We asked foreigners in Denmark what things they are think are, if not a bargain, then at least fairly reasonable.
Here is what they told us.
1. Houses outside the big cities
“Houses in the countryside,” said Nina Olczak, who lives in Lolland Falster. “Where I live you can get a nice house for as little as €15,000. In Germany prices start at €500,000 for a comparable house.”
“Houses,” agreed Patrícia Castanheira. “Coming from England I was surprised at prices here.”
“For the price my parents [in the UK] paid for their house in the middle of nowhere four hours from the nearest city, I can buy a small house 10km from the city centre,” added Ellie Cruickshank. “And then for the price of my tiny little city apartment here, I could buy an entire retired high school in Jutland.”
The Local did a search and found the cute half-timbered house in the photo above, in Nørreballe on Lolland, listed for just €25,000, so they're not wrong.
2. Mobile phone plans and internet
“Data,” said Nina Olczak. “I have a Lebara prepaid card with 100 GB for 99. For that price in Germany I can get maybe 500 KB – 1 GB.”
“Internet is one of the fastest in the world and the price is cheap when comparing to other countries,” said Mohammed Adel Elkhouly.
3. Beer and cigarettes
Beer from supermarkets in Denmark is much, much cheaper than in Sweden, Norway or Finland, although perhaps a bit pricier than in Germany.
Cigarettes, at about €5.39 a pack in 2019, are much cheaper than in Sweden, Finland, Norway, France, The Netherlands, the UK or Ireland, but more or less the same as in Germany, and more expensive than most other European countries.
4. Private schools (and international schools)
Denmark's free school system, through which privately-run schools are largely paid-for by the government, means that private schools are cheap in Denmark.
This also goes for schools that teach towards the International Baccalaureate, for which according to the International Schools Database, Copenhagen is the second cheapest city in the world after Cape Town.
5. Milk
Milk and other dairy products tend to be cheaper in Denmark, or at least in line with other countries where most other food is much cheaper.
6. Organic and health food products
A lot of foreigners said that they had found organic and health food products were relatively cheap compared to their home countries.
One respondent said that people from southern Europe actually take 'natural' shampoo and soap with 0% perfume, colorants or parabens back to their countries because they are so much cheaper in Denmark.
7. Municipality-organised children's activities.
Municipalities in Denmark lay on loads of activities for children throughout the year and particularly during the summer. If they're not free (which they often are) they're normally very reasonable. Copenhagen residents can look at the Børn i Byen for ideas.
8. Public swimming pools and gym membership
“One of the biggest surprises for me were gym prices. Prices in Estonia are easily two to three times higher,” says Laura Veelmaa.
Others said that swimming pool entry prices were surprisingly low, as were sports clubs for windsurfing, sailing and other sports.
Other suggestions.
Other things that foreigners suggested weren't too pricey included: Pastries in local bakeries, Harald Nyborg, drinking fountains, soda, cut-your-own Christmas trees, dentist visits, Himalayan salt, popcorn and tortilla chips, books, toys, board games in libraries, rubber gloves, fresh yeast, diapers/nappies, products from Tiger, spirits in Lidl, toilet paper, and for some reason, capers.
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Everything is So great in Denmark. I wish I lived there. Still, hopefully I’ll be visiting again once coronavirus is over.