Food, shopping and lodging

You have to remember that every beer, band-aid and banana has been brought from Denmark. There are no real native Greenlandic industries, other than fishing, services, pelts and refilling bottles. There might be oil (someday) and mineral wealth, but...

Want to read more?

Cities

How do you pronounce Nuuk and what’s there? What else is there? What are “the settlements” and what are they like?

Greenlandic cities are always near the sea. The interior is ice and uninhabitable. The inhabited bits range from miniscule villages to Nuuk, the Danish-like capital.

Nuuk (pronounced nuke) is the center of cultural, political and economic life in Greenland, but at 15,000 people, don’t...

Want to read more?

Transportation

How do I get around? Will I have a personal dogsled?

In a land so vast, airplanes are the way to go, but boats and cars are nearly as important.

Air - I’m not a big fan of Air Greenland, but there's been an amazing improvement in price and quality since the introduction of real competition from...

Want to read more?

Communications

How are the Internet, phone and postal services? The Bad, the Reliable and the Expensive

This is the part where it helps to be hopelessly brutal again.

THE INTERNET IN GREENLAND SUCKSSSSSSSSSS! There’s no other way to say it. TeleGreenland is a monopoly (like most companies in Greenland) and they really have no interest in improving service because there’s no competition. However, the Internet is better in...

Want to read more?

Language

Do I Need to Learn Greenlandic and Danish? A Tale of Two Languages

No, and yes. Greenlandic, or Kalaallisut, is polysyllabic, meaning it takes a root and adds on prefixes and suffixes. Some of the words are so long that when looking at a newspaper, you think you might...

Want to read more?

People

What are Greenlanders and their kids really like? The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Greenlanders are funny, kind and relatively gentle people. They’re polite and friendly, and they're just as curious about you as you'll be about them. Unfortunately, many drink and there’s a...

Want to read more?

Culture

What’s life really like in Greenland?

Greenland is the “bipolar polar country.” It’s a topsy-turvy world full of breathtaking, pristine vistas and views that you can’t see anywhere else on the planet, but there's sometimes a near complete disregard for the environment. There’s real kindness and humanity, and then crazy behavior that leaves outsiders mystified and confused. You can get...

Want to read more?