Thanks for watching everyone - and let us know if we missed anything else to be aware of or the things you LOVE about living in Denmark 😀 and if you like Derek's Lille Fredag shirt, you can find it here: robetrotting.myspreadshop.net/lille+fredag
Thank you! Cautionary tales are wise to pass along. I have always wondered about the whole process of renting an apartment in foreign countries, for example. >>> About learning foreign languages: PRESS ON, please. Keep speaking Danish, or French, or German or ... whatever. And keep nicely asking that people ALSO do so to you. Everyone, in every foreign country, will make learning their foreign language HAAAARD for you. It is almost their birthright, seems to me. They are simply testing your mettle, your fortitude, your stick-to-it-tive-ness (is that even a word?) and you just have to give speaking Danish your level best daily, and keep insisting that Danish people help you out to learn their precious and beautiful language ... because learning ANY foreign language really is worth the seemingly constant effort in doing so, and it ain't easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. About others' knowledge of English: Try going to Amsterdam. There, everyone speaks about 5-6 languages in total. It's embarrassing, actually. Of course they know English, Dutch,. some Flemish, French, German, and sometimes one or two other languages (just for fun!). Wait, is that more than six? Many Americans can barely speak English all that well, I have found, and I am American. American tourists also tend to assume that everyone else speaks English even in smaller foreign towns, which I think can be a bit RUDE. I always advise: Learn a few sentences of the foreign language of the country you intend to visit, even if it is only for a few days! People will be impressed with you, and then state how well you speak their language, too! I have had this done to me, too many times to count.
If I were to move to a foreign country, I would do as the Romans do: Eat as they EAT. I mean, if I wanted to keep eating American, I sure as heck would not move to a foreign country. I would just stay parked over this-a-way. By the way, I love meat, meatballs, fish ANYTIME, dill, anise, caraway, those little itty bitty logan berries and even whipped cream which is not sweetened nor has not had vanilla extract added to such, like Americans add to it. Just mix it with jam, or some such, which is offered with whipped cream (whip cream) over there, and there will always be such to mix into the cream, with ... say, pancakes such as jam or preserves. :)
Guys, please buy earplugs with at least 33Db protection. They work like a charm for sleep help and enhancement. Foam ones work best, or so I have found.
Making insta-friends (just add water?) can be difficult when one is in a naturally reserved country. Americans can be perceived to be a bit cuckoo when they walk around smiling and saying "Hi, there!" to one and all. We mean well, when we do that, but, others can perceive us to be a bit "off". Making friends can be a loooooong and laborious process, overseas, but once you do, in Europe, you will have a loyal friend for life, who thinks it is OK to tell you that you have a run in your hose, because SHE CAN, because ... she is now your friend. Heck, I know Americans who would not even be that frank to their pals, so ... there you are. Making friends is worth it, though, because ... well ... then, you will have a pal with whom you can practice your Danish, a lot more often and you know that he, or she, will be extra tolerant of your efforts, as well.
Ambitions are not always only a matter of your work, but it is clear that this is where Danes/Europeans are different from others, because family and lessure life is seen just as important. I think it is down to, that at least in Denmark, even low-skilled workers can have a good and carefree life without economical concerns.
The "Hey! How are you doing!?" thing was something that baffled me a lot when I (a Dane) lived in Canada. In North America, it's a greeting, and the expected answer is usually "Good, and you?" - In Denmark, don't ask someone how they're doing if you're not prepared for them to actually tell you. It's one of those little things that still crack me up. That being said, it *is* actually possible to strike up small talk conversations here in Denmark, but they're usually shorter interactions, and usually also only about something relevant to the situation you're both in (weather, long lines at the store, etc.)
Haha yeah it’s a funny difference - although (and we just did a video on that topic) I think there’s a cultural difference there because Americans would generally be prepared to be actually told someone’s status. I also think Americans are comfortable finding a “middle-point” instead of an “all of nothing” kind of answer. Not sure if that makes sense, but it’s definitely an interesting thing for Americans to learn how confusing it is to others haha.
@@RobeTrotting why not just lift your hand and say Hi. The “how are you doing” is more for people you have some history with and where you at least wait for an answer and not just Walk away.
We would probably do that, but sometimes it's just an auto-response and comes out the same as "hejsa" or "howzit" in South Africa - it's just a reflex for many I assume but I have to say we are much more conscious of it now that we live here.
Yeah pretty terrible advice not to use apps etc to learn before traveling. Not that hard for apps and UA-cam to help with pronunciation, and they are always improving
I grew up there for more than 30 years I never heard about the winter depression, maybe if you come from somewhere else but I had heard the government like to be giving people permanent disability based on depression so that’s just another dependency.
Been looking at a ton of countries 'Do Not move' videos. Surprised to say this is the first one with a lot of reasons that actually make me WANT to move here haha. No pressure to pre-learn the language, dark days but not overly snowey, drinking, omfg count me in!
Same here! I was thinking of moving there because I have some family and friends there and honestly this video gave me even more reasons to move! Only thing that I might have to adjust to would be drinking but I think I'll be just fine :)
@@Vixen_Rose6404we've actually got quite the sortiment of non-alcoholic drinks now, so if you're not much a drinker then 1. absolutely no one will bat an eye at you for it, and 2. there is plenty of options to choose from 😊
This is a great video. I am a Dane. I currently live in Denmark but have also spent a couple of years abroad. I must say that this video provides a remarkably accurate, fair, and well-balanced view on some aspects of living in Denmark. Thanks a lot guys!
As a Danish person I can confirm all of this. Whenever they tried to speak Danish I wouldn’t have understood a word without translation. The drinking part… yeah, people will be baffled if you say you don’t drink, maybe even see it as a friendship dealbreaker (friends… not good at that either, no.) We never sit beside anyone on the bus or the train if it can be avoided and we don’t talk to anyone unless we have to (or when we drink. Then we talk too much.) The summer/winter and flat land is spot on, too. I do like the food though, but I also (unlike most) use other spices than salt and pepper
The social part of it is so soothing to me as I am on the autistic spectrum and sometimes get overstimulated/overwhelmed. I have this weird desire to travel there, but I don’t even know the language/culture. Just seems like a neurodivergent friendly place
As a Dane don’t drink much alcohol I would say it can be difficult. Especially when you are young people don’t understand that you choose not to drink and they will try to push it on you. But it’s not impossible to survive and you can still make friends as long as you don’t judge when other people drink.
I agree. I've stopped drinking alcohol entirely for health reasons and even at my age (41) people question it and assume either I'm an alcoholic or pregnant. I'm neither, it's just a life style choice and the fact that I dont like the effect it has on me, in general. It's one of the downsides of our society, and you have to be prepared to really stand your ground!
I'm born and raised in Denmark and my whole family is Danish, I have a lot of issues with alcohol but it's honestly just about finding people that can respect you don't drink alcohol
Same issue in Mexico. Mexico being the biggest producer of Tequila in the world, it’s cultural to drink here. People find it strange when you say you don’t drink.
I have been considering moving to Denmark for a while now. Because of that, I have been absorbing as much information as I possibly can. It is nice to see the downside explored. Thank you! None of this is a deal breaker!
Hey Ian, thanks for watching and we hope this helped a bit. All of these things are easily overcome, and you’ll find some pieces of culture shock anywhere, but Denmark is a great place to live and work. Once your “get it” it’s really easy to thrive in a country like Denmark 🇩🇰 😊
Ask away if you need "Denmark through the eyes of a Dane" perspective :) Sometimes I learn a lot from such questions, so I'll happily play ball. I'm watching Robe Trotting because they make remarks on things that are so ever-present that I couldn't single them out if I wasn't provided a contrast.
Hi Ian. Good you found this channel, Robe Trotting is really spot-on with many things. From many travels, living abroad, and work with exchange students, I know that every place is different, some sort of culture shock awaits everywhere but Denmark is not particularly difficult to adapt to. I hope you manage to move here , will feel welcome, and enjoy it the same as we would enjoy you living with us. Good luck with the project, best wishes from Denmark.
All I’m hearing is reasons to move 😭 I took a week long vacation - fiancé studied abroad there last year - and I am literally in love with the country. The acceptability, public transport accessibility, the amazing food that was genuinely filling and not filled with garbage (american here lol). Just the way everyone loves each other - complete strangers - it’s amazing. How did y’all do it? I know it’s not easy to move there
Ehh thats how it is most of Europe, north-Europe the least actually. Least community feeling, least love for complete strangers etc... I think u just need to travel more friend.
@@zannahmartell9813 I wont say super racist. But some. But its not so grouse that you have to be afraid to be attacked or something like that. There is not much violence in Denmark. Its more the attitude Many people have towards people from other especially none western countries.
Don't forget chili! The best marinade for something like spareribs is definitely a chili-licorice combo. That works very well for a pork roast, too, in fact.
I moved from Ohio to Danmark in 2006 and I can relate to every single thing you guys are saying. I miss long, hot, humid summers of swimming, boating, etc. I miss actual snow in winter!!!! As many Danes have told me, no one moves to Danmark because of the weather lol.
Fun fact, there was much more snow in the past and in a longer period of time (that probably changed due to climate change), it was so cold in the winter that you could walk over some parts the frozen sea to Sweden (Øresunden was a part of the sea that was crossable in the winter), the sweds used this fact to invade Denmark in the winter, it was done often enough, that it was legal by law to hit a swed with a stick, if the swed crossed the frozen Øresund. It was written down in the Danish constitution. The law was removed later on.
(Brød is an et word, so it's brødet, not brøden) my experience learning Danish was that it took me 2 years, but that was with working in a Danish language environment, and taking Danish lessons at the kommune, although don't expect too much from these lessons. You will learn far more out in the world and the school is just to fix grammar things
Agreed! The free classes are great to make friends but we are eventually going to get a private tutor to fully learn. You get very little direct help with pronunciations and if you don’t have a Danish partner or another way to have direct feedback it’s just too hard to have kommune lessons alone.
@@RobeTrotting best thing I did to improve my Danish skills (mostly speaking and comprehension) was to do 4 months of værnepligtstjeneste, military service, which, although perhaps unorthodox, is available for pretty chill everyone aged 18-30 regardless of nationality. Getting a Danish girlfriend with the help of my British accent was also a definate help
Fun fact theres no hard rule to tell when a word is an et or an en. :P Its why foreigners always get them wrong. You have to learn it almost from birth.
I left Denmark in 2003 for Sweden, became a natural Swedish citizen in 2008 and renounced my Danish citizenship. I will never return to Denmark to live. For some, Denmark may be the place for them, but it never was for me.
@@НеЗнам-в4г Sweden was more affordable, there is much more nature/scenery, and is a more open and tolerant society than Denmark. I also find Swedes to be nicer than danes. Immigrants in Sweden are much more appreciated than in Denmark.
I’m a 23 year old Danish university student, who doesn’t drink alcohol, and let me tell you, when people say that alcohol is a big part of Danish socializing, they mean it. I won’t say that I’ve necessarily been ostracized for not drinking, but I’ve found it significantly harder to feel included, and danes do seem to have a hard time accepting “no thanks, I don’t drink alcohol” as an answer if they want you to drink with them, and they will most likely attempt to push you to drink if you don’t have a better excuse than “I just don’t want to”. If you keep refusing, they will give up eventually though. At least that’s been my experience, especially during gymnasium (high school). Now that I’m in uni, people do seem a bit more accepting though, which is nice.
Really enjoying your videos. I have been in Denmark for ten years and so far I have agreed with everything I have seen in your videos. My wife is Danish, and I had her watch one of your videos the other day, and she couldn't stop laughing. She said it was all so very true! Keep up the good work guys. Perhaps I will see you around Copenhagen some time.
Very nice to see you discussing some points that people may - or may not - find problematic about moving to Denmark and I find all of them very valid. One thing I think you could have included is, that Denmark may not be the right place for people who are very religious, you know... americans often talk a lot about praying for this, praying for that in all sorts of everyday situations. In Denmark, we generally do not pray, full stop, and this may be difficult for a praying person to grasp and/or even accept. It's not that we don't care about others, we just don't pray for them, but wish them well or send kind thoughts instead. I once knew a girl who moved here from San Francisco and for a long time she kept getting upset about danes "taking the Lord's name in vain" as she said - we don't have that long list of words that you "can't use" for religious reasons, and if a person is very sensitive in this regard, he/she may not like the way things are here.
Oh good one to add. We are both similar to the average Dane when it comes to religion - it’s a nice part of family traditions, but you’ll never catch us praying or attending church. That can be an adjustment for some Americans especially. I think we may cover this in an upcoming video so we may come back to this comment then 😊🇩🇰
I so totally agree with Teebo DK. Maybe U should also include our views about Porn, nudity and Sexuality (straight, Gay and all the other groups). Those may also be a "No go" for some !? In general most, of us "Paled face Vikings" like expats/foreigners, who want to live here and contribute ! But if you can't adjust to the weather (we have ways around that 😀) or our way of life 😉, most of the time...., yeah well! The Robe's are right! We're not for you) 😀 !
@@broendbykim I guess you can adjust to anything, if you want to live here, or any part of Europe. My advise would be, that you do some research about the country you wanna move to, so you avoid a lot of unpleasant surprises 😀
I knew a gymnasium (high school) teacher in Denmark that was American. He spoke nearly perfect Danish. Non of his new pupils could tell that he wasn't Danish until he would eventually slip up in his speach. He seemed to be VERY well accepted AS A DANE. If a person lauds Denmark and works hard to become Danish then the Danes do not care where he/she is originally from.
OMG the title scared me! I had to watch immediately, lol. I appreciate the video though, great stuff as always. Even more convinced I will like denmark!
Haha, yeah it was a little bit of a tease in the title. All of these things are super easy to overcome for most people, but some things that can make Denmark a bit of an adjustment for others 😊🇩🇰
I am so proud of you two. Great representation of my lovely Denmark 🇩🇰 I moved to America 62 years shoals a 27 years old girl. Got married 2 years later and stayed. Have bin back many times but am now 89 years old so it may not be easy anymore. Thank you for you awesome attitude.❤️❤️🇩🇰🇩🇰🇺🇸🇺🇸
Hi! I wanted to let you know this story inspired me. What a long and storied life you must have! Have a wonderful day, you brought a tear to someone’s eye today.
My Mother came from Denmark in 1949? She just became an Angel so I am living in the South of France...maybe one reason as my Mother said it is sooo cold. We had a trip to France 2 years ago and she said NO its too cold. I just took my Frenchman to Denmark and yes he has met my family there before. I so love it...felt my Mother and we were at Tivoli for the Queen's 50th and I finally got to see her! I do so love it there....just prefer my life and flying up to see family. Be well...my mother kept the traditions and my father is Norwegian. I feel at home there but like a young girl...time to play at a warmer beach and visit home instead!
Hello pretty lady you look stunning I must confess... I feel lucky running into a beautiful angel such as yourself on here ☺ 😘 and please forgive me if I bumped into your privacy, I just couldn't help it cos your beauty is so charming ☺🌹💋😘😘
#1 Danish language is the 9th hardest in the world to learn, iirc #2 Danish weather is something u get used to #3 Danish light balance is something u should embrace as there's a + and - to both #4 Danish mountains LOL #5 becoming Danish can be hard, but we also dont want u to coz that's what makes u different #6 Danish food is some of the best in the world, so get eating #7 Danish drinking culture can be very hard for outsiders to understand, but it's just ingrained in us #8 Danish work culture has a very flat hierarchy, usually informal, open and laid-back and yes... DO NOT BRAG! #9 being overly friendly can come off as shallow, not serious and offputting, to Danes, if u dont know them
#6 is very subjective to a large degree, although we're masters of pork and pastries. The average danish eatery certainly doesn't have the wow factor of their Italian counterparts. Some. But not on average.
@@broendbykim The objective answer is subjective. Not accusing anyone - stating a fact. I'm interested to know how you'll objectively compare one nations food to the other, outside of nutritional values etc. ... there's no guarantee anyone will like lit because of the objectives, although they might help. Or not.
Mit land er fuld eventyr og god at være i altså jeg syntes at mit land er god men jeg vil også vildt gerne til Japan og bo i 1 uge fordi jeg elsker at se japanske tegne film men det gør ikke noget hvis du kommer til Danmark 😎😏🥳
The socializing with a purpose is spot on for us Danes, and I can very much relate to the story about the visiting friend from the US I work in a supermarket, not as a cashier but as a butcher. We have some American tourists doing the summer season and having a customer coming up to me and start talking to me like the 'Hey, how are you doing?' (no not like Joey Tribbiani 😃) you mentioned. I've gotten used to it, as I chat with lot of Americans on Discord and here on youtube as well I think for Danes in general, it feels superficial, weird and a bit too much... Most of all I think the typical reaction like the cashier you mentioned, is surprise and not knowing how to react to such an approach from a total stranger. It's all about different culture and habits, and I'm ok with that... it's still a bit odd though 😉 Cheers from Hillerød
Snow used to be very common. It started to become more grey than white in the beginning of the millennium. It is one of the more evident signs of global warming in Denmark, since many of those cold rainy winter days should have been negative Celsius grades snowy winter days.
I'm glad I watched this because a lot of these are actually positives for me! I was born in Canada and I've never left and I've been thinking about moving to Denmark after school. I love rain and HATE snow, and I'm not really looking to change myself as a proud Canadian. I might miss the mountains and absence of fish tho lol...
if I'm not mistaken you say that Danes become friends with others for a purpose. actually I think that we Danes not so much befriend others for a purpose but strive to find a purpose for befriending those we want to make our friends - and that often turns out to be a pretty hard job ;-) ... why make it easy on yourself
Hej Peter, thanks for watching and adding this. You’re right and put it well - getting involved and joining clubs and organizations is the key to entering friendships, and then they take off from there (at least in our experiences).
Ambitions are not always only a matter of your work, but it is clear that this is where Danes/Europeans are different from others, because family and lessure life is seen just as important. I think it is down to, that at least in Denmark, even low-skilled workers can have a good and carefree life without economical concerns.
Denmark and other Scandinavian countries do have many ambitious people who are hugely successful in their fields but even they will not sacrifice everything for the sake of success. They have a fairly good work-life balance culture and they don't worship wealth and success above all other things.
I'm thinking of moving as a software engineer and tbh I'm not too concerned. I spent years grinding away saving up money on top of that all I just enjoy the quiet alone time sometimes.
I’m a Dane but live in Australia. One of the things I love about Aussies is how loud they can be in public. I love chatting to strangers so I definitely prefer Australia 😁
Aussies are great - every time we travel we end up befriending Aussies on holiday haha. So glad you’re enjoying it there. We were just kicking around a topic along the lines of “things we learned about being American from living in DK” for example, we never really knew that Americans were thought of as loud until we lived here and were constantly told we’re loud haha. We’re just not aware of that stereotype back in the states 😂
I really don't see the connection between "being loud in public" and chatting with strangers if that what you meant - however if you want to talk with strangers don't start with : "how are you" (that is something you say to people you have a "history with"). Instead say something funny and not controversial, that is at least my experience.
Jeg elsker Danmark. Og Årstiderne. Elsker sommeren i Danmark og til midsommer vi synger: Vi elsker vort land, og sangen: Dig elsker jeg, Danmark mit Fædreland. Så bliver det ikke bedre. See you around in Beautyfully Denmark.
Hello pretty lady you look stunning I must confess... I feel lucky running into a beautiful angel such as yourself on here ☺ 😘 and please forgive me if I bumped into your privacy, I just couldn't help it cos your beauty is so charming ☺🌹💋😘😘
I am also Dane, born and raised in Denmark.. I cannot recognize the romantic picture that is drawn of Denmark and the Danes.. the Danes cannot bear the title of "world's happiest people". the most trained and brainwashed people and the most closed and lonely and most narcissistic people very selfish and we have to be consistent in sending and thinking.. Happiness does not exist in Denmark
As someone who can barely sleep if it's not dark outside, summer is hell, when it doesn't get completely dark until 1 AM and the light comes back at 4 AM :')
I once heard our approach to strangers described as such: "We respect people's right to privacy and be left unbothered when walking in public." It really stuck with me and I fully agree. It's kinda an unwritten rule to rely on body language heavily in Denmark. If people wanna talk, sure, but choose wisely and pick the ones that meet your eye, approach hesitantly and if they seem curious and open for your further approach, you can go on. These situations aren't usually for building a relation though, in my experience. It's considered an interruption and kinda rude to just go in without considering that the other person might not want that interaction :) But yeah, friendship is built over a long time and usually over common interest or hobby classes. Or temporarily during drunken nights or some kind of public disturbance, when strangers might share a kind of outrage!
Is the same in GB particularly in England, that is why I tend to say people Denmark, England, Germany, Scandinavian countries are places for people who tend to think, use their intellect and are not very emotionally inclined so understanding such cultures will be easier and an enjoyable experience.
It is braking social rules but you can get away with it if you put in a time contraint as an excuse to talk to people. Reading social ques also helps alot.
As a Branzlian man, I can't live in Denmark, because I love sun, I love to meet people and I can't stay away from the sea for so long, and Cold weather just for some days. Heheh
@@RobeTrotting perhaps you are right, it will be difficult to get used to living in Denmark, but I have heard that nurses can find a job at a hospital in Denmark and it really worths to work there. It's a pity that I can't find a place to work in my current area, what would you Robe suggest to a new nurse like me for the incoming chance of working at a hospital, have you got any further information about it, can you advice me please any details you might know?
👍 i love you give awesome and correct information on how it is here ❤ you both have nailed one more thing that we are a very direkte people, i just notes it. ❤ i love it. You are awesome guys ❤
Aww 🥰 thank you so much. We saw this type of video about another country and some people have told us that we paint too good of a picture of life in Denmark, so we thought this may be a neat topic to cover 😊
@@RobeTrotting Are you painting the picture too good, or are people just finding the picture attractive? ;) Generally speaking, I think we just value a lot of things very high that makes sense to a lot of people, like personal time, helping each other and investing into meaningful relationships. I'm very glad you talked a bit about professional ambition, as that's really isn't a big thing here.. I think most people strive to be in the middle class, exactly because it's where you'll have room for before mentioned values
Geez, I wrote a whole novel of comments here, without having seen the full video. Had to delete it, because you guys just nailed my country. Haha! Spot on, guys :D
Ah, so glad you liked the video :) I think you're not the only one who was maybe put off by the title and thumbnail but then understood once they watched the video. We really love Denmark and living here.
@@RobeTrotting Nah, I wasn't put off. According to ourselves, we danes are the masters of irony. So I can take it! Title lured me in :) Glad you like it here. And guys, summer is coming right up! Get some sleep now while you can, haha!
@@RobeTrotting it's probably different when you grow up with it being the standard in stead of having to adjust to our very different amount of daylight through the year
@@Nina1966dk as a child i even had white curtains, that absolutely only prevewnted looking through the window but did nothing in regards to adjusting the darkness of my bedroom lol
I'm 50% Danish and grew up in the Danish colonies in America. The more I hear about Denmark, the more I realize where my family has held onto Danish traditions since my ancestor came over in 1870. I really want to move back because everything I hear about Denmark sounds more and more like my family and childhood.
@@terrapinalive6192 Southwest Iowa, in particular, Elkhorn and Kimbalton IA. There is an authentic Danish windmill and the Danish Heritage Museum. Every summer they have Tivoli festival. In Kimbalton there is a replica of the Little Mermaid statue. The area has many Danish immigrants who celebrate Danish traditions.
@@captaincosmodrome Thank you.,I wasn't aware of that. I've been to Denmark, in the summer. I found a review of Peter Hoeg 'Smilla' s special feeling for the snow' in a magazine. I bought it and the world stopped. I went to Norway afterwards, I couldn't stop reading. That was in the 90's and I haven't read a better book since Have you been to Copenhagen?
#1 - That's definitely true. I personally find it extremely challenging to understand someone speaking danish with a thick accent. #2 - Winters here can be really rough. For me personally, it affects my mood a lot. Seasonal depression is a real thing here. #3 - I'm definitely biased towards this. Maybe it's me not being aware because I've lived here all my life, but is it really that dark here 😂? - Regarding summer, #4 - Imagine naming a 482ft hill "Himmelbjerget" ("The Sky Mountain" or "The Mountain of Heaven", and yeah we pretty much translate everything 1:1) 😂 #5 - Totally true, and yeah it's totally okay. You don't even have to speak danish (but if you do, we'll totally love you for it). #6 - Danish food is literally one of the most boring cuisines I can think of. Of course there's "new danish cuisine", but let's be honest, danish food is potatoes, meat, a pan sauce (brun sovs) and probably some boiled carrots 😂 #7 - Americans (etc) must be shocked when they see people drinking in the streets here. #8 - Compared to the (let's be honest), tiny size of our country, we've really made a big name for ourselves out there in the big world. #9 - We will literally have the same neighbours for 10 years and barely know their names 😂
Technically…. The 5:27 video is actually the múlafossur waterfall, located in the Faroe islands (which is technically a part of Denmark) - not Norway. Other than that - Great video guys 😙
@@okklidokkli I’m sure Mike and Derek prefer not to have any toxicity in their comment section, so I´ll try to behave. If you think that the clip was from before 1816 then you would be correct (sort of). But I do postulate that the clip is more recent than that. Ergo it is a part of Denmark. Also I recently lived there for over a year; Danish currency, Danish as a second language, funded partially by Denmark, dependent on Denmark for advanced healthcare, military and foreign affairs. So no, it is not even close to being “technically Norway”. And no, Denmark didn’t steal it - I looked it up after reading your comment - Thank you for letting me know some history about it ;-) ..Also… It’s spelled “your” - not “youre” 😙
330 million native English speakers in a country that’s larger than the continent of Europe versus a country of under 6 million with no choice but to learn languages that other people actually speak - we have less opportunity to learn other languages or to be immersed and no business or educational need to learn on and no non-english media to consume. It’s really not a similarity but I know you love to look down your nose at America whenever you can.
By my calculations there are 6 important danish spices. Salt, pepper, licorice, bacon, Læsø salt and onions. And that is all you will ever need to make tasty food, where you can actually taste the fresh ingredients used in the meal. :)
Well done, one of the first videos that actually explains quite well how we are. I love that you managed to see how the work here is, especially with moving jobs etc. And that's very true. Most people tend to move around every 2-3 years, if you don't you can be considered unflexible, and unwilling to learn, however, there are always an exception to the rule, if you can "defend" why you haven't or you move internally to a new title, that's also okay. But being steady in the same position for 15 years, isn't necessarily a good thing either.
BTW! Good idea warning folks, instead of having them disappointed 👍😊👍 ! A few years back my friends from Texas were visiting, and we went to "Bakken". At some point I tell them that it's time to head home. David looks at me weird and asks me what I'm talking about ? It's still ight! I just asked him to look at his watch! The look on his face was priceless😉! It was 10:30 PM (22:30). Yeah ! They both agreed to going home 🤣 ! As always! A good and informative video 😁 ! PS. You can get blackout curtains for summer sleeping. Actually my worst enemy, sleeping during the summer months, is the heat not the light. That I've gotten used to (I'm a shift worker).
1 - learning danish and the foreign accents You are correct that learning the langues in-country is the best option. You should try to use it as often as possible. great tip is to practise the sound of each individual letter before going for full words and sentences. having ht ecorrect sound will help you learn any langues faster. my tip is watching the TV news shows as the presenters there, will have some of the most clean Danish accents and the words used will be varied and useful to you in your daily life. Danes do not have a general problem with accents but what i have learned over the years is this. as stated Danish is relying on pronunciation and this is where what langues you come from becomes important. non english/german langues have a very different way 0of how they put the pressure distribution so it makes the words sound of. not a big problem just something to pay close attention to. 2 - weather yearh nothing i can do about this one. overall we have the mildest climate of the scandinavian countries. 3 - yearh... this is not a Denmark thing but a location on the globe thing. and yearh make sure you have complete darkness in your bedroom. 4 - mountains we don't have those, but due to size getting to either norway or sweden takes only a single day even by car so this should be a non issue. in return food is abundant in denmark at reasonable cost compared to sweden and norway 5 - being Danish I'm sorry but only Danes are ever really Danes. but we love you just the same. best way to put it is that you can have a Danish passport without being Danish ( to the Danish ) we are culturally centered not passport focused. 6 - food yearh the guys are 100% correct on this one. special food is food in special stores. the price competition is fierce in the supermarkets so they only stock what sells. 7 - alcohol this one varies alot. and will come down to the social circle you end up in. 8 - ambition. so janteloven. this one always seems to baffle people that are not Danish. Bragging is the number one un-Danish thing. Janteloven means that regardless of how good you are at your job you never got there alone, so remember that even if you are the ceo you are not worth more as a human that the janitor. so be competent and compassionate then you'll be fine 9 - in your face people DO NOT DO THIS EVER !!! danes are not cold we are collected and meassured. so the overly bubbly american "cheerleader" personality will go down like a led balloon. you win over Danes with collected consistancy not with overly in your face behavior otherwise this was a lovely video
I just spent a couple of weeks in Copenhagen and loved it. I've lived in similar latitudes in Canada so the weather didn't bother me. If there is a downside its that the traditional foods are a bit "ho-hum". You can certain live on it but the best meals were at places that served non-local dishes! :)
IM ALSO FROM PHILADELPHIA MOVING TO DENMARK OMG!!!! this video is perfect and very informative (I’m going there for college) tysm for the information, I’ll definitely be combing through more of your videos
That’s so cool! We just put out an episode of our podcast on studying abroad here with another Philadelphian who has done it twice. The podcast is called What Are You Doing in Denmark. It’s streaming on all platforms and we’ll have it up on UA-cam in a week. Best of luck :)
Specifically when it comes to learning danish - I find alot that when foreigners try to speak or mimick danish, it becomes unviable gibberish... Like - I can only think of 1 time that I've heard a foreigner speak danish and it actually sounded like it made sense to my danish ear - and it was in a youtube video when someone said "knep din mor, sut min pik" a bit vulgar, but somehow it's the only event I've heard of a foreigner speaking, understandable danish... Like if they speak danish in a TV series, I'll have a MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH harder time understanding and breaking down what's being said in danish by a non-danish fella, than I'd ever have with plain english, which is my 2nd language. And it's all down to the pronounciation being completely butchered, then resurrected, raped and shot dead. #4, lol - mountains?! What mountains????
Hej Tobias, thanks for watching and the comment - you have a great way of putting things. I think we would get along really well! I’m not sure if it’s true, but I heard it explained that Danish is hard to hear spoken by others because it’s vowel-focused, so your brain can fill in consonant sounds when they are off, but with so many vowel sounds and the emphasis on them, our brains can’t reconstruct words without the proper pronunciation of the vowels. No idea if that’s true, but it’s why I go easier on myself haha.
@@RobeTrotting Yea I mean - I'm not studied enough in my language to know why X and Y sounds wierd and straight up incomprehensible - I just speak from first hand experience. Not trying to throw any shade at all ofc - I just find it a humerous thing, because TV shows sometimes present someone as danish and they'll have a danish life that they've practise and say it, and I'm left completely stunned :D Maybe they don't care enough to practise 1 little line, or it's genuinly a struggle, Idk :D
@@RobeTrotting it's very likely true! Danish is one of the most vovel-heavy languages in the world. We count between 22-40 vovel sounds in Danish, whereas English only has 12. So, it's no wonder that English speakers are struggling. The immigrants with the most success in speaking Danish seems to be people with Chinese and Arabian as their first language? Well, aside from other Scandinavians.
I'm from Norway. The Danes ruled over us for about 400 years or what it was. Meet a Dane at the airport. Figure it is easier to switch to English with them 😂 I understand danish and swedish pretty well. Of course not everything. It just shows that some individuals struggle more listening even to their brother languages
I’m danish and 46 and I still try to speak in our Scandinavian language, but when I was a kid we had a lot of Norwegian and Swedish television, books and more vacations than nowadays, my children also just switch to English because it’s easier, and they are not wrong because you can easily speak to everyone if you do but it was still fun to be a kid back then and easily understand Norwegian and Swedish 😊 new Norwegian or what you call it is very nice I really hope Denmark adopt that idea, when someone from Norway writes that in the beginning my brain register it as Danish 🤷♂️ but old Norwegian is not that easy to read just the spoken language
Not a lot of people know it, but the idea for the title of 50 Shades of Grey came after EL James visited Denmark. Interesting, a whole lot of accurate points. In my current work, I see a lot of lorry drivers from Southern Jutland, their conversations are filled with Hvad siger du? I have been coming to Denmark since 2017 and moved here in 2019 and while I have a few Danish friendships, the vast majority of my friends here are international. All that said, it's a wonderful country to live in, its safe, the people are honest and welcoming, and you're never far from the sea.
@@RobeTrottingI've just had some blood tests done and my doctor has instructed me to start taking vitamin D. The danes love it when they realise you speak some Danish, I'm learning more speaking with the drivers, it's really helping me. I'm also learning a lot of Polish, unfortunately 70% of that is totally inappropriate!
#4 No, no mountains, BUT Denmark is the garden of Scandinavia, 🌱 that gracefully leads you into the rest of, the Nordic countries... Guys, would any of these reasons have dissuaded you to come here, if you had known them beforehand?? Good to hear from you... hello from Hundested 🌸 ❄️
So true, Denmark even has a wine region and great beaches and no one would expect all that 🇩🇰 Would any of these have dissuaded us… 🤔 good question 😊 I don’t think it would have - we were very excited to get the offer, BUT I do think we came into “Danish life” with some naivety about how things would be and also some pleasant and fun surprises along the way. It’s probably impossible not to have some culture shock, even though we thought we would jump right into things in Denmark.
Denmark is definitely not for everybody. Your list picks up many of the reasons why. Still, people from all over come here to live, and while they certainly hang on to their backgrounds, I also think they quickly become quite Danish. The obvious thing is that they slow down a little. Take a little time to do whatever makes them happy. The dark winters are great for that.
There used to be a lot of snow in the winter in remark but as the weather has got warmer across Northern Europe in the last 20 years less and less snow has fallen here, but the weather has also turned out more random, so now we instead get snow in May from times to times but still rare. At this point it's a roll of the dice whether a year is going to have snow or not and what month of the year the snow is going to come. There has even been recorded snow in June, July and August, so well no month of the years is safe from snow. The last time we had a big blizzard in Denmark was in 1999.
I grew up with snow. We had around three "sessions" early december, late december/early January and some time in February. It is surreal for those of us who was used to that growing up - as in, were children in the 80's and 90's (or earlier, obv.)
@@jimmybaldbird3853 Well, I don't think snow on Christmas has been neither more or less frequent than it always has been if that is what you mean. However there was a time when I would start doing certain family related Christmas outing activities based on if the snow had been there - then it changed to when we had minus degrees and now I am happy to just see minus degrees during december at all. - Statistically speaking this makes sense as we know the weather in Denmark has become 1 degree hotter and 47mm wetter on average in the last 30 years.
@@jimmybaldbird3853 can you get me a link to some sources on that? Because I can't find anything on DMI and as far as I know that is the only place actively and consistently monitoring the Danish weather and it is a bit annoying that they don't go back further than 2011.
The main reason Danish is difficult to get by with - even if you say a grammatically correct sentence, is that the pronunciation means everything, due to how distinct it is. With other languages, there is often a certain way and flow of speaking, and it can be easier to get an approximation - but with Danish it's often everything or nothing. This is further enforced by the legion of unique rules that apply to individual words and sayings, and certain sounds that do not correspond with any other language. So even if you can write perfect Danish, you could still sound like an alien from Mars when speaking vocally. And since the majority of Danes are very proficient in English, it just tends to be the default go-to choice. Having lived in Italy for years, I have also experienced the polar opposite, where people will double down on speaking Italian to you even when you explain to them that you don't speak their language :D That is the type of environment where you learn faster, because you're forced to do it. In Denmark you are never forced to learn Danish, even in Danish speaking environments like school and work etc. You have to actively seek to learn it yourself, which admittedly can be tough. In comparison, I believe most foreigners would have a far easier time learning Swedish even though the two languages on paper are brothers. The entire reason is their way of speaking and pronouncing words with a more natural flow and tonal shift in where they put pressure etc. It could potentially be a gateway to Danish, by learning Swedish first. It's not something I've seen people try before deliberately, but I think it could actually be easier. (Norwegian would be even better, but I think Swedish is easier still).
I hope you do study here! for us it was the same, none of these things were deal breakers for us and most we have grown to love - like dark winters, you just have to embrace it and make the most of the slower time of year and lifestyle 😊🇩🇰
I work at a grocery store in Denmark and where I work it's the complete other way around cause if you came up to me or any of my colleagues we will all be smiling and saying "HI". And if the customers smile too that can just make such a big difference in our day and make us feel appreciated🇩🇰😃 Love the vids keep up the great work❤️
I’ve never been to Denmark before, but I am going to visit Copenhagen next month. It was pretty high on my bucketlist… I live in the Netherlands, so it might not be that much of a culture (and nature) shock to me. I’m kind of an introvert myself, but I would still love to have some Danish friends…
In the future I want to be a foreign exchange student in Denmark. I love geography and and I'm intrigued about the experience. Should I consider going to demark for 8 months if I'm American?
Thanks a lot! these videos of yours are highly valuable. I've been living in Norway for 6 years and I'm about to move to DK soon, maybe Århus. These videos help a lot!
I am a native dane. And I feel you guys sooo much when you where talking about, not only the long winter. But also the long days in the summer. I like summer. But it’s way too much for me. I get affected really easily by the weather, and when there is sun from really early to really late. I can just feel like I want darkness and not balance. And when it’s dark all the time. All I want is sunlight. It’s like either all or nothing here according to the length of the days. You really have to mentally adjuste for that. Great video.
Miranda. Try to come to Greece. You will find sunshine and really nice beaches in summer or even in winter time. We don't have any extreme cold weather in winter but we do have sometimes extreme hot weather in summer. Anyway try on coming on holidays in a Greek island. You will enjoy your holiday here.
I'm Finnish and I've lived in Denmark for 2,5 years now. In Finland, during the summer the sun actually never fully goes down so there's just constant light 24/7 for at least 2 months, then maybe 3-5 hours of daylight during the heart of winter. I found it a delightful change to have "short" days in the summer and "long" days in the winter. I do miss the snow tho.
@@mirandalerche7298 winter depends on how you look at it, there are plenty of winter sport opportunities but it does get cold, up to -30°c 🙂. Tho I really enjoy the Danish weather more (besides the constant wind of course :D)
Regarding the drinking section of the vid at 9:30 and how it effects sobriety, I can say from personal experience that there are many English language 12 step meetings in the larger cities. They are some of the best meetings I've been to in years. The demographic breakdown is about 40% Americans, 30% UK and Irish, 15-20% Anglophones from other English countries (Canadians like me, Aussies and Kiwi's), and the remainder are foreigners who don't speak Danish but are good with English as a second language. I even met a Swede who found Danish incomprehensible, LOL.
Wauw guys.. That was very well done 👌👏👏 As a Dane, I can verify everything mentioned here, which is pretty unusual in these kind of "Reason to xxxx - list" videos. Obviously we are all different and no rules are without exceptions ect ect.. But it gives a really good picture of what to be aware of, before moving to Denmark. 👍
@@engell3707 Not sure if youre asking me or Robe Trotting? :) But my opinion is, you´ll find a bit of racial discrimination everywhere in the world.. I don´t think Danes are particularly racial discriminating. But many Danes are "suspicious" of people they don't know, and not easy to befriend :) That could come across as racism, but in 99% of the cases, Danes will warm up to you when you start talking to them - IF your acting reasonably polite, normal and your not being "pushy" or brag about your successes ect.. :D
Lol every thing you say is normal for me. If it is over 20˚ it’s so hot, and yay it is really hard to understand people from usa trying to speak danish. We have the letters æøå. What does This mean: Virkelig god video jeg glæder mig til den næste!
I hate Poland and I hate living here, but I feel like if I move to Denmark I won't try to become less Polish, but I'd actually connect with my Polishness more
Good information and valid/good points in this, the weather, that you might miss some of your national foods, that you might not be able to get in Denmark, you might not make friends right away, the alcohol culture etc. Most festiveties in Denmark has a food and drink element to them, so most Danes(teens and adults) often more or less drink. Btw The goverment has put out a proposal that it should be illegal for anyone under 18 to buy alcohol, Just as it is illegal to serve alcohol in bars etc to people under 18 years old, and a drastic proposal that tobaco should be illegal to buy the rest of their lives for people born after 2010.
Wow, what an interesting proposal - we have to look into that more. I did know they were looking at a new approach to the push to curb teenage drinking but I didn’t realize that was how 😯
@@saranissen6210 The tobacco proposal is really creative an interesting. Seems like the best way to phase out tobacco without upsetting anyone and without potentially moving all the tobacco sales to the black market. As a heavy smoker, I wish that law was in place when I was a pre-teen. There's still the question of how to enforce it, since you can always get older people to buy you tobacco or you can always buy it across the border. This is where slowly restricting the space where it's legal to smoke would be easier to enforce, but would also conflict with people's sense of their liberal rights. Definitely one of the best proposals I've heard so far (maybe because it doesn't affect me. lol) Don't know if I agree with the alcohol proposal. Seems like you should be able to drink while you're in gymnasium. I know that our alcohol culture is way out of hand, but I've always thought that positive reinforcement is more effective than restrictions. The gymnasiums should rather be better at offering non alcoholic social alternatives and then give the students the freedom to choose. They are young adults at that point and should be treated as such.
@@muchograndeyolatengo Hahaha, typical inconsequential Danish. You complain about lack of restrictions when your lack of self discipline made you heavy smoker. When alcohol abuse might be restricted you suddenly find it is restricting individual freedom!🤪 Search the failure.. 😅
@@OmmerSyssel Outside of xenophobia and personal attacks your post brings absolutely nothing of substance. In fact it's completely nonsensical. Because you're assuming that if you want something banned, you automatically should want everything banned on principle , which of course makes no sense. If you think that it's particularly "Danish" to want tobacco banned and not alcohol, then look around. More and more countries around the world are passing increasingly more tobacco restrictions while making no changes to their current alcohol laws. And there's a reason for that. I'm pretty sure that close to 100% of people who smoke wish they didn't. And I'm also pretty sure that the majority of people who consume alcohol are completely fine with it. Smoking is extremely unhealthy, even just one cigarette per day, while alcohol in small dozes can be healthy (particularly red wine). Cigarettes affect your day to day life negatively in all kinds of ways (physically as well as cognitively), while a moderate consumption of alcohol doesn't (outside of the occasional hangovers). Alcohol can bring you in a state of euphoria and make it easier for people with social anxiety to interact with people, while cigarettes have close to no upsides. etc.
You may not speak Danish (yet) but you will end up knowing a lot more about the history of Denmark, than the vast majority of the Danes. That is a huge advantage in many situations. Brilliant.
Well, in my experience the trouble with understanding our language with accents or dialekts increases with a persons age or proximity to Strøget. Most of us do understand some "danglish", but maybe we do tend to be a bit to helpful in that situation.
True. English speakers take for granted that we hear so many people speaking English with an accent from an early age - even on TV if not in person. We are used to it and our ears “fill in the blanks”.
Reasons why you should move to Denmark: 1: Fifth safest country in the world 2: second noncorrupt country 3: not paying for school 4: no hospital bills 5: a member of Nato and Nordefco 6: we support LGBT so you can feel free about your gender 7: we have the best judicial system 8: many free educations 9: drinkable Walter from all Water Taps 10: we may pay much in Bills but do get a lot by doing that 11: You can only own hunting rifles and you gotta have a weapon license and armored weapon box 12: the first time someone planned a school shooting the Danish security and intelligence service stopped him before he could do anything 13: No nukes 14: were in the EU and the EU army 15: second happiest country in the world 16: less chance to become homeless than in Usa 17: 50% of all that live in Copenhagen cycle to work every to stay healthy and be fit 18: we have the oldest amusement parks in the world 19: Lego 20: We can always count on our Northern brothers (and to the Americans. The north is the countries in Northern Europe that includes Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, and the Faroe islands 21: you can't get arrested for walking on the streets walking without a brown bag on your alcohol bottle in Denmark you can walk without
Thanks for watching everyone - and let us know if we missed anything else to be aware of or the things you LOVE about living in Denmark 😀 and if you like Derek's Lille Fredag shirt, you can find it here: robetrotting.myspreadshop.net/lille+fredag
Thank you!
Cautionary tales are wise to pass along.
I have always wondered about the whole process of renting an apartment in foreign countries, for example.
>>> About learning foreign languages: PRESS ON, please. Keep speaking Danish, or French, or German or ... whatever. And keep nicely asking that people ALSO do so to you. Everyone, in every foreign country, will make learning their foreign language HAAAARD for you. It is almost their birthright, seems to me. They are simply testing your mettle, your fortitude, your stick-to-it-tive-ness (is that even a word?) and you just have to give speaking Danish your level best daily, and keep insisting that Danish people help you out to learn their precious and beautiful language ... because learning ANY foreign language really is worth the seemingly constant effort in doing so, and it ain't easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy.
About others' knowledge of English: Try going to Amsterdam. There, everyone speaks about 5-6 languages in total. It's embarrassing, actually. Of course they know English, Dutch,. some Flemish, French, German, and sometimes one or two other languages (just for fun!).
Wait, is that more than six? Many Americans can barely speak English all that well, I have found, and I am American.
American tourists also tend to assume that everyone else speaks English even in smaller foreign towns, which I think can be a bit RUDE.
I always advise: Learn a few sentences of the foreign language of the country you intend to visit, even if it is only for a few days! People will be impressed with you, and then state how well you speak their language, too! I have had this done to me, too many times to count.
If I were to move to a foreign country, I would do as the Romans do: Eat as they EAT.
I mean, if I wanted to keep eating American, I sure as heck would not move to a foreign country. I would just stay parked over this-a-way.
By the way, I love meat, meatballs, fish ANYTIME, dill, anise, caraway, those little itty bitty logan berries and even whipped cream which is not sweetened nor has not had vanilla extract added to such, like Americans add to it. Just mix it with jam, or some such, which is offered with whipped cream (whip cream) over there, and there will always be such to mix into the cream, with ... say, pancakes such as jam or preserves. :)
Guys, please buy earplugs with at least 33Db protection. They work like a charm for sleep help and enhancement. Foam ones work best, or so I have found.
Making insta-friends (just add water?) can be difficult when one is in a naturally reserved country.
Americans can be perceived to be a bit cuckoo when they walk around smiling and saying "Hi, there!" to one and all.
We mean well, when we do that, but, others can perceive us to be a bit "off".
Making friends can be a loooooong and laborious process, overseas, but once you do, in Europe, you will have a loyal friend for life, who thinks it is OK to tell you that you have a run in your hose, because SHE CAN, because ... she is now your friend.
Heck, I know Americans who would not even be that frank to their pals, so ... there you are.
Making friends is worth it, though, because ... well ... then, you will have a pal with whom you can practice your Danish, a lot more often and you know that he, or she, will be extra tolerant of your efforts, as well.
Ambitions are not always only a matter of your work, but it is clear that this is where Danes/Europeans are different from others, because family and lessure life is seen just as important. I think it is down to, that at least in Denmark, even low-skilled workers can have a good and carefree life without economical concerns.
The "Hey! How are you doing!?" thing was something that baffled me a lot when I (a Dane) lived in Canada. In North America, it's a greeting, and the expected answer is usually "Good, and you?" - In Denmark, don't ask someone how they're doing if you're not prepared for them to actually tell you. It's one of those little things that still crack me up. That being said, it *is* actually possible to strike up small talk conversations here in Denmark, but they're usually shorter interactions, and usually also only about something relevant to the situation you're both in (weather, long lines at the store, etc.)
Haha yeah it’s a funny difference - although (and we just did a video on that topic) I think there’s a cultural difference there because Americans would generally be prepared to be actually told someone’s status. I also think Americans are comfortable finding a “middle-point” instead of an “all of nothing” kind of answer. Not sure if that makes sense, but it’s definitely an interesting thing for Americans to learn how confusing it is to others haha.
@@RobeTrotting why not just lift your hand and say Hi.
The “how are you doing” is more for people you have some history with and where you at least wait for an answer and not just Walk away.
We would probably do that, but sometimes it's just an auto-response and comes out the same as "hejsa" or "howzit" in South Africa - it's just a reflex for many I assume but I have to say we are much more conscious of it now that we live here.
Yeah pretty terrible advice not to use apps etc to learn before traveling. Not that hard for apps and UA-cam to help with pronunciation, and they are always improving
I grew up there for more than 30 years I never heard about the winter depression, maybe if you come from somewhere else but I had heard the government like to be giving people permanent disability based on depression so that’s just another dependency.
Been looking at a ton of countries 'Do Not move' videos. Surprised to say this is the first one with a lot of reasons that actually make me WANT to move here haha. No pressure to pre-learn the language, dark days but not overly snowey, drinking, omfg count me in!
Right! We love living in Denmark - but it’s not for everyone 😊🇩🇰
Same here! I was thinking of moving there because I have some family and friends there and honestly this video gave me even more reasons to move! Only thing that I might have to adjust to would be drinking but I think I'll be just fine :)
@@Vixen_Rose6404we've actually got quite the sortiment of non-alcoholic drinks now, so if you're not much a drinker then 1. absolutely no one will bat an eye at you for it, and 2. there is plenty of options to choose from 😊
This is a great video. I am a Dane. I currently live in Denmark but have also spent a couple of years abroad. I must say that this video provides a remarkably accurate, fair, and well-balanced view on some aspects of living in Denmark. Thanks a lot guys!
Thank you for the kind words Peter, so glad that you enjoyed the video and thank you for watching 😊🇩🇰
Hello Peter nice pic
Enig.
As a Danish person I can confirm all of this. Whenever they tried to speak Danish I wouldn’t have understood a word without translation.
The drinking part… yeah, people will be baffled if you say you don’t drink, maybe even see it as a friendship dealbreaker (friends… not good at that either, no.) We never sit beside anyone on the bus or the train if it can be avoided and we don’t talk to anyone unless we have to (or when we drink. Then we talk too much.)
The summer/winter and flat land is spot on, too. I do like the food though, but I also (unlike most) use other spices than salt and pepper
This is also how life is in Sweden or Finland, well in Finland it is even worse.
The social part of it is so soothing to me as I am on the autistic spectrum and sometimes get overstimulated/overwhelmed.
I have this weird desire to travel there, but I don’t even know the language/culture. Just seems like a neurodivergent friendly place
Denmark sounds very similar to the UK haha
@@Prismatic7 Of course it is.
@@Prismatic7 it’s only in Denmark we speak danish🇩🇰😊
As a Dane don’t drink much alcohol I would say it can be difficult. Especially when you are young people don’t understand that you choose not to drink and they will try to push it on you. But it’s not impossible to survive and you can still make friends as long as you don’t judge when other people drink.
I’ve heard and read that clubs and social gatherings are one the best ways to meet new people.
Thanks for adding this, we have heard this from others as well. It’s something you can overcome of course, but it’s not an easy feeling I guess.
@@benjackson7872 excellent places to meet new people and when a Dane gets a few drinks they will talk to anybody
I agree. I've stopped drinking alcohol entirely for health reasons and even at my age (41) people question it and assume either I'm an alcoholic or pregnant.
I'm neither, it's just a life style choice and the fact that I dont like the effect it has on me, in general.
It's one of the downsides of our society, and you have to be prepared to really stand your ground!
@@maj-britt5756 I’m not a drinker, though.
I'm born and raised in Denmark and my whole family is Danish, I have a lot of issues with alcohol but it's honestly just about finding people that can respect you don't drink alcohol
Same over here
I think you are a cat lover 😻😺🐈🐈🐈
Same issue in Mexico. Mexico being the biggest producer of Tequila in the world, it’s cultural to drink here. People find it strange when you say you don’t drink.
@@angelgjr1999 ye, in Denmark u can get shammed for not drinking, and it goes to far most of the time
1% of Danes 😂
I have been considering moving to Denmark for a while now. Because of that, I have been absorbing as much information as I possibly can. It is nice to see the downside explored. Thank you! None of this is a deal breaker!
Hey Ian, thanks for watching and we hope this helped a bit. All of these things are easily overcome, and you’ll find some pieces of culture shock anywhere, but Denmark is a great place to live and work. Once your “get it” it’s really easy to thrive in a country like Denmark 🇩🇰 😊
Ask away if you need "Denmark through the eyes of a Dane" perspective :)
Sometimes I learn a lot from such questions, so I'll happily play ball. I'm watching Robe Trotting because they make remarks on things that are so ever-present that I couldn't single them out if I wasn't provided a contrast.
Hi Ian. Good you found this channel, Robe Trotting is really spot-on with many things. From many travels, living abroad, and work with exchange students, I know that every place is different, some sort of culture shock awaits everywhere but Denmark is not particularly difficult to adapt to. I hope you manage to move here , will feel welcome, and enjoy it the same as we would enjoy you living with us. Good luck with the project, best wishes from Denmark.
You still should it’s amazing 🤩
You should. Its a great country. I miss it every day.
All I’m hearing is reasons to move 😭 I took a week long vacation - fiancé studied abroad there last year - and I am literally in love with the country. The acceptability, public transport accessibility, the amazing food that was genuinely filling and not filled with garbage (american here lol). Just the way everyone loves each other - complete strangers - it’s amazing.
How did y’all do it? I know it’s not easy to move there
Ehh thats how it is most of Europe, north-Europe the least actually. Least community feeling, least love for complete strangers etc... I think u just need to travel more friend.
Americans are more selfish, narcissist get in street fights "road rage" its insane. Its much worse in the south and South East united States.
I live in Denmark and its DEFENETALY not true that everyone love each other. FAR from it.
@@nikolaj-si1so Are they super racist there? Jamacian heritage raised in the UK the though. I can handle some of course.
@@zannahmartell9813 I wont say super racist. But some. But its not so grouse that you have to be afraid to be attacked or something like that. There is not much violence in Denmark. Its more the attitude Many people have towards people from other especially none western countries.
Spices in Denmark: "Oh, we have all three kinds. Salt, peber AND liquorice!" 😆
Don't forget chili! The best marinade for something like spareribs is definitely a chili-licorice combo. That works very well for a pork roast, too, in fact.
Det er ikke løgn
I would say just salt and pepper
@@intencemagnus3671 nÆ
Are you stranded in the 1940'ties? Frosen in time maybe?
I moved from Ohio to Danmark in 2006 and I can relate to every single thing you guys are saying. I miss long, hot, humid summers of swimming, boating, etc. I miss actual snow in winter!!!! As many Danes have told me, no one moves to Danmark because of the weather lol.
Fun fact, there was much more snow in the past and in a longer period of time (that probably changed due to climate change), it was so cold in the winter that you could walk over some parts the frozen sea to Sweden (Øresunden was a part of the sea that was crossable in the winter), the sweds used this fact to invade Denmark in the winter, it was done often enough, that it was legal by law to hit a swed with a stick, if the swed crossed the frozen Øresund. It was written down in the Danish constitution. The law was removed later on.
Wow, the Constitution part is so interesting. Definitely want to learn more about that 😀🇩🇰
True
Svensken gik over flere sunde og bælter men ikke Øresund.
@@trolden61 joo det tror jeg
Desværre er det med at slå svensken med en pind vidst nok en skrøne
i came to denmark and been here 12yrs and have never regretted it once :)
Could you write a helpful info for us who wants to try, when do we start, how does it work and so on please?
@@mrm99999it’s been two years and this person never answered. Very Danish I guess.
(Brød is an et word, so it's brødet, not brøden) my experience learning Danish was that it took me 2 years, but that was with working in a Danish language environment, and taking Danish lessons at the kommune, although don't expect too much from these lessons. You will learn far more out in the world and the school is just to fix grammar things
Agreed! The free classes are great to make friends but we are eventually going to get a private tutor to fully learn. You get very little direct help with pronunciations and if you don’t have a Danish partner or another way to have direct feedback it’s just too hard to have kommune lessons alone.
@@RobeTrotting best thing I did to improve my Danish skills (mostly speaking and comprehension) was to do 4 months of værnepligtstjeneste, military service, which, although perhaps unorthodox, is available for pretty chill everyone aged 18-30 regardless of nationality. Getting a Danish girlfriend with the help of my British accent was also a definate help
Fun fact theres no hard rule to tell when a word is an et or an en. :P Its why foreigners always get them wrong. You have to learn it almost from birth.
Im From Denmark -_-
@@christiancanty2036 lol, love your acknowledgement of the power of the British Accent :-)
I left Denmark in 2003 for Sweden, became a natural Swedish citizen in 2008 and renounced my Danish citizenship. I will never return to Denmark to live. For some, Denmark may be the place for them, but it never was for me.
Why is that?
What makes Sweden better for you?
@@НеЗнам-в4г Sweden was more affordable, there is much more nature/scenery, and is a more open and tolerant society than Denmark. I also find Swedes to be nicer than danes. Immigrants in Sweden are much more appreciated than in Denmark.
You must be an amazing person! ❤
I’m a 23 year old Danish university student, who doesn’t drink alcohol, and let me tell you, when people say that alcohol is a big part of Danish socializing, they mean it. I won’t say that I’ve necessarily been ostracized for not drinking, but I’ve found it significantly harder to feel included, and danes do seem to have a hard time accepting “no thanks, I don’t drink alcohol” as an answer if they want you to drink with them, and they will most likely attempt to push you to drink if you don’t have a better excuse than “I just don’t want to”. If you keep refusing, they will give up eventually though. At least that’s been my experience, especially during gymnasium (high school). Now that I’m in uni, people do seem a bit more accepting though, which is nice.
Danish consensus culture tends to be a pest. Especially among women, which herd instincts seems to overrule personal boundaries... 😉
Am at uni too and don't drink
Really enjoying your videos. I have been in Denmark for ten years and so far I have agreed with everything I have seen in your videos. My wife is Danish, and I had her watch one of your videos the other day, and she couldn't stop laughing. She said it was all so very true! Keep up the good work guys. Perhaps I will see you around Copenhagen some time.
Very nice to see you discussing some points that people may - or may not - find problematic about moving to Denmark and I find all of them very valid.
One thing I think you could have included is, that Denmark may not be the right place for people who are very religious, you know... americans often talk a lot about praying for this, praying for that in all sorts of everyday situations. In Denmark, we generally do not pray, full stop, and this may be difficult for a praying person to grasp and/or even accept. It's not that we don't care about others, we just don't pray for them, but wish them well or send kind thoughts instead. I once knew a girl who moved here from San Francisco and for a long time she kept getting upset about danes "taking the Lord's name in vain" as she said - we don't have that long list of words that you "can't use" for religious reasons, and if a person is very sensitive in this regard, he/she may not like the way things are here.
Oh good one to add. We are both similar to the average Dane when it comes to religion - it’s a nice part of family traditions, but you’ll never catch us praying or attending church. That can be an adjustment for some Americans especially. I think we may cover this in an upcoming video so we may come back to this comment then 😊🇩🇰
That depends on the part of Denmark. It is very untrue outside woke Copenhagen or Aarhus.
I so totally agree with Teebo DK. Maybe U should also include our views about Porn, nudity and Sexuality (straight, Gay and all the other groups). Those may also be a "No go" for some !? In general most, of us "Paled face Vikings" like expats/foreigners, who want to live here and contribute ! But if you can't adjust to the weather (we have ways around that 😀) or our way of life 😉, most of the time...., yeah well! The Robe's are right! We're not for you) 😀 !
@@KHValby if you can’t adjust to the weather in Denmark you can’t adjust to the weather in Europe as a whole except for the southern part.
@@broendbykim I guess you can adjust to anything, if you want to live here, or any part of Europe. My advise would be, that you do some research about the country you wanna move to, so you avoid a lot of unpleasant surprises 😀
I knew a gymnasium (high school) teacher in Denmark that was American. He spoke nearly perfect Danish. Non of his new pupils could tell that he wasn't Danish until he would eventually slip up in his speach. He seemed to be VERY well accepted AS A DANE. If a person lauds Denmark and works hard to become Danish then the Danes do not care where he/she is originally from.
Yeah if you arent brown, black ot from East Europe, say the truth!
If all will be teachers what others will do?
OMG the title scared me! I had to watch immediately, lol. I appreciate the video though, great stuff as always. Even more convinced I will like denmark!
Haha, yeah it was a little bit of a tease in the title. All of these things are super easy to overcome for most people, but some things that can make Denmark a bit of an adjustment for others 😊🇩🇰
I am so proud of you two. Great representation of my lovely Denmark 🇩🇰 I moved to America 62 years shoals a 27 years old girl. Got married 2 years later and stayed. Have bin back many times but am now 89 years old so it may not be easy anymore. Thank you for you awesome attitude.❤️❤️🇩🇰🇩🇰🇺🇸🇺🇸
Hi! I wanted to let you know this story inspired me. What a long and storied life you must have! Have a wonderful day, you brought a tear to someone’s eye today.
My Mother came from Denmark in 1949? She just became an Angel so I am living in the South of France...maybe one reason as my Mother said it is sooo cold. We had a trip to France 2 years ago and she said NO its too cold. I just took my Frenchman to Denmark and yes he has met my family there before. I so love it...felt my Mother and we were at Tivoli for the Queen's 50th and I finally got to see her! I do so love it there....just prefer my life and flying up to see family. Be well...my mother kept the traditions and my father is Norwegian. I feel at home there but like a young girl...time to play at a warmer beach and visit home instead!
Hello pretty lady you look stunning I must confess... I feel lucky running into a beautiful angel such as yourself on here ☺ 😘 and please forgive me if I bumped into your privacy, I just couldn't help it cos your beauty is so charming ☺🌹💋😘😘
Really love the channel! Thinks it’s very funny what people outside Denmark think off os from Denmark. Keep doing what you’re doing! 🇩🇰
Aw, thanks so much. We have a lot of fun sharing our experiences here 😊🇩🇰
This video has inadvertently shown me all the reasons why I SHOULD move to Denmark! Thanks!
Right! Most of these things we actually like, but they’re also some of the most common complaints. To each their own of course 😊
#1 Danish language is the 9th hardest in the world to learn, iirc
#2 Danish weather is something u get used to
#3 Danish light balance is something u should embrace as there's a + and - to both
#4 Danish mountains LOL
#5 becoming Danish can be hard, but we also dont want u to coz that's what makes u different
#6 Danish food is some of the best in the world, so get eating
#7 Danish drinking culture can be very hard for outsiders to understand, but it's just ingrained in us
#8 Danish work culture has a very flat hierarchy, usually informal, open and laid-back and yes... DO NOT BRAG!
#9 being overly friendly can come off as shallow, not serious and offputting, to Danes, if u dont know them
Well summarized, thanks for adding this - it’s really good and will hopefully help some new arrivals or people planning a move 😊🇩🇰
soccer players here are pretty nice but the spectators most of them can be pretty rude
#6 is very subjective to a large degree, although we're masters of pork and pastries. The average danish eatery certainly doesn't have the wow factor of their Italian counterparts. Some. But not on average.
@@martinpoulsen6564 Accusing someone for being subjective and then answer with an even more subjective opinion, please.
@@broendbykim The objective answer is subjective. Not accusing anyone - stating a fact. I'm interested to know how you'll objectively compare one nations food to the other, outside of nutritional values etc. ... there's no guarantee anyone will like lit because of the objectives, although they might help. Or not.
man this makes me want to move to Denmark lmao, sounds like the perfect country for me.
It's definitely perfect for us too :)
I am considering an application to a Danish company next year and I also feel like this is a perfect country for me :)
I’m form Denmark and it’s a good landt!
youll be greeted
Mit land er fuld eventyr og god at være i altså jeg syntes at mit land er god men jeg vil også vildt gerne til Japan og bo i 1 uge fordi jeg elsker at se japanske tegne film men det gør ikke noget hvis du kommer til Danmark 😎😏🥳
You make some true and valid reasons why some people might want to reconsider moving here
Great video as always, thank you guys
Stay safe
Thanks and thank you so much for watching. All of these things can be overcome easily, but are good to be prepared for 😊🇩🇰
The socializing with a purpose is spot on for us Danes, and I can very much relate to the story about the visiting friend from the US
I work in a supermarket, not as a cashier but as a butcher. We have some American tourists doing the summer season and having a customer coming up to me and start talking to me like the 'Hey, how are you doing?' (no not like Joey Tribbiani 😃) you mentioned. I've gotten used to it, as I chat with lot of Americans on Discord and here on youtube as well
I think for Danes in general, it feels superficial, weird and a bit too much... Most of all I think the typical reaction like the cashier you mentioned, is surprise and not knowing how to react to such an approach from a total stranger. It's all about different culture and habits, and I'm ok with that... it's still a bit odd though 😉
Cheers from Hillerød
Snow used to be very common. It started to become more grey than white in the beginning of the millennium. It is one of the more evident signs of global warming in Denmark, since many of those cold rainy winter days should have been negative Celsius grades snowy winter days.
Your production quality has improved so much in such a short amount of time! Really cool
Thank you so much Sofie 😊 we are still learning and trying out new things, but it’s fun to keep learning and testing these skills
I'm glad I watched this because a lot of these are actually positives for me! I was born in Canada and I've never left and I've been thinking about moving to Denmark after school. I love rain and HATE snow, and I'm not really looking to change myself as a proud Canadian. I might miss the mountains and absence of fish tho lol...
if I'm not mistaken you say that Danes become friends with others for a purpose. actually I think that we Danes not so much befriend others for a purpose but strive to find a purpose for befriending those we want to make our friends - and that often turns out to be a pretty hard job ;-) ... why make it easy on yourself
Hej Peter, thanks for watching and adding this. You’re right and put it well - getting involved and joining clubs and organizations is the key to entering friendships, and then they take off from there (at least in our experiences).
But apart from that your observations seem very accurate. I hope you enjoy living here
@@peterwesth5396 well peter i think danes are nice people cos i've been to denmark and loved it
Ambitions are not always only a matter of your work, but it is clear that this is where Danes/Europeans are different from others, because family and lessure life is seen just as important. I think it is down to, that at least in Denmark, even low-skilled workers can have a good and carefree life without economical concerns.
Denmark and other Scandinavian countries do have many ambitious people who are hugely successful in their fields but even they will not sacrifice everything for the sake of success. They have a fairly good work-life balance culture and they don't worship wealth and success above all other things.
I'm thinking of moving as a software engineer and tbh I'm not too concerned. I spent years grinding away saving up money on top of that all I just enjoy the quiet alone time sometimes.
I’m a Dane but live in Australia. One of the things I love about Aussies is how loud they can be in public. I love chatting to strangers so I definitely prefer Australia 😁
Aussies are great - every time we travel we end up befriending Aussies on holiday haha. So glad you’re enjoying it there. We were just kicking around a topic along the lines of “things we learned about being American from living in DK” for example, we never really knew that Americans were thought of as loud until we lived here and were constantly told we’re loud haha. We’re just not aware of that stereotype back in the states 😂
I really don't see the connection between "being loud in public" and chatting with strangers if that what you meant - however if you want to talk with strangers don't start with : "how are you" (that is something you say to people you have a "history with"). Instead say something funny and not controversial, that is at least my experience.
Jeg elsker Danmark. Og Årstiderne. Elsker sommeren i Danmark og til midsommer vi synger: Vi elsker vort land, og sangen:
Dig elsker jeg, Danmark mit Fædreland. Så bliver det ikke bedre. See you around in Beautyfully Denmark.
Hello pretty lady you look stunning I must confess... I feel lucky running into a beautiful angel such as yourself on here ☺ 😘 and please forgive me if I bumped into your privacy, I just couldn't help it cos your beauty is so charming ☺🌹💋😘😘
I can't stand their accent and their obsession with "and I" hyper-correction though. They seem to have deleted "and me" from Australian English.
I am also Dane, born and raised in Denmark.. I cannot recognize the romantic picture that is drawn of Denmark and the Danes.. the Danes cannot bear the title of "world's happiest people".
the most trained and brainwashed people and the most closed and lonely and most narcissistic people very selfish and we have to be consistent in sending and thinking.. Happiness does not exist in Denmark
1:58 Hvad siger du. I'm danish and i couldn't understand what you said, so it's real that we don't understand people with accents, very well.
As someone who can barely sleep if it's not dark outside, summer is hell, when it doesn't get completely dark until 1 AM and the light comes back at 4 AM :')
I once heard our approach to strangers described as such: "We respect people's right to privacy and be left unbothered when walking in public."
It really stuck with me and I fully agree. It's kinda an unwritten rule to rely on body language heavily in Denmark. If people wanna talk, sure, but choose wisely and pick the ones that meet your eye, approach hesitantly and if they seem curious and open for your further approach, you can go on. These situations aren't usually for building a relation though, in my experience.
It's considered an interruption and kinda rude to just go in without considering that the other person might not want that interaction :)
But yeah, friendship is built over a long time and usually over common interest or hobby classes. Or temporarily during drunken nights or some kind of public disturbance, when strangers might share a kind of outrage!
Is the same in GB particularly in England, that is why I tend to say people Denmark, England, Germany, Scandinavian countries are places for people who tend to think, use their intellect and are not very emotionally inclined so understanding such cultures will be easier and an enjoyable experience.
It is braking social rules but you can get away with it if you put in a time contraint as an excuse to talk to people. Reading social ques also helps alot.
As a Branzlian man, I can't live in Denmark, because I love sun, I love to meet people and I can't stay away from the sea for so long, and Cold weather just for some days. Heheh
Learning so much about my own country and culture from watching you guys 😅👍
Great video! I learned so much. You're both great speakers.
Thank you guys for yet another awesome upload ❤️
You guys bring much joy 🤟🏼🇩🇰❤️
I was a language school teacher back in the 1990's - wish I've had your videos :-) My German ex-husband would have loved them too.
Good job guys.
Aw thanks so much for the sweet comment. Glad you like them!
@@RobeTrotting perhaps you are right, it will be difficult to get used to living in Denmark, but I have heard that nurses can find a job at a hospital in Denmark and it really worths to work there. It's a pity that I can't find a place to work in my current area, what would you Robe suggest to a new nurse like me for the incoming chance of working at a hospital, have you got any further information about it, can you advice me please any details you might know?
I love how your T-Shirt perfectly shows the Danish drinking culture :D
😂 so true, didn’t even think of that one - I guess you can tell it’s not a problem in our house.
jeg er ret vild med jeres indslag-. det er altid sjovt og lærerigt når andre ser og kommentere på en vaner og kultur.
👍 i love you give awesome and correct information on how it is here ❤ you both have nailed one more thing that we are a very direkte people, i just notes it. ❤ i love it. You are awesome guys ❤
Aww 🥰 thank you so much. We saw this type of video about another country and some people have told us that we paint too good of a picture of life in Denmark, so we thought this may be a neat topic to cover 😊
@@RobeTrotting Are you painting the picture too good, or are people just finding the picture attractive? ;)
Generally speaking, I think we just value a lot of things very high that makes sense to a lot of people, like personal time, helping each other and investing into meaningful relationships. I'm very glad you talked a bit about professional ambition, as that's really isn't a big thing here.. I think most people strive to be in the middle class, exactly because it's where you'll have room for before mentioned values
Geez, I wrote a whole novel of comments here, without having seen the full video. Had to delete it, because you guys just nailed my country. Haha! Spot on, guys :D
Ah, so glad you liked the video :)
I think you're not the only one who was maybe put off by the title and thumbnail but then understood once they watched the video. We really love Denmark and living here.
@@RobeTrotting Nah, I wasn't put off. According to ourselves, we danes are the masters of irony. So I can take it! Title lured me in :) Glad you like it here. And guys, summer is coming right up! Get some sleep now while you can, haha!
as a dane without curtains or anything in her bedroom, i find it funny that you call blackout curtains/blinds your number one investment hehe
Haha, we STILL struggle every spring/summer but it’s just a lot more light than we have every experienced before moving here 😊🇩🇰🌞
@@RobeTrotting it's probably different when you grow up with it being the standard in stead of having to adjust to our very different amount of daylight through the year
Same here, never had any kinds of blackcurtains, just normal ones. So funny
@@Nina1966dk as a child i even had white curtains, that absolutely only prevewnted looking through the window but did nothing in regards to adjusting the darkness of my bedroom lol
I'm 50% Danish and grew up in the Danish colonies in America. The more I hear about Denmark, the more I realize where my family has held onto Danish traditions since my ancestor came over in 1870. I really want to move back because everything I hear about Denmark sounds more and more like my family and childhood.
danish clonies in America what do you mean?
@@terrapinalive6192 Saint Thomas, Saint John and Saint Croix was once danish but sold to USA. Think they're called the virgin islands?
@@terrapinalive6192 Southwest Iowa, in particular, Elkhorn and Kimbalton IA. There is an authentic Danish windmill and the Danish Heritage Museum. Every summer they have Tivoli festival. In Kimbalton there is a replica of the Little Mermaid statue. The area has many Danish immigrants who celebrate Danish traditions.
@@captaincosmodrome Thank you.,I wasn't aware of that.
I've been
to Denmark, in the summer. I found a review of Peter Hoeg 'Smilla' s special feeling for the snow' in a magazine. I bought it and the world stopped. I went to Norway afterwards, I couldn't stop reading.
That was in the 90's and I haven't read a better book since
Have you been to Copenhagen?
And if you send a letter, don't expect it to reach the destination the next day. 🙂
So true! PostNord is a solid reason #10!
#1 - That's definitely true. I personally find it extremely challenging to understand someone speaking danish with a thick accent.
#2 - Winters here can be really rough. For me personally, it affects my mood a lot. Seasonal depression is a real thing here.
#3 - I'm definitely biased towards this. Maybe it's me not being aware because I've lived here all my life, but is it really that dark here 😂? - Regarding summer,
#4 - Imagine naming a 482ft hill "Himmelbjerget" ("The Sky Mountain" or "The Mountain of Heaven", and yeah we pretty much translate everything 1:1) 😂
#5 - Totally true, and yeah it's totally okay. You don't even have to speak danish (but if you do, we'll totally love you for it).
#6 - Danish food is literally one of the most boring cuisines I can think of. Of course there's "new danish cuisine", but let's be honest, danish food is potatoes, meat, a pan sauce (brun sovs) and probably some boiled carrots 😂
#7 - Americans (etc) must be shocked when they see people drinking in the streets here.
#8 - Compared to the (let's be honest), tiny size of our country, we've really made a big name for ourselves out there in the big world.
#9 - We will literally have the same neighbours for 10 years and barely know their names 😂
You can drink in public in america many people do lol
Technically…. The 5:27 video is actually the múlafossur waterfall, located in the Faroe islands (which is technically a part of Denmark) - not Norway. Other than that - Great video guys 😙
Well, tecnically it is Norway. Denmark stole it from Norway. Learn youre history.
@@okklidokkli I’m sure Mike and Derek prefer not to have any toxicity in their comment section, so I´ll try to behave.
If you think that the clip was from before 1816 then you would be correct (sort of). But I do postulate that the clip is more recent than that. Ergo it is a part of Denmark.
Also I recently lived there for over a year; Danish currency, Danish as a second language, funded partially by Denmark, dependent on Denmark for advanced healthcare, military and foreign affairs.
So no, it is not even close to being “technically Norway”. And no, Denmark didn’t steal it - I looked it up after reading your comment - Thank you for letting me know some history about it ;-)
..Also… It’s spelled “your” - not “youre” 😙
@@okklidokkli technically it is faroe islands and both norway and denmark took it
@@okklidokkli Learn "you are" English before you lecture other people
Learning Danish : "we're from America and we can't actually speak any other language well"...
330 million native English speakers in a country that’s larger than the continent of Europe versus a country of under 6 million with no choice but to learn languages that other people actually speak - we have less opportunity to learn other languages or to be immersed and no business or educational need to learn on and no non-english media to consume. It’s really not a similarity but I know you love to look down your nose at America whenever you can.
By my calculations there are 6 important danish spices. Salt, pepper, licorice, bacon, Læsø salt and onions. And that is all you will ever need to make tasty food, where you can actually taste the fresh ingredients used in the meal. :)
Funny stuff gents. Thanks for sharing. I’m in Denmark right now.
Hello Anthony nice pic
As a Dane, more than anything I hate the wind. 350 days of the year there will be wind...
så sandt så sandt
Wauw. You hit it! Everything you said is correct. :D Great video.
Thanks! 😃
Well done, one of the first videos that actually explains quite well how we are. I love that you managed to see how the work here is, especially with moving jobs etc. And that's very true. Most people tend to move around every 2-3 years, if you don't you can be considered unflexible, and unwilling to learn, however, there are always an exception to the rule, if you can "defend" why you haven't or you move internally to a new title, that's also okay. But being steady in the same position for 15 years, isn't necessarily a good thing either.
BTW! Good idea warning folks, instead of having them disappointed 👍😊👍 ! A few years back my friends from Texas were visiting, and we went to "Bakken". At some point I tell them that it's time to head home. David looks at me weird and asks me what I'm talking about ? It's still ight! I just asked him to look at his watch! The look on his face was priceless😉! It was 10:30 PM (22:30). Yeah ! They both agreed to going home 🤣 ! As always! A good and informative video 😁 ! PS. You can get blackout curtains for summer sleeping. Actually my worst enemy, sleeping during the summer months, is the heat not the light. That I've gotten used to (I'm a shift worker).
1 - learning danish and the foreign accents
You are correct that learning the langues in-country is the best option.
You should try to use it as often as possible.
great tip is to practise the sound of each individual letter before going for full words and sentences. having ht ecorrect sound will help you learn any langues faster.
my tip is watching the TV news shows as the presenters there, will have some of the most clean Danish accents and the words used will be varied and useful to you in your daily life.
Danes do not have a general problem with accents but what i have learned over the years is this. as stated Danish is relying on pronunciation and this is where what langues you come from becomes important. non english/german langues have a very different way 0of how they put the pressure distribution so it makes the words sound of. not a big problem just something to pay close attention to.
2 - weather
yearh nothing i can do about this one. overall we have the mildest climate of the scandinavian countries.
3 - yearh... this is not a Denmark thing but a location on the globe thing. and yearh make sure you have complete darkness in your bedroom.
4 - mountains
we don't have those, but due to size getting to either norway or sweden takes only a single day even by car so this should be a non issue. in return food is abundant in denmark at reasonable cost compared to sweden and norway
5 - being Danish
I'm sorry but only Danes are ever really Danes. but we love you just the same.
best way to put it is that you can have a Danish passport without being Danish ( to the Danish ) we are culturally centered not passport focused.
6 - food
yearh the guys are 100% correct on this one.
special food is food in special stores. the price competition is fierce in the supermarkets so they only stock what sells.
7 - alcohol
this one varies alot. and will come down to the social circle you end up in.
8 - ambition.
so janteloven. this one always seems to baffle people that are not Danish.
Bragging is the number one un-Danish thing.
Janteloven means that regardless of how good you are at your job you never got there alone, so remember that even if you are the ceo you are not worth more as a human that the janitor.
so be competent and compassionate then you'll be fine
9 - in your face people
DO NOT DO THIS EVER !!!
danes are not cold we are collected and meassured. so the overly bubbly american "cheerleader" personality will go down like a led balloon.
you win over Danes with collected consistancy not with overly in your face behavior
otherwise this was a lovely video
3--- Oh...that's why you are so racists (even with Danes of color). Good to know.
@@mazcid177 did you mean 5 instead of 3 because if you are talking about lumen in the bedroom your comment make no sense.
13:20 I literally leaned away from the screen, when you started doing that impression 😂completely involuntary Danish response
I just spent a couple of weeks in Copenhagen and loved it. I've lived in similar latitudes in Canada so the weather didn't bother me. If there is a downside its that the traditional foods are a bit "ho-hum". You can certain live on it but the best meals were at places that served non-local dishes! :)
Totally agree! We enjoy New Nordic meal experiences, but find the non-Danish cuisines a bit more enjoyable :)
IM ALSO FROM PHILADELPHIA MOVING TO DENMARK OMG!!!! this video is perfect and very informative (I’m going there for college) tysm for the information, I’ll definitely be combing through more of your videos
That’s so cool! We just put out an episode of our podcast on studying abroad here with another Philadelphian who has done it twice. The podcast is called What Are You Doing in Denmark. It’s streaming on all platforms and we’ll have it up on UA-cam in a week. Best of luck :)
Specifically when it comes to learning danish - I find alot that when foreigners try to speak or mimick danish, it becomes unviable gibberish... Like - I can only think of 1 time that I've heard a foreigner speak danish and it actually sounded like it made sense to my danish ear - and it was in a youtube video when someone said "knep din mor, sut min pik" a bit vulgar, but somehow it's the only event I've heard of a foreigner speaking, understandable danish...
Like if they speak danish in a TV series, I'll have a MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH harder time understanding and breaking down what's being said in danish by a non-danish fella, than I'd ever have with plain english, which is my 2nd language. And it's all down to the pronounciation being completely butchered, then resurrected, raped and shot dead.
#4, lol - mountains?! What mountains????
Hej Tobias, thanks for watching and the comment - you have a great way of putting things. I think we would get along really well!
I’m not sure if it’s true, but I heard it explained that Danish is hard to hear spoken by others because it’s vowel-focused, so your brain can fill in consonant sounds when they are off, but with so many vowel sounds and the emphasis on them, our brains can’t reconstruct words without the proper pronunciation of the vowels.
No idea if that’s true, but it’s why I go easier on myself haha.
@@RobeTrotting Yea I mean - I'm not studied enough in my language to know why X and Y sounds wierd and straight up incomprehensible - I just speak from first hand experience.
Not trying to throw any shade at all ofc - I just find it a humerous thing, because TV shows sometimes present someone as danish and they'll have a danish life that they've practise and say it, and I'm left completely stunned :D
Maybe they don't care enough to practise 1 little line, or it's genuinly a struggle, Idk :D
@@RobeTrotting it's very likely true! Danish is one of the most vovel-heavy languages in the world. We count between 22-40 vovel sounds in Danish, whereas English only has 12. So, it's no wonder that English speakers are struggling. The immigrants with the most success in speaking Danish seems to be people with Chinese and Arabian as their first language? Well, aside from other Scandinavians.
I'm from Norway. The Danes ruled over us for about 400 years or what it was. Meet a Dane at the airport. Figure it is easier to switch to English with them 😂
I understand danish and swedish pretty well. Of course not everything. It just shows that some individuals struggle more listening even to their brother languages
I’m danish and 46 and I still try to speak in our Scandinavian language, but when I was a kid we had a lot of Norwegian and Swedish television, books and more vacations than nowadays, my children also just switch to English because it’s easier, and they are not wrong because you can easily speak to everyone if you do but it was still fun to be a kid back then and easily understand Norwegian and Swedish 😊 new Norwegian or what you call it is very nice I really hope Denmark adopt that idea, when someone from Norway writes that in the beginning my brain register it as Danish 🤷♂️ but old Norwegian is not that easy to read just the spoken language
Not a lot of people know it, but the idea for the title of 50 Shades of Grey came after EL James visited Denmark. Interesting, a whole lot of accurate points. In my current work, I see a lot of lorry drivers from Southern Jutland, their conversations are filled with Hvad siger du? I have been coming to Denmark since 2017 and moved here in 2019 and while I have a few Danish friendships, the vast majority of my friends here are international. All that said, it's a wonderful country to live in, its safe, the people are honest and welcoming, and you're never far from the sea.
It really is a fantastic place to call home! All of these points are very easy to overcome 😊🇩🇰
@@RobeTrottingI've just had some blood tests done and my doctor has instructed me to start taking vitamin D. The danes love it when they realise you speak some Danish, I'm learning more speaking with the drivers, it's really helping me. I'm also learning a lot of Polish, unfortunately 70% of that is totally inappropriate!
Just subscribed from New Zealand ❤
Amazing! Thanks for being here 🤩
I have been here for 6hrs and I love this place! The culture and history is just so much and so amazing! I would love to move here!
Welcome! We love living here too :)
Thank you, this really helped a lot
#4 No, no mountains, BUT Denmark is the garden of Scandinavia, 🌱 that gracefully leads you into the rest of, the Nordic countries...
Guys, would any of these reasons have dissuaded you to come here, if you had known them beforehand??
Good to hear from you...
hello from Hundested 🌸 ❄️
So true, Denmark even has a wine region and great beaches and no one would expect all that 🇩🇰 Would any of these have dissuaded us… 🤔 good question 😊 I don’t think it would have - we were very excited to get the offer, BUT I do think we came into “Danish life” with some naivety about how things would be and also some pleasant and fun surprises along the way. It’s probably impossible not to have some culture shock, even though we thought we would jump right into things in Denmark.
@@RobeTrotting
The shocks will be fewer and farther between, the longer you stay 👍😃
As a person with autism aspergers I try to learn the language as the native speaker as I have a deep interest in cultures from all over the world
You two guys have a more positive attitude than most people.
Hello Rune nice pic
"What say thou?" - see how easy it is? 😂
Just think of it as a parallel world of an old fashioned (Middle) English 😉
Denmark is definitely not for everybody. Your list picks up many of the reasons why. Still, people from all over come here to live, and while they certainly hang on to their backgrounds, I also think they quickly become quite Danish. The obvious thing is that they slow down a little. Take a little time to do whatever makes them happy. The dark winters are great for that.
This is a really nice point Morten. That’s one part of Danish life that you’re almost forced to embrace and you really do appreciate it 😊🇩🇰
Hello Chris nice pic. I think Denmark is a great country to live in
NO country is for everybody!
There used to be a lot of snow in the winter in remark but as the weather has got warmer across Northern Europe in the last 20 years less and less snow has fallen here, but the weather has also turned out more random, so now we instead get snow in May from times to times but still rare. At this point it's a roll of the dice whether a year is going to have snow or not and what month of the year the snow is going to come. There has even been recorded snow in June, July and August, so well no month of the years is safe from snow. The last time we had a big blizzard in Denmark was in 1999.
I grew up with snow. We had around three "sessions" early december, late december/early January and some time in February. It is surreal for those of us who was used to that growing up - as in, were children in the 80's and 90's (or earlier, obv.)
Cold period, on average though Denmark still snows the same amount in December if it makes you feel better
@@jimmybaldbird3853 Well, I don't think snow on Christmas has been neither more or less frequent than it always has been if that is what you mean.
However there was a time when I would start doing certain family related Christmas outing activities based on if the snow had been there - then it changed to when we had minus degrees and now I am happy to just see minus degrees during december at all. - Statistically speaking this makes sense as we know the weather in Denmark has become 1 degree hotter and 47mm wetter on average in the last 30 years.
@@kinuuni yeah, snowfall in December has statistically been the same since they have started recording in Denmark.
@@jimmybaldbird3853 can you get me a link to some sources on that? Because I can't find anything on DMI and as far as I know that is the only place actively and consistently monitoring the Danish weather and it is a bit annoying that they don't go back further than 2011.
The main reason Danish is difficult to get by with - even if you say a grammatically correct sentence, is that the pronunciation means everything, due to how distinct it is. With other languages, there is often a certain way and flow of speaking, and it can be easier to get an approximation - but with Danish it's often everything or nothing. This is further enforced by the legion of unique rules that apply to individual words and sayings, and certain sounds that do not correspond with any other language. So even if you can write perfect Danish, you could still sound like an alien from Mars when speaking vocally.
And since the majority of Danes are very proficient in English, it just tends to be the default go-to choice. Having lived in Italy for years, I have also experienced the polar opposite, where people will double down on speaking Italian to you even when you explain to them that you don't speak their language :D That is the type of environment where you learn faster, because you're forced to do it. In Denmark you are never forced to learn Danish, even in Danish speaking environments like school and work etc. You have to actively seek to learn it yourself, which admittedly can be tough.
In comparison, I believe most foreigners would have a far easier time learning Swedish even though the two languages on paper are brothers. The entire reason is their way of speaking and pronouncing words with a more natural flow and tonal shift in where they put pressure etc.
It could potentially be a gateway to Danish, by learning Swedish first. It's not something I've seen people try before deliberately, but I think it could actually be easier. (Norwegian would be even better, but I think Swedish is easier still).
As someone who really wants to go to college in Denmark and live there, all of those things sound just fine to me.
I hope you do study here! for us it was the same, none of these things were deal breakers for us and most we have grown to love - like dark winters, you just have to embrace it and make the most of the slower time of year and lifestyle 😊🇩🇰
THIS IS SO VERY TRUE SPECIALLY ME COMING FROM ASIA IT'S A NO-NO!!! THANKS FOR THIS VIDEO GUYS!!! MORE POWER TO YOUR CHANNEL!!!
I work at a grocery store in Denmark and where I work it's the complete other way around cause if you came up to me or any of my colleagues we will all be smiling and saying "HI". And if the customers smile too that can just make such a big difference in our day and make us feel appreciated🇩🇰😃
Love the vids keep up the great work❤️
The quality of the video is extraordinary, I think you put a lot of effort into making the video!
Thank you very much! :)
I’ve never been to Denmark before, but I am going to visit Copenhagen next month.
It was pretty high on my bucketlist…
I live in the Netherlands, so it might not be that much of a culture (and nature) shock to me.
I’m kind of an introvert myself, but I would still love to have some Danish friends…
Better shape up on your reliability.. You seem to be nice people, but unreliable no matter how serious matters you're expected to be part of ☝🏻
Great honest info . I have SAD and was advised to move from NYC to Florida- Scandinavia would kill me.
In the future I want to be a foreign exchange student in Denmark. I love geography and and I'm intrigued about the experience. Should I consider going to demark for 8 months if I'm American?
If you have that opportunity I would HIGHLY recommend studying abroad in Denmark 😃👍🇩🇰
Thanks a lot! these videos of yours are highly valuable. I've been living in Norway for 6 years and I'm about to move to DK soon, maybe Århus. These videos help a lot!
Hello Map, how are you doing today.
I am a native dane. And I feel you guys sooo much when you where talking about, not only the long winter. But also the long days in the summer. I like summer. But it’s way too much for me. I get affected really easily by the weather, and when there is sun from really early to really late. I can just feel like I want darkness and not balance. And when it’s dark all the time. All I want is sunlight. It’s like either all or nothing here according to the length of the days. You really have to mentally adjuste for that. Great video.
Miranda. Try to come to Greece. You will find sunshine and really nice beaches in summer or even in winter time. We don't have any extreme cold weather in winter but we do have sometimes extreme hot weather in summer. Anyway try on coming on holidays in a Greek island. You will enjoy your holiday here.
I'm Finnish and I've lived in Denmark for 2,5 years now. In Finland, during the summer the sun actually never fully goes down so there's just constant light 24/7 for at least 2 months, then maybe 3-5 hours of daylight during the heart of winter.
I found it a delightful change to have "short" days in the summer and "long" days in the winter. I do miss the snow tho.
@@mursuvaara4 Sounds crazy in Finland. Winter days must be rough. Yeah I could use more Snow here as well haha
@@mirandalerche7298 winter depends on how you look at it, there are plenty of winter sport opportunities but it does get cold, up to -30°c 🙂. Tho I really enjoy the Danish weather more (besides the constant wind of course :D)
Im from Denmark and live in denmark
“Move to Denmark” lol, depends on for how long and if it’s only a contract gig or an attempt at permanent residency…
Move to usually means permanent residency..
Regarding the drinking section of the vid at 9:30 and how it effects sobriety, I can say from personal experience that there are many English language 12 step meetings in the larger cities. They are some of the best meetings I've been to in years. The demographic breakdown is about 40% Americans, 30% UK and Irish, 15-20% Anglophones from other English countries (Canadians like me, Aussies and Kiwi's), and the remainder are foreigners who don't speak Danish but are good with English as a second language. I even met a Swede who found Danish incomprehensible, LOL.
Wauw guys.. That was very well done 👌👏👏 As a Dane, I can verify everything mentioned here, which is pretty unusual in these kind of "Reason to xxxx - list" videos. Obviously we are all different and no rules are without exceptions ect ect.. But it gives a really good picture of what to be aware of, before moving to Denmark. 👍
Thank you, and thanks for watching 😃
What about racial discrimination? Is that an issue in Danmark?
@@engell3707 Not sure if youre asking me or Robe Trotting? :) But my opinion is, you´ll find a bit of racial discrimination everywhere in the world.. I don´t think Danes are particularly racial discriminating. But many Danes are "suspicious" of people they don't know, and not easy to befriend :) That could come across as racism, but in 99% of the cases, Danes will warm up to you when you start talking to them - IF your acting reasonably polite, normal and your not being "pushy" or brag about your successes ect.. :D
Im danish kid that livesin germany but i almost cant write or read dansk but i can talk dansk english a gemanyish
Honestly, most of your reasons to not to move to Denmark are reasons why I actually want to move to Denmark lol
Loved this video. 👍👍
Glad you enjoyed it
Lol every thing you say is normal for me. If it is over 20˚ it’s so hot, and yay it is really hard to understand people from usa trying to speak danish. We have the letters æøå.
What does This mean: Virkelig god video jeg glæder mig til den næste!
I hate Poland and I hate living here, but I feel like if I move to Denmark I won't try to become less Polish, but I'd actually connect with my Polishness more
Are you from Poland 🇵🇱?
Good information and valid/good points in this, the weather, that you might miss some of your national foods, that you might not be able to get in Denmark, you might not make friends right away, the alcohol culture etc. Most festiveties in Denmark has a food and drink element to them, so most Danes(teens and adults) often more or less drink. Btw The goverment has put out a proposal that it should be illegal for anyone under 18 to buy alcohol, Just as it is illegal to serve alcohol in bars etc to people under 18 years old, and a drastic proposal that tobaco should be illegal to buy the rest of their lives for people born after 2010.
Wow, what an interesting proposal - we have to look into that more. I did know they were looking at a new approach to the push to curb teenage drinking but I didn’t realize that was how 😯
@@RobeTrotting let's see if most parties get behind those proposals or not. But I think they just presented them a few days ago.
@@saranissen6210 The tobacco proposal is really creative an interesting. Seems like the best way to phase out tobacco without upsetting anyone and without potentially moving all the tobacco sales to the black market. As a heavy smoker, I wish that law was in place when I was a pre-teen. There's still the question of how to enforce it, since you can always get older people to buy you tobacco or you can always buy it across the border. This is where slowly restricting the space where it's legal to smoke would be easier to enforce, but would also conflict with people's sense of their liberal rights. Definitely one of the best proposals I've heard so far (maybe because it doesn't affect me. lol)
Don't know if I agree with the alcohol proposal. Seems like you should be able to drink while you're in gymnasium. I know that our alcohol culture is way out of hand, but I've always thought that positive reinforcement is more effective than restrictions. The gymnasiums should rather be better at offering non alcoholic social alternatives and then give the students the freedom to choose. They are young adults at that point and should be treated as such.
@@muchograndeyolatengo Hahaha, typical inconsequential Danish. You complain about lack of restrictions when your lack of self discipline made you heavy smoker.
When alcohol abuse might be restricted you suddenly find it is restricting individual freedom!🤪
Search the failure.. 😅
@@OmmerSyssel Outside of xenophobia and personal attacks your post brings absolutely nothing of substance. In fact it's completely nonsensical. Because you're assuming that if you want something banned, you automatically should want everything banned on principle , which of course makes no sense. If you think that it's particularly "Danish" to want tobacco banned and not alcohol, then look around. More and more countries around the world are passing increasingly more tobacco restrictions while making no changes to their current alcohol laws. And there's a reason for that. I'm pretty sure that close to 100% of people who smoke wish they didn't. And I'm also pretty sure that the majority of people who consume alcohol are completely fine with it. Smoking is extremely unhealthy, even just one cigarette per day, while alcohol in small dozes can be healthy (particularly red wine). Cigarettes affect your day to day life negatively in all kinds of ways (physically as well as cognitively), while a moderate consumption of alcohol doesn't (outside of the occasional hangovers). Alcohol can bring you in a state of euphoria and make it easier for people with social anxiety to interact with people, while cigarettes have close to no upsides. etc.
You may not speak Danish (yet) but you will end up knowing a lot more about the history of Denmark, than the vast majority of the Danes. That is a huge advantage in many situations. Brilliant.
Well, in my experience the trouble with understanding our language with accents or dialekts increases with a persons age or proximity to Strøget.
Most of us do understand some "danglish", but maybe we do tend to be a bit to helpful in that situation.
True. English speakers take for granted that we hear so many people speaking English with an accent from an early age - even on TV if not in person. We are used to it and our ears “fill in the blanks”.
Thanks for this vital information. Love your content greetings from Nigeria 🇳🇬🇳🇬🇳🇬🇳🇬, love to visit Denmark🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰 soon ...
Reasons why you should move to Denmark:
1: Fifth safest country in the world
2: second noncorrupt country
3: not paying for school
4: no hospital bills
5: a member of Nato and Nordefco
6: we support LGBT so you can feel free about your gender
7: we have the best judicial system
8: many free educations
9: drinkable Walter from all Water Taps
10: we may pay much in Bills but do get a lot by doing that
11: You can only own hunting rifles and you gotta have a weapon license and armored weapon box
12: the first time someone planned a school shooting the Danish security and intelligence service stopped him before he could do anything
13: No nukes
14: were in the EU and the EU army
15: second happiest country in the world
16: less chance to become homeless than in Usa
17: 50% of all that live in Copenhagen cycle to work every to stay healthy and be fit
18: we have the oldest amusement parks in the world
19: Lego
20: We can always count on our Northern brothers (and to the Americans. The north is the countries in Northern Europe that includes Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, and the Faroe islands
21: you can't get arrested for walking on the streets walking without a brown bag on your alcohol bottle in Denmark you can walk without
Good joke. LOL
Now you can write the truth, if you have the courage
@@davidemura455 I am but sadly it's impossible explaining to a idiot
wow you support LGBT*? WOWWWWW I MOVING TO DENMARK YEEEEEEEEEHAW BROTHTHERRR
@@SJ-xb7lg 😂😂😂😂 Yes, and in Denmark all is perfect . Until you go there.
I live in denmark and im still lerning danis it is hart but its a bytiful plase 🇩🇰
Move to denmark move to denmark move to denmark move to denmark move to denmark! They have cool letters Å Ø Æ