In January 2024, I turned 31, a milestone that prompted me to reflect on my journey so far. Aging has never been something I’ve feared; instead, I find value in looking back at the experiences that have shaped me. To commemorate this year, I’ve decided to share 31 insights I’ve gained from living in Denmark. I’d love to hear your thoughts—do you agree or disagree with any of these? Would you add or remove anything?
Let me take a pause here. Reading the first part of the list made me remember that when I arrived to my new life in Roskilde (which is the city I lived in for 2 and a half years), the perspective was different. I didn’t have a clue about winter and how a life in a country with 4 seasons a year (ok, let’s say two seasons: 6 months of cold dark days and other 6 months of cool sunnier days) would look like. I was sceptical about winter depression, or depression at all, until I experienced it and then vitamin D pills became my best friend (also training, books and therapy). Also, it never crossed my mind that I might have to grieve friendships, either because we grow apart or because accidents will happen and some of your closest friends would not survive them. It’s one of the hardest things I have experience this far, loosing friends, very close ones, those kindred spirits type of friends, loosing them in accidents and live with the fact that they are not reachable any longer. But this is a story for another time.
Let’s continue with the list.
The point 27 of the list is something I learned when reading Brené Brown’s book Atlas of The Heart and it’s a phrase I will tell myself every day. Sometimes we don’t recognise our own efforts, it can become a struggle, I can be very harsh towards myself and then how am I supposed to learn from my past and my efforts if I’m not kind to myself throughout the journey? How can I ask for kindness from others when I cannot give it to myself? No one is born knowing every single little thing in life, we came to the world to learn and patience is important to do so but kindness, it is just the path towards a peaceful mind.
Why did I write point number 29? Being a non-EU citizen wanting to develop a life in an EU country can be a rough journey, it depends on what you want to do or where in Europe you want to go. I’m living in one of the countries with the hardest immigration laws. My stay in Denmark is always dependent on a visa. If you are interested in jumping on the “living abroad” airplane, you are a non-european citizen (which means your passport is not from a European union country ) and have Denmark in mind, I suggest you check this website and get a perspective on what you might be dealing with.
Good luck and make it happen! The world is bigger than we think.