In June 2018, I packed three suitcases and booked a one-way flight from Texas to join my husband in Denmark. We met in 2016 and had been courting long-distance for much of our relationship. We had been excited to get married and construct a dwelling and life collectively.
We discovered a great residence on-line in a new constructing in Amager, positioned in the southern a part of Copenhagen. My husband considered the residence in particular person and despatched me photographs whereas I was nonetheless in Dallas.
I love the measurement of Copenhagen. It seems like a metropolis, but it surely’s sufficiently small that all the pieces remains to be accessible
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Today, we lease our 1,020-square-foot, two-bedroom residence for $2,100 a month. The neighborhood is a respectable commute to work — I’m a major college trainer and my husband is in finance — with loads of stunning outside house and enjoyable locations to take our two-year-old son.
A glance inside our Copenhagen residence
We have a small entryway with a built-in closet, and a bench to sit on while you take your footwear off.
Our lease is indefinite, and lease will increase are tied to inflation. But we had to pay two month’s lease upfront, and three month’s lease as a safety deposit.
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We had to purchase our personal lighting fixtures, since they usually do not come put in in many Copenhagen residences. Numerous Danes like this as a result of they’ll select issues that finest match their type.
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When you go into a lot of Danish properties, they’ve lots of the similar small design items, like this like this little Hoptimist toy. They come in a lot of various colours and kinds.
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Our smooth, fashionable rest room doubles as a laundry room. We’re fortunate to have each a washer and dryer in the unit.
Modern rest room and kitchens could be laborious to come by in the metropolis middle on a finances, so we had been fortunate to discover a place that had each.
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We favored how much house there was in the bed room, and we’re in a position to match in virtually a king sized mattress.
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Since this was a new constructing, the residence got here with closets already put in. Most folks 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 into a nursery when our son was born. What’s good about our foremost bed room is that it got here with a wardrobe already constructed in, which is not the case for many Danish residences.
The foremost space in our residence is one huge 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 dwelling 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 a good quantity of storage, particularly as a result of we have now drawers as an alternative of cupboards.
The kitchen and eating space is barely smaller than I was used to in 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, outlets, parks and playgrounds inside strolling distance.
We have a variety of worldwide neighbors. There can be a nice seashore close by, which is bustling in the summer season. And we have now a small balcony that my son loves to play on when the climate is good.
I’m much happier dwelling in Copenhagen than in Dallas. I assume a huge a part of that’s job satisfaction. I’m in a position to get pleasure from the time that I’m not at work as a result of I’m not as stressed anymore.
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While it is expensive, I’m much happier right here
For our utilities, we spend about $210 per thirty days: $36 for warmth, $55 for water, $66 for electrical energy and $53 for WiFi.
I’m not 100% fluent, however I can have most on a regular basis conversations and exchanges in Danish.
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We have a automotive and pay $120 a month for a parking spot in an underground storage. We even have renter’s insurance coverage that comes to about $40 a month.
The value of dwelling in Copenhagen is usually excessive. But I know that my salary goes method additional right here than it did in Dallas, particularly in phrases of what I was paying for healthcare and transportation in the U.S. And the lease we pay now could be a good worth for the quantity of house we have now.
Before I moved right here, I by no means lived in a metropolis with good public transportation earlier than, so I actually recognize it now!
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We live shut to the metro, so I can simply get wherever in the Copenhagen space. I pay about $90 a month for a public transportation cross that covers my work commute and in all places else.
On public transit, it’s quarter-hour from our entrance door to the metropolis middle in one course, and quarter-hour to the airport in the different course, which may be very handy.
Looking forward, we’d like to ultimately get some extra space, and we might have to transfer a bit additional out of the metropolis to obtain that. But we love Copenhagen, so we wouldn’t go too far. And I have cherished dwelling in this residence. It has been a nice first dwelling in my new nation.
Ilana Buhl is an elementary college trainer. She studied overseas in Denmark and shortly fell in love with the metropolis. She now lives in Copenhagen together with her husband and son, and shares snippets of her life on social media. Follow her on TikTok and Instagram.
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