Pack Up the Grill, Honey, We're Moving to Reykjavk

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The World's Great Towns, June 1997

Pack Up the Grill, Honey, We're Moving to Reykjavík

You don't have to live where you're living now. You could head for an exotic town.
By the Editors

You've dreamt it, right? Who hasn't now and again: mused about getting a few paychecks ahead, giving your boss notice, boxing up the essentials, and lighting out for plusher pastures. Embarking for a new city, a new hometown. Somewhere that has peaks or ocean or rainforest — or all of them — practically right out the door. A place that hasn't been homogenized or usurped by package-tour holdovers. Where life can take unpredictable turns, where "culture" isn't shorthand for "cable." Someplace exotic. Foreign.

This notion need not remain a fantasy, you know. People do do it. Why not you? Sure, there are hurdles — language barriers, culture shock, the gnomes at immigration — but none you can't clear. To that end we've assembled profiles of ten of the most dazzling, most cosmopolitan, most sportive metropolises on the planet, cities big enough to produce both an engaging social medley and an inviting full-size economy. We've even chatted up experts for you, gleaning tips on how to smooth your emigration (or your move, if you stick to the home continent) — and, most important, how to become a real citizen of these places, not some cloistered expat whom the locals deride as "that odd American." Oh, and if you really do go for it, be sure to drop us a postcard, would you?

Photo by Andrew Eccles