The Year of Living Danishly Book Review

“The year of Living Danishly” gave me a deep impression of the Danish society and their way of life- a homogeneous society with high levels of trust within their communities, a focus on work-life balance and quality time with family, and their environments (weather and geographical landscape) that have shaped their habits and commitments.

Work Life Balance

The Danish work around 37 hours a week with a lot of public holidays, as Danish workers commit to spending quality time with family and a healthy work-life balance. How happy are you at work? What value do you derive from work? Do you enjoy the hours that you put in? These should be important questions we ask ourselves when pondering on our future careers, and as the Danish government offers a generous safety net focusing on lifelong learning and training, 25” of Danes change their job every year as they say “we all have a choice” in devoting to a meaningful career that they enjoy. Working parents could leave for dinner time with family in most jobs, as the Danish enjoy eating in-dining out is considered a luxury; home cooked meals make people feel better than indulgent meals eaten at a restaurant. I strongly agree J

Hygee and Quality Design

Hygee is quality time spent- it is staying at home spending quality time with family when the weather is chilly outside; it is enjoying good food (for example Danish pastries and bakeries), having children around, and enjoying creative pursuits. With chilly the northern European weather,” we spend more time indoors and invest more in our environment”, as there is a clear relationship between your aesthetic environment and how you feel. Having a clean, sleek design in the interior of homes play a huge part of Danish’s topping quality of life, as it contributes to well-being and happiness no matter it’s indoors furniture our outdoors public facilities. and Northern Europe boosts world reowned furniture brands, among them IKEA has been introduced to the mass market.

High Level of Trust

Most Scandanavian countries share a high level of trust, not only within their countries but also with Scandanavian neighbors. Northern Europe consists of a homogenous society with fewer immigrants, and they live in small communities in which everyone knows most of the people in the neighborhood.A high level of public participation in clubs and associations also contribute to Danish happiness-which is the quality time that people spends together. Having a sense of community, investing in a communal goal together, and enjoying a sense of responsibility and commitment for the collective well-being also enhances trust in a community.

Lifelong learning contributes to a sense of purpose and happiness, improves mental well-being, boosts confidence, and enhances your connections with others, so participating in meaningful and enjoyable classes really brings more color to the palette of retirement!

Other Danish dynamics

• Divorce in Denmark: 42.7% of Danish marriages end in divorce. Financial security, easy application procedures, independence and solidarity values, and an emphasis in equality and freedom have contributed to a high rate.
• Love for travel: the country hits pause in July, a lot of Danes travel to other countries and spend quality time with family.
• Aggression; the macho Viking culture: Violence towards men and women are worse in Denmark as compared to other countries, and aggression rates in Denmark are higher than other countries.

Living in different cities triggers your reflection on how environments shape our pace in life, emotional landscapes, and overall quality of life. By comparing the three recent cities I’ve been to- the laid back and beautiful community in Taichung, the residential district of Tseung Kwan O, and the quiet wine brewing villages of Alsace in Germany, vivid impressions manifest how our environments shape how we choose to live. Whenever reading this book on the cramped MTR that I commute to HSBC every day, I couldn’t help but reflect on how long-lasting one can stand the tension of Hong Kong’s working life-the tradeoff between long work hours, hectic schedules, high pressure working environments with a top-notch job and a competitive salary. Mom and Guitar have both talked about the objectives in choosing future careers-sense of meaning, working targets, time flexibility, travel, compensation, and enjoyableness, and lasting tenure. In crafting out the future blueprint of my career paths, I’d like a simple life that involves quality time with family, huge time flexibility for creative pursuits (hiking and traveling endeavors, quiet time for reading), and simple rituals that I’m comfortable of following on a day to day basis. (略)There’s still time for me to think through my priorities, sometimes certain events in life shifts our priorities or introduces new opportunities, so I guess being mindful of the lifestyle that different opportunities bring and exploring how you would like to live brings us to our decision, yet the journey in exploration itself is equally as meaningful.

As I’m also planning for exchange destinations in Europe, cultural explorations and travel are also taken into account in prioritizing my choices. The “slow” pace of European life pauses our step, and we truly take our time to reflect, enjoy the moment, and let our creative and emotional landscapes wander. Northern European schools are not on my list (because of the weather in the spring semester), yet I look forward to the semester in the authentic endeavors of living like a local in other parts of Europe. (略) Enjoy the journey, learn from experience sharing from seniors, and keep an open and anticipatory mindset :)