Moving to Copenhagen could’ve been a start to a beautiful love story but reality hit and I was smacked in the face. Similar to realizing what life is really like when you move in with your significant other… it doesn’t really turn out the way you pictured it.That significant other to me is Copenhagen.
I’ve been here a few times and it was dreamy. I was traveling in a new city and trying new things… I fell in love with it and saw myself living here but when I actually made the move, it was nothing how I imagined it would be.
I’m a pretty independent person, I enjoy doing things on my own, working alone and I don’t feel that I have to constantly be around people. But moving to another country completely alone was a whole other level of loneliness. I wasn’t sure what to do or who to talk to.
It’s taken me about 4 days to really fall in love with this city all over again. There’s definitely a light at the end of the tunnel and it’s getting brighter and brighter.
Before my move, I’ve read a lot about Danes, what it would be like moving here and what people have experienced. Danes are known to be cold and unfriendly. Its 80% true… depending on the year but you do get some amazing ones who are curious about you and want to know everything about you.
I can’t speak for all Danes but on our first day, my brother and I who are relatively 98% happy of the time tried saying hi and good morning to almost everyone we saw in the street. No one said hi back and it’s not because they don’t speak english… because they do, almost perfectly… but I realized its because it’s the city life… everyone has somewhere to be and would rather not slow down in the cold to say hi to a complete stranger. The longer I’m here, I’m starting to really understand that.
The term “you can’t sit with us” is legit here.
Danes aren’t looking to extend their group of friends. It’s because when they go out, they go out in large groups surrounded by their childhood friends. Understandable…
A culture shock I found? The drinking culture. Everyone drinks… and they drink a lot! I would say they drink more beer than water but maybe more coffee than beer? There’s a unspoken law of what the drinking age is. They start drinking and smoking cigs at 14 and parents are okay with that. They prefer to know what their kids are doing instead of doing it behind their back.
I know everything I’m saying sounds a bit negative.. but there are some great things and it’s really all perspective… I don’t mind everything I’ve said because it’s different… you either accept it or you don’t and if you don’t get up and move on.
So what are my thoughts so far?
- I found that I absolutely love living in the city. For example, if I’m missing an ingredient all I have to do is walk one block away to three different grocery stores of my choice. Or if I’m at a coffee shop all morning and didn’t pack lunch, I can just bike home, eat lunch and head out again… which I’m about to do now after I finish writing this blog.
2. I love that my primary mode of transportation is a bike. It’s made me less lazy, I feel healthier and I’m enjoying the fresh and extremely cold breeze everyday.
3. I love how cheap flights to a different country are! If I’m feeling lonely or itching to travel, I can just book a flight or a train ride and just go.
I recently bought a roundtrip ticket from Copenhagen to Milan and from Genoa to Copenhagen for 50$ USD total.
4. I love the thousands of coffee shops they have here. I go to a couple of different coffee shops a day, working my ass off.
Everything is pricey here, I spend about $5 for a cup of black coffee. Ouch.. but that’s okay because this is what I signed up for. Most coffee shops are busy here and the longer you’re here the more you notice that Danes love to socialize, have conversations over coffee and without phones out. I love that.
5. I learned to appreciate the sun. The vibes in Copenhagen when its gloomy compared to when its sunny is completely different. You can see the change in peoples faces when its shining. Danes love to take full advantage of the sun and the change in scenery is drastic. People are happy and friendly!
I’ve only been a week here and I’m loving it more and more everyday. Stay tuned for Chapter 2 of my series!
Thanks for reading!
- Curious to know why I made the move?! Read all about it here!
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