Relocate from the U.S. to Iceland with the woman who left corporate America behind to follow her Icelandic dreams! Welcome to Women in Travel, a space dedicated to celebrating the bold, adventurous, and inspiring women who are shaping the world of travel. Whether you’re a seasoned explorer or just starting your journey, this section is here to empower and connect women who share a passion for discovering new cultures and experiences. Join a community of like-minded travelers who are breaking barriers, sharing stories, and embracing freedom on their own terms.
Can you tell us a little about yourself and where your story begins?
My name is Kyana Sue Powers, I was born and raised in the US, but I have lived in Iceland for the past 5 years. I was a sports girl my whole life, playing sports all my life, and being a division 1 student-athlete, I majored in sports management and worked at Boston University and Tufts University post graduation.
The more time I spend being in “corporate America” with 10 vacation days a year, and a very tight salary, the more I thought there must be something else. How was I supposed to see the world and climb epic mountains? I became very fearful that I would turn 30 or 40 and look back on the best years of life and see that all I did was sit at a desk job that I hated.
After visiting Iceland one time, I quit my job in college athletics and was determined to relocate to Iceland. I ended up selling all my things in order to save up as much money as I could and buying a one way ticket back to Iceland. I spent the first few months in Iceland just trying to get a regular job, but it seemed impossible as an American Citizen. I also took up photography at the time and was teaching myself how to be a photographer, this led to me also learning social media. Back in the day before Reels and Tikok, Photography and Instagram went hand in hand.
After 4 months of being in Iceland, and applying to over 100 jobs, no one was interested in hiring an American (lots of paperwork and red tape) despite having a masters degree and experience. I found out you could get a special work visa if you were a glacier guide, so I did all the training for that, which took 2 months. I ended up getting a job offer one morning, but later in the afternoon the 2 week lockdown was announced and a travel ban was placed so the job was first put on hold and then ultimately dropped. It was March 2020.
I had wanted to live in Iceland so badly that a few months prior to that moment in time, I had applied to the University of Iceland as a backup plan. The tuition was nearly free and they gave out visas to students. I didn’t necessarily want to go back to school but if all else failed, it could be my ticket into Iceland.
In the fall of 2020 I was enrolled into the University and given a visa so I could stay and live in Iceland. During that time, I took my photography to the next level and started vlogging and content creating as I traveled in Iceland while the rest of the world was on lockdown. I became an early adapter to short form videos and learned a whole lot about it. Through this, I was able to start a company in Iceland and I used my company to hire myself and give me a visa. If no company wanted to give me a visa, I would take matters into my own hands.
After waiting for over a year for the application to be processed, it was denied. I received a letter from the immigration office saying that I had 30 days to leave Iceland or I would be deported. I refused to accept this. I hired a lawyer to help me appeal my visa decision. Living in Iceland was Plan A for me. I had no plan B or C. It was Iceland or nothing. I wasn’t going to let this stop me. After a long and dramatic battle with the government, I was finally awarded a visa through my company. Now I run a production and travel company in Iceland with my husband.
Is there a standout travel memory that encouraged you to pursue a career within travel and photography?
There is a quote from one of my favorite photographers. Cat Simard, who I really looked up to at the time and now call a friend, “What keeps you from the being the person that you want to be? This is your life, and you only have one, so make the most of it. I can tell you that you can always over come fear, any kind of fear, but never the feeling of being somewhere you don’t belong.” This was a very profound thought to me. I felt stuck at my desk job and what was I doing with my life? I wrote this quote down and hung it at my desk and read it everyday. This quote ultimately led me to quitting my job to travel and move to Iceland.
Starting anything new can be a huge challenge. What were your biggest obstacles you’ve faced along the way?
I faced many challenges, I still do. Obstacles never stop in life, if I’ve learned anything it’s that the more obstacles you overcome, the stronger you are, and faster you overcome the next. There was no easy part about moving to Iceland. It was all hard. Logistically close to impossible for an American to get a job in Iceland. Hard to say goodby to my friends and family, hard to learn a new culture, language, and way of life. Hard to leave a life of comfort, knowing where the grocery store, how to navigate a city in English, knowing where to buy things and how to see a doctor.
All of that was stripped from me. It was difficult to make friends, to feel settled, to find housing. To adapt to winter in the Arctic, long dark stormy days for weeks on end. Hard to build a business and gain credibility. Hard to stand up for your worth and own your accomplishments. It’s funny because I found the story telling and content creating the easiest part. A lot of people find that talking to a camera or filming yourself is difficult, but for me, everything else was so much harder, that is the part that came easy to me.
Can you share anything that’s new or in the works with you this year?
I am hoping to lead more group trips outside of Iceland this year, as well as travel more outside of Iceland. Overall, I love Iceland but I am hoping to expand my travel and knowledge and share that with others. My husband and I are also working on Iceland merch, but I won’t say more on that just yet. It’s a really exciting time for us. We love that content creation gives us the means to travel the world but we hope one day to not rely on it. We’d like to be able to create less content and run a business instead.
But the Iceland content will still stand strong as our business relies a lot on that now, so I’m very excited to be launching a podcast in the next couple weeks too!
What’s one piece of advice you can give the solo travelers out there, or those looking to take the leap into traveling alone?
You are so brave for traveling already. Remember how brave you are, and dream bigger. It’s okay to be scared of things, but don’t let it stop you from doing them. Do things scared. You’ll realize it wasn’t so scary after all. It’s also very hard to hear, but if you don’t prioritize something you will never get it done. If you want to take a trip to Iceland, stop making excuses and waiting for your friends to be ready. Make it your number one priority and get it done. No one is going to do it for you. Traveling alone can be so empowering!
Looking to relocate to Iceland? Learn more from Kyana here.
