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Ten surprising things that happened to me after moving to Denmark

Relocation expert Melanie Haynes shares ten things she wasn’t prepared for when she joined the Danes.

Ten surprising things that happened to me after moving to Denmark
A shameless approach to public nudity caught the author off-guard. Photo: CandyBox Images/Iris
Moving to Denmark is a great experience but there are some things that catch most expats out at some point. So here are ten of the things that have surprised me most in my first few years here.
 
1. I had a hard time mastering the local lingo
 
Remember that episode of ‘Friends’ when Joey thinks he is speaking French? That will most probably be you at the start of learning a new language. You hear what your teacher says, repeat it exactly how you think it sounds but she still looks at you with a complete lack of comprehension. Eventually it gets better, and you might even be ‘complimented’ by being told that you sound like a peasant or a Norwegian (even though you are neither).
 
2. I learned that not everything is as it seems
 
Careful what you pour in there! Photo: dimakp/Iris
Careful what you pour in there! Photo: dimakp/Iris
 
Things at the supermarket look like they should until you get home, ready for a hot drink and find yoghurt plopping into your well deserved caffeine injection. Yep, Europeans love yoghurt and it comes in litre cartons, just like their milk, so be vigilant.
 
3. I found out suppositories are a thing
 
You're putting my medicine WHERE?!? Photo: erllre/Iris
You're putting my medicine WHERE?!? Photo: erllre/Iris
 
Babies are not given oral medication. Yes, that means paracetamol for your baby (and up to the age of two) needs to be administered at the other end. My shock at this was not understood by my doctor.
 
4. I got hooked on salty food

Pass the salt, please! Photo: Sebastian/Iris
 
When I first moved to Denmark I found the food excessively salty. Now I immediately reach for the salt on the table when in the UK as I moan about the lack of seasoning.
 
5. I had to accept that nudity is no big deal
 
Danes have a relaxed attitude toward nudity. Photo: Dmitri Maruta/Iris
Danes have a relaxed attitude toward nudity. Photo: Dmitri Maruta/Iris
 
Changing in a Danish swimming pool can be an awkward experience for people from more conservative countries as there are rarely many or any private changing areas and the changing rooms are full of naked women (or men) wandering around, showering and enjoying a sauna. Eyes down is the best policy if you are shy and remember no one is looking at anyone else – we all have the same bits. And try not to be bothered by the mums who look like super models in bikinis at the baby swim classes.
 
6. I discovered that doing laundry can be an eye-opening experience
 
Shared laundry rooms can tell you more about your neighbour than you'd care to know. Photo: Brenda Carson/Iris
Shared laundry rooms can tell you more about your neighbour than you'd care to know. Photo: Brenda Carson/Iris
 
In some old apartment buildings in Northern Europe you have a communal laundry room with drying lines. You’ll never look your staid neighbour in the face again after seeing her sexy undies on the line.
 
7. I have no shame when it comes to getting what I want
 
You may have to occasionally go to extreme lengths to get your point across. Photo: zoryanchik/Iris
You may have to occasionally go to extreme lengths to get your point across. Photo: zoryanchik/Iris
 
I mimed being a duck (with added quacking) at a Berlin department store butcher’s counter when they couldn’t understand me when I was out shopping for our Christmas dinner. The assistant didn’t even crack a smile but showed me where they were. Luckily here in Denmark this is less of an issue.
 
8. I learned to prepare early
 
Want champagne for New Year's Eve? Best to be safe and buy it in early December. Photo: tiero/Iris
 
Shops selling champagne will be closed by 4pm on New Year’s Eve and those that are open will be sold out. But you will still be able to buy fireworks to fire off on the streets, willy nilly. Before any public holiday make sure you have what you need as many shops will be closed.
 
9. I found the search for everyday things to be harder than expected
 
I just want one of these – how hard can it be??? Photo: Pabkov/Iris
 
The search for an everyday item like a drying rack can become a mission of epic proportions with people in shops looking at the picture of what you want as if you are looking for a mythical creature. Two weeks later you haemorrhage a huge amount of money for one in the best department store in Europe as it’s the only place you find one.
 
10. I learned to be wary of the Danish love of liquorice
 
Danes not only eat liquorice by the handful, they also sneak it into everything from ice cream to beer. Photo: cyclonebill/Flickr
 
Ice cream that looks like Oreo cookies? Nope, that’s liquorice. Ice lollies that are called Kung Fu that look fun? Again liquorice. Learn the word lakrids before any other when moving to Denmark to avoid inelegantly spitting out something you hoped would be lovely or having wailing children with mouths on fire.
 
Melanie HaynesMelanie Haynes is originally from the UK and has lived in Copenhagen for eight years. She writes about life in Copenhagen on her blog Dejlige Days and after experiencing relocation to Copenhagen and Berlin, she runs a settling-in service aimed at expats called Dejlige Days Welcome and works with Copenhagen Housing to offer an integrated settling-in and home search service. Her ebook, 'Dejlige Days: A Guide to Relocation', is available now.

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EXPAT

Living in Spain: Why Valencia is officially the best city in the world for foreign residents

Anyone who lives there probably already knows it to be true. But now the secret is out: Valencia has officially been declared the most desirable city to live abroad as a foreign citizen.

Living in Spain: Why Valencia is officially the best city in the world for foreign residents
Valencia tops a ranking of 66 cities in the world for expats. Photo by Giuseppe Buccola on Unsplash

The Mediterranean city in the east of Spain ranks top in the annual Expat Insider Survey published by InterNations.

More than 15,000 expats participated in the survey which analysed 66 cities around the globe during March 2020 in pre-Covid times and before the global pandemic sparked lockdowns.

The survey placed four Spanish cities in the top ten worldwide; Valencia in first place, followed by Alicante (2nd), Málaga (6th), Madrid (9th). 

Spanish cities overwhelmingly score high for the ease of settling in and quality of life indices but score less well when it comes to urban work life, because Spain can’t compete on the work opportunities front.

The city of Barcelona lags far behind in 25 place since expat life seems to be most expensive there: it ranks far behind the other Spanish cities in both the Finance & Housing and the Local Cost of Living Indices.   

So what’s so great about Valencia?


Photo by travelnow.or.crylater on Unsplash

 

Well, according to the survey which asked more than 15,000 expatriates representing 173 nationalities and living in 181 countries, the Spanish city scored the best in all five indices but one.

It ranked first worldwide in both the Quality of Urban Living and the Local Cost of Living Indices.

In fact, 94 percent of expats rate the local cost of living positively (compared to 46 percent globally), and 91 percent consider healthcare easily available (vs. 74 percent globally) which places the city first in the Health & Environment subcategory.

The climate is also a big draw with Valencia ranking second in that category thanks to conditions that are not too hot or too dry but with plenty of sunshine and a sea breeze that means summer temperatures usually max out at between 32-35C, far more hospitable than the over 40C found in parts of Andalucia and inland Spain.

Valencia also ranked well for its leisure options (4 in the survey) with vast stretches of beach within the city, the warm Mediterranean to enjoy swimming, watersports and sailing as well lots of parks and bikes routes and hills to explore inland.


Photo by Paul Povoroznuk on Unsplash

It’s also easy to get settled in Valencia. More than four in five expats (84 percent) find it easy to get used to the local culture (vs. 61 percent globally), and 91 percent say that the local residents are generally friendly (vs. 68 percent globally).

And more than four out of five expats in Valencia (82 percent) find that housing is affordable in the city, compared to 41 percent globally.

“The quality of life and the cost of living” are what makes Valencia great, according to one American expat who responded to the survey.

Where Valencia, and indeed all Spanish destinations, score badly is in the Job and Career categories.

Valencia ranks 62 out of 66 in this section with 46 percent of expats living in Valencia admitting that they are unhappy with their local career opportunities.

“Finding employment has always been difficult,” responded a French expat living in Valencia.

But all the reasons that make Valencia a favourite among expats are also found just down the coast in the region’s second city Alicante, which ranks a close number 2 on the list beating Lisbon, Panama City and Singapore.

Malaga appears at number 6 on the global list and Madrid at number 9, although Spain’s capital scores the most points globally for “leisure options”.

Barcelona however doesn’t make it into the top ten or even top 20. In fact it ranks 25th out of 66 cities in the world. Only 53 percent of expats are satisfied with the state of the local economy (vs. 63 percent globally). According to the survey 28 percent of expats in the city are dissatisfied with their financial situation (vs. 21 percent globally), and 67 percent find local housing unaffordable (vs. 41 percent globally).

“I do not like the working conditions, the pay is too low, and the rents are high,” remarked one German expat.

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