I recently made the huge decision to uproot my life in the United States and move abroad to Iceland with my husband. This was not an easy decision, but one we decided to make for a myriad of reasons. Before I get too ahead of myself, I’ll start at the very beginning!
Jake and I first visited Iceland for our honeymoon, almost exactly two years ago. Iceland was one of those places he and I had always wanted to visit. Lots of couples decide to go somewhere tropical like Hawaii or Mexico, while other couples visit somewhere classically romantic, like Italy or France. We almost chose Italy for our honeymoon destination, but about 6 months before our trip, we made the decision to go all-out on an Iceland trip – The natural beauty, cooler temps, and Icelandic culture drew us in.
In October 2023, we spent a week exploring Iceland’s capital Reykjavík, the Golden Circle, and the South Coast. If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, or one of your favorite movies is The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (like me!), you may recognize some of the landscapes we visited. Reynisfjara is right outside of Vík on the South Coast and is the most famous black sand beach on the island – although most beaches on the island are black sand. The Golden Circle is the easiest “tourist destination” to get to from Reykjavík, with much to see – gorgeous waterfalls, a famous geyser, and Þingvellir National Park. For those curious, Þingvellir is the only place in the world where you can stand between two tectonic plates, placing one hand on North America and the other hand on Europe.
There is a ton of natural beauty in Iceland, and to this day, we still have so much we haven’t explored. But as a self-proclaimed foodie, I would be remiss to ignore the delicious food we ate. It didn’t matter if we were at a gourmet restaurant in the heart of Reykjavík, a small restaurant somewhere along the Ring Road, or (dare I say), gas station food – the food quality, presentation, and flavors exceeded my expectations. Don’t be fooled though – you will pay a pretty penny to dine out every night, especially if you plan to drink.
After our honeymoon was over, Jake and I kept thinking about how amazing our trip to Iceland was. Even though the October weather was… questionable at times during our visit, we still made some of the best memories. He and I had many chats over the next few months about the possibility of living there some day, and how calm and happy we felt while we were there. We tried to replicate some of the things we had adopted during our visit, like sleeping with double duvets (it’s life-changing) or attempting to recreate Icelandic rye bread (it’s just not the same without baking with geothermal heat underneath the sand).
Our love for Iceland did not diminish. Jake and I went the following August and spent a little bit longer there, this time exploring different places and making friends – special shoutout to Fjalar and Hildur for opening their doors to us. Our appreciation for Iceland continued to grow after our second visit and we felt that an international move was inevitable at some point.
The turning point for us was the November 2024 election. The country we grew up in continues to grow more divisive, dangerous, and concerning. The extreme right wing politics and hateful rhetoric from the current administration and its supporters made us dig our heels in more and set our sights on Iceland as our future home. We also decided that saying “yes” more would offer us unique opportunities, even with the uncertainty of it all. We can thank the YouTube channel Yes Theory for that.
Now, less than a year after our “turning point,” we are officially living here. So are our friends who decided to take the leap and move with us!
I wanted to tell our story so that I could look back on these posts in years to come and remember: why we did this, how we did it, and the ups and downs. And for anyone that wants to follow along, thank you! If moving abroad is ever something you envision in your life, you’re in the right place.
I have so many topics I’ll be diving into – how we transported our dog Peanut here, loading up our lives into a shipping container, the cost of this move, our new life in Iceland, and a lot more. I hope you continue to follow along. 🙂
Rachel
The Iceland Diaries 