In June 2018, I packed three suitcases and booked a one-way flight from Texas to hitch my husband in Denmark. We met in 2016 and had been relationship long-distance for a lot of our relationship. We had been excited to get married and construct a house and life collectively.
We discovered an exquisite residence on-line in a brand new constructing in Amager, situated within the southern a part of Copenhagen. My husband seen the residence in individual and despatched me pictures whereas I used to be nonetheless in Dallas.
I like the scale of Copenhagen. It looks like a metropolis, however it’s sufficiently small that every thing remains to be accessible
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As we speak, we hire our 1,020-square-foot, two-bedroom residence for $2,100 a month. The neighborhood is a good commute to work — I’m a major college trainer and my husband is in finance — with loads of lovely outside house and enjoyable locations to take our two-year-old son.
A glance inside our Copenhagen residence
We’ve a small entryway with a built-in closet, and a bench to take a seat on if you take your footwear off.
Our lease is indefinite, and hire will increase are tied to inflation. However we needed to pay two month’s hire upfront, and three month’s hire as a safety deposit.
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We had to purchase our personal lighting fixtures, since they typically do not come put in in lots of Copenhagen residences. Numerous Danes like this as a result of they’ll select issues that finest match their fashion.
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Whenever you go into a number of Danish houses, they’ve lots of the similar small design items, like this like this little Hoptimist toy. They arrive in a number of completely different colours and types.
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Our modern, fashionable rest room doubles as a laundry room. We’re fortunate to have each a washer and dryer within the unit.
Trendy rest room and kitchens may be laborious to come back by within the metropolis heart on a finances, so we had been fortunate to discover a place that had each.
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We appreciated how a lot house there was within the bed room, and we’re in a position to slot in virtually a king sized mattress.
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Since this was a brand new constructing, the residence got here with closets already put in. Most individuals in Denmark have to purchase and set them up on their very own.
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The second bed room was initially our visitor room and workplace, however we turned it right into a nursery when our son was born. What’s good about our important bed room is that it got here with a wardrobe already inbuilt, which is not the case for a lot of Danish residences.
The principle space in our residence is one massive room that features our kitchen, eating room and front room.
I got here right here with simply three suitcases and did not ship something from the U.S., and my husband had been residing with a roommate, so we began recent.
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The kitchen sits alongside one wall, and is considerably small by American requirements, however we even have an excellent quantity of storage, particularly as a result of we’ve got drawers as a substitute of cupboards.
The kitchen and eating space is barely smaller than I used to be used to within the U.S., however we do have some elegant storage choices.
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The neighborhood may be very family-friendly, with loads of eating places, bakeries, retailers, parks and playgrounds inside strolling distance.
We’ve a lot of worldwide neighbors. There may be additionally a terrific seaside close by, which is bustling in the summertime. And we’ve got a small balcony that my son likes to play on when the climate is good.
I am a lot happier residing in Copenhagen than in Dallas. I feel a giant a part of that’s job satisfaction. I can benefit from the time that I am not at work as a result of I am not as stressed anymore.
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Whereas it is expensive, I am a lot happier right here
For our utilities, we spend about $210 per 30 days: $36 for warmth, $55 for water, $66 for electrical energy and $53 for WiFi.
I am not 100% fluent, however I can have most on a regular basis conversations and exchanges in Danish.
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We’ve a automotive and pay $120 a month for a parking spot in an underground storage. We even have renter’s insurance coverage that involves about $40 a month.
The price of residing in Copenhagen is typically excessive. However I do know that my wage goes means additional right here than it did in Dallas, particularly when it comes to what I used to be paying for healthcare and transportation within the U.S. And the hire we pay now is an effective worth for the quantity of house we’ve got.
Earlier than I moved right here, I by no means lived in a metropolis with good public transportation earlier than, so I actually admire it now!
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We reside near the metro, so I can simply get anyplace within the Copenhagen space. I pay about $90 a month for a public transportation cross that covers my work commute and all over the place else.
On public transit, it’s quarter-hour from our entrance door to the town heart in a single path, and quarter-hour to the airport within the different path, which may be very handy.
Trying forward, we’d wish to finally get some more room, and we may have to maneuver a bit additional out of the town to realize that. However we love Copenhagen, so we wouldn’t go too far. And I’ve cherished residing on this residence. It has been a terrific first house in my new nation.
Ilana Buhl is an elementary college trainer. She studied overseas in Denmark and rapidly fell in love with the town. She now lives in Copenhagen along with her husband and son, and shares snippets of her life on social media. Observe her on TikTok and Instagram.
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