Cyn, I read that article yesterday, and I don't think I could ever live in NYC and be happy. Then again, if I had some kick-ass job at the UN or something (haha), I might not have a choice. I would have to have a cabin in the woods or something, to escape to and find my mind again, after losing it in that city...
Quote:
Originally Posted by ktspktsp
I've been in Reykjavík since March 07, and I still don't feel very integrated. I don't think I will ever feel that way, unless I spent at least 5 more years here. This has a lot to do with the people and the language and the culture.
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Well, no surprise to everyone here, since ktsp and I are married and going through this together... but yeah, I feel very much the same way. And I even have an Icelandic passport, and speak Icelandic fairly well, and have more family members here than in any other place on Earth. But I will never belong here.
It feels less and less like home, the longer we spend here... even though I am more and more familiar with all things Icelandic, and participate more in the culture now. It is not a welcoming place by any means--they make no effort to integrate foreigners, and I dislike that about a country, especially when foreigners try so very hard to fit in. I'm no longer interested in making such an effort to find my place here. They win--but it's their loss. They just won't realize it for another 20-30 years, when they have whole communities of un-integrated foreigners who become resentful and isolated over time. So much for learning what NOT to do, from their European neighbors.
Other than Seattle (which is still a kind of home for me, though I'll have to get used to it again since it's changed a lot in the last 5 years), I felt very comfortable in our grad school town, which ktsp mentioned above. It was a fantastically neutral place for all of us in graduate school--landlocked 3 hours away from any major city, it was a little small-town haven to just build great friendships and explore our surroundings. I felt very awkward there the first few months, but I settled in very quickly. I think that has more to do with being a student than anything, though, because as a student you have a ready-made community, and activities on-campus are simple endless. The entire atmosphere is one big "Welcome" tent. Hard to compare that to a "real life" scenario...