How to Live in Denmark

Danish names are very strongly stratified by age.   Ole and Finn and Knud and Kaj and Jørn and Jørgen and to some extent Poul and Per, are over 50. Their wives and sisters and secret lovers are Inger and Karin and Kirsten and Ulla. Or Bente. Another guaranteed old ladies' name is Bente. Bent is the male version.  Being named Bent is a problem for Danes who travel, because in many English-speaking...

Finding a job anywhere is a headache, and Denmark is no different.  And let's be frank, if the employer has a choice between a foreigner and a Dane, they're probably going to hire the Danish person.  The Danish person knows the language, the Danish person knows the culture, the Danish person knows what type of cheese to bring for the Friday morning shared breakfast.  Nevertheless, it is possible f...

If you are a romance novelist, the Danish man is not your dream man. He will not write poetry and pursue his beloved to the ends of the Earth. He won't send flowers, he won't buy chocolates. He won't even help carry packages.  That said, if you're a feminist, a Danish man IS your dream man.   He will cook and help with the housework, and spend time with the kids.  He'll respect your opinion, and h...

 A lot of the mail I get at howtoliveindenmark.com  get is from men, wanting to know how they can meet women in Denmark. I can understand this.   Danish women are very beautiful.   And I can tell you now, most of them will not immediately exclude you because you have a different skin color.   I know of several babies of mixed heritage here in Denmark.   That said, dating in Denmark is hard, even f...

I'm looking out the window as I record, and it's snowing again. It's pretty, but it's not a novelty any more. It's been like this for the past couple of weeks, Danish winter weather. Nearly every day there's fresh snow and ice. When I wake up on winter mornings, it's still dark, and cold, and I can hear the wind whistling outside my window.  Every day I think, ahhhh, I don't want to get up.  But I...

I play a little game sometime when I look at Danish people. I imagine them as Vikings. It’s easy now that big beards are in fashion on young men. Sometimes on the metro I’ll look up at the hipster guy playing with his iPhone next to me and imagine him wearing a big fur cloak. Maybe a rope belt, with a sword dangling from it. I imagine him stepping off the boat in Newfoundland in the year 1000, fre...

A few years ago, during the peak July vacation season, SAS had to cancel a large number of flights out of Denmark. This is because too many SAS pilots had taken vacation...during the vacation season. In Denmark, the needs of the employee are often more important than the needs of the customer. The post Danes and Work: My vacation flight was cancelled, because the pilot was on vacation appeared fir...

While French or American politicians have sex scandals, Danish politicians have tax scandals. Only the Royal Family is permitted to be the subject of really juicy gossip and scandal in Denmark. The post Gossip and Scandal in Denmark - Podcast #22 appeared first on How to Live in Denmark .

Even though Denmark is very open about sex, it isn't very…sexy. Everything's so accepted, out in the open, so practical, that sex in Denmark is a bit dull. The post Sex and Denmark - Podcast #21 appeared first on How to Live in Denmark .

Sitting at my desk in grey, November Copenhagen, I received an email from sunny Portugal. Eighteen-year-old Bárbara asks: Should I move to Denmark?

Wearing an elf hat at Christmas time is a way to show you've got a sense of humor about yourself. You're likely to see an elf hat on your boss, your professor or somebody else you're supposed to respect. The post Christmas in Denmark Part 2: Get Yourself an Elf Hat - Podcast #19 appeared first on How to Live in Denmark .

I still get confused about Danish place names. A lot of names sound so similar that I am constantly getting lost in Denmark. People's names are tricky, too. The post Ørestad, Ørested and Øresund: Why I still get lost in Denmark - Podcast #18 appeared first on How to Live in Denmark .

Last week, political posters went up all over Copenhagen, on streetlights, on bridges, and on train platforms. The posters are for the local elections this autumn, and even though the candidates are supposed to take them down afterwards, they usually don't. So, the candidates will keep smiling and making promises through Christmas, and through the winter snow and ice. Come spring, you'll see a fad...

The 12 days of Christmas is an old French Christmas song. But those 12 days have nothing on the Danes, who have more than two months of Christmas, and would probably have it last all the way to spring if they could get away with it.

Traditionally, there has been little crime in Denmark, which is a society based on trust. But when that trust is broken, Danes get confused about what to do. They don't like the idea of punishment. The post Just buy more insurance: Crime and Punishment in Denmark - Podcast #15 appeared first on How to Live in Denmark .

More than a decade after moving to Denmark, there are still a few things I won't do to fit in. I won't cook fried fish balls, or watch Danish talent shows on TV. And I won't plan my hangovers in advance.  

Danes are passionate about design, and they really believe in making everything that is useful also beautiful, even a toilet. After living here a while, you just come to expect it.

The dark days of winter in Denmark last from October to March. The sky is dark when you get up in the morning, and it's dark when you leave work. If you are moving to Denmark and want your friends and relatives to visit you, don't invite them to come during the dark times. They'll get a bad impression of the place. The post Here come the dark times: Winter in Denmark - Podcast #12 appeared first o...

If you want to live in a thatched cottage in rural Denmark, you'll find a lot to choose from. Finding an apartment in downtown Copenhagen is harder. The post A thatched roof over your head: How to find a place to live in Denmark - Podcast #11 appeared first on How to Live in Denmark .

Danes dress to match the Danish landscape. This is why most Danish fashion comes in grey, green, blue and brown - plus beige for the adventurous. 

For Danes, bicycle lanes are the Vikings' last stand. These gentle blond people - these people who will wait two minutes at a 'Don't Walk' sign instead of crossing an empty street - armed with a bike, turn vicious and brutal. 

At every Danish dinner party, I'm asked a standard set of questions: How did you come to Denmark? Why did you come to Denmark? What type of culture shock did you experience once you got here? In part 1 of what is sure to become a multi-part series, I discuss one major cultural difference: In Denmark, people make their own food. This is the seventh episode of the "How to Live in Denmark podcast", a...

They may appear nude on public beaches and in daily newspapers, but the Danes have a passion for privacy. And they may be respecting YOUR privacy by not talking to you. This is the sixth episode of the "How to Live in Denmark podcast", and originally ran in 2013. Get all of Kay Xander Mellish's books about Denmark at http://books.howtoliveindenmark.com. Book Kay for a talk to your group or organiz...

It's a common mistake to confuse the Danish and the Dutch - all those healthy blond people on bicycles! - but if you really want to understand Denmark, look at Germany instead. This is the fifth episode of the "How to Live in Denmark podcast", and originally ran in 2013. Get all of Kay Xander Mellish's books about Denmark at http://books.howtoliveindenmark.com. Book Kay for a talk to your group or...

Danish words and English words can look similar, but some of the similarities are deceiving. A Danish hug is not comforting. And slut is not a slut. This is the fifth episode of the "How to Live in Denmark podcast", and originally ran in 2013. Get all of Kay Xander Mellish's books about Denmark at http://books.howtoliveindenmark.com. Book Kay for a talk to your group or organization at http://even...