Hi all!

We’re very excited to move to Denmark soon as lifelong Americans. I have a good job lined up, and we’re set on a place to live for a while.

Any advice from people who have done it, looked it up, had friends who have done it, etc? Just in general :)

  • Hej Frank!

    Welcome in advance!

    Where are you gonna live? You don’t need to specify city, but perhaps approximate destination? Jylland, Fyn, Sjælland? And which part?

    Which line of work?

    Indeed, try to learn Danish even though it is a ridiculous language. I believe there are even free courses, although I am not absolutely sure. Here’s a few words to get you started:

    Hej/godmorgen/goddav’ = hello/good morning/howdy (last word especially in Jutland)
    Farvel = goodbye
    Tak = thank you
    Velbekomme = you are welcome
    Undskyld = sorry
    Undskyld mig = excuse me
    Ingen problem = no worries
    Jeg hedder Frank = my name is Frank
    Godt at møde dig = nice to meet you
    Vi ses/hav det godt = see you/take care
    Hav en god dag = have a good day

    And remember! Free health care! Free schools and education! Although you will pay higher taxes, lol.

    Hope you will enjoy! And feel free to ask questions. I live very near Aarhus in Eastern Jutland.

    EDIT: formatting some how went wrong, just realised now. Sorry! Fixed.

    • Ah this is great! We are doing some Danish, and will continue to learn it. We’ll be in Copenhagen, which will make leaning on our English a little easier.

      I’m an engineer, and my work will be all in English, which is a great way to start.

      I spent ~$8,000 USD on shoulder surgery this year. I can’t wait for healthcare lol

    • learn the language AND CUSTOMS
    • don’t hang out in foreigner/english bubbles
    • don’t assume anything works the way it does in the US (from gasoline and driving to medical to government). There are lots of little things that seem like they obviously must be done X way but aren’t in other countries
    • be careful with any investments. It’s very easy to end up with PFICs which are punitively taxed (making retirement vehicles here in Japan outside of the national pension prohibitive for me, for instance).
    • celebrate
    • bring any snacks that you can legally bring but they can’t legally sell (some things with food dyes, etc. if you really like them are banned in some countries to produce/sell but not eat).
    • I got to disagree with the “learn the language and customs” thing. I live (also born and raised) in one of the most culturally diverse cities in America: Germantown, Maryland. I couldn’t be prouder, and I also couldn’t care less if you don’t speak English.

      Be yourself. You are welcome here.

      • The EU isn’t the US.

        Most countries in Europe have this idea of integration where the foreigner learns and adopts the language and culture of the country. You’ll see lots of discussions of “failed” integration of foreigners, especially in Germany.

        I think this is still a type of colonialism where they think there culture is better and the foreigner must change, rather than the other way around.

        I think the US is a bit better in this regard as there is this idea of a cultural mixing pot and foreigners aren’t expected to “integrate”.

      • This is the absolute worst advice for coming to a European country. It’s probably different in Denmark but for some countries or cities at least you won’t be able to get through the bureaucracy needed to legally immigrate without speaking the language. Even in offices that mainly help foreigners you may find the employees don’t speak English. And if you want to be there long-term, good luck making real connections if you don’t speak the language.

  • Time to learn a new language, unless you’re moving to Ireland or Malta I guess. Tons of people come to Germany and are shocked when not everyone speaks English.

    Anyway, I think you’ll get better answers if you specify a country. The EU is quite diverse, so I don’t think there’s a ton of advice that’ll be true everywhere in the EU.

  • Don’t bring a truck or guns with you. Change some dollars for euros. Remember that the US has an insane tax system that follows you abroad and you still have to file taxes in the US in addition to the country you live in.

  •  Eugenia   ( @eugenia@lemmy.ml ) 
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    91 month ago

    Create a second gmail account when you get there. Many apps that you will need there don’t exist in the US app/playstore, so you will need the second account to download them.

  • I don’t know if Denmark does it, but Norwegians love to use week numbers in corporate/education environments for scheduling instead of using dates like normal people, so you might end up in a situation where you have to check the calender to find out what date Monday week 42 might be.

  • Do everything you can to learn the language quickly. Take any language class offer you get. It will make life much easier in a new country, especially if you’re looking to make friends. Immerse yourself in the culture immediately.

    Remember that Europeans, especially Scandinavians, are not as openly friendly as Americans. They can seem cold and distant at first. It’s not because they are not friendly, it’s just a cultural feature. Once you get to know them, most open up and they are awesome.

    On financials, keep all your bank accounts and credit cards open in the US and use a US address for them (and get a credit card with no foreign transaction fees). Don’t advertise to the US banks that you moved overseas. Just use a family member’s or friend’s address. Also note that European banks don’t have rewards credit cards, so I only use US rewards cards with no foreign transaction fees when living overseas. They’ll send you replacement cards overseas if you ask them to, even when your account address is in the US.

    If you don’t already have retirement IRA accounts set up (not just 401k), do it before you leave the US. Also, open a brokerage account (e.g. Schwab or Fidelity) with a US address before you leave and don’t change the address to your overseas address, ever. Leave as is. It can be very hard for Americans to invest because foreign banks are required to report different things to US authorities about customers who are American citizens. They don’t want the bother, so they may not allow you to open an account there. And once you move it will be much harder to open the account in the US. Use a service like Wise to move funds cheaply to your US accounts for investments and paying off credit cards.

    Get a cheap eSIM phone subscription with a US phone number for two-step verification abroad. You can use Wifi-calling to connect.

    Finally, remember that you are eligible to vote in the US as a US citizen living overseas. You’ll still be registered as a voter in the state and county you moved overseas from. You’ll use your most recent address, and you don’t have to have any attachment to that address any longer. It’s only for voting purposes. If you’re not already registered to vote when you move overseas, you’ll also use your most recent address to register to vote. More information here: https://www.fvap.gov/citizen-voter.

    Good luck!