Ok, Iceland isn’t looking that hot anymore, with everything going to hell in a handbasket and my money being closer to a Zimbabwean Dollar than a US one.
So, as a first step of my “Escape from Iceland” plan I need to decide where I want to go. And as I neither have a wife or kids, but a M.Sc., I can go pretty much wherever I want to.
I therefore turn to you, dear Dopers, to tell me why I should move to your great shores. And if you really want to make my day, tell me what would hinder an Icelandic citizen to move there (work permits, residence permits and so on).
I place no restrictions on continents or countries. But I like my streets clean, crime low (having only lived in Northern Europe) and my beer cold.
Yes. This is a serious question/poll. It’s more and more looking like I want to get the hell out of Dodge.
Really, there’s any number of places that achieve this.
Do you have any particular language requirements? How big of a city are you looking for? What sort of weather?
Off the top of my head:
Vancouver
Victoria - Less crime but smaller than Vancouver
Seattle
Portland - Quieter than Seattle
London - Crime will depend on area, but picking a nice area shouldn’t be too hard. Possibly another smaller city in England might be better.
Pretty much most Scandinavian cities would be fine.
Sapporo (Japanese)
San Francisco
Dubai (Arabic, hot)
Hong Kong (Chinese)
I think I’ve heard that Singapore is quite nice, though I’ve not been there myself.
Thank you for the reply! I’m gonna dig some more on some of them.
I’m also asking to get new ideas.
I’ve lived in Sweden, Norway and Germany so I know what they have to offer and how to do things there.
I’m looking for those other places that are just around the corner: offering me new sights, smells and adventure. Those that might bring something new on the table, if just a new supermarket chain and fast food places
Weatherwise, I don’t really care. I’ve been known to bitch no matter what it’s like - and likewise enjoy it in any case
As for languages: Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian, “Danish”, English and German. But I don’t mind learing a new one.
What I do mind, is to stand out to much - all the time. And it really bugs me if I’m completely dependant upon someone else (for example: not have a friggin idea what those signs mean)
San Francisco probably has the most personality of places I listed, and you wouldn’t stand out or be unable to read the signs. I can’t comment on the hurdles that there might or might not be to get in, however. I suspect that being an English speaker makes it decently easy.
No way, not unless he is independantly wealthy - have you seen rental prices there? Holy crap on a stick!
Many areas of both Canada and the US are nice, and have an ok economy. Don’t know about Canada, but you shoud hit the US Immigration website for more info. I know you need a visa to move here and to work takes a work visa, You can get here on a normal submit a generic immigration visa and pray, but those are limited to under a million people a year.
You would probably have to learn French, but if you don’t mind the climate, Montreal is a wonderful place to live.
Then there is the second largest Icelandic speaking “city” in the world: Gimli, Manitoba. It might have a supermarket. Just out of curiosity, why the scare quotes on “Danish”? To my ears it sounded more like a gargle than a tongue, but the speakers seem to understand it. And I do know one sentence of it: “Jeg sprik ikke dansk”.
What do you do for a living? My husband’s company is always recruiting. I mean, the company he works for, not his personal company. Although we would be soooooo rich if it were his company. I would suggest Calgary as a place to move to, but we’re full.
Lots of different nationalities in Bangkok. The streets may not be as clean as you’re used to, but the street sweepers do indeed do a good job. The beer is cold, and the crime is pretty low; I often wander the streets alone in the wee hours of the morning with no fear whatsoever.
Plus, we have live lesbian sex shows to go with your cold beer.
Pros: Museums, art, architecture, neighbourhoods, food (except Mexican, for some reason, but we do Asian ‘fusion’ all over the place), all sorts of languages, not quite as vulnerable to the banking crisis, festivals almost every weekend in the summer, pro sports, the Great Lakes, lots of parks, a good zoo, major media centre, movie industry, major banking centre, lots of computer companies, the place to be if you want a condo, suburbs with really big highways ideal for SUVs, automotive plants of five companies within 200 km, major airport, inexpensive telecommunications, great place to buy discount computer parts, good bookstores, not as full as Calgary.
Cons: Really big highways, sprawl, underfunded transit system, nasty weather in November, smog, high rent, litter, gangs, beggars.
Most anywhere is Australia will meet these criteria. Plus the Aussie dollar is plummetting against the greenback, which could give you a pretty good exchange rate.
Although crime does seem to be on the way up. Or so the papers say. Beer’s cold, though.
You can find Danish bakeries where some of the people actually speak Danish, The Sons of Norway, a decent German restaurant or two, good regional beers (real beer), lots of cultural stuff*. Metro pop is 3 million, spread out fairly well. Lots and lots of lakes for swimming, fishing and beaches in the summer.
Art museums, science museums (several), lots of sports (Pro Hockey, Baseball, Basketball and Football (American), plus lots of minor league teams of all types), a metric assload of various theater groups, a sizable Rennaissance Festival every fall.
Lots of Scandinavians up here.
Lots of top companies, a good job climate and a decent education system.
Second Australia, with your age and education (not sure what your M.Sc. is in) you could probably immigrate on points. Go here: http://www.immi.gov.au
There’s a host of good information here, but there’s also the points test, you get points for your age, education, English ability, profession, etc. and if you have enough plus about $3k you can immigrate.
It’s not cheap, but here is good. Weather is good, beer is good, jobs are good, economy not utterly in the toilet, and there’s this Opera house and a big ol’ bridge (but you might like Melbourne better.)
I’d probably be able to handle french after a while, so Montreal is on my list now. How’s the job market?
And the reason for “Danish” is that I don’t know it formally. I can make myself understood and understand most of it, depending upon the dialect. I have no problems reading it though.
What do you mean, full?
And right now I’m in purchasing, the M.Sc. is in International Business. So what company does he work for?
Thailand is really nice for vacation, but is a bit to “surreal” for me I just can’t handle not being able to even read the street signs. Which means that most of Asia is out.
No love for London? The streets probably aren’t quite as clean as you’re used to but crime isn’t what it’s made out to be (I never have any problems) and it’s an awesome place to live. What you can’t find/do in London isn’t worth having/doing, in my opinion.
