First, a word of advice: for those considering moving to Iceland, or for those who already live here, there’s much to be said for learning the language and integrating into the community. We recommend seeking out opportunities to speak Icelandic where possible, as living as part of the community will likely make your stay in Iceland much more rewarding.
That being said, we recognize that there’s a time and place for wanting to socialize with people from home, or else just a more international milieu.
Many of the major social media sites will have what you’re looking for.
On Facebook, there are two large communities for expats in Iceland: Away from Home – Living in Iceland, a private group, and The Expats’ Lounge Iceland, a public group. Both communities are relatively large and active, and are a good place to look for events such as pub trivia nights and meet-and-greets, as well as more practical information concerning visas, education, childcare, and more.
While neither of these communities are explicitly oriented towards expats in Iceland, Reddit also hosts two large communities centred around Iceland. The community r/Iceland focuses on Icelandic residents and is therefore mostly in Iceland, but many foreign residents also post and discuss current events, ask questions, and so on. The community r/VisitingIceland is geared towards tourism, but many lifelong visitors and foreign residents also use the community.
All Things Iceland is the website and podcast of a notable expat living in Iceland. Many foreign residents have found her content useful, so this may be a good place to begin looking for expat communities in Iceland as well.
There are also several YouTubers who talked about their experiences living in Iceland as an expat.
There’s no one way to become a member of an expat community in Iceland, but some of these resources may serve as a beginning point for your research. In addition to these resources, it bears mentioning that those who work for more international employers may find community through their job, and parents may also find communities through connections to other families through their preschools, for example.
Future (or current) expats may find our guide to house- and job-hunting in Iceland useful.
