Andreas moves to Copenhagen: – He doesn’t miss the tram tracks and the lack of cycle paths in Oslo
Why did you choose the country you are in now? 🌍
My partner is Danish, and when we lived in Norway she missed Copenhagen. Since the corona period had lasted a while and everyone was at home regardless, I thought it was a good time to try living in Denmark for a while.
Now that I have lived here for a while, I have also received several arguments for living here.
For me, who likes to cycle, Copenhagen is a fantastic city. Bicycles are provided everywhere, and I in no way miss the tram tracks and the lack of cycle paths in Oslo. It is also a little warmer here in the winter and it rarely snows or is on the roads.
As a Norwegian, it is also easy to understand the language, and you quickly learn how to adapt Norwegian to be understood yourself.
Who do you work for? 💼
DSB (Danish State Railways). Up until and including September, I was employed by Knowit Objectnet and a consultant at Entur.
«We are a bit more informal in Norway, but it probably varies a lot depending on where you work»
Where are you working? 💪
I started in October in a new position as department manager for sales solutions in DSB.
We stock systems for ticketing and other functions linked to the commercial side of trains. My tasks include personal responsibility for any development team, recruitment and communication.
Since I have just started in this position, it is also guaranteed that there are many tasks that I have not yet known that I have.
How do you learn everyday working life in Norway? ☕
The differences have been small for me since I’ve been working in a home office recently.
The first impression after a week with a Danish employer is probably that we are a little more informal in Norway, but that probably varies depending on where you work.
In any case, it is by no means a culture shock to work in Denmark.
How does the salary compare to in Norway? 💰
Quite similar.
What do you miss from Norway? 😢
First and foremost, friends and colleagues.
Moving abroad during a pandemic, when everything was closed and I also worked from home, made it quite challenging to build a new network.
I was also very happy when I finally found Norwegian cheese in the shop here.
What are the biggest challenges of working where you work? 🔥
After all, there are not huge cultural differences between Norway and Denmark, so everyday life here is quite similar to that in Norway.
In practical terms, all the paperwork has probably been the biggest challenge. In advance, I thought that a number of things linked to tax, social security affiliation were also the same.
It was resolved through Nordic cooperation, but there have still been many telephone calls, schedules and confusion around this.
Do you have any tips for others who want to try to stay out in the big world? 💡
Get control of the rules that apply to work abroad, tax, pension and other tedious paperwork.
Learn the language well enough to be able to talk to people without switching to English. I can’t pronounce Danish, but you get a long way by exchanging a few words here and there.
But first and foremost, living abroad for a shorter or longer period is an experience I can strongly recommend!