Linda Mortansdóttir reflects on family journey from Faroe Islands to Denmark

Linda Mortansdóttir, originally from the Faroe Islands, did not anticipate her life would change so drastically when she moved to England for her studies. However, during her third year, she met a Danish man who became her husband, prompting their relocation to Denmark.

Now living in Jyllinge with Niels and their three daughters, Linda reflects on her journey. She initially left the Faroe Islands in her youth, first moving to Iceland and then to England, never intending to return to the Islands.

In a recent television program titled “Can you say goodbye?”, Linda describes the Faroes as the small heart beating in the North Atlantic that she has always felt connected to. When it was time for her eldest daughter to start school, Linda and her husband decided to try moving back to the Faroe Islands.

“I hadn’t finished with the Faroes,” she explains, noting the aging of her parents and her desire to return before it was too late. The transition to life back home was positive; Linda found a job, and her daughters enrolled in preschool and school. However, her Danish husband struggled to find employment, which led him to start his own business.

After two years in the Faroes, the family made the decision to return to Denmark. This time, Linda felt a sense of clarity about their choice. “It’s here that I really feel a decision has been made,” she says, sharing her experience as part of a broader narrative about young Faroese people studying abroad, a significant portion of whom choose not to return.