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 :)
The danish people will maybe say a lot of things about us swedes, but don’t believe the lies.
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Wait, stores display prices in the US without the tax? Wth? That can’t be!
It’s definitely a thing.
Which tax? Federal? State? County? City/Municipality? What if some of those are zero?
This is why no one does it. I think smart labels may change that some day, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Edit: ah, to be clear, those tax types can all vary. I used to shop at a place where the same store on the opposite side of the street was cheaper because the tax rate was less.
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The reason usually mentioned is that the labels are produced centrally or some such. Though "They know the price to charge at the till’ might be slightly off when the tax is calculated on the transaction as a whole rather than on a per-item basis (i.e. rounding shenanigans). That seems like a totally solvable problem to me, though.
I took my wife to meet my parents and had to remind her when we went shopping that we had to add tax to everything (and tip in bars/restaurants/etc.) Some things looked cheaper than in Japan until tax (especially at that time when the exchange rate was awful).
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When I was last in the US, most of the supermarkets and such had the eink displays, but most other places didn’t yet.
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If you work for an American company you may end up with an American style corporate hierarchy, but Danish companies are a lot more egalitarian on average. Not just office wise, but also “only addressing the boss by their first name” wise.
That’s been a thing in the USA for decades.
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Yeah, this is all great advice. I work for a very European style company in the US and will work for a Danish company in Denmark. So I’m not expecting total culture shock (like our CEO currently wears a T-shirt and sneakers, you can have a beer with him) like going to Japan would be, but also looking forward to less work focus.
Yeah, the mental math of money, units, will all be a lot. But we’ll get used to it!
I’m stoked for the smaller, car-free, perhaps simpler life.
Jumping on this to evangelise about some car ownership alternatives, as it can even be quite the cultural leap even for some Europeans to not own a car.
Firstly Denmark has some brilliant cycling infrastructure I would highly recommend sourcing a bike with a pannier rack to make small trips to the shops easier. If you enjoy it you can always go all in later with a cargo bike and there are many - even from local brands - to choose from (although I have an urban arrow I can also recommend a Bullitt (DK))!
For when you do need a car aside from all the big brands rentals there are also peer-2-peer rentals, eg in Finland I will use go more which is great here and while it looks like they also exist in Denmark your mileage may vary, but I have friends in Sweden who have used this there too.
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I’m not moving to Denmark and I’m Dutch but this was an interesting read! Thanks for writing it.
Plus one for taking language lessons. Even if you don’t plan on getting fluent, it will help you settle in a lot more
Including which country could help :)
Fair enough, moving to Denmark!
I haven’t been there, but get a bike!
lucky.
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 dayAnd 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”.
It’s not colonialism to prefer one culture (or certain cultural traits) to another. In fact, it’s natural.
I’ve lived in a number of countries and each had their own distinct cultural norms. Each has had aspects which I perceived as either positive or negative.
Add it all together and I definitely have preferred certain cultures, not because they are “better” but because they more closely match my own preferences. Other people would prefer different cultural norms.
White people moving across the world, imposing their language and culture, is a “cultural mixing pot” ? Did you play a uno reverse card lol
I wasn’t referring to white people immigrating.
Here is an article today from Deutsche Welle covering this issue: https://www.dw.com/en/do-immigrants-have-to-learn-german-in-germany/a-70467984
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.
You could finally visit the only real Legoland in Billund of course!
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.
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So is Irish, but the point was that English is an official and widely spoken language in both countries.
Tons of people come to Germany and are shocked when not everyone speaks English.
It’s funny, I more often seem to read so many stories of people saying “Finally, I can practice my German with someone!”
And the German is like “I speak English it’s okay.” Lol
I think it’s exactly those stories that give people a false impression when they come here. It’s not that they are false, most of the time you’ll certainly find people who can speak decent English. A tourist probably won’t need any German, but when it comes to living here long-term, dealing with bureaucracy, finding a job or making friends, knowing German is pretty essential.
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.
yes, be very careful of PFICs. I can’t use any of Japan’s versions of ISA/IRA because they all end up being PFICs which are awful to deal with on the US and more than destroy any tax advantage of putting money in them.
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.
… and once you’re used to it, you’ll realise how much easier that is :)
I’ve lived almost my entire life in Norway, and I don’t think it’s much easier than saying a date
Don’t bring your gun, also public transport should be good, so using a car might not always be necessary / the best option.
All round great advice. For a bit more silly one: record yourself opening the window for the first time in Denmark.
(iykyk)
Plus one for taking language lessons. Even if you don’t plan on getting fluent, it will help you settle in a lot more
