Become an Expat in Copenhagen 🇩🇰 Denmark

Lydia is from Singapore but is living as an expat in Copenhagen, Denmark. She talks to Kalie from ExpatsEverywhere about moving, living, and working there.
She explains the different job opportunities that are available for expats along with the great work-life balance. Her company helped her take care of the visa process. She also talks about the weather difference between the two countries and things she can't find in Copenhagen that she enjoyed in Singapore. Don't miss her pros and cons list at the end to get a good idea of what Lydia truly things of the expat life in Copenhagen!
When moving to a new country, the set up of a bank card and accessing your money can be hard. Lydia talks about how it took a long time for her. She gives great advice on having a multinational card. For this reason and many more, we recommend TransferWise. Use this link and get your first transfer free (conditions apply): transferwise.prf.hn/click/cam... ( Check out this video on how to set it up: • Wise vs Banks | Is an ... )
Video Chapters
00:00 Intro
0:30 Working in Copenhagen, Denmark
4:13 What Expected Earnings Are & The Money Side of Life
6:23 Moving to Copenhagen and What to Expect
7:41 Living in Copenhagen- Are There Things You Can't Find & How Do You Cope?
8:52 How Safe Is It in Copenhagen?
9:32 Getting to Know People and What to do for Fun
11:23 How Is the Healthcare in Denmark?
12:33 Is Copenhagen a Good Travel Hub?
13:24 The Pros and Cons of Living in Copenhagen, Denmark
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#ExpatsEverywhere

[@TheChiefEng]

The main difference is that in Singapore, people are stressed. I am a Dane who have lived in Singapore since 2008 and here, the culture is stress, stress and more stress. However in Denmark, the culture is simple. We work to live. We don't live to work. To a Dane, the freedom to live your life the way you want is always more important. That being said, we are usually fiercely loyal to the employer we work for. While eating out is normal in Singapore because of the system of food courts, eating out in Denmark is the weekly exception. We tend to eat at home but splash out now and then but not nearly as often as in Singapore.

[@ExpatsEverywhere]

Thanks for your input and doing a reverse comparison here. 🙏

[@jenniferlorence1950]

TheChiefEng: Great to know, then I would dare to say that in Singapore is pretty much like in the USA. But the Rent thing is catching up to Denmark here, I hate landlords, they are Too Greedy. !

[@WeaveTheStory]

Nice to see a Singaporean being interviewed. Yay! Work-life balance is situational and depends on company values. But in general, you'll know the answer when you've lived in Singapore 😁. Having lived in Sydney before arriving in Lisbon, it was a bit of a surprise how locals value their weekends and personal time after work. I value work-life balance more so I think it will be very hard to adjust if I ever get back to Singapore. I'm the opposite as I prefer warmer climate (tropical boy at heart) and Lisbon is almost perfect in that sense. Thankfully we have Calbee in Lisbon. Haha...but I might have to do the odd trips to London, Dublin or Amsterdam for my Asian grocery fix in the near future. Great interview guys! I know there's more to discuss but it's great to have an idea what it's like living in Copenhagen and Scandinavia 👍🏻

[@ExpatsEverywhere]

Thank you! This one was a mix of for Singaporeans and for all. We were glad to be able to hear about Copenhagen as it's a wonderful place to live and a popular destination for many. Thanks for your input here.

[@hellophoenix]

A great interview, Lydia seems like a sweet lady and it was interesting about the chocolate chips 😊

[@ExpatsEverywhere]

Thank you, Abu Mohammed. We found that interesting too. And the baby pram thing.

[@mesj3798]

Actually the average salary for a newly graduate civil engineer is around 41K

[@ExpatsEverywhere]

Thanks for adding that.

[@fishyobsession]

Hi lydia here! I definitely should have been more clear about it, but I was referring to the average take-home pay rather than the full salary. I did a rough deduction of the taxes because I didnt think many foreigners would know the tax rate. Thanks for pointing this out, and hope it clarifies things! :)

[@NotSoSlickMik]

Hi Lydia. Even with taxes and deduction an engineer would still net closer to 30k than to 20k pr. Month.

[@SamuelHauptmannvanDam]

Has she tried to communicate with her doctor? I don't think I've ever waited a month. Seems like someone just told her that "maybe" it's like that. There's even an app now because of Corona. So you'll get a responds usually the day after you wrote it and a meeting that week.

[@Infernus25]

There's no minimum wage in Denmark, the high wages are established through strong unions

[@xavier3098]

really great comparison between two top cities!

[@ExpatsEverywhere]

Glad you think so! 😊

[@jorgemanuelsaalvescardosocardo]

Que tudo vos corra pelo melhor,bela família.felicidades

[@mikeyb2932]

I just wish to point out that the longer waiting time is for specialists and not GP's (General Practitioners). Usually for a visit to a GP you will be taken in the same or next day. Below is a link to a video with a British woman telling about her experience with visiting a GP in Denmark: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jF7Wgox9h7VnY6M

[@ExpatsEverywhere]

Thanks for your input, Mikey.

[@Ccb88888]

I've lived in both Denmark and Singapore. It's funny how Singaporeans have less leisure time, given that society stresses the importance of the family, in fact people spend alot of time at work/school. Lydia should know that the type of work you can get as an engineer in Denmark is much more interesting than in Singapore. In Denmark, the logistics, wind turbine and robotics industry in for e.g., are big employers of engineers. Likewise with acoustics (as she mentioned). Alot of cutting-edge work is done in Denmark by the local companies, whereas Singapore is not really a hotbed for innovation (with the exception of say oil rigs/FPSOs and semiconductors). In terms of pay, I think she will find that someone with 5 years' professional engineering experience in Denmark has a better salary (and better spending power) than in Singapore.

[@ExpatsEverywhere]

Thanks for the input, Gregory. Where are you from and where are you based now? We appreciate your detailed input.

[@Ccb88888]

@@ExpatsEverywhere Originally from the UK, but now based in Denmark.

[@ExpatsEverywhere]

@@Ccb88888 Thanks for letting us know. 🙏

[@cookmaster3626]

People complain about high taxes in Europe. In the US its equally bad. You pay about 18-20% in Income taxes, then about 6.2% on Social Security.+ a minimum 5% in state Income tax on almost 45 states. On top of that you pay close to $300-400 a month for Health Insurance thru employer (if employed by Top Tier 1 companies) and teh Dr visits cost 420 to 40 per visit and you have an annual deductible of $2000. Dental insurance is pathetic and you get 2 free clanings per year and teh Dentist will upcharge you for things not covered. When you add all these the taxes are equally bad. Employment is at will and you can be fired at any time without cause and in Europe Firing or layoff is not easy and comes with good benefits. In the US you are worked to death on a 40 hr salary and Europe good work and life balance which is healthy. I would any day rate Europen working conditions are better of course in most select countries. My 2 cents!

[@jenniferlorence1950]

I know I live in the USA, at least in Europe they truly can Go to the Doctor without Worrying about a $60,000 for almost any procedures. Or $5,000 medical bill for 5 minutes of the doctor's time and a prescription. We also have SALES TAXES EVERYWHERE.

[@jenniferlorence1950]

We also have Tons of Sales Taxes for almost everything!!!.

[@Ilnath]

In regards to health. If you need a meeting with a GP it doesnt take a month. Treatment guarantee did get deleayed because of Covid. But it is getting back to normal.

[@ExpatsEverywhere]

Great to know. Thanks for the update.

[@Electrogadget]

wonderful country

[@ExpatsEverywhere]

Indeed. Thanks for the comment.

[@matthew-qu2mn]

informative :)

[@ExpatsEverywhere]

Glad you think so!

[@erikrahbekstergaard1402]

Danish parents might leave their baby carriage outside the supermarket. But they will always take their baby with them while shopping. They will never leave their baby alone outside.

[@g.s.632]

I thought it was too much as well.

[@denmark2680]

You earn around 40.000 kroner and up as a new aducated engineer before tax. I don’t think that she really know how much an engineer earns in Denmark.

[@denmark2680]

You do not pay as much in tax as she says because you can deduct many things so you only pay about 33 percent in tax

[@bcholbk5464]

What? A salary of DKK 20,000 for a newly qualified engineer is only true if you work without a trade union agreement. That is not normal. The indicative minimum wage for newly graduated civil engineers (2020) is DKK 41,100, and the indicative minimum wage for newly graduated graduate engineers is DKK 38,900. An engineer earns an average (2020) DKK 59,000.

[@bcholbk5464]

Oh sorry i used another youtube aconto but my name is Kent Iversen and I live in Denmark

[@ExpatsEverywhere]

Thanks, we weren't sure of her context when she said it but we appreciate your input here.

[@fishyobsession]

Hi Kent, lydia here! As I mentioned to another commentor, I was referring to the average take-home pay rather than the full salary. I did a rough deduction of the taxes because I didnt think many foreigners would know the tax rate. But thanks for pointing this out, I should have stated it clearly in the video! :)

[@mudasirssp9747]

Hy

[@arocarter3074]

5mins into this video, this engineer girl already provided 2 wrong info, 1)a fresh engine graduate will earn around 30k, not 20k, 2) there is no minimum wage here in dk

[@ExpatsEverywhere]

Here's what the data shows...www.salaryexplorer.com/salary-survey.php?loc=630&loctype=3&job=22&jobtype=1 It doesn't show starting salaries though.

[@arocarter3074]

@@ExpatsEverywhere no, becuase there is no minimum wage in dk, but stats from unions show it is definitely above 30k(including tax, here when people talk about salary, always before tax salary since tax can be so different from person to person)

[@arocarter3074]

@@ExpatsEverywhere for example Aarhus university website shows the "The recommended minimum wage for newly qualified MSc in Engineering (2020) is DKK 41,100, and the recommended minimum wage for new Bachelor of engineering graduates is DKK 38,900." just used as a reference for new graduates.

[@hmbp100]

work eat sleep work eat sleep work eat sleep.work eat sleep.work eat sleep.work eat sleep.work eat sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@trendingwwwandw]

very interesting channel great information New Sub😊

[@ExpatsEverywhere]

Thank you very much! We love when new subs reach out. Sorry that it took so long to get back to you. We've been filming for our current project. Hope you enjoy it!