I believe the happiness stems from the fact that you worry a lot less. A lot of studies have even shown that anticipation of something bad happening is worse mentally than the actual bad thing, so knowing you'll be safe almost no matter what just helps you to be more comfortable and stable, which is generally what we consider happiness.
Thanks for commenting on that, I totally agree. That is always where I start when explaining this to people. Happiness as some try to define isn't even sustainable, but contentment is long lasting.
I just hope that americans dont fall for the fox "news" version of Denmark, comparing us to Venezuela on multiple matters. I am rather sure that Danes are happier/more content than venezuelans are and if we arnt, we have unlike the venezuelans every option in the world to leave Denmark and seek it elsewhere.
@@jimmywayne983 For sure, I agree. Hard to say what people walk away with, but I do make sure the people I know are aware of what life is like here :).
@@TravelinYoung And i appriciate your honest view on life here, us danes and Denmark in general. I have american friends that years ago left their dream of moving here, because they got scared by the false labels about Denmark and Scandinavia in general. Its really not that bad here, salary and welfare system reflect the high taxes, we have more freedom(s) than most people around the world, you in your video mentioning some of them, like the freedom in not having to worry about the childrens education, not having to worry about hospital and doctor bills, the freedom to take the whole family to vietnam each year on vacation because we get 6 weeks paid vacation from work each year, there is a freedom in those things that are hard to appriciate if you never tried it. And i really think you give a truthful view on Denmark and i as a Dane (proud yet humble as we are) like to see other people almost viewing my country as through my eyes, it warms my heart :) You live in one of the worlds oldest kingdoms with The worlds oldest national flag still in use, we are a small country but have survived this long, we can only be proud of the society that we have created and even more so when people like your family can appriciate it and want to share your honest view so that maybe other americans could learn to love these values as both you and i do, americans are more than welcome here and since most danes know a basic level of english, communication isnt a huge problem, i hope :)
Working as a craftsman in Denmark, in a small factory, my Boss noticed at a "health-meeting", that during ten years I had one day off being sick! Of course letting your colleagues down would be harder for them to still produce the same, but we never felt any pressure and had our 6 weeks vacations at separate times during the year also. It was my best place to work and I worked there for 20 years till nearly my pension.🙂
As a Portuguese I was taught the most valuable lesson of all upon coming to Denmark, to appreciate the very small things in life. As for friendships, you are allowed to use your elbows and invite yourself into a small group, you just have to find the right balance and be delicate about it while giving it a lot of time, I have the best friends in the world and it took me perhaps 2-3 years to gain those friendships.
The thing about caring for the old: This depends very much on if you live in a city like Copenhagen or if you live in the countryside. People in the countryside look after their old ones, whether they are family or not. When my mom was old, she and her neighbor had an unspoken agreement: When she woke up in the morning, she would open the curtain in her kitchen window, so that the neighbor would know that she was okay. If the curtain wasn't open, the neighbor would check in on her, to see what was wrong. In addition, the neighbor would check in on her regularly anyway, twice a week or so, just in case. (And to get a cup of coffee). This arrangement was a big relief for me, as I live in Copenhagen, and she lived in the far west of Jutland, so I couldn't just go and see her every day. So that made ME happy! If you live in Copenhagen, people are not checking in on you so much, if at all, unless, of course, they are your friends. I think the whole thing boils down to a very healthy view on generational debt: My son owes me nothing. What I gave him, when he was a kid, was the repaying of my debt to my parents, and I expect him to pay me back by being a good father for his kids. The same goes for our health and social care: I have paid a shitload of taxes in my lifetime, and most of the money was used to keep old people I don't even know alive, to give kids and young people I don't know an education, and to pay the hospital bills of people I don't know. Now I am old, and happy, because some people I don't even know are paying my pensions and my medical bills. So we Danes are even happy to pay our taxes (well, most of us, most of the time) because we can see that the money are put to good use.
Makes total sense. Thanks for sharing. I feel the same way about generations. The best gift I can give my parents is to give Maya an even better life than they gave me, and they worked really hard for us, so it won't be easy!
Same thing goes for Norway. Oh, and my 93 year old dad who lives alone, has a neighbour ( across the hallway), who checks in on him every day. Even though my brother visits dad roughly every other day, and takes him shopping once or twice a week.... Personally I live in a high rise with about 100 people. From all over the world. I don't know them all, but most of us check on each other weekly, and sometimes go shopping together. It's the scandinavian norm, I think. Stay safe and well. Love from Oslo, Norway 💖
My grandma lives in the same building block as my family (and also me when I did live there), she is really not well so we check on her a lot the whole family. Because of the welfare older people feel confident enough moving away (or being okay being away) from their kids and grandchildren. Which of course leads to less check ups.
dont worry, the current status for denmark is really bad. the amount of problems the government has at the moment, plus the communes dont care if you got a problem is insane. i was promised treatment for some physical problems i had in the past, but it took them 3 years after more than 10 requests from my mom, before they looked into it and the person who promised me this had already resigned. then i had to wait like 1 more year, and then i got my treatment. even so, the commune i live in today is very greedy. so is most of denmark, its just a greedy place to live in. even as a citizen, youre not treated well and the police department is too short on men to patrol small cities but they send around 10k policemen out to find illegal scooters, not cars but scooters. one of my moms friends husband is really sick and is close to dying. he needed treatment for his mental health, even surgery, but the hopistal saw he was close to dying so they kept on postponing it because they didnt want to use the money and the resources to make someone last just bit longer. even when looking at the good things here in denmark, its just sad. if youre poor, youre just getting poor. if youre rich, youre just getting richer. theres no in between as a dane, i can only give you my POW but as a swede i can only give you the issues. denmark messed up my life in many ways and gave me scars for life, i am not planning on staying here
@@orazdhl6542 Your situation does not reflect the general condition of Denmark nor is it most of your statements true. It is something you think is true, but it is not. So anyone reading Jock's post, do not fret. Denmark is far from the hellhole he describes.
@@orazdhl6542 that is not what you were saying. You made broad statements that you put on all of Denmark, which is far from the case. Example from your post: "the commune i live in today is very greedy. so is most of denmark, its just a greedy place to live in" Not true at all. Also this: "if youre poor, youre just getting poor. if youre rich, youre just getting richer. theres no in between" This can be said about basically any country, so nothing to do with it being Denmark. Actually in Denmark, like any Scandinavian country, we strive to make the lessen the difference between rich and poor.
Bonjour from Paris. When I look at the worrying state of the world, I see Denmark as a precious diamond. I know everything is not perfect, but we have a lot to learn from the Danes. Hav en god dag !
The best Cocio you can get, is when you walk through town on a frosty day, kicking the slush with your boots, cold to the bones. Then you spot a pølsemand in his pølsevogn, and decide to order an indianer i kano og fuld krigsmaling (a hotdog) with a varm Cocio. You'll start eating the hotdog waiting for the Cocio to cool a bit, then you carefully take your first small sip. Beware it's scolding hot, but it has never tasted better, and the frost wil start to leave your bones, making the rest of your walk a mere cakewalk. Stay happy the lot of you.
@@TravelinYoung well i know when this CV-19 is over you can always come to esbjerg and i can see if the have a tour of the place ... the sometimes do that
As an American with a Norwegian family heritage, this largely mirrors my own thoughts on happiness in the Scandinavian countries vs. in the US. Thanks for sharing!
After seeing this vid, it hits me how often we danes take, insurance - healthcare - and like maya said safe school for granted. thanks for point it out :-)
But of course we should take those things for granted. I know we are the exception but these things are in my opinion human rights. You are never happy when your next door neighbours are not
@@jens1567 plz hav a look at your paycheck aging and tell me we pay 50% tax in denmark, ok if you are ind the top 5-10% you pay more tax of the amount over i think it's 450.000 dkr. (67733 USD) if not you don't pay 50% tax i pay 39% in tax and i hav a deductible amount on 3500 dkr. (527 USD) a month i have a blue collar job and make about 400.000 dkr. (60207,41 USD) a year, working 37 hours a week and 6 weeks of paid vacation
@@Shajmen Let's assume you pay 39% of your 400.000 dkk salary. 11% is 44.000 DKK. Obviously you're paying over 44.000 DKK per year in 25% VAT. But calculate the amount of taxes above your 25% VAT and surely it will be around 44.000. Certain foods, alcohol, cigarettes, everything related to cars, your home that you OWN, the money you inherit etc. Boom! Half of your wage goes to the state.
Yeah, thats the way tomeet people in scndiavia, in a club, work, university or something, just meet someone random at a bar or so in not at all have the same chans to last
Plenty to chose from - a recent one: Men in Black. Antifa is another one. If you are an oldtimer like me - DNSAP (Danish Noobs Show Ass Permantently) For you snowflakes who did not stay awake at school - DNSAP originally was: Danmarks Nationalsocialistiske Arbejderparti" - I hate it how you always has to explain everything to make the joke.......
It's like average life expectancy. It's mainly increased by eliminating child death factors. Same for happiness. Denmark has focused on eliminating the worst sadness. Hence the overall increase in happiness.
You guys seem pretty cool. The daughter who is fine with paying higher taxes, to know that her and her neighbours are happy and safe.... congrats, you are now a dane ;)
But the best was the one in late 90s were a teen couple were sitting on a swing near a lake and the girl falls into the lake and drowns and the guy forgetting her while drinking Cocio.... so evil and dark XD
If you live temporarily in Denmark then yes it will be a little bit hard to start a friendship with a Dane (but if you have a good sense of humor it wouldn't take you a long time before it will happen), & if you live in Denmark permanently then you'll for sure soon get a couple of friends for life! I'm myself a Danish citizen (born & raised here to Arab parents), and when I say Danes loves a good laugh I mean it! 😃 When I was a kid at age 16-17 I spent a week in a car mechanic workshop as in something called "Elevpraktik", and f... me 😂 everyday we laughed our asses of (we did not take anything seriously, and the boss was the mastermind behind it 😂) We have something called "Sort humor" of which we tell each other dark humor jokes (again not to be taken seriously), or if anyone of us was caught slippin your own coworkers will throw you into a pool of cold water, give you something called a "Buksevand" 😂, put a 5 Kroner in your a** crack if you're bending over & not paying attention, or for that matter throw you in a workshop garbage bin.. 🤭 It's called "Værkstedshumor", and even when I worked in a warehouse we had the same fun! As long you're an open minded person, who loves to laugh it will not be difficult!
in terms of Maya paying taxes, she can actually avoid doing that by ordering a "frikort", this makes is possible for her to earn about 40.000 kr. a year without paying taxes.. just mentioning in case you did not know.
@@TravelinYoung Be aware that this advice hinges on her earning less than 40.000. Also, 40.000 is a fantasy number. The amount is different for everyone. If her income is higher than her personal deduction, it is smarter to pay her taxes evenly throughout the year. Which, I think, is the default.
@@TravelinYoung What Michael Meyers said. Frikort is usually for people below 18 and only means that the yearly deductibles one person has, will be used in the beginning of the year instead of evenly distributed. The amount on your frikort is the same deductible amount on the regular "taxcard".
Congrats on another great vid finally someone who shines light on what happiness is in Europe my American friends always thinks that happiness here is smiling dancing running through flower fields etc. But man the dopamine I get by ridingg my bike even in the cold of winter is still fun.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for sharing this. I have traveled a fair bit around europe, and often eastern europe, and I think that some of the things that danes do not take notice of, is how lucky or fortunate they/we are, to be born in this developed society, where people has, in the past struggled, fought and worked hard for what we have today. We take so many things of the society for granted, grumping and complaining about this and that. We need more humility towards our own country and history, and be more grateful. So I thank you, for giving your view on how great Denmark is, because it's only in your perspective, that we can see why we need to be grateful!
You are totally right! Some Danes will smugly say "well, I'M not happy, not EVERYTHING is great" like they've debunked the whole idea, and completely overlook that just because everything in your life isn't perfect, everyone living here still has a LOT to be grateful for and happy about. Low crime and corruption, strong safety net, no-cost-at-point-of-access healthcare and education (and you get paid to go to school!), a general understanding that life events trump work concerns, reasonably strong social capital... It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than what most people have! Some Danes are just spoiled, by which I mean not grateful for what they have.
I lived in DK for a couple of years. I currently live in Australia, and I am moving back because of quite a few things that you mentioned in this video.
As an immigrant myself, I understand your take in friends and family, although I'm married to a dane so it's not so bad. If you plan to stay long then you will be able to get there where you get danish friends for life.
Thank you! I’m danish and live in Denmark, but my dad lives in America and every time I visit him I immediately, right as I step out of the airport, feel more stressed out and continues to do so the whole time I’m there, I feel like my safety net is gone. I usually find it very hard to explain to my American friends about Denmark and why I feel the way that I feel but you guys explained it perfectly so next time I’ll just show them your video😁
Another thing about the friendship, Danes in general grow up with the same friends, all the way through school most Danes are in class with the same 20ish people, so they often have very tightknit groups from that, and the mentality from there lasts into adulthood as well
When I first started delving into the internet to learn anything and everything Danish, I was so fascinated by these metrics about happiness. To me it was almost like a testament to the sort of culture that could make that happen, and it constantly inspired me to want to learn more Danish. Yeah, I definitely do think a lot of Americans at least will mistake what is meant by what the "happiest country" is like. It's not that citizens are experiencing euphoria constantly, it's that the environment they live in is set up to cut out as many contributing factors for *UNhappiness as possible, whereas in other parts of the world the political situation caters to a select and lucky few. And I just love how the Nordics fight over the privilege of being called the happiest in any given year. Why can't more countries have that sort of ambition? Seems to me that it's the only logical ambition that a country SHOULD have in the first place, not who has the most guns or most oil.
While we didn't talk about it, in DK there is this concept of no one being better than anyone else. I found Americans are often driven by being better than others, at work, having a better car, bigger house, etc etc. With that motive it is hard to maintain contentment or happiness.
@@TravelinYoung - In Denmark, you can easily live next to someone with a bigger house/car/tv and still be great friends with them. The trick is that the person having the "better" of something, doesn't start looking down at you for not having the same things, and doesn't turn it into a contest. Most danes will be happy and congratulate their friends or neighbours with something like a new car, new job, promotion etc. As long as the person doesn't change behaviour over it. But let's be honest, will a bigger/better car/tv/house actually make you happieras a person?
Been a sup to your chanel for only a few days, but love you guys already... ;-) I see the taxes as an Insurance.. for me, my family and my neighbor. And I dont mind insure my neighbor, colleague or even people i do not know. as well. Because I know that they are doing the same thing for me. That's pure charity and being social, without the "ismn" ;-) Your smiles and eyes says more than your words... You are already happy and hit by the danish "feeling" of just loving life here ;-) Thank's for yet another great video ;-)
I don’t know how this video ended up in my feed, but I really enjoyed it. And as a Dane living in Copenhagen I must say I think you made some interesting points and I think you are spot on with you thoughts. It fun to hear these things from people who moved to DK. And also a bit sad about the part with us Danes being a bit reserved. Which I unfortunately must say is true. Also for my self. But I want to do better and you seem like such nice and reasonable people. So if you ever need anyone to go for a good walk outside ;) just let me know. But after two years here, you probably have succeeded in breaking through to some Danes hehe :)
Haha, well I am glad you found us! Thanks for the kind words and the offer. We have over time been able to make good friends, we just need to be able to see them again! Thanks again for watching.
Thanks for you're take on happiness in Denmark. 😃 Love your families dynamics and I will deffently watch some of the other videos you have made. 😃 If you would like to experience another part of Denmark, I really suggest you visit the Middle Jutland, maybe for a couple week or so, when COVID-19 once apon a time is gone. ☺
About the design angle - I lived aborad with my kids, and there was a major difference to the local kids in the attitude to design and architecture. My kids would know the names of some of the great designers when they were 8-10 years old. My oldest son was, is, in love with the chairs of Arne Jacobsen. One day we passed a shop which had spezialized in Danish design and he wanted to go in. Anyway he and the shopkeeper had a talk about the different chairs and design items - and it was totally normal. The shopkeeper did not even wonder why an eight-year old liked his goods.
It's funny how Danes (myself included) always seem to be drawn to content about our country. Love the content - please keep making it and keep living young!
Like me, so sick of the lies. “Denmark is like Venezuela” “ and how our “govement pays men to this and that” ... when I finally find a Chanel like this that tells the truth (no more or less) about Denmark, I’m hooked. We are SUCH a small country and not many knows whats up.
This is so interesting to watch. Your angle on the reason for happiness in a country is inspiring. Great stuff. Well, I also easily talked to Joshua for about 45 minutes when I met the Young’s in August. When Corona is over, we’ll invite you guys over for American barbecue, our home made burgers and for a ride in a real American truck if you miss that feeling.
That sounds awesome, it would be great to see you again and catch up. Plus I will always eat BBQ! I hope you are well. You need to watch the video of when Maya and I went to Samsø to see some cool drone footage I got :).
I see the point of friends in school here in Denmark since i got a Friend for 11 years i went to kindergarden with him i am 16 so we have Been friends for Long and its pretty spot on with the things you say about Denmark and the happiness 🙂
As a Dane, we have always known that Danish 'happy' is equal to : no stress & contentment but also Danish hygge, is a big factor.. Living through the dark, Nordic winter days/nights, walks in nature, evenings lit by candlelight, blankets in the sofa, spending time with family & friends ♡ maybe even planning those vacations? Thanks for the input 🇩🇰❤🇩🇰
And it sucks, because not only do we pay the high income tax we also have to pay 100% that others get for free. It’s so weird that we ended up allowing that it’s fair to take 65-85% of peoples income just because we work / earn more than others.
@@stjerneskruetraekker You're gonna have to explain those numbers to me. As far as I'm aware, the tax is capped at 52,06% (source: www.legaldesk.dk/artikler/topskat ), so where do you get 85 % from?
Its so fun to hear your view on us, as a happy nation. I normally dont give any thoughts into it, but you guys actually started to make me think about some of those things, and maybe appriciate it more :), so thanks you guys. Keep it up. :)
As an Icelander living in Denmark for 15 years, I'm enjoying you guys' take on things immensely. I've only recently started watching your channel, so I'm not sure if you've already covered this, but have you compared the length of a work week between Denmark and the US? For me and my wife, at least, we felt the difference between the Danish 37-hour work week and the Icelandic 42-hour one, which roughly translates to a full days' off worth every 8 weeks. This was something we appreciated greatly as a family.
Thanks! We haven't yet, but I was thinking of doing a video very soon that tackles vacation time and work week would make sense to include in that discussion....though I will say that for me the work week length feels pretty similar to the US. Though I think that has a lot to do with covid and working from home, where it becomes a bit harder to set boundaries.
But then again the stress level here in the western part of Denmark is again even lower Than in Copenhagen. I could never live with the stress levels found in Copenhagen
Hi there. Recent subscriber here. Watching videos of foreigners reacting, reflecting and so on, to various things about Denmark, has been a guilty pleasure of mine on and off for years. You know, we Danes really like hearing foreigners talk about us - I guess I am no different :). But I usually get fed up really fast, due to the videos often being very superficial. Yours are definitely a cut above the norm. Much more reflection, perspective and so on, and a video on a topic like this one, also causes me to reflect on my own situation as a native Dane. So thank you for that! On the topic of this video, I personally think you pretty much hit the main reasons - but personally think that the causes of some of these reasons maybe a different. Biggest thing I think, is definitely the stress thing. And when you think about it, it is kind of obvious - it almost is the direct opposite of happiness right :). So the overall stress level is low for a lot of the reasons that you mention - and personally I think that money is one of the big contributors here. Given the broad and overall social and medical security setup we have, along with low unemployment rates for decades now, the average Dane will just have a fundamental sense that there definitely are limits to how bad things can go, and that those limits aren't terrible. Being a very homogenous country - both in terms of economic and culture - also helps I think. It comes down to the fundamental sense of "the tribe". If just about any one of your fellow country men act almost exactly like you, look like you, live like you, talk like you, etc., you will trust your fellow country men much easier, and that makes social contracts much easier to establish, and solid going forward. Obviously there are a ton of other things that go into it, but I think those are the two most important ones. Mirandas point about our minimalism, I don't personally really see as playing a role - at least not on the economic side of things. But maybe the more simplistic way of decorating is also overall calming, and helps you find your centre on a day-to-day basis, in a very subtle way. If there is something about the more minimalistic style contributing to happiness, I think it is more in that way. Well, just my few cents and those are very subjective, so I could be utterly wrong. So I just thought I would say thank you for some great and interesting videos, and kudos on your big effort on integrating, doing your utmost to try things, understand, reflect and so on - I can only imagine that it will go well for you. Best of luck!
Indeed, for me the point about minimalism causing more happiness was more about the fact that when there's less clutter, less things to clean, less mess, etc there is less stress. I realized a few years ago that my anxiety was closely tied to clutter. The more clutter there was, the more stressed I got. So I adopted minimalism as a way to help (which it did) and that's when I started researching more about hygge and Meik Weiking's research into happiness.
So interesting. Watching your vids from start to finish. I`m danish, but have been travelling a bit in USA. Hitchhiking from east to west and north to south. Got a lot of family over there. I´ve got the same impression of the differences between our countries as you do. Taxes, welfare, education and in this vid "contentment". Just the right word for everyday happiness. Continue your "production". Hope you`ll stay forever content in DK. Best regards Henning
Thank you very much for making this you tube channel, it also helps us as danes to think more about how we can be better towards People coming to Denmark😊😊 And you guys are always welcome in our home 😊
Dane who worked in the US (Illinois) here: I think you are hitting home on A LOT of things. That goes for both your so called "pros" and "cons". Hope you enjoy your time here.
As a Norwegian/fellow scandinavian and half American, a bit late, but welcome to Scandinavia! Denmark is very close to us as we used to be under Denmark before 1814. I hope you enjoy your stay in the north for the years to come and stay safe during the pandemic that's going on considering most of Denmark is a red zone right now, and once it lifts you should take a trip to Norway! you won't regret it :) and don't worry, you can get Cocio at the stores here in Norway as well :P I just wish we had the "Sjokoladeplater" here, the chocolate plates you put on bread since those are legendary.
VartixGaming, I love Norway and definetly recommend taking a trip there. Its a beautiful country well worth visiting (even if it is quite expensive😉)especially if you like hiking or skiing👍🏼
I loooooove chokolade pålæg, especially the dark chokolate variety😋 you can actually make your own by melting chokolate, dripping it on "oven paper" (No idea what its called in english, I Hope you know what I mean😁) spread it thin and let dry. Place on buttered bread, sink teeth in and drooooool😋😁😜
Thanks for your view on us Danes - most of it are spot on... What life is all about is being happy and safe, and provide for your familiy no matter what happens. Thats why, we dont mind paying more taxes...
I’m from Denmark. This was really an eye opener about all the things I take for granted. I so had not thought about the health angle. Thank you very much for sharing.
Your are spot on with starting in a new School, and how it can be kinda hard to get a close friendship with other kids/youngsters thats known each other their whole life! But....that`s where the “forenings-liv” get in the picture. Almost every dane is in somekind of “forening”. These places is where you meet likeminded people from all socierty. The boss`s kid is playing football with the poor families kids, and we get together from different schools/jobs/backgrounds to be passionated together about some common interest! The most amazing thing is that it`s all runned by voluntaries. Hope you enjoy your stay🤘
Hi I am from Canada and had a friend in Denmark suggest I watch you to more understand Denmark. I think the channel is great and I joined. I think we are so in between the USA and Denmark. Interesting.
You guys pick out some interesting subjects. If you worry less - you live longer and becomes a happier person. If you worry about health, education, old age - or even lack of success compared to your peers - your quality of life will diminish. In Denmark you can be a success even if you are not wealthy. That does not mean, however, that we are all happy about our government and how they run things!!!!!!
Visit Lyø in the summer. (Go camping, fishing, swimming, nature.) - I promise you that those small isles around Fyn will make you even more happy. Im glad you like it here, I enjoyed your perspective on things.
I recently moved from the US to Denmark after studying here on exchange a couple years back and loving it. It makes me happy to see that other Americans share the positive perspective of the country that I do. As I am in my early twenties, I moved here to study and left all of my family back in the States, and it was difficult convincing them of the value which this country has to offer. Admittedly, the COVID times have decreased my motivation for making a life here, but watching your videos has helped a lot, so thank you!
This is by far one of the most accurate descriptions of the Danish happiness ranking. You’re very spot on with your observations - and describing happiness as being content is so very true speaking as a Dane. I acknowledge that we Danes are notoriously bad at inviting new comers into our friend circles as we often have a strict distinction betweeen friends and colleagues (work friends) which make especially hard for immigrants as they are most likely to meet Danish friends in the workplace. But be advised - that we are always open for Friday beers (or Friday after hours hang outs) and this is very efficient way of moving from being a colleague to a friend if you have some patience. And thank you for sharing your observations - it’s always interesting to hear what other cultures think of your own. And I found your views on tax vs free healthcare, education etc quite interesting as that is not normally the views of the general American (or at least how I perceive the general American maybe wrongfully so)
You guys are really sweet, and so plesant in presenning Danmark. Especially saying happy=content and say safety= happyness. You are really cool, enjoy it here, And welcome to Danmark. (I feel like I made a lot of spelling arrors) sorry.
Hej! Jag är amerikansk också, jag kan snacka svenska och kan förstå norska och danska. Jag vill flytta till Sverige någon dag. Fin video! Jag har hört att Danmark var ett av de lyckligaste länder, men förstod inte vad de menade med "lyckligt'. Tack för att ni förklarade detta. Förstår ni allt vad jag skriver på svenska?
As a Dane living abroad I've noticed the Danish culture: once you've become 25 y.o. you've decided who's your friends and that's for life. There's no room for more friends
What an awesome video and take on DK and happiness. As a Dane, I think this is a very spot on definition on some of the reasons we ourselves mentioned, so it was interesting to hear your take and personal stories too. I might use this video in my job too as I working on a large exchange program where we need to explain foreigner about DK and DK culture. Also, I want to add to your points that I think Danes high membership of sports clubs and civil society organizations contribute to the happiness. Ofc through having fun with whatever activity you are doing but just as much from the more social network it gives you outside of the workplace/school. Anywho. Keep doing these vids. Its smart and cute altogether :-))
This is a very charming country, I hope I can visit again sometime in the future when all this is over. I know I am happy when I am in Denmark. Seeing and sharing places like this is why I love traveling and make videos so much!
"Make Denmark Happy Again!" - that's how we taunt Trump, haha 😄 Love your content btw. Also, it would be interesting to hear your opinion, or maybe experience, with danish humor - which is known for maybe using more irony and sarcasm than american. Keep up the good work 👍
I will have to think about the humor a bit. It is sarcastic and dry. I also think it doesn’t translate as well to English. But it is different for sure :).
The thing about classes being made up of kids that have known each other for years is a hurdle for anyone new, not just foreigners. I switched school a couple of times in folkeskole, because my parents got divorced and I moved with my mother, and then we moved again when she remarried. My experience is that the new guy/girl in class is top of the list to become the next bully victim. That's back in the 80's and 90's though, so may be different now. I personally got bullied for years until 2 new girls transferred in in a short time. Then one of the girls became the new target. How much it was because she was new, and how much it was because of her personality I can't say though. But she did have her personality against her. My issue may also have been that I had little in common with my classmates. I was lucky enough to discover a peer group of nerds from the kids that were a year younger than us though. All that is not an issue at efterskole or højskole though. Getting a fresh start at a ungdoms højskole was a huge leap forward for me socially.
That is interesting and something we often forget. It is easy for us to think as non Danes we are treated differently, but you are right the same problems exist for anyone new to a community. Thanks for the reminder and sharing your story.
From my experience with new kids(haven't been it myself but have had a fair amount of new kids in my class), except of course always being hard to get into a friend group, the new kid get a lot of attention and people trying to befriend them, so I think it depends on the class. Fx my class we didn't really had many groups to some extend everyone was together except a few sometimes grouped of and mostly the guys was together and the girls was together, but we were also the class who nearly never had any problems, so maybe we deviated a lot from an typical class.
I am an American who moved from New York to Delaware 8 years ago. i am almost a citizen now! I would love to talk with you all. I agree on many of your views.
Yea that's what I tell my American friends when they ask about the tax here, it's so worth it for the things you get in turn and the safety nets aswell as the worrying about huge medical bills and college funds, there is equality for opportunities, no matter what background you can get the education you want, hope you are doing well despite the virus cheers.
Something many also forget about "free" medical servises is that the government as a big customer is ablt to buy medicin etc cheaper then smaller US hospitals. That mean that even though danes pay less pr capita (5205 USD in 2016) to healthcare then US do pr capita (9892 USD in 2016), we still get the same or better treatment and for the whole population. This is also why it often is alot cheaper to buy medicin in Canada (for a US citizen) then to buy it in the US, for the same product btw.
@@Juuk-D Hi its the annual cost pr. citizen. In denmark payed via taxes (almost entirely) and my source is WHO: apps.who.int/nha/database/Select/Indicators/en (notice this is for 2016) Edit spelling/typo
Hej! As a 'born and raised' American, but have lived my whole adult life in DK (ca. 40 years) ...I can honestly say, that you are spot-on in your observations of Danes, Denmark and the Danish culture after living here for a couple of years. Your observations will naturally change and adjust as you liv here for a longer period. But that is to be expected. F.ex. ..in time, you will learn to love 'fladfisk' and maybe even progress to 'Super Piratos'! Don't hesitate to contact me, should you need advise from a 'converted American'! I have NEVER regretted moving to DK!!!
Hygge makes us happy :P - No everything you said in this video for sure makes us happy, but also the fact that everyone is equal. The lady at the grocery store is as much worth as the CEO of a big company. All jobs are looked at as important and no one frowns upon any job-title, as long as you do work and pay taxes :)
This was odd to learn when I first started working here, but now I am all in. It makes me happier to not be consumed by how to get more money and a better title. Work is more enjoyable.
I really wanted to add this one hen we talked about trade schools! It’s so great to see that in Denmark grocery store workers and plumbers etc aren’t looked down upon like they are in the US
@@mayaanastasiayoung6739 Not only US. Its like that in many countries sadly. Families and friends will look at you like you are being stupid if you take a "lesser" job, even though that job makes you happy :)
Thank you very much for your view of life in Denmark. I shared it on Facebook, for a very special reason. For all the good you mention, makes me proud to be Danish, but also sad that it is no longer valued. If there is anyone who can complain about small things, it is really Danes, and it is a little sad when we now feel so good and safe.
First of all, welcome to Denmark :) and thank you for an honest opinion and what you think is good and bad. It was a really good video, and especially about finding friends ect ... correctly you have a friend in denmark you have him / her for life. but good friends are hard for us to find .. I will happily enjoy having an American friend too .. so I can learn more about the USA and your ways of living.
With danes, DON'T try to force a "friendship", let the friendship evolve more naturally, and eventually you will get friendships. If you try and force a friendship, a dane will more likely take a step back, insted of invite you in.
Great video guys. You hit the nail on the head in many respects. I moved here over thirty years ago and apart from the points you rightly make I found that learning the language quickly, and more importantly properly, unlocks a lot of “doors”. Make more vids! 🥰
What a lovely video. We welcome you, and hope you will stay. Embracing, and appreciating what you have is clearly important. And it seems like you embrace all that is Danish in our little country here. I would add to your sentiments expressed here that what I'm personally hearing you describing is lack of economic anxiety. Almost all the topics you came around was worrying about how you pay for this or that, even in the future IF grandma gets sick, or if you lose your job, or if YOU yourself gets sick etc... We have none of that. Avoiding anxiety = feeling safe. Feeling safe = feeling content. And as you stated: feeling content = feeling happy. You cannot be "truly happy" about your job, life, health if you constantly have to fear that literally tomorrow you can lose it all from no fault of your own... Also: a quick note. I'm a 36 year old Danish male, and I have NEVER in my life met a Danish person with a gun. Not a single individual. EVER! That should maybe be a topic for you at some point? Your lovely daughter eluded to it speaking about school doors being unlocked (and my reaction was: "why on earth wouldn't they be"?) I get that you are forced to think about it in the US, and it speaks to a lot about why we are so happy in DK. We do not have to worry about a lot. We don't have the worries, or the anxieties. We are simply carefree and content, for the very most part.
Thanks for the feedback! I’ve thought about a video discussing guns, but it is a sensitive subject so I need to figure out the best approach. I am not into guns myself and never plan to own one. So my personal perspective might be similar to the average Dane :).
@@TravelinYoung It surely is a sensitive subject for your US viewers, but guns as a topic is not an issue at all here in Denmark as you know. When nobody has guns, no one speaks about guns, or worry about them. (and more importantly has no reason to fear them). Also I think the lack of "economic anxiety" is more on point regarding the video here. And I find it to be THE reason why scandinavia/the nordics in general is regarded some of the happiest places to live. The safety net of the welfare state gives wel-fare, which translates directly into "faring well" in life, if thinking of the origins of the word. The "well" part is the "safe" part. What does "well" mean? Contentment. The state helps you fare well in life. In Denmark you can more easily fare well, and many reach "happiness" cause of the state, not despite it. One could argue, at least.
It's not free, it's paid by high taxes everyone pays here. SU student money also comes from tax money so no. A better explanation is the level of corruption is not high yet, so the money goes where it should go instead of to the pockets of politicians like in many other countries
@@ThiagodMoraes That is true, its not free but it certainly feels that way. However even with higher taxes, which is the go-to counter argument for all Americans etc. Middleclass/lowerclass Danes earn a way better living, than Americans. Many folks over there have to work several jobs. This is not necessary here
@@Србомбоница86 That is a wierd and wrong assumption. Litterally because your parents wallet dont define your possibilities, you can do and become anything you work for. The fact that the Danish goverment provide so many things for its citizens, makes this country easiser to live in and achieve sucess. It sounds sometimes too good to be true I know, but I guess people have to see it with their own eyes, before they understand that welfare breeds sucess.
@@gustavallingham1392 I don't see that small number of ambitious people staying in scandinavia ,they escape immediately,no one wants to be a clone,you live a very sheltered life in Scandinavia ,I don't think your society can ever encourage true purposeful life ,you end up just existing not living
From my point of view the "safety and trust" aspects are real important factors in terms of being happy. And safety can be understood broadly. Not only physical safety, but also job safety, health safety, much less stress in many terms.
You’re video is so cool and funny. I’m a Dane who’s lived 2,5 yrs in the US but you guys are so spot on in this video. Glad to hear you’re enjoying our beautiful country. Have a wonderful time here.
Speaking of happiness, I recommend the "The Dark Side of Happiness" TEDx talk by Meik Wiking: th-cam.com/video/PbtzY-8IFTQ/w-d-xo.html At least I found it very interesting. He studies happiness, and has written a book about hygge, among other things.
I am indeed a Meik Wiking junkie! I discovered his research when I started diving in to minimalism back in 2016. I think his Dark Side of Happiness brings up some really important topics that should be tackled in Danish society. One thing we didnt discuss about health care, because it was more negative, was how difficult it was (and is) to find help for Maya who has anxiety and sometimes depression. We couldn't find anyone to take her even though we had a referral for a psychologist. Mostly it was because they only treat adults. It's as if teens somehow don't experience depression. She's better now but that was really disappointing to discover and hard to manage as a parent.
Yeah I think the whole mental health field is struggling in Denmark. It seems a popular area to make cuts. I struggle with stress, anxiety and depression myself. And my best cure is exercise. It's a kliché by now, but it really is an all-round cure for pretty much anything. But getting people, and especially young women interested in exercise seems a challenge. And the lockdowns aren't helpful in regards to access to exercise. Personally I'd have to already be on a roll to consider jogging or other solo exercise outside of a gym. And sports like football(soccer) and badminton are my go tos for fun exercise.
@@lopaisate I don't know where you are, but I know a great psychologist who specializes in young people. I guess this is an other example of how the networks in Denmark can be hard to enter.
@@lopaisate Now I have seen all the comments, and I understand you are in Lyngby. If you need the contact details for a great psychologist I have it. I don't really know how private messages work on TH-cam?
When you start in the gymnasium, your friendbase will change completely, so do not worry ...
Just so Americans understand, gymnasium in Scandinavia is not a sports hall, it's school for people 16-19.
@@johnsmith_1942 No not High School
Upper-secondary education
@@MrSigele something in-between college and highschool
@@hejalll Yes kind of. The whole school and education system is build up in a different way.
I believe the happiness stems from the fact that you worry a lot less. A lot of studies have even shown that anticipation of something bad happening is worse mentally than the actual bad thing, so knowing you'll be safe almost no matter what just helps you to be more comfortable and stable, which is generally what we consider happiness.
Real talk
Thanks for first defining "happiness" as "contentment" - it's an important distinction that often gets lost in the debate.
Thanks for commenting on that, I totally agree. That is always where I start when explaining this to people.
Happiness as some try to define isn't even sustainable, but contentment is long lasting.
I just hope that americans dont fall for the fox "news" version of Denmark, comparing us to Venezuela on multiple matters. I am rather sure that Danes are happier/more content than venezuelans are and if we arnt, we have unlike the venezuelans every option in the world to leave Denmark and seek it elsewhere.
@@jimmywayne983 For sure, I agree. Hard to say what people walk away with, but I do make sure the people I know are aware of what life is like here :).
@@TravelinYoung And i appriciate your honest view on life here, us danes and Denmark in general. I have american friends that years ago left their dream of moving here, because they got scared by the false labels about Denmark and Scandinavia in general. Its really not that bad here, salary and welfare system reflect the high taxes, we have more freedom(s) than most people around the world, you in your video mentioning some of them, like the freedom in not having to worry about the childrens education, not having to worry about hospital and doctor bills, the freedom to take the whole family to vietnam each year on vacation because we get 6 weeks paid vacation from work each year, there is a freedom in those things that are hard to appriciate if you never tried it. And i really think you give a truthful view on Denmark and i as a Dane (proud yet humble as we are) like to see other people almost viewing my country as through my eyes, it warms my heart :) You live in one of the worlds oldest kingdoms with The worlds oldest national flag still in use, we are a small country but have survived this long, we can only be proud of the society that we have created and even more so when people like your family can appriciate it and want to share your honest view so that maybe other americans could learn to love these values as both you and i do, americans are more than welcome here and since most danes know a basic level of english, communication isnt a huge problem, i hope :)
@@jimmywayne983 Thanks for saying that. We try to be ambassadors for those back home :).
Working as a craftsman in Denmark, in a small factory, my Boss noticed at a "health-meeting", that during ten years I had one day off being sick! Of course letting your colleagues down would be harder for them to still produce the same, but we never felt any pressure and had our 6 weeks vacations at separate times during the year also. It was my best place to work and I worked there for 20 years till nearly my pension.🙂
As a Portuguese I was taught the most valuable lesson of all upon coming to Denmark, to appreciate the very small things in life. As for friendships, you are allowed to use your elbows and invite yourself into a small group, you just have to find the right balance and be delicate about it while giving it a lot of time, I have the best friends in the world and it took me perhaps 2-3 years to gain those friendships.
The thing about caring for the old: This depends very much on if you live in a city like Copenhagen or if you live in the countryside. People in the countryside look after their old ones, whether they are family or not. When my mom was old, she and her neighbor had an unspoken agreement: When she woke up in the morning, she would open the curtain in her kitchen window, so that the neighbor would know that she was okay. If the curtain wasn't open, the neighbor would check in on her, to see what was wrong. In addition, the neighbor would check in on her regularly anyway, twice a week or so, just in case. (And to get a cup of coffee). This arrangement was a big relief for me, as I live in Copenhagen, and she lived in the far west of Jutland, so I couldn't just go and see her every day. So that made ME happy! If you live in Copenhagen, people are not checking in on you so much, if at all, unless, of course, they are your friends.
I think the whole thing boils down to a very healthy view on generational debt: My son owes me nothing. What I gave him, when he was a kid, was the repaying of my debt to my parents, and I expect him to pay me back by being a good father for his kids. The same goes for our health and social care: I have paid a shitload of taxes in my lifetime, and most of the money was used to keep old people I don't even know alive, to give kids and young people I don't know an education, and to pay the hospital bills of people I don't know. Now I am old, and happy, because some people I don't even know are paying my pensions and my medical bills. So we Danes are even happy to pay our taxes (well, most of us, most of the time) because we can see that the money are put to good use.
Makes total sense. Thanks for sharing. I feel the same way about generations. The best gift I can give my parents is to give Maya an even better life than they gave me, and they worked really hard for us, so it won't be easy!
I agree. I live in a small Danish City and we often Help my wifes parents but they Also Help us alot
Same thing goes for Norway.
Oh, and my 93 year old dad who lives alone, has a neighbour ( across the hallway), who checks in on him every day.
Even though my brother visits dad roughly every other day, and takes him shopping once or twice a week....
Personally I live in a high rise with about 100 people. From all over the world. I don't know them all, but most of us check on each other weekly, and sometimes go shopping together.
It's the scandinavian norm, I think.
Stay safe and well.
Love from Oslo, Norway 💖
My grandma lives in the same building block as my family (and also me when I did live there), she is really not well so we check on her a lot the whole family. Because of the welfare older people feel confident enough moving away (or being okay being away) from their kids and grandchildren. Which of course leads to less check ups.
As a Dane living in the US, can I just say how much I value your perspective? It's a bit of an eye-opener. Please keep making these?
Thanks for saying that, will do!
dont worry, the current status for denmark is really bad. the amount of problems the government has at the moment, plus the communes dont care if you got a problem is insane. i was promised treatment for some physical problems i had in the past, but it took them 3 years after more than 10 requests from my mom, before they looked into it and the person who promised me this had already resigned. then i had to wait like 1 more year, and then i got my treatment. even so, the commune i live in today is very greedy. so is most of denmark, its just a greedy place to live in. even as a citizen, youre not treated well and the police department is too short on men to patrol small cities but they send around 10k policemen out to find illegal scooters, not cars but scooters.
one of my moms friends husband is really sick and is close to dying. he needed treatment for his mental health, even surgery, but the hopistal saw he was close to dying so they kept on postponing it because they didnt want to use the money and the resources to make someone last just bit longer.
even when looking at the good things here in denmark, its just sad. if youre poor, youre just getting poor. if youre rich, youre just getting richer. theres no in between
as a dane, i can only give you my POW but as a swede i can only give you the issues. denmark messed up my life in many ways and gave me scars for life, i am not planning on staying here
@@orazdhl6542 Your situation does not reflect the general condition of Denmark nor is it most of your statements true. It is something you think is true, but it is not.
So anyone reading Jock's post, do not fret. Denmark is far from the hellhole he describes.
@@kasperyde159 uhm no, then you live in a better commune than i do. That's literally all im saying
@@orazdhl6542 that is not what you were saying. You made broad statements that you put on all of Denmark, which is far from the case.
Example from your post:
"the commune i live in today is very greedy. so is most of denmark, its just a greedy place to live in"
Not true at all.
Also this: "if youre poor, youre just getting poor. if youre rich, youre just getting richer. theres no in between"
This can be said about basically any country, so nothing to do with it being Denmark. Actually in Denmark, like any Scandinavian country, we strive to make the lessen the difference between rich and poor.
Bonjour from Paris. When I look at the worrying state of the world, I see Denmark as a precious diamond. I know everything is not perfect, but we have a lot to learn from the Danes.
Hav en god dag !
Thanks you too!
Indeed. No doubt about that.
The best Cocio you can get, is when you walk through town on a frosty day, kicking the slush with your boots, cold to the bones. Then you spot a pølsemand in his pølsevogn, and decide to order an indianer i kano og fuld krigsmaling (a hotdog) with a varm Cocio. You'll start eating the hotdog waiting for the Cocio to cool a bit, then you carefully take your first small sip. Beware it's scolding hot, but it has never tasted better, and the frost wil start to leave your bones, making the rest of your walk a mere cakewalk. Stay happy the lot of you.
I am so thirsty right now :). I love hot chocolate in general, and warm cocio would absolutely hit the spot!
Mmm hot Cocio. Cold Cocio just disappears as soon as you open it..
i live like 30 min walk from where the make Cocio =D
@@istrysii jealous!
@@TravelinYoung well i know when this CV-19 is over you can always come to esbjerg and i can see if the have a tour of the place ... the sometimes do that
As an American with a Norwegian family heritage, this largely mirrors my own thoughts on happiness in the Scandinavian countries vs. in the US. Thanks for sharing!
After seeing this vid, it hits me how often we danes take, insurance - healthcare - and like maya said safe school for granted. thanks for point it out :-)
Haha, happy to help. :)
But of course we should take those things for granted. I know we are the exception but these things are in my opinion human rights.
You are never happy when your next door neighbours are not
We pay minimum 25% VAT on everything + half of our salaries... And you're saying that we're taking it for granted?
@@jens1567 plz hav a look at your paycheck aging and tell me we pay 50% tax in denmark, ok if you are ind the top 5-10% you pay more tax of the amount over i think it's 450.000 dkr. (67733 USD) if not you don't pay 50% tax
i pay 39% in tax and i hav a deductible amount on 3500 dkr. (527 USD) a month
i have a blue collar job and make about 400.000 dkr. (60207,41 USD) a year, working 37 hours a week and 6 weeks of paid vacation
@@Shajmen Let's assume you pay 39% of your 400.000 dkk salary. 11% is 44.000 DKK. Obviously you're paying over 44.000 DKK per year in 25% VAT. But calculate the amount of taxes above your 25% VAT and surely it will be around 44.000. Certain foods, alcohol, cigarettes, everything related to cars, your home that you OWN, the money you inherit etc. Boom! Half of your wage goes to the state.
Emigrated to Denmark in the late 1990's. If you're having problems finding friends or building a social network in Denmark, join an organization.
Yeah, thats the way tomeet people in scndiavia, in a club, work, university or something, just meet someone random at a bar or so in not at all have the same chans to last
Plenty to chose from - a recent one: Men in Black. Antifa is another one. If you are an oldtimer like me - DNSAP (Danish Noobs Show Ass Permantently)
For you snowflakes who did not stay awake at school - DNSAP originally was: Danmarks Nationalsocialistiske Arbejderparti" - I hate it how you always has to explain everything to make the joke.......
@@carstenf279 That would be danish Nazis for the english speaking
There is saying: If three danes get together, they form a 'forening', which is a legal organization
Much of the "contentness" comes from economic equality and mutual trust in each other.
It's like average life expectancy. It's mainly increased by eliminating child death factors.
Same for happiness. Denmark has focused on eliminating the worst sadness. Hence the overall increase in happiness.
You guys seem pretty cool. The daughter who is fine with paying higher taxes, to know that her and her neighbours are happy and safe.... congrats, you are now a dane ;)
Thanks, and that is funny!
So true.. There are more important things than ourselves
The Cocio commercial was better when they used Eva Mendes in it :-)
There u go th-cam.com/video/Q3dgnFflJCk/w-d-xo.html
😂😂
But the best was the one in late 90s were a teen couple were sitting on a swing near a lake and the girl falls into the lake and drowns and the guy forgetting her while drinking Cocio.... so evil and dark XD
If you live temporarily in Denmark then yes it will be a little bit hard to start a friendship with a Dane (but if you have a good sense of humor it wouldn't take you a long time before it will happen), & if you live in Denmark permanently then you'll for sure soon get a couple of friends for life! I'm myself a Danish citizen (born & raised here to Arab parents), and when I say Danes loves a good laugh I mean it! 😃 When I was a kid at age 16-17 I spent a week in a car mechanic workshop as in something called "Elevpraktik", and f... me 😂 everyday we laughed our asses of (we did not take anything seriously, and the boss was the mastermind behind it 😂) We have something called "Sort humor" of which we tell each other dark humor jokes (again not to be taken seriously), or if anyone of us was caught slippin your own coworkers will throw you into a pool of cold water, give you something called a "Buksevand" 😂, put a 5 Kroner in your a** crack if you're bending over & not paying attention, or for that matter throw you in a workshop garbage bin.. 🤭 It's called "Værkstedshumor", and even when I worked in a warehouse we had the same fun! As long you're an open minded person, who loves to laugh it will not be difficult!
It is true that laughter and humor can help a ton. For sure!
❤️
Respect for not trying to explain "hygge" at all :)
in terms of Maya paying taxes, she can actually avoid doing that by ordering a "frikort", this makes is possible for her to earn about 40.000 kr. a year without paying taxes.. just mentioning in case you did not know.
Yeah, that is helpful. She just needs to find time and a job first :).
You still have to pay like 8% of your earnings but yeah.
@@TravelinYoung Be aware that this advice hinges on her earning less than 40.000. Also, 40.000 is a fantasy number. The amount is different for everyone.
If her income is higher than her personal deduction, it is smarter to pay her taxes evenly throughout the year. Which, I think, is the default.
@@TravelinYoung What Michael Meyers said. Frikort is usually for people below 18 and only means that the yearly deductibles one person has, will be used in the beginning of the year instead of evenly distributed. The amount on your frikort is the same deductible amount on the regular "taxcard".
Congrats on another great vid finally someone who shines light on what happiness is in Europe my American friends always thinks that happiness here is smiling dancing running through flower fields etc.
But man the dopamine I get by ridingg my bike even in the cold of winter is still fun.
Thanks for saying that!
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for sharing this.
I have traveled a fair bit around europe, and often eastern europe, and I think that some of the things that danes do not take notice of, is how lucky or fortunate they/we are, to be born in this developed society, where people has, in the past struggled, fought and worked hard for what we have today.
We take so many things of the society for granted, grumping and complaining about this and that.
We need more humility towards our own country and history, and be more grateful.
So I thank you, for giving your view on how great Denmark is, because it's only in your perspective, that we can see why we need to be grateful!
That is so awesome for you to say. It is our pleasure to be able to share our thoughts with you. Thank you for watching!
You are totally right! Some Danes will smugly say "well, I'M not happy, not EVERYTHING is great" like they've debunked the whole idea, and completely overlook that just because everything in your life isn't perfect, everyone living here still has a LOT to be grateful for and happy about. Low crime and corruption, strong safety net, no-cost-at-point-of-access healthcare and education (and you get paid to go to school!), a general understanding that life events trump work concerns, reasonably strong social capital... It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than what most people have! Some Danes are just spoiled, by which I mean not grateful for what they have.
I lived in DK for a couple of years. I currently live in Australia, and I am moving back because of quite a few things that you mentioned in this video.
As an immigrant myself, I understand your take in friends and family, although I'm married to a dane so it's not so bad. If you plan to stay long then you will be able to get there where you get danish friends for life.
That's the best way to get close to the Danes: Marry one of them!
Thank you!
I’m danish and live in Denmark, but my dad lives in America and every time I visit him I immediately, right as I step out of the airport, feel more stressed out and continues to do so the whole time I’m there, I feel like my safety net is gone. I usually find it very hard to explain to my American friends about Denmark and why I feel the way that I feel but you guys explained it perfectly so next time I’ll just show them your video😁
Sweet thanks! It is stressful now when I go to the US as well. :)
Another thing about the friendship, Danes in general grow up with the same friends, all the way through school most Danes are in class with the same 20ish people, so they often have very tightknit groups from that, and the mentality from there lasts into adulthood as well
Makes sense.
When I first started delving into the internet to learn anything and everything Danish, I was so fascinated by these metrics about happiness. To me it was almost like a testament to the sort of culture that could make that happen, and it constantly inspired me to want to learn more Danish. Yeah, I definitely do think a lot of Americans at least will mistake what is meant by what the "happiest country" is like. It's not that citizens are experiencing euphoria constantly, it's that the environment they live in is set up to cut out as many contributing factors for *UNhappiness as possible, whereas in other parts of the world the political situation caters to a select and lucky few. And I just love how the Nordics fight over the privilege of being called the happiest in any given year. Why can't more countries have that sort of ambition? Seems to me that it's the only logical ambition that a country SHOULD have in the first place, not who has the most guns or most oil.
While we didn't talk about it, in DK there is this concept of no one being better than anyone else. I found Americans are often driven by being better than others, at work, having a better car, bigger house, etc etc. With that motive it is hard to maintain contentment or happiness.
@@TravelinYoung janteloven!
@@Jeffur2 exactly!
@@Jeffur2 It´s not all bad
@@TravelinYoung - In Denmark, you can easily live next to someone with a bigger house/car/tv and still be great friends with them. The trick is that the person having the "better" of something, doesn't start looking down at you for not having the same things, and doesn't turn it into a contest.
Most danes will be happy and congratulate their friends or neighbours with something like a new car, new job, promotion etc. As long as the person doesn't change behaviour over it.
But let's be honest, will a bigger/better car/tv/house actually make you happieras a person?
As a native Dane.. You really pinpointed our country.
I’m so happy y’all are having a good experience in Denmark. Actually it sounds like you’re having a great time in DK. Bless all of you.💕
Thank you, we are!
Been a sup to your chanel for only a few days, but love you guys already... ;-)
I see the taxes as an Insurance.. for me, my family and my neighbor.
And I dont mind insure my neighbor, colleague or even people i do not know. as well.
Because I know that they are doing the same thing for me.
That's pure charity and being social, without the "ismn" ;-)
Your smiles and eyes says more than your words...
You are already happy and hit by the danish "feeling" of just loving life here ;-)
Thank's for yet another great video ;-)
Thanks. These are all interesting to me to understand and explore. We are happy so far, for sure!
I would agree 100% with you guys the lag of worries because things have already been taken cared of, is a major factor in the happiness in Denmark.
I don’t know how this video ended up in my feed, but I really enjoyed it. And as a Dane living in Copenhagen I must say I think you made some interesting points and I think you are spot on with you thoughts.
It fun to hear these things from people who moved to DK. And also a bit sad about the part with us Danes being a bit reserved. Which I unfortunately must say is true. Also for my self. But I want to do better and you seem like such nice and reasonable people. So if you ever need anyone to go for a good walk outside ;) just let me know. But after two years here, you probably have succeeded in breaking through to some Danes hehe :)
Haha, well I am glad you found us! Thanks for the kind words and the offer. We have over time been able to make good friends, we just need to be able to see them again! Thanks again for watching.
Thanks for you're take on happiness in Denmark. 😃
Love your families dynamics and I will deffently watch some of the other videos you have made. 😃
If you would like to experience another part of Denmark, I really suggest you visit the Middle Jutland, maybe for a couple week or so, when COVID-19 once apon a time is gone. ☺
About the design angle - I lived aborad with my kids, and there was a major difference to the local kids in the attitude to design and architecture. My kids would know the names of some of the great designers when they were 8-10 years old. My oldest son was, is, in love with the chairs of Arne Jacobsen. One day we passed a shop which had spezialized in Danish design and he wanted to go in. Anyway he and the shopkeeper had a talk about the different chairs and design items - and it was totally normal. The shopkeeper did not even wonder why an eight-year old liked his goods.
It's funny how Danes (myself included) always seem to be drawn to content about our country.
Love the content - please keep making it and keep living young!
Thanks, we sure will! I am glad you enjoy it!
Like me, so sick of the lies. “Denmark is like Venezuela” “ and how our “govement pays men to this and that” ... when I finally find a Chanel like this that tells the truth (no more or less) about Denmark, I’m hooked. We are SUCH a small country and not many knows whats up.
one of the reason why danes is so happy is because we take care of each other
No, we don’t. The wellfare system does that for us.
@@lenesvingel4450 Yes we actuarly do. And "we" dont see "em" as "real" danes.
@@lenesvingel4450 no it does´n believe me the wellfare system does´n work for shit
This is so interesting to watch. Your angle on the reason for happiness in a country is inspiring. Great stuff. Well, I also easily talked to Joshua for about 45 minutes when I met the Young’s in August. When Corona is over, we’ll invite you guys over for American barbecue, our home made burgers and for a ride in a real American truck if you miss that feeling.
That sounds awesome, it would be great to see you again and catch up. Plus I will always eat BBQ! I hope you are well. You need to watch the video of when Maya and I went to Samsø to see some cool drone footage I got :).
I see the point of friends in school here in Denmark since i got a Friend for 11 years i went to kindergarden with him i am 16 so we have Been friends for Long and its pretty spot on with the things you say about Denmark and the happiness 🙂
As a Dane, we have always known that Danish 'happy' is equal to
: no stress & contentment
but also Danish hygge, is a big factor..
Living through the dark, Nordic winter days/nights, walks in nature, evenings lit by candlelight, blankets in the sofa, spending time with family & friends ♡
maybe even planning those vacations?
Thanks for the input 🇩🇰❤🇩🇰
Haha, yep hygge is definitely a factor. We are doing our best. Thanks for watching!
"The broad shoulders carry the load" is the Danish way. 😁
And it sucks, because not only do we pay the high income tax we also have to pay 100% that others get for free.
It’s so weird that we ended up allowing that it’s fair to take 65-85% of peoples income just because we work / earn more than others.
should say: "Broader shoulders carry more weight".
@@NielMorganThomas “broader shoulders carry it all”
@@stjerneskruetraekker actually the broadest shoulders carry jack shit - same in DK as in US - but I was talking about the principle.
@@stjerneskruetraekker You're gonna have to explain those numbers to me. As far as I'm aware, the tax is capped at 52,06% (source: www.legaldesk.dk/artikler/topskat ), so where do you get 85 % from?
you're making me happy watching your videos- Thank you.
Awesome, you are welcome and thanks for watching!
1000 subs, the way to go!
Thanks, we are super excited. Big day for us!
Why would someone give you thumbs down. It's fresh and seems genuine. Thanks.
Haha, I agree, thanks!
Its so fun to hear your view on us, as a happy nation. I normally dont give any thoughts into it, but you guys actually started to make me think about some of those things, and maybe appriciate it more :), so thanks you guys. Keep it up. :)
That is awesome, I am glad to hear that! We plan to keep on going, we appreciate you watching!
And by the way, make a trip to Fredericia on day, my home town :)
We definitely will!
That is completely correct. It's good to hear it from someone who has not lived here all their lives.
Great vid. And even though you guys have been here for 2 years... Welcome :)
As an Icelander living in Denmark for 15 years, I'm enjoying you guys' take on things immensely. I've only recently started watching your channel, so I'm not sure if you've already covered this, but have you compared the length of a work week between Denmark and the US? For me and my wife, at least, we felt the difference between the Danish 37-hour work week and the Icelandic 42-hour one, which roughly translates to a full days' off worth every 8 weeks. This was something we appreciated greatly as a family.
Thanks! We haven't yet, but I was thinking of doing a video very soon that tackles vacation time and work week would make sense to include in that discussion....though I will say that for me the work week length feels pretty similar to the US. Though I think that has a lot to do with covid and working from home, where it becomes a bit harder to set boundaries.
I think you nailed it when you mentioned the low(er) stress level.
But then again the stress level here in the western part of Denmark is again even lower Than in Copenhagen. I could never live with the stress levels found in Copenhagen
Wacthing your youtube vids makes me happier. Now Denmark just rose to number 1 .
So nice of you to say, thanks for watching!
Glad that you like Denmark :)
Hi there. Recent subscriber here. Watching videos of foreigners reacting, reflecting and so on, to various things about Denmark, has been a guilty pleasure of mine on and off for years. You know, we Danes really like hearing foreigners talk about us - I guess I am no different :).
But I usually get fed up really fast, due to the videos often being very superficial. Yours are definitely a cut above the norm. Much more reflection, perspective and so on, and a video on a topic like this one, also causes me to reflect on my own situation as a native Dane. So thank you for that!
On the topic of this video, I personally think you pretty much hit the main reasons - but personally think that the causes of some of these reasons maybe a different.
Biggest thing I think, is definitely the stress thing. And when you think about it, it is kind of obvious - it almost is the direct opposite of happiness right :).
So the overall stress level is low for a lot of the reasons that you mention - and personally I think that money is one of the big contributors here. Given the broad and overall social and medical security setup we have, along with low unemployment rates for decades now, the average Dane will just have a fundamental sense that there definitely are limits to how bad things can go, and that those limits aren't terrible.
Being a very homogenous country - both in terms of economic and culture - also helps I think. It comes down to the fundamental sense of "the tribe". If just about any one of your fellow country men act almost exactly like you, look like you, live like you, talk like you, etc., you will trust your fellow country men much easier, and that makes social contracts much easier to establish, and solid going forward.
Obviously there are a ton of other things that go into it, but I think those are the two most important ones.
Mirandas point about our minimalism, I don't personally really see as playing a role - at least not on the economic side of things. But maybe the more simplistic way of decorating is also overall calming, and helps you find your centre on a day-to-day basis, in a very subtle way. If there is something about the more minimalistic style contributing to happiness, I think it is more in that way.
Well, just my few cents and those are very subjective, so I could be utterly wrong. So I just thought I would say thank you for some great and interesting videos, and kudos on your big effort on integrating, doing your utmost to try things, understand, reflect and so on - I can only imagine that it will go well for you.
Best of luck!
Indeed, for me the point about minimalism causing more happiness was more about the fact that when there's less clutter, less things to clean, less mess, etc there is less stress. I realized a few years ago that my anxiety was closely tied to clutter. The more clutter there was, the more stressed I got. So I adopted minimalism as a way to help (which it did) and that's when I started researching more about hygge and Meik Weiking's research into happiness.
Great video! Most of us Danes have confidence in our authorities and our system. In this corona time it has shown that we are quite well organized.
So interesting. Watching your vids from start to finish. I`m danish,
but have been travelling a bit in USA. Hitchhiking from east to west and north to south. Got a lot of family over there. I´ve got the same impression of the differences between our countries as you do. Taxes, welfare, education and in this vid "contentment". Just the right word for everyday happiness. Continue your "production". Hope you`ll stay forever content in DK.
Best regards
Henning
Thanks!
Thank you very much for making this you tube channel, it also helps us as danes to think more about how we can be better towards People coming to Denmark😊😊 And you guys are always welcome in our home 😊
Thanks, and we appreciate you watching. I am glad you enjoy!
Oh I agree! I would love to have The Youngs as my neighbours! They seem so calm and joyful :D Sadly I live in the other end of Denmark :P
I want to come to Denmark. I cook very good food. I also make Biryani
Dane who worked in the US (Illinois) here: I think you are hitting home on A LOT of things. That goes for both your so called "pros" and "cons". Hope you enjoy your time here.
Lovely family! Hope you'll have long happy lives in Denmark :)
Thanks so much!
You guys should try a glass of Cocoio with some spoons of vanilla ice cream in it! Maybe add some rum.
Love you channel. Keep making awesome videos :D
As a Norwegian/fellow scandinavian and half American, a bit late, but welcome to Scandinavia! Denmark is very close to us as we used to be under Denmark before 1814. I hope you enjoy your stay in the north for the years to come and stay safe during the pandemic that's going on considering most of Denmark is a red zone right now, and once it lifts you should take a trip to Norway! you won't regret it :) and don't worry, you can get Cocio at the stores here in Norway as well :P I just wish we had the "Sjokoladeplater" here, the chocolate plates you put on bread since those are legendary.
Norway rocks! We've been to Bergen, Olso, and Stavanger. Can't wait to see more!
VartixGaming, I love Norway and definetly recommend taking a trip there. Its a beautiful country well worth visiting (even if it is quite expensive😉)especially if you like hiking or skiing👍🏼
@@annahart69 It sure is expensive, like wallet draining expensive :P
@@TravelinYoung Glad you like it! recommend checking out Kristiansand and the neighbour towns down by the sea, plenty of beautiful towns.
I loooooove chokolade pålæg, especially the dark chokolate variety😋 you can actually make your own by melting chokolate, dripping it on "oven paper" (No idea what its called in english, I Hope you know what I mean😁) spread it thin and let dry. Place on buttered bread, sink teeth in and drooooool😋😁😜
I just love the way that you guys are so much at home in Denmark. I am so happy to see that you like living in Denmark.
Thanks!
Thanks for your view on us Danes - most of it are spot on... What life is all about is being happy and safe, and provide for your familiy no matter what happens. Thats why, we dont mind paying more taxes...
Thank you so very much for reviewing Denmark
Thanks! And we appreciate you watching and sharing!
Fun fact: Danes loves looking at videos about danes/danish things from a foreign view! and here - take my like :D
I’m from Denmark. This was really an eye opener about all the things I take for granted. I so had not thought about the health angle. Thank you very much for sharing.
Awesome, we are happy to. Thanks for watching!
Your are spot on with starting in a new School, and how it can be kinda hard to get a close friendship with other kids/youngsters thats known each other their whole life! But....that`s where the “forenings-liv” get in the picture. Almost every dane is in somekind of “forening”. These places is where you meet likeminded people from all socierty. The boss`s kid is playing football with the poor families kids, and we get together from different schools/jobs/backgrounds to be passionated together about some common interest! The most amazing thing is that it`s all runned by voluntaries. Hope you enjoy your stay🤘
Hi I am from Canada and had a friend in Denmark suggest I watch you to more understand Denmark. I think the channel is great and I joined. I think we are so in between the USA and Denmark. Interesting.
You guys pick out some interesting subjects.
If you worry less - you live longer and becomes a happier person. If you worry about health, education, old age - or even lack of success compared to your peers - your quality of life will diminish.
In Denmark you can be a success even if you are not wealthy. That does not mean, however, that we are all happy about our government and how they run things!!!!!!
Visit Lyø in the summer. (Go camping, fishing, swimming, nature.) - I promise you that those small isles around Fyn will make you even more happy. Im glad you like it here, I enjoyed your perspective on things.
I like your channel, it gives an insight into our world (DK) from other cultures.
Thanks!
I recently moved from the US to Denmark after studying here on exchange a couple years back and loving it. It makes me happy to see that other Americans share the positive perspective of the country that I do. As I am in my early twenties, I moved here to study and left all of my family back in the States, and it was difficult convincing them of the value which this country has to offer. Admittedly, the COVID times have decreased my motivation for making a life here, but watching your videos has helped a lot, so thank you!
Copenhagen
This is by far one of the most accurate descriptions of the Danish happiness ranking. You’re very spot on with your observations - and describing happiness as being content is so very true speaking as a Dane.
I acknowledge that we Danes are notoriously bad at inviting new comers into our friend circles as we often have a strict distinction betweeen friends and colleagues (work friends) which make especially hard for immigrants as they are most likely to meet Danish friends in the workplace. But be advised - that we are always open for Friday beers (or Friday after hours hang outs) and this is very efficient way of moving from being a colleague to a friend if you have some patience.
And thank you for sharing your observations - it’s always interesting to hear what other cultures think of your own. And I found your views on tax vs free healthcare, education etc quite interesting as that is not normally the views of the general American (or at least how I perceive the general American maybe wrongfully so)
Thanks for writing this. I hope we can have Friday bars again soon!
@@TravelinYoung me too 😊
As a dane I think you are spot on, on all your points in this vid. Also welcome to Denmark
Cool, thanks for the feedback!
You guys are really sweet, and so plesant in presenning Danmark. Especially saying happy=content and say safety= happyness. You are really cool, enjoy it here, And welcome to Danmark. (I feel like I made a lot of spelling arrors) sorry.
Hej! Jag är amerikansk också, jag kan snacka svenska och kan förstå norska och danska. Jag vill flytta till Sverige någon dag. Fin video! Jag har hört att Danmark var ett av de lyckligaste länder, men förstod inte vad de menade med "lyckligt'. Tack för att ni förklarade detta. Förstår ni allt vad jag skriver på svenska?
As a Dane living abroad I've noticed the Danish culture: once you've become 25 y.o. you've decided who's your friends and that's for life. There's no room for more friends
Absolutely true.
Makes me glad I'll only be 23 when I arrive from the US this August
@@Thakar98 I honestly don’t think it applies to foreigners, I’m sure the Danes you’ll live around will let you in regardless of your age. Good luck!
What an awesome video and take on DK and happiness. As a Dane, I think this is a very spot on definition on some of the reasons we ourselves mentioned, so it was interesting to hear your take and personal stories too.
I might use this video in my job too as I working on a large exchange program where we need to explain foreigner about DK and DK culture.
Also, I want to add to your points that I think Danes high membership of sports clubs and civil society organizations contribute to the happiness. Ofc through having fun with whatever activity you are doing but just as much from the more social network it gives you outside of the workplace/school.
Anywho. Keep doing these vids. Its smart and cute altogether :-))
That is super cool to hear, and thanks for the additional point. I am glad you liked it, thanks!
Evening school, classes in something that interests you, is a good way to make friends. But even that may take time. Best of luck to you
This is a very charming country, I hope I can visit again sometime in the future when all this is over. I know I am happy when I am in Denmark. Seeing and sharing places like this is why I love traveling and make videos so much!
"Make Denmark Happy Again!" - that's how we taunt Trump, haha 😄 Love your content btw. Also, it would be interesting to hear your opinion, or maybe experience, with danish humor - which is known for maybe using more irony and sarcasm than american. Keep up the good work 👍
I will have to think about the humor a bit. It is sarcastic and dry. I also think it doesn’t translate as well to English. But it is different for sure :).
@@TravelinYoung this might help you along on the Danish humor (regarding cocio at least) makedenmarkhappyagain.com/
@@jimmywayne983 well, it's kinda in this video already 😄
@@tomasbeha1645 Could have been from a commercial in tv or youtube, the website might give more info ;)
Great videos - Hope they reach a lot of people around the world😀
The thing about classes being made up of kids that have known each other for years is a hurdle for anyone new, not just foreigners.
I switched school a couple of times in folkeskole, because my parents got divorced and I moved with my mother, and then we moved again when she remarried.
My experience is that the new guy/girl in class is top of the list to become the next bully victim.
That's back in the 80's and 90's though, so may be different now.
I personally got bullied for years until 2 new girls transferred in in a short time.
Then one of the girls became the new target.
How much it was because she was new, and how much it was because of her personality I can't say though.
But she did have her personality against her.
My issue may also have been that I had little in common with my classmates.
I was lucky enough to discover a peer group of nerds from the kids that were a year younger than us though.
All that is not an issue at efterskole or højskole though.
Getting a fresh start at a ungdoms højskole was a huge leap forward for me socially.
That is interesting and something we often forget. It is easy for us to think as non Danes we are treated differently, but you are right the same problems exist for anyone new to a community. Thanks for the reminder and sharing your story.
From my experience with new kids(haven't been it myself but have had a fair amount of new kids in my class), except of course always being hard to get into a friend group, the new kid get a lot of attention and people trying to befriend them, so I think it depends on the class. Fx my class we didn't really had many groups to some extend everyone was together except a few sometimes grouped of and mostly the guys was together and the girls was together, but we were also the class who nearly never had any problems, so maybe we deviated a lot from an typical class.
I am an American who moved from New York to Delaware 8 years ago. i am almost a citizen now! I would love to talk with you all. I agree on many of your views.
Thanks for the note, always nice to find fellow Americans here in the Nordics!
Yea that's what I tell my American friends when they ask about the tax here, it's so worth it for the things you get in turn and the safety nets aswell as the worrying about huge medical bills and college funds, there is equality for opportunities, no matter what background you can get the education you want, hope you are doing well despite the virus cheers.
For sure, and thanks we are doing great! Just hoping to get out and about soon enough, like everyone I imagine.
Something many also forget about "free" medical servises is that the government as a big customer is ablt to buy medicin etc cheaper then smaller US hospitals. That mean that even though danes pay less pr capita (5205 USD in 2016) to healthcare then US do pr capita (9892 USD in 2016), we still get the same or better treatment and for the whole population. This is also why it often is alot cheaper to buy medicin in Canada (for a US citizen) then to buy it in the US, for the same product btw.
@@GreenLarsen 5205 USD? no one in my family payed even a dollar, how did you make the calc? Just curious
@@Juuk-D Hi its the annual cost pr. citizen. In denmark payed via taxes (almost entirely) and my source is WHO: apps.who.int/nha/database/Select/Indicators/en
(notice this is for 2016)
Edit spelling/typo
Hej! As a 'born and raised' American, but have lived my whole adult life in DK (ca. 40 years) ...I can honestly say, that you are spot-on in your observations of Danes, Denmark and the Danish culture after living here for a couple of years. Your observations will naturally change and adjust as you liv here for a longer period. But that is to be expected. F.ex. ..in time, you will learn to love 'fladfisk' and maybe even progress to 'Super Piratos'! Don't hesitate to contact me, should you need advise from a 'converted American'! I have NEVER regretted moving to DK!!!
Thanks for the note and I am glad to hear you are still happy to came here!
Hygge makes us happy :P - No everything you said in this video for sure makes us happy, but also the fact that everyone is equal. The lady at the grocery store is as much worth as the CEO of a big company. All jobs are looked at as important and no one frowns upon any job-title, as long as you do work and pay taxes :)
This was odd to learn when I first started working here, but now I am all in. It makes me happier to not be consumed by how to get more money and a better title. Work is more enjoyable.
I really wanted to add this one hen we talked about trade schools! It’s so great to see that in Denmark grocery store workers and plumbers etc aren’t looked down upon like they are in the US
True. Most people don't really care about what status people have.
@@mayaanastasiayoung6739 Not only US. Its like that in many countries sadly. Families and friends will look at you like you are being stupid if you take a "lesser" job, even though that job makes you happy :)
Thank you very much for your view of life in Denmark. I shared it on Facebook, for a very special reason. For all the good you mention, makes me proud to be Danish, but also sad that it is no longer valued. If there is anyone who can complain about small things, it is really Danes, and it is a little sad when we now feel so good and safe.
Thanks for sharing and for saying that!
Thank you for sharing! And even if Danes don't share as much how great Denmark is, we're happy to :)
Bernie Sanders have seen this I hope!!!!! enjoy Denmark from a Norwegian
First of all, welcome to Denmark :) and thank you for an honest opinion and what you think is good and bad. It was a really good video, and especially about finding friends ect ... correctly you have a friend in denmark you have him / her for life. but good friends are hard for us to find .. I will happily enjoy having an American friend too .. so I can learn more about the USA and your ways of living.
With danes, DON'T try to force a "friendship", let the friendship evolve more naturally, and eventually you will get friendships.
If you try and force a friendship, a dane will more likely take a step back, insted of invite you in.
What a beautiful family , welcome to our country
Thanks!
I’ve never seen that commercial before. It’ has room for improvement 😄
Welcome! You guys are awesome! 🙌😊
Let me know when you guys come to Nyborg. I'll give you a guided VIP tour of the town!
Take care out there!
Thanks! We will get there one day for sure!
Great video guys. You hit the nail on the head in many respects. I moved here over thirty years ago and apart from the points you rightly make I found that learning the language quickly, and more importantly properly, unlocks a lot of “doors”.
Make more vids! 🥰
I am a Dane. I think this is a very fair representation. :)
What a lovely video. We welcome you, and hope you will stay. Embracing, and appreciating what you have is clearly important. And it seems like you embrace all that is Danish in our little country here. I would add to your sentiments expressed here that what I'm personally hearing you describing is lack of economic anxiety. Almost all the topics you came around was worrying about how you pay for this or that, even in the future IF grandma gets sick, or if you lose your job, or if YOU yourself gets sick etc... We have none of that. Avoiding anxiety = feeling safe. Feeling safe = feeling content. And as you stated: feeling content = feeling happy. You cannot be "truly happy" about your job, life, health if you constantly have to fear that literally tomorrow you can lose it all from no fault of your own...
Also: a quick note. I'm a 36 year old Danish male, and I have NEVER in my life met a Danish person with a gun. Not a single individual. EVER! That should maybe be a topic for you at some point? Your lovely daughter eluded to it speaking about school doors being unlocked (and my reaction was: "why on earth wouldn't they be"?) I get that you are forced to think about it in the US, and it speaks to a lot about why we are so happy in DK. We do not have to worry about a lot. We don't have the worries, or the anxieties. We are simply carefree and content, for the very most part.
Thanks for the feedback! I’ve thought about a video discussing guns, but it is a sensitive subject so I need to figure out the best approach. I am not into guns myself and never plan to own one. So my personal perspective might be similar to the average Dane :).
@@TravelinYoung It surely is a sensitive subject for your US viewers, but guns as a topic is not an issue at all here in Denmark as you know. When nobody has guns, no one speaks about guns, or worry about them. (and more importantly has no reason to fear them).
Also I think the lack of "economic anxiety" is more on point regarding the video here.
And I find it to be THE reason why scandinavia/the nordics in general is regarded some of the happiest places to live. The safety net of the welfare state gives wel-fare, which translates directly into "faring well" in life, if thinking of the origins of the word. The "well" part is the "safe" part. What does "well" mean? Contentment.
The state helps you fare well in life.
In Denmark you can more easily fare well, and many reach "happiness" cause of the state, not despite it. One could argue, at least.
For me its definitely the free education and the fact that as a student above 18, you get paid to study.
It's not free, it's paid by high taxes everyone pays here. SU student money also comes from tax money so no. A better explanation is the level of corruption is not high yet, so the money goes where it should go instead of to the pockets of politicians like in many other countries
@@ThiagodMoraes That is true, its not free but it certainly feels that way. However even with higher taxes, which is the go-to counter argument for all Americans etc. Middleclass/lowerclass Danes earn a way better living, than Americans. Many folks over there have to work several jobs. This is not necessary here
@@gustavallingham1392 yes but you stay middle class ,in USA you can genuinely be successful if you play your cards right
@@Србомбоница86 That is a wierd and wrong assumption. Litterally because your parents wallet dont define your possibilities, you can do and become anything you work for. The fact that the Danish goverment provide so many things for its citizens, makes this country easiser to live in and achieve sucess. It sounds sometimes too good to be true I know, but I guess people have to see it with their own eyes, before they understand that welfare breeds sucess.
@@gustavallingham1392 I don't see that small number of ambitious people staying in scandinavia ,they escape immediately,no one wants to be a clone,you live a very sheltered life in Scandinavia ,I don't think your society can ever encourage true purposeful life ,you end up just existing not living
From my point of view the "safety and trust" aspects are real important factors in terms of being happy. And safety can be understood broadly. Not only physical safety, but also job safety, health safety, much less stress in many terms.
As a dane, thank you for this!
You are welcome, but thank you!
You’re video is so cool and funny. I’m a Dane who’s lived 2,5 yrs in the US but you guys are so spot on in this video. Glad to hear you’re enjoying our beautiful country. Have a wonderful time here.
Thank you!
Speaking of happiness, I recommend the "The Dark Side of Happiness" TEDx talk by Meik Wiking:
th-cam.com/video/PbtzY-8IFTQ/w-d-xo.html
At least I found it very interesting.
He studies happiness, and has written a book about hygge, among other things.
Sweet, I will watch it tonight! Miranda had his hygge book sitting next to her last night planning to mention it, but never got around to it.
I am indeed a Meik Wiking junkie! I discovered his research when I started diving in to minimalism back in 2016. I think his Dark Side of Happiness brings up some really important topics that should be tackled in Danish society. One thing we didnt discuss about health care, because it was more negative, was how difficult it was (and is) to find help for Maya who has anxiety and sometimes depression. We couldn't find anyone to take her even though we had a referral for a psychologist. Mostly it was because they only treat adults. It's as if teens somehow don't experience depression. She's better now but that was really disappointing to discover and hard to manage as a parent.
Yeah I think the whole mental health field is struggling in Denmark.
It seems a popular area to make cuts.
I struggle with stress, anxiety and depression myself.
And my best cure is exercise.
It's a kliché by now, but it really is an all-round cure for pretty much anything.
But getting people, and especially young women interested in exercise seems a challenge.
And the lockdowns aren't helpful in regards to access to exercise.
Personally I'd have to already be on a roll to consider jogging or other solo exercise outside of a gym.
And sports like football(soccer) and badminton are my go tos for fun exercise.
@@lopaisate I don't know where you are, but I know a great psychologist who specializes in young people. I guess this is an other example of how the networks in Denmark can be hard to enter.
@@lopaisate Now I have seen all the comments, and I understand you are in Lyngby. If you need the contact details for a great psychologist I have it. I don't really know how private messages work on TH-cam?
Keep videos like this comming. It maked me smile watching them. Welcome to Denmark!
Thanks will do!