A Little Bit Of Fantasy

Thanks for the response. Why do you not think I would have a social life there? I've read a lot about Iceland and I think I would be prefectly happy there (social life or not). And what about all the rumors of the Icelanders being crazy partiers? Is that false? In a perfect world, Iceland would be the best place to go to when I want to escape everything else. Too bad i'm not a millionaire!! Thanks again.

I'd much rather have the option of being able to leave the country (the US) and surround myself with unfamiliar nature/people/animals,etc. I get excited thinking about it and really, it's only a pipe dream. I'm not trying to sound like life here is hard or anything like that. You know how some peple have the fortune of owning a "summer home" or vacation home? A place they can go to when they get sick of the "same old thing?" It's along those lines. Ireland would be fantastic. I've never been, but I would go in a heart beat, if i had the chance. I'm young and have plenty of time. It's on my list of future travels. We shall see...

I'm an American living in Iceland and I assure you:

1) there's plenty of social life in the Reykjavik area
2) there's plenty of solitude in the open countryside (although the highlands that are totally empty are not open in the winter). The landscape is dramatic and amazing in a way that I've never seen anywhere else. In some areas it is similar to Ireland (sheep, rocky coastline, open moors, soggy weather, tin villages)
3) Danish is not spoken here, Icelandic is
4) Iceland is much more  populated and connected to the outside world than Greenland. Many people actually go to Greenland THROUGH Iceland.

as far as the OP's wish, it's hard to say. There are definitely plenty of small summerhouse communities in remote areas, but the problem with having a house in one of those places is that you'd definitely need a car to get there and to stay supplied with life essentials.

Not sure if you'd get to be in a special visa category if you own property here but Iceland is part of Schengen territory so  you can stay as a tourist for a total of 90 days out of 180 in any of the Schengen countries. That means you can spend a month in France, then two months in Iceland, then you have to leave. You can't spend 3 months in Iceland and then go to France and stay there for a month (if you're interested in remaining legal.. I do know people who've stayed longer illegally, of course).

As for the house, here's a quick search result from the major newspaper here for summerhouses. It shows the typical architecture and price of these little country houses:

http://mbl.is/mm/fasteignir/leit.html?t … a=&lysing=

Wow, thanks for the link. Can you stay for three months every year? Or can you stay three months, leave for a month or so and then come back for another three months?? Silly question, i know. Are you married to an Icelander? I'm curious about Americans living there and how they managed to be so lucky. I've thought many times about possibly finding a job and living there for a few years to see how i'd like it...but that's just not possible now for multiple reasons including the economy there. How long have you lived there? I'd love to hear more about it. Anyway, thanks again for the information. I know Iceland is full of both the social world and the secluded world. That's exactly what I'd want in a "small" space. Take care!

As a non EEA national, your stay cannot exceed 3 months in any six month period -- so I guess that means you can come here 3 months, go home 3 months, back for 3, and so on...

Since you're still young, you should look into a student visa first for studying Icelandic for one year at University of Iceland. They have a programme called "Practical Icelandic for Foreigners" and since the homework burden is not too heavy, you'll have plenty of time to travel and meet Icelanders. Believe me, I know many people (women mostly) who have come to this programme as exchange students and ended up staying longer because they found an Icelandic boyfriend/girlfriend.

Link to the programme: https://ugla.hi.is/kennsluskra/index.ph … sluar=2009

Link to practical info about student visas: http://www.utl.is/english/residence-per … /students/

Residence Permits are confusing, so the Office of International Education may help: http://www.ask.hi.is/page/studypermits

Oh, I forgot to mention that as a single person, you would need to prove financial support for your residence permit.  The minimum support for one month works out to about $1,000 for a month. So you would probably need to have about $10,000 in your bank account for an academic year.