How to live in Copenhagen: Part 1
Is there a change in the air in Copenhagen?
I’m going to preface all of this by saying that I really like living in Copenhagen. On a sunny day, there’s no city in the world where I’d rather be. I like cycling, I like bakeries, I like the size of the city and I really like the people who live here. Things work: public transport, lights, libraries, all of that. If your child falls over on the street, a passing person will help them up. If you lose your mobile phone, someone will find it and bring it back to you. School and work hours dovetail so you don’t end up missing nursery pick up or being unable to work as a mum. Sure, we pay a fair rate of taxes and our supermarkets are a bit dull. But overall, it’s a great place to live.
This month, Denmark was voted the second happiest country in the world; it also ranked highly on a work-life balance index, which is why the i Paper asked me to write about work-life balance in Copenhagen. You can see more of that below.
My theory about living a good life in Denmark is that it works – as long as you fit in. As long as you strive for the same things as your neighbours, and don’t strive too hard. As long as your view of the world is the same as everyone else’s. But what happens if you want to break out of the comfortable mould? What if you want something different? Well, then it’s a bit more difficult.
Can you be a hippy in Copenhagen? Asking for a friend…
I greatly admire the Danish journalist Maj My Humaidan who wrote The Ærø Manifesto a few years ago about creating a different life in Denmark. She moved to an island and homeschooled her kids instead of following the norm, and boy, has she caused ripples. She’s been criticised in Parliament and people get angry about her approach, saying that if everyone did what she did, society would fall apart. She’s even been called an extremist for her views, which seem to me to be in the range of lefty, hippy-leaning and utterly human. What sort of a society says that personal freedoms are unacceptable? Who calls someone an extremist for just challenging the norm? I wonder about these things.
Her new book, Blødt, is all about the pursuit of a softer, more meaningful life and how to find it. She’s again been routinely criticised by all the book reviewers in the last few weeks but has come out fighting. She’s looking for a way to be a curious, soft, intuitive individual in Denmark today, trying to balance the strong desire for conformity and community with individual variation. It’s not a marker that something’s rotten in the state of Denmark (more Hamlet next time…), but it’s a sign that there’s a cultural shift going on over here, and I’m interested to see how it plays out. If Denmark really is as perfect as everyone thinks it is, why the dissent on a subject as humble as wanting to have a meaningful life?
Laura
Stories of the month
Has Denmark cracked work-life balance?
I interviewed a range of Danes to find out how their work-life balance was, covering everything from what they do when their kids are sick to how close to work they opted to live, to make their lives work. I am dubious about the claims that it’s the best in the world for everyone (see above) but it definitely works for a lot of people.
It’s a scream: following Edvard Munch around Oslo
My favourite story of the year so far: an art-filled trip to Oslo where I saw where Modernist master Edvard Munch lived and painted, and walked around so many galleries I had holes in my shoes. Who knew his paintings about mental health and grief could be so uplifting?
Star gazer: a profile of Rasmus Munk
The world’s best chef is nothing like you’d imagine. I’ve met Rasmus a few times over the last few years and it’s always a wild experience to hear what he’s cooking up. I love writing about his food – his dishes always have the most layered and intriguing stories to tell, plus it gives me a chance to write the most bizarre strings of words ever.
Warning: this one made a reader cry
Spring flings
The Guardian asked me to write about what it’s like in Copenhagen in the spring, so I dug deep into my memories of last year to put this piece together. It’s nearly here. It’s just a bit later than normal.
The best pizza in the world
Look, someone has to do this job so it might as well be me… For Time Out, I went round Copenhagen sampling different slices of pizza to figure out where to find the best. Find out the winner right here…
Inspiration
Some things keeping me fuelled this month:
Now this is a great travel story. Oliver Smith on Dartmoor.
Helen Sullivan’s swan song. I really love her wildlife writing and will miss it.
I can’t stop thinking about my Pitchblack Playback experience.
Looking forward to this book about why we all need to make art.
Where next?
Paris. In an unlikely turn of events, I’ll be in Paris in April talking at a live magazine show.
London. I will be in a theatre talking about Danish TV and film in London in May.
Svalbard. Hopefully I’ll finally get to meet the polar bears of Svalbard in May as well. This trip is to work on a book… with a loose deadline, thank goodness.
Manchester. I’m back in June and I can’t wait. Absolutely obsessed with my former hometown these days.
East Greenland. Dreaming, planning, thinking about going to the wildest spot on the world’s largest island in September. How the political situation will be there, only time will tell…
Thanks for subscribing to Modern Scandinavian. I’m so happy that you’re here. Laura
Spot on, I’ve also been giving this a lot of thought recently. There are many things to love about living here but the cookie cutter life is perhaps why many of us expats never feel like it’s ever 100% home
Great post. I moved there with my Danish partner and kids from Berlin. Apart from "everything working" I found the conformity in Copenhagen claustrophobic. Social life is dull. Very hard to meet new people. Generally unimpressed by Danish culture. Thankfully after 3 years we're back in Berlin.