Relocating to Reykjavík

On a cold and dreary evening here in the UK, I share some exciting news with you...I'm off on another adventure!!

I've travelled for many reasons before - for adventure, for education, for career, and have had some great opportunities through my current job as a senior lecturer. And this time, I'm following my heart and moving to Reykjavik in Iceland.

A leap of faith…following my heart

My boyfriend, Ingimar (who is Icelandic), and I have thought about this for months, we've discussed it - often overthought it - but it all came down to one thing, we want to be together, living and sharing a life together. Long-distance relationships are challenging. Seeing each other in 2D on a screen can be hard at times but it also forces you to talk a lot more and discover so much about the other person. When you finally meet again, in 3D, every minute is so precious.

So, as much as I joke about how I will be spending my days bathing in hot springs and conquering glaciers, I will be focussing on my own creativity again and have lots of ideas up my thermal sleeve. But for now, there is a super long To-Do list to start checking off before I leave my job at University and fly home to Edinburgh for a magical Christmas with family and friends.

Week one

British, Living in Iceland

The sun is finally up and it's still snowing outside, thank goodness for my lumie lamp. I have a nice warm cup of tea and I'm ready to tell you more about my very exciting relocation news.

watch the vlog

Welcome to week one in Reykjavik

I arrived a week ago and was met at the airport by my fiancé plus a red rose - what a romantic. It was a complete blizzard outside so we made a run for the car park, it's been white outside ever since. First impressions...well, it feels a little like Christmas pretty much every day with the dark mornings, snowing landscape, and twinkling fairy lights BUT PLEASE ICELAND, put down some grit - I think (and hope) I will have amazing core strength by Spring.

The next day we had a slow morning catching up and making pancakes. I had signed up to deliver a lecture the following day so had to finish preparing that. I felt quite at home with Ingimar pottering around whilst I worked away on my laptop. The next day he dropped me off at the venue and we met the team. I gave a lecture on 'Preparing a portfolio for Art College' and then met with some students to answer their questions. It was my first day of work in Iceland and it was going well - that feels like a month ago now.

Moving and living abroad

Back to the move. Having relocated a few times now, to Japan and India, I should be an expert on this but of course, I stressed, I over-worried, I left things to the last minute, there were hiccups and letdowns, but I got here and it's all worked out just fine.

I couldn't have done it without my mum and my fiancé, so a massive thank you goes to them. My mum flew down to Bournemouth to help me pack up the flat, get my boxes shipped, and say my final goodbyes before I flew home for Christmas. My fiancé, Ingimar, has been so supportive from the start. He knew when to help and when I needed time. He bugged me on some things and got me organized on others. He didn't worry too much when he was excited and I was, well, just plain stressed.

It's only been a week and I'm already 3 boxes down...7 to go, but I have a good feeling about this. I've spent the week relaxing, napping, adjusting, and doing some interior planning. I have lots of ideas and have been working on education-related blog posts, my upcoming e-courses, and also recording some footage for a video diary I am now editing so will try to post it over the weekend (let's see). Yes, it's daunting to move again, and to a cold, dark country where I can't speak the language but that's just a challenge, right?...filled with potential, yeah!? Ha. But seriously, I feel very happy and lucky to be here in Reykjavik, with Ingimar, and having the time to get settled in, together.

So here we go. Surrounded by packing boxes and ideas lists…welcome to Chapter Iceland.