Hello! I'm a student from the university of Glasgow, and have just been offered a placement in Reykjavik University for my year abroad, starting August. Growing op in a family of expats, i don't have any issue integrating into new cultures and such, so my concern only relates to the various its and bobs one has to have sorted before the big move. The exchange program and the university website hasn't given me much information on the move so I'd appreciate any help you may have! Any concerns you think i should know would be much appreciated. One question that comes to mind, is that how early should I start looking for accommodation? or when options really become available. Further, how much should I be prepared to spend on living costs?
Thanks for your time and whatever help can you can give!
Student exchange - the glorious confusion!
Hello Tuisku welcome to Expat.com
For your accommodation hunt, I invite you to drop in an advert in our section Housing in Reykjavik so as to increase your chances to find a nice rental.
For the cost of living query, you may check out the forum section Cost of living in Reykjavik
Do not hesitate to create a thread in that section if you wish to have more specific costs.
Regards
Kenjee
Expat.com Team
Getting housing in the Reykjavik area can be very hard and expensive. In your case, I suggest you contact your University and they should be able to provide you information about available rooms for exchange students.
A price for a room in a shared apartment is usually 50.000-70.000 isk, depends alot of the location and type of housing. Food prices are also much higher than in the UK and cost of living in general.
One important thing to have in mind when registering as a resident in Iceland if regarding getting an Icelandic Health Insurance, you have to have certain forms filled out prior leaving the UK. Those forms confirms that you have had a valid health insurance in another EU/EES state and give you immediate access to the Icelandic health insurance system. If you are missing these forms, you have to wait 6 months for getting a health insurance
Luckily I automatically get health insurance as a Nordic citizen, since I'm originally from Finland. Thank you for your help!
It does not matter if you are from Finland or any other EU country. I am an Icelandic citizen that moved to Denmark for few years and when I moved back to Iceland I needed those forms filed out in Denmark before I moving back to Iceland. The same rules will apply for you, whether you live in Finland or UK.
This form is called E104 and you ask for it in your current state of ressident.
I heard there is a facebook group called something like "housing in Reykjavik" (I'm not on facebook), where you could maybe find rooms. It might seem strange to use facebook for this, but Icelandic people use facebook for everything. You can also look here - (bland.is/classified/?categoryId=59&sub=1), a classified website called "Bland".
You will also need to go to the Icelandic Register (Þjóðskrá) to get an ID-Number (kennitala) once you have arrived, info is here - (skra.is/english/moving-to-iceland/)
