My journey to Denmark — Part 2
Welcome back! This is part 2 of my journey to Denmark. I want this part to be a practical guide for the most basic things you need to do in order to survive your first weeks in Denmark: eat, sleep, move, communicate and integrate. Lets begin!
After 9h of flight and one shift in Zurich, I finally landed on Sunday May 18th in Copenhagen. From the airport it’s easy to get into the city by train (toward Copenhagen Central Station) or metro (M2 line toward Vanløse). One of the first things you should do is buy a SIM card. Go to any 7Eleven and grab one from Lycamobile. I recommend going online and buying the 20$ bundle after. You will have 10h of phone calls, unlimited texts and 30Go of data. This is crazy cheap, but it’s probably the only cheap thing in this country other than alcohol!
Transportation
The public transportation system of Denmark (DSB) is probably one of the best if not the best in the world. Trains and buses run usually 24/7 and very often (the worst I had to wait is 30min in the middle of the night). You can get anywhere relatively fast and cheap. Together with bikes, they are the main form of transportation in the greater Copenhagen area. This is mostly due to the high taxes on cars (125 to 150%).
In this optic, the second thing you should buy is a rejsekort card. It’s basically an electronic discount card that will save you +50% on all ticket prices. You can get one at the blue machines in all train stations and it cost around 15$ (+ the amount you put on it). Each time you take public transportation, you check in and when you’re done, you check out. Only check out when you are done traveling, not when you are changing from one mean of transportation to another!
The way the system works is that the country is divided in zones, the more zones you cross, the more it will cost you. If you forget to check out, you will be charged around 15$ when you check in the next time. You must always have a balance over 15$ on your card to use it. Now, if you stay in zone 2 like I do and you take the train every day, it is cheaper to get a monthly pass for 2 zones for around 75$/month. You can actually specify when you want your pass to expire so I suggest to take it for as long as possible since you get a discount. You can buy it on your cellphone, but if it dies you are screwed. That is why I recommend buying the “analog” version. For that, you need to go to Copenhagen Central Station. You will need a passport photo, which you can also get there for 20$.
Finding a place to live
Finding a place to live in Copenhagen is a nightmare so be prepared to look and hope you get lucky. It is easier to find a job than to find a room especially if you want to be in the city center. I spent my first week in an AirBnb in Valby and walked from there to work. The second week I was in another Airbnb in Copenhagen N. I got lucky and found a room in a shared house near Husum station (15km from the city center) for 1000$ CAD per month.
The best way to find a place is by joining multiple Facebook groups and posting a request, but be careful there are some scammers. I personally don’t recommend paid sites like findroommate for short stays. Beware, you will hardly find anything nice under 900-1000$ CAD per month and don’t be too picky. It is normal for a landlord to ask for a big deposit, but try to negotiate the equivalent of a month if you are not staying long. People in Denmark respect the law in general so you should not have trouble getting your money back, but I highly suggest signing a contract. If they don’t want to sign one, that probably means it’s an illegal renting and you won’t be able to register your CPR there (which is crucial, believe me).
Finding food
Unsurprisingly, restaurants in Denmark are really expensive. It is common to pay more than 20$ for a take-out or for street food. Kebab places are cheaper, but can get repetitive at some point. I totally recommend falafels though even if you don’t usually eat vegetarian food.
I tested most major “supermarket” chains and here is my categorization:
- Netto, Fakta, Lidl, Spar: Really cheap in both quality and price (they feel like big convenience stores).
- Superbrugsen, Føtex: They usually feel more like North American supermarkets with a nice variety of products and better quality, I usually shop at Føtex.
- Irma: High quality products at higher prices. Good when you want something specialized or you have money to burn.
Apart from those stores, you will find a lot of small shops all around the city mostly owned by immigrants. They are usually better and cheaper for vegetables, fruits, nuts and everything that is considered exotic. My main source for cheap tofu is an Asian shop called Kakshidi Food Trading ApS. If you are vegetarian or vegan, you will need to shop at those smaller places a lot since the choice and quantities in bigger “supermarkets” are VERY limited.
Getting into the system
The Danish system might seem like a maze from the outside, because it really is. I got frustrated multiple times trying to get through the paperwork. The first and most important thing to get is a CPR. A CPR is the Danish social security number, but contrary to some countries the CPR is used everywhere from paying taxes to borrowing a book at the library or even getting a subscription for a gym! In order to get one, you need to stay at least 3 months in Denmark from the date you apply. That’s why I highly suggest you apply as soon as you arrive. Otherwise you can only get a tax CPR when you apply for your tax code (which is the second step you need to do anyway). That is what I have and it sucks because you don’t get all the advantages of the Danish system, but you still pay their high taxes.
To get your CPR, you need to go to the (crazy) International House. Be there at least 1 to 2h before the opening if you want to have the chance to meet someone the same day. If you only need the tax CPR/tax code, you can fill the online form and you will receive it within 2–3 weeks by email. You will need some documents from your company so I recommend doing it with someone who knows how the system works (❤ Klaudia).
In both cases (CPR or tax code), you need a permanent address in Denmark. That is why I mentioned that it is important to rent legally. But you probably won’t have found a place to live when filling your CPR request, so if you can get an agreement with someone at your company to use their address temporarily it’s the best. You only need a signed declaration from them stating that you legally reside for free in their house and a photocopy of their yellow card.
Good job! You are not an illegal immigrant anymore. Still, you have only done your first steps into the maze. Now it is the time to get your NemID. It is essentially an analog version of a 2-factor authentication system. It will allow you to login in all government websites, access your bank account, view your secure emails, sign documents electronically, etc. To get one, you need to go to a city service point. I went to Københavns Borgerservice. What they don’t tell you is that you need to have a witness who has a residency card and has had a NemId for at least 4 months to confirm your identity. So bring a friend from work with you (thanks Marc). No need to arrive in advance for that, it is usually not too crowded.
For now, this is where I’m at with the Danish system, but I will keep you updated in a future blog post since I need to setup a Nemkonto (bank account used by the Danish government to wire you money), get my paid vacations and do my taxes at the end of the year.
Ending thoughts
This blog post was more about practical things. I hope it has not been too dull to read, but I wanted to inform new comers of the challenges I faced and the solutions I found. This is where I leave you, see you in a future blog post!
