Iceland 🇮🇸

Erik, 33

Born in Reykjavik, Iceland

Came to Australia in January 2015

What is your occupation?

I’m a Human Resources Manager at Kearney, an American consulting firm. I lead the Human Resources and Operations team in Australia and New Zealand and I’ve been in that role for 5 ½ years.

Why did you come to Australia?

The practical reason was that my girlfriend and I came to study for my Masters. She studied a Masters of Logistics and Supply Chain Management at USYD and I did a Master of Commerce with a specialisation in Human Resource Management at UNSW.

However, the main reason I decided to come to Australia was that I fell in love with the country when I was 20 and just exploring the country as a tourist. My favourite parts of Australia are probably Margaret River and Byron Bay.

What do you like about Sydney?

I find the outdoors-oriented lifestyle incredible. As a person who loves the outdoors, I enjoy having access to the national parks, beaches, views throughout the year. I normally run, play tennis, swim and drive a motorcycle and I find it great to live in Sydney with my active lifestyle: My dog seems to enjoy it too.

Cultural diversity is something that is also worth noting. Having access to a wealth of different cultures and cuisines in Sydney is amazing. Coming from a homogenous society like Iceland, Sydney’s multiculturalism was definitely very appealing to me and one of the reasons why I chose to move here.

What don’t you like about Sydney?

The remoteness of Australia, in general, is definitely annoying. If it were situated closer to Europe, going back home to visit family wouldn’t be so arduous. At the moment, it takes easily 24 hours to return to Iceland, usually via Dubai and London.

Despite Sydney’s comfortable climate, it isn’t exactly environmentally friendly in many aspects. For example, there are hardly any biking lanes or infrastructure in general compared to many major European cities like Copenhagen or Amsterdam. On a related note, traffic is horrendous here and this tends to lead to a lot of road rage. It’s very much a rat race; people have this “get rich or die trying” mentality which can be exhausting. Iceland in this aspect is a lot more relaxed and family-friendly; some people might consider this boring so I guess you can’t please everyone.

What would you like to say to Sydneysiders?

Don’t take Sydney for granted. Sydneysiders love to complain about everything, but there are not many cities that can really compare to Sydney in terms of quality of life. For people that were born and raised here, be grateful that you live here. Although there are negative aspects of Sydney (cost of living, traffic, superficial people, hectic lifestyle), there are undoubtedly more positive aspects.

What languages do you speak?

English, Icelandic

Danish is taught throughout Iceland as a second language for 3-4 years during primary school, however, I hated the language as I think it sounds extremely ugly so never really paid much attention to learning it.

I’m also supposed to know a little bit of French as I lived in France for 3 ½ years as an infant. However, I cannot speak any French either.

Teach us one word/phrase from your native language.

Þetta kemur allt með kalda vatninu

This is my favourite Icelandic phrase. A direct translation is “everything will come with the cold water” or “everything will be okay with the cold water.”

It’s representative of the Icelandic psyche; you say it to reassure someone that things will work out the way they should. It’s similar to how Aussies say “She’ll be right.”

What is one thing you want us to know about your native country?

I would like to clarify a misconception: not all Icelandic people believe in elves and not everyone is obsessed with Eurovision. I for one don’t really care about it.

Also, I’m not related to my girlfriend. Accidentally dating your relatives is a real problem in Iceland and there’s even an app designed to rectify it.

Who is the most famous person in your native country?

The most famous person would have to be Bjork. She sprung onto the scene as an alternative musician and is most famous for wearing a swan dress to the Oscars in 2001.

I grew up in the same Western area of Reykjavik as her. Icelandic people are pretty indifferent to the notion of celebrities; Bjork could be next to you at the supermarket and no one would bat an eyelid. I’ve seen her perform a few times but I’m not that big a fan.

What is the best dish in your native country?

Fermented shark (hakarl) is definitely a delicacy but I would recommend it to all visitors to Iceland.

My favourites would be Icelandic hotdogs and Scandinavian pastries. Hot dogs would have to be our unofficial national dish. Icelandic hot dogs are made of lamb, with a bit of pork and beef, and have raw white onions, crispy fried onions, ketchup, mustard and remoulade as toppings.

The best spot to get it would be in Reykjavik at Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur (which translates to “best hot dogs in town”). Seventy percent of the country’s 300,000 residents have eaten at the harborside hot dog stand, which opened in 1937 and has even served Metallica and Bill Clinton.

Disclaimer: All posts are personal opinions and perspectives of the interviewees and are not a perfect representation of the whole country/experience.