myndir/3fdee7f1919f8287f64fc706d28d3200_300x225.jpg)pretty cool aswell. Used to be the richest guy here (probably still is for all I know, considering everyone is broke) and did the real playboy lifestyle. ---
**Author:** ![Spezza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Spezza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spezza)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/25 "2009-03-10T21:03:27Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > So, **WormTheRed** , why not think about Saskatchewan? Actually, I believe that their neighbour, Manitoba, has the largest population of Icelanders outside of Iceland. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/26 "2009-03-10T21:18:58Z")
> [@Spezza](#): > > Actually, I believe that their neighbour, Manitoba, has the largest population of Icelanders outside of Iceland. It’s either Manitoba or Denmark, but yes. We even have some representatives here from Manitoba to discuss the possibility of making it easier to get a working permit. ---
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/27 "2009-03-10T21:29:53Z")
> [@WormTheRed](#): > > It sure does… is there any place on the planet where it doesn’t look like it’s going to hell in a handbasket? I only read of gloom, everywhere I look. [Peru isn’t doing so badly.](http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13244897&fsrc=nwl) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/28 "2009-03-10T21:35:46Z")
> [@WormTheRed](#): > > We even have some representatives here from Manitoba to discuss the possibility of making it easier to get a working permit. Yes, I saw an article in the paper about that Manitoba mission. There are Icelanders here in Saskatchewan, but I not as many as Manitoba, which has the town of Gimli. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/29 "2009-03-10T21:39:38Z")
> [@WormTheRed](#): > > But -40!?! WTF!?! My personal cold record is -35 and that was one day on a ski-trip. And that day, even the ATM.s decided to call it quits (yeah, they said: closed due to it being cold as hell) -40 is a bit rare - we’ve not had that so far this year, although our temperatures today were in the low -30s when we got up, with windchill making it equivalent to -40. However, we build for those temperatures, and you adapt. We have a lot of outdoor sports throughout the winter, and again in the summer - just completely different types of sports, depending on whether the water is solid or liquid. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/30 "2009-03-10T21:44:00Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > -40 is a bit rare - we’ve not had that so far this year, although our temperatures today were in the low -30s when we got up, with windchill making it equivalent to -40. > > However, we build for those temperatures, and you adapt. We have a lot of outdoor sports throughout the winter, and again in the summer - just completely different types of sports, depending on whether the water is solid or liquid. 🙂 Hehe. Yeah, my uncle alway says there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes 😉 Tomorrow will be spent on Canadian job-boards to check for work in Saskatchewan. Peru, however, probably not. I’m just too western in my ways. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/31 "2009-03-10T21:55:09Z")
oh, and we’ve upgraded to concrete sidewalks since **Sunspace’s** mum used to live here. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/32 "2009-03-10T22:07:18Z")
> [@WormTheRed](#): > > Hehe. Yeah, my uncle alway says there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes 😉 It’s true! Around about -20 before the wind chill, you stop worrying about ‘style’ and start worrying about ‘warm’. > [@WormTheRed](#): > > Tomorrow will be spent on Canadian job-boards to check for work in Saskatchewan. Well, if you end up coming over, we;d be glad to show you around. Better move quickly, though, lest you get run over by a herd of unemployed Ontarian auto workers… ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/33 "2009-03-10T22:39:13Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Well, if you end up coming over, we;d be glad to show you around. Better move quickly, though, lest you get run over by a herd of unemployed Ontarian auto workers… And the same offer stands for when you get on your trans-atlantic trip to Copenhagen with Icelandair 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/34 "2009-03-10T23:06:39Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > oh, and we’ve upgraded to concrete sidewalks since **Sunspace’s** mum used to live here. 🙂 Piper ,whats housing and rentals like there, are we gonna see a redux of Calgary and Fort McMac if hordes of Ontarians cross over. Declan ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/35 "2009-03-10T23:07:10Z")
How cheap would it be to live there in Iceland now? Woudl I be happy taking my retirement there? ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/36 "2009-03-10T23:48:36Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > Economic woes aside, that’s the coolest name ever. Such a shame it’s wasted on a banker. 🆒 Seconded. **Worm** , how about recording a proper Icelandic pronunciation and posting the sound file somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/37 "2009-03-11T00:32:33Z")
**WormTheRed** just to make it a bit easier for you, here is the website [Saskjobs.ca](http://www.saskjobs.ca/). Saskjobs is a website run by the provincial government, and has job postings across the province and across different kinds of industries and occupations. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/38 "2009-03-11T00:47:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > How cheap would it be to live there in Iceland now? Woudl I be happy taking my retirement there? So hard to say, since I don’t know which exchange rate you’d get. The artificial local one 1 USD:112 ISK or the one google gives me 1 USD:171 ISK. In either case, it’s a lot cheaper here for you furreners than it used to be, but the price of imports is rising… a lot! > [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > Seconded. **Worm** , how about recording a proper Icelandic pronunciation and posting the sound file somewhere? Since I seem to have misplaced my mike, you’ll have to settle for this [newsclip](http://mbl.is/mblvideo/innlend/d7/20183_51779.mp4). She says is name just after they switch to a pic of him. > [@PastAllReason](#): > > **WormTheRed** just to make it a bit easier for you, here is the website [Saskjobs.ca](http://www.saskjobs.ca/). Saskjobs is a website run by the provincial government, and has job postings across the province and across different kinds of industries and occupations. Cool! Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/39 "2009-03-11T02:03:50Z")
**Worm** , What is the impact so far on day-to-day life? Is everybody out of work? Are the stores open? I mean, somebody must be working behind the counter of every shop, right? Are people planning to leave, like you seem to be? Can they _afford_ to leave, if their currency is near worthless? ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957/40 "2009-03-11T03:59:58Z")
> [@WormTheRed](#): > > Since I seem to have misplaced my mike, you’ll have to settle for this [newsclip](http://mbl.is/mblvideo/innlend/d7/20183_51779.mp4). She says is name just after they switch to a pic of him. [Here](http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=%22Bj%C3%B6rg%C3%B3lfur+Thor+Bj%C3%B6rg%C3%B3lfsson%22&hl=en&emb=0&aq=f#) is a Google video link. It must be damn tough for a non-Icelander to pick up the language and speak it accurately enough that the natives could understand. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4th-bank-down-icelandic-economy-mess/488957.md?page=3)