Golden age in Covid times Jordi Pujolá skrifar 22. mars 2021 12:02 Crisis everywhere but in Iceland? I´m a writer from Spain. Many things shocked me when I moved to Iceland. But now after almost 8 years there is something that shocks me more than when I saw for the first time the plumber taking off his shoes before coming in my house. I am very surprised because there seems to be a crisis everywhere except in Iceland. While all the attention on the news go to the volcano and Covid, the prices in Iceland keep on rising. The Real Estate situation The thing is I wanted to buy a bigger apartment. I saw a nice one and I bid for that without asking for discount (I didn´t dare). Then some hours later the real estate agent told me I had to pay for some extra repairs on the house (worth ISK 2 M) and I accepted. And the next day he told me I had to raise my offer up because some other customers did it, otherwise I was out of the auction. Wow, I just needed to invite the owner to Hotel Rangá with a prepaid dinner. Of course, I said yes and of course someone else offer more than me and I lost the apartment. And not only the real estate prices, also the cars, the services, the food ... Reykjavik or Montecarlo? By the way, I have never seen so many luxury cars as nowadays. The rúntur in Laugavegur is not the same anymore. No sign of the old Toyota, Nissan or Subaru (I miss them). All the cars are Porsche, Land Rover, Audi, BMW, Mercedes ... And Tesla was the car best seller in 2020. This city looks like Montecarlo! The ferming About clothes. I went to Kringlan in February to buy some clothes for my kids. The shop assistant told me there were not sales because it was ferming season. And the same extends to computers, phones, motor bikes, etc. Wow, it looks parents spare no expense when it came to confirmation celebrations in Iceland. I´m shaking, my oldest son is 13. I don´t know what he is going to ask me for. I need hardly to write a bestseller. Luckily, he doesn´t have driving license yet. As a result of this compulsive consumerism, the inflation rate in Iceland is almost 3%. Expensive even for Icelanders When tourists come again, they will be way safe from Covid, but when they see the prices they will faint and fall backwards. Iceland is expensive even for Icelanders. I guess that is why moonlighting is so necessary and asking for loans a habit. However, Iceland is facing the highest unemployment rates (7%) in recent years and the low interest won´t last forever. On the other hand, it´s a fact the tourism, the main source of the Icelandic economy in recent yearshas been reduced to ashes. Perhaps the only positive thing is that it gives us the possibility to start from scratch. For example, do we want fewer tourists but with greater purchasing power? Then we should improve some facilities. In crises like that there are always new opportunities. The Government is doing well Unlike in other countries, the Icelandic Government has managed to keep the economy alive by subsidizing companies and unemployed workers until the tourists come back. At the same time, the Covid looks to be under control, which currently can be considered another economic rate. Therefore, if nothing unexpected happens, Iceland will be the favorite touristic destination in Europe, and we will be safe again. The hungover The fact the government is paying the bill for everything is fine and to spend the money of the holidays we didn´t go as well. However, it can produce a fictitious economic peak situation and, consequently, an exaggerated consumerism and indebtedness of the population. Especially in Iceland because the loans are indexed to inflation and the krona is more volatile and vulnerable than other currencies. Film director Borkur Gunnarsson once told me that Icelanders are not afraid of going bankruptcy because they know that one way or another the State will protect them and no one in Iceland starves or sleeps on the street. I hope so. Jordi Pujolá is a fiction novel author and economist living in Reykjavik. Viltu birta grein á Vísi? Sendu okkur póst. Senda grein Mest lesið Engin eftirspurn eftir Viðreisnar- og Samfylkingarmódelinu Andri Steinn Hilmarsson Skoðun Íslenska þjóð, þú ert núna að gleyma Sighvatur Björgvinsson Skoðun Pabbar, mömmur, afar, ömmur Jón Pétur Zimsen Skoðun Opið bréf til umhverfis-, orku- og loftslagsráðherra Bogi Ragnarsson Skoðun Þegar heilinn sveltur: Tími til að endurhugsa stefnu í geðheilbrigðismálum Vigdís M. Jónsdóttir Skoðun Þar sem gervigreind er raunverulega að breyta öllu Björgmundur Örn Guðmundsson Skoðun Tölum íslensku um bíðandi börn: Uppgjöf, svarthol og lögbrot Vigdís Gunnarsdóttir Skoðun Afnám tilfærslu milli skattþrepa Breki Pálsson Skoðun Vellíðan í vinnu Ingrid Kuhlman Skoðun Hefur vanfjármögnun sveitarfélaga áhrif á byggingarkostnað? Jón Ingi Hákonarson Skoðun Skoðun Skoðun Sótt að réttindum kvenna — núna Svandís Svavarsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Afnám tilfærslu milli skattþrepa Breki Pálsson skrifar Skoðun Þegar heilinn sveltur: Tími til að endurhugsa stefnu í geðheilbrigðismálum Vigdís M. Jónsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Opið bréf til umhverfis-, orku- og loftslagsráðherra Bogi Ragnarsson skrifar Skoðun Íslenska þjóð, þú ert núna að gleyma Sighvatur Björgvinsson skrifar Skoðun Tölum íslensku um bíðandi börn: Uppgjöf, svarthol og lögbrot Vigdís Gunnarsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Fjórði hver vinnur í verslun og þjónustu Benedikt S. Benediktsson skrifar Skoðun Engin eftirspurn eftir Viðreisnar- og Samfylkingarmódelinu Andri Steinn Hilmarsson skrifar Skoðun Pabbar, mömmur, afar, ömmur Jón Pétur Zimsen skrifar Skoðun Vellíðan í vinnu Ingrid Kuhlman skrifar Skoðun Hefur vanfjármögnun sveitarfélaga áhrif á byggingarkostnað? Jón Ingi Hákonarson skrifar Skoðun Þar sem gervigreind er raunverulega að breyta öllu Björgmundur Örn Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Eru vegir fyrir ferðamenn mikilvægari en vegir fyrir fólk sem býr hér? Petrína Þórunn Jónsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Er Evrópa á villigötum? Efnahagsleg hnignun kallar á róttæka endurskoðun Eggert Sigurbergsson skrifar Skoðun Samræmd nálgun að öryggi og skilvirkni á ytri landamærum - Innleiðing EES á Íslandi Arngrímur Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Íslenskir flóttamenn - í okkar eigin landi Gunnar Magnús Diego skrifar Skoðun Ísrael á ekki heima á gleðileikum evrópskra sjónvarpsstöðva sem starfa í almannaþágu Stefán Jón Hafstein skrifar Skoðun Mótum framtíðina saman Jónína Hauksdóttir ,Magnús Þór Jónsson skrifar Skoðun Leikskóli þarf meira en þak og veggi. Kópavogsmódelið og Akureyrarleiðin sem leið að aukinni velferð barna Anna Elísa Hreiðarsdóttir,Svava Björg Mörk skrifar Skoðun Jákvæð áhrif dánaraðstoðar á sorgarferli aðstandenda og umönnunaraðila í Viktoríuríki í Ástralíu Ingrid Kuhlman skrifar Skoðun Kæra Epli, skilur þú mig? Lilja Dögg Jónsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Þorgerður og erlendu dómstólarnir Hjörtur J. Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Barnafjölskyldur í Reykjavík eiga betra skilið Þorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Lyftum umræðunni á örlítið hærra plan Jóna Hlíf Halldórsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Lykillinn að hamingju og heilbrigði Auður Kjartansdóttir skrifar Skoðun Staða bænda styrkt Hanna Katrín Friðriksson skrifar Skoðun Transumræðan og ruglið um fjölda kynja Einar Steingrímsson skrifar Skoðun Leikskólar eru ekki munaður Íris Eva Gísladóttir skrifar Skoðun Vísindarannsóknir og þróun – til umhugsunar í tiltekt Þorgerður J. Einarsdóttir skrifar Skoðun 752 dánir vegna geðheilsuvanda – enginn vegna fjölþáttaógnar Grímur Atlason skrifar Sjá meira
Crisis everywhere but in Iceland? I´m a writer from Spain. Many things shocked me when I moved to Iceland. But now after almost 8 years there is something that shocks me more than when I saw for the first time the plumber taking off his shoes before coming in my house. I am very surprised because there seems to be a crisis everywhere except in Iceland. While all the attention on the news go to the volcano and Covid, the prices in Iceland keep on rising. The Real Estate situation The thing is I wanted to buy a bigger apartment. I saw a nice one and I bid for that without asking for discount (I didn´t dare). Then some hours later the real estate agent told me I had to pay for some extra repairs on the house (worth ISK 2 M) and I accepted. And the next day he told me I had to raise my offer up because some other customers did it, otherwise I was out of the auction. Wow, I just needed to invite the owner to Hotel Rangá with a prepaid dinner. Of course, I said yes and of course someone else offer more than me and I lost the apartment. And not only the real estate prices, also the cars, the services, the food ... Reykjavik or Montecarlo? By the way, I have never seen so many luxury cars as nowadays. The rúntur in Laugavegur is not the same anymore. No sign of the old Toyota, Nissan or Subaru (I miss them). All the cars are Porsche, Land Rover, Audi, BMW, Mercedes ... And Tesla was the car best seller in 2020. This city looks like Montecarlo! The ferming About clothes. I went to Kringlan in February to buy some clothes for my kids. The shop assistant told me there were not sales because it was ferming season. And the same extends to computers, phones, motor bikes, etc. Wow, it looks parents spare no expense when it came to confirmation celebrations in Iceland. I´m shaking, my oldest son is 13. I don´t know what he is going to ask me for. I need hardly to write a bestseller. Luckily, he doesn´t have driving license yet. As a result of this compulsive consumerism, the inflation rate in Iceland is almost 3%. Expensive even for Icelanders When tourists come again, they will be way safe from Covid, but when they see the prices they will faint and fall backwards. Iceland is expensive even for Icelanders. I guess that is why moonlighting is so necessary and asking for loans a habit. However, Iceland is facing the highest unemployment rates (7%) in recent years and the low interest won´t last forever. On the other hand, it´s a fact the tourism, the main source of the Icelandic economy in recent yearshas been reduced to ashes. Perhaps the only positive thing is that it gives us the possibility to start from scratch. For example, do we want fewer tourists but with greater purchasing power? Then we should improve some facilities. In crises like that there are always new opportunities. The Government is doing well Unlike in other countries, the Icelandic Government has managed to keep the economy alive by subsidizing companies and unemployed workers until the tourists come back. At the same time, the Covid looks to be under control, which currently can be considered another economic rate. Therefore, if nothing unexpected happens, Iceland will be the favorite touristic destination in Europe, and we will be safe again. The hungover The fact the government is paying the bill for everything is fine and to spend the money of the holidays we didn´t go as well. However, it can produce a fictitious economic peak situation and, consequently, an exaggerated consumerism and indebtedness of the population. Especially in Iceland because the loans are indexed to inflation and the krona is more volatile and vulnerable than other currencies. Film director Borkur Gunnarsson once told me that Icelanders are not afraid of going bankruptcy because they know that one way or another the State will protect them and no one in Iceland starves or sleeps on the street. I hope so. Jordi Pujolá is a fiction novel author and economist living in Reykjavik.
Þegar heilinn sveltur: Tími til að endurhugsa stefnu í geðheilbrigðismálum Vigdís M. Jónsdóttir Skoðun
Skoðun Þegar heilinn sveltur: Tími til að endurhugsa stefnu í geðheilbrigðismálum Vigdís M. Jónsdóttir skrifar
Skoðun Engin eftirspurn eftir Viðreisnar- og Samfylkingarmódelinu Andri Steinn Hilmarsson skrifar
Skoðun Eru vegir fyrir ferðamenn mikilvægari en vegir fyrir fólk sem býr hér? Petrína Þórunn Jónsdóttir skrifar
Skoðun Er Evrópa á villigötum? Efnahagsleg hnignun kallar á róttæka endurskoðun Eggert Sigurbergsson skrifar
Skoðun Samræmd nálgun að öryggi og skilvirkni á ytri landamærum - Innleiðing EES á Íslandi Arngrímur Guðmundsson skrifar
Skoðun Ísrael á ekki heima á gleðileikum evrópskra sjónvarpsstöðva sem starfa í almannaþágu Stefán Jón Hafstein skrifar
Skoðun Leikskóli þarf meira en þak og veggi. Kópavogsmódelið og Akureyrarleiðin sem leið að aukinni velferð barna Anna Elísa Hreiðarsdóttir,Svava Björg Mörk skrifar
Skoðun Jákvæð áhrif dánaraðstoðar á sorgarferli aðstandenda og umönnunaraðila í Viktoríuríki í Ástralíu Ingrid Kuhlman skrifar
Þegar heilinn sveltur: Tími til að endurhugsa stefnu í geðheilbrigðismálum Vigdís M. Jónsdóttir Skoðun