The first time I landed in March 2021 (the exact picture here!) was also the first time I ever stepped foot in this country. That was the tail end of the COVID lockdowns, and I still needed to self quarantine for 7 days in the hotel before going out. As I had a grand total of 0 friends in the city when I moved, I quickly got lonely in a few weeks and was second guessing my choice to move here.

But now, the city feels completely home! Thanks to having a good amount of friends and a good time at work – where I’ve had multiple roles and grown in my career!

Here are a few things I would recommend everyone to get in their head before moving to Copenhagen:

Copenhagen is WINDY and Winter depression is real

People underestimate the weather aspect of it, but it is true that Copenhagen is very windy and the windchill lowers the temperature by 3-5 degrees in general.

Additionally, weather can be quite crazy and changes very quickly. This has contributed to me getting sick here and there throughout the year. What is consistent is the darkness in Winter that causes a bit of depression and anti-social behaviour, especially in January and February. (At least November and December there’s Christmas market and festive mood!)

Do not expect to make local friends

Be grateful if it happens, but it is uncommon. Most Danish people I know have their close circle that has been with them since they were in elementary school, you are not getting into that level with them. To note, it is not impossible to make Danish friends, but it is not easy. Often, foreigners are seen to be “passing”, as they often move away. I am also personally wary to invest too much to a friendship if they are going to move away soon

Have the right expectations of what “friendship” means

In some countries, people meet up weekly with their friends. In Denmark, even close friend groups I see meets each other every month or even longer. This is even more applicable for 30+ year old people or people with family.

Similarly, meeting someone 2-3x does not count as “friends”. So revisit what you define as “friends” in the first place.

Setting up is not that intuitive

I was blessed that my company provided me with relocation support that included agency support (https://www.relocate.dk/) in setting myself up, but this is often what is most difficult for foreigners. Here are the list of things you should do in this order:

1. Get an address where you can register CPR – Long term AirBnB or hotel could help you with this. I was in Adina Apartment Hotel and I were able to register my CPR there.
2. Apply for CPR number at International House and get appointment – Copenhagen link here
3. Do appointment at International House and get MitID
4. These you can do in parallel:
   • Get a bank account – I used Danske bank. Application form here. For comparisons with different banks, check out this resource from Finans Danmark.
   • Get a personal rejsekort – With a personal rejsekort, you are able to checkout online when you forget to tap out

Meet people through interest groups

Some of the ways that could be useful:

1. School alumni network
2. Work colleague turns friends (Sometimes they say misery brings people together)
3. Volunteering – E.g., Copenhagen Pride, LGBT+ Asylum
4. Language classes
5. Sports or interests club or activities – E.g., Pan Idræt, Kailo Yoga

The language is HARD

Danish is a difficult language to learn to speak and listen. In my experience, the reading and writing comes much quicker than the speaking and listening part. People speak extremely quickly and combines words to a short version often. It takes a lot of exercise and getting used to to be able to start having conversations in Danish.

Thankfully, the government does provide free language classes! Your company might be providing private lessons, but the free language classes from the government are amazing. A key value proposition for me is that they don’t care about what I do at work, and is forcing me to do homework and pushing me to continue no matter how busy I am at work (If I don’t do the work, they’ll just fail me).

I can recommend the hybrid classes at Studieskolen, which means 2x 2h a week at Tuesday evening (online) and Thursday evening (face to face).

Denmark is Denmark. Stop the “That’s not how it is in [Insert other country]!”

Might be a true statement, but do not expect the experience in Denmark would be the same/better than the previous country you have lived at before. It adds no value to the conversation, and it just comes off as annoying (for me at least). I hear this very often from a few countries, especially regarding the sense of security, education system, metro system not having gates (and relying on people to tap in and out).

Are there things that can be improved in Denmark? Yes. Does making such statements and complaining about it adds value? Most often, not. If anything, this mindset will make it harder for you to integrate to the culture and the country.

Keep an open mind, and enjoy the process!