Why I Moved To Denmark
A question I get asked a lot by Americans who are confused about the allure of Denmark or by Danes who are curious as to why I left South Florida for Copenhagen is, “Why did you move to Denmark?” The answer most people think is because of my husband, which is true, but not the whole story. I fell in love WITH Denmark years before I fell in love IN Denmark.
Blokhus 2008
I will start with the beginning, long before I even stepped foot on Danish soil. Growing up I had Au Pair’s because of my parents both worked high demanding, full-time jobs. Au Pair’s were there to make sure we got home from school safe & to take care of the household duties while my parents were at work. I have had Au Pair’s from all over the world in the thirteen years we had help but the Scandinavian ones were always our favorites.
My brother & I in 2008 with our two Danish Au Pair's at Rundetårn
When I was 8 my “sister”, Mette, moved in with us. I refer to her as my sister because we are close to one another & it is easier than saying my old Au Pair since she is more to me than that. She is Danish & lived with us for a year. In fact, she lived with us for the last year of our “normal life” but that is another story. Her leaving was one of the hardest things my entire family endured & we stayed in contact often even after she returned back to Denmark. A few years later she came to visit for the first time after leaving on that sad day in 1999. In 2006 it was our turn to visit, the first trip to Denmark.
2008 Denmark Trip. I no longer wear flared jeans, my brother is a foot taller with a beard & my mom has a different hair color.
From the second we stepped off that plane, I knew I loved this country. We traveled all over the country visiting “family”, seeing places we have always heard about through stories & experiencing a place that so many people we have loved call home. In 2008, after my father passed away (see above for reference to “last year of normal life”) we came to a place that was far enough to escape our new reality & feel safe, Denmark. On this trip, we met Mette's new boyfriend, a guy I often refer to now as my “brother in law.” In 2011, my “nephew” was born & his first birthday was the reason for trip number three.
2012 is the year I graduated from college & as that scary day of “freedom” quickly approached I realized I had NO idea what I wanted to do. I spent the last few months of my college days emailing companies all over Copenhagen looking for a post graduation internship. One of these companies ironically is the company my husband works for & I was looking around the same time he started, small world huh! As graduation day came, no Danish internship followed & my heart was broken when I arrived for that birthday party realizing I wasn’t staying to start a life.
Fast forward three years, two companies & a successful career in the states later, my urge for Danish life came again. I was faced with some personal difficulties & needed to come to my safe place to take a breath, reset & head back into my life refreshed. Mette was kind enough to let me stay with her for 3 months, just enough to reevaluate what I want from life, enough time to work on myself & apparently enough time to meet a guy who I fell madly in love with. Two weeks after I arrived in Denmark for my “life break” I was on my first date with the Dane & the rest is history.
Right before my flight for the 3 months that changed my life
When the time came for me to leave after those three months, we knew separating and living life without each other was not an option. There was no discussion of who is moving where I loved Denmark for over 9 years at that point, I was moving to him.
So yes, my husband is why I live in Denmark but my decision to move here at some point in my life was made 11 years before my official move. I fell in love with this country before I feel in love with this man & for both, I am eternally thankful to have this connection with a place I am lucky enough to now call home.
Have you ever dreamed of living somewhere else? Are you an expat? What was the reason you moved?
Let me know in the comments below!
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