A total of 28 people responded to our survey, with the largest proportion (28 percent) saying they moved to Denmark as a business executive or highly skilled worker. Just behind were those who moved because of a Danish partner, at 25 percent.
Students and researchers and the partners of students and researchers also figured highly among our respondents, as did those who moved for other work reasons.
Other reasons included coming to the country as a refugee and coming because of property, but interestingly nobody responded that a passion for Denmark was the main reason for their move.
Life is less expensive
“I decided to come to Copenhagen from London mainly due to family friendly policies, higher level of personal safety, less pollution and less cars,” wrote one reader who came to the country through work.
“So far everything is great, people are very kind and the system works amazingly in comparison to the chaos in London,” they said.
“Life is also less expensive for my current situation,” they said, noting that their monthly nursery cost in London is around £2,000 (17,000 kroner), while in Denmark it is significantly lower at around 4,700 kroner or £550.
“I came to Denmark 11 years ago through work,” wrote Eline Suijlen from France.
“I wasn’t necessarily planning to stay in the beginning, but now Denmark is my home. I miss my friends from my home country sometimes, but I’m lucky I can see them every year or so.
“I know I have a better life here, that fits my values: society based on trust, very safe, very child friendly,” she said.
Rollercoaster moments
Among the former students who got in touch was Anuradha Venkataraman from India.
“My husband and I had always thought of moving abroad,” she said.
“We somehow narrowed down to Denmark as a potential option, mainly because the spouse on study dependent visa is able to work full time in Denmark,” she explained.
Anuradha said she found a study programme with an affiliated UK DeMontfort university at Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College, and her husband began looking for work.
“Luckily while we decided our relocation to Denmark, my husband also managed to find a very good job with a startup company based in Hørsholm,” she continued.
“So we really found ourselves lucky and grateful to be in such a fortunate position, even before coming to Denmark,” she said.
“In these almost nine years (by 2026) of living here in Denmark, we completed [Danish language certificate] PD3, bought a home, got our Danish permanent residence and hopefully if all goes well, we apply for Danish citizenship,” she said.
“In between all of this, there were enough roller coaster moments that we managed to cross them and reach this fairly stable position of living as a foreigner in Denmark and integrating wherever possible with the Danish values, culture and people.
“We do feel Denmark is slowly becoming our second home after coming from India,” she said.
Another student, from Turkey, wrote that “I decided to come to Denmark around 2015-2016 while I was studying my bachelor in my home country to pursue an academic career.”
They later applied and were accepted for a master’s programme with a scholarship.
“It's been seven years and with the ups and downs, it is a total journey. Could have been better from various aspects though, but for some points I am really happy,” they said.
‘Arduous’
Several insights were provided by readers who moved to Denmark with their partners.
“I met my partner while studying for my master’s in Norway and my partner was on exchange,” wrote Kevin from India, who lives in Aarhus.
“We decided that Denmark was a better place to settle as it's closer to her family and I wasn't particularly attached to Norway,” he said.
Kevin said the move had gone “pretty well in general though the family reunification process was arduous to say the least.”
“I was able to find my first job relatively easily though that's only because I had a bit of a network here,” he said.
“I learned to speak Danish through my current job as language schools were not too much help, though it was good to have an intro into the language,” said Kevin who has had two children in the six years since moving here.
“I've just applied for citizenship but all of it has involved a lot of planning and structuring our life around meeting all the requirements that immigrants need to meet to have a secure stay here,” he said.
READ ALSO: Danish government appoints experts to set out citizenship 'screening'
“In 2021, my wife — who was my girlfriend at the time — and I made a big decision. She’s Danish, and when she became pregnant, I decided to move from England to Denmark,” wrote Daniel Meneghin from Northern Ireland, who now lives in Fredensborg.
“It wasn’t the most logical choice on paper. In England, I already had an established career and a stable life, and it would have been much easier for her to move there instead,” he said.
“But Denmark is Denmark. I did my research, and considering that she has a large family here while I don’t, the human and social factors outweighed the practical ones.
So, I sold everything in England, and we started over in Denmark, trading the English countryside for the Danish countryside,” he explained.
Daniel described his adaptation to Denmark as a “smooth ride,” albeit one that has changed his life a lot.
“We now have two children, and both of us are well settled in Denmark.
“Having moved between countries before, I already had some experience in reading the room and adapting quickly.
“I adjusted to Danish culture fast and genuinely enjoy it. Of course, there are many things I miss from England and Ireland: the countryside, the pubs, and the energy of London,” he said.
Another reader who moved to Denmark with her partner offered a long-term perspective.
“I moved to Denmark about 12 years ago. When my Danish husband-to-be proposed to me, we agreed that I’ll only need to live in Denmark for a maximum of 20 years,” Ngee Hong in Copenhagen said.
“We will then move to my home country for the next 20 years. At the end of the 40 years, if we are both still alive and happily married to each other, we will decide together where we will live,” she said.
Ngee described the early stages of life in Denmark as “tough.”
“I cried everyday as I missed home. It was a completely new climate, language and culture for me,” she said.
She has since attended and completed Danish language courses and has worked in retail for ten years.
“I began feeling ‘at home’ after finding a job after two years,” she said.
Marlon Price from California lives in Copenhagen after requesting a transfer with his employer, after marrying a Dane and deciding to live here.
“Love it here,” Marlon said.
“Looking at the extremes and craziness of the US, no plans to return,” he said.
Although the friends and family of his partner have been welcoming, he said that he had “not made too many of my own friends, but I stay busy.”
“Certain government agencies” including the Tax Agency and work permit agency SIRI are easier to deal with than others, such as the Danish Immigration Service (Udlændingestyrelsen), Marlon observed.
“Dark winters are a challenge,” he also remarked in conclusion.
The foreign national with the longest stay in Denmark of all those who contacted us was Scott Wilson in Hvidovre.
“We came 30 years ago for a job in a højskole” and “ended up staying although our work is different now,” he wrote.
“Denmark is a great place to live, our two children have stayed but could have gone back to Australia and three grandchildren later, we are now retiring here,” Scott said.
Even after 30 years, the Danish language is “tough,” he said.
“We have some close and loyal Danish friends and quality of life is good except for the cold,” Scott added.
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