migrating to denmark

Hi there,

A somewhat longer introduction would be nice. 

It has been years since I've been in Denmark, but I am in the process of returning. 

Have you done any research of your own?  I would suggest doing so. 

I'm an attorney age 44 and my husband age 55 has his PhD in historical geography, and although we are both award-winning authors in the US under our real names, we know that once our Danish green cards come through we are going to be stuck performing unskilled labor, at least until we are fluent in Danish.

Not to burst your bubble, but despite my having 7 years of post high-school education and my husband having 9 years of post high-school education, and, like I say, despite us both being award-winning authors under our own names, and despite me having a published legal decision that has set constitutional precedent in the US and that has been cited numerous times, we know that we will be stuck working in fast food restaurants or cleaning or doing construction work until we are settled in Denmark.  That is just the reality of things. 

We are willing to walk away from our high US incomes in exchange for being able to raise our children in a country with relatively little gun crime, with a low per-capita rate of sexual assault, and with relative wage equality.  That is the reality of things.  We know that in Denmark we will (at least on a temporary basis, i.e. until we become fluent in Danish) be making less than a quarter of the income that we make in the US, but to us that is a worthwhile trade-off knowing that our children are far less likely to be the victims of gun crime or assault if we move to Denmark. Money cannot purchase life, if you understand what I am saying.

If I were you, I would do some serious research of your own on employment opportunities. I would also #1 purchase a Danish-language Berlitz and #2 download some free Danish-language education handouts, and then #3 spend every free hour that you have learning Danish.  The better your Danish the sooner you will be able to obtain a professional job.

Also, for inspiration I would look at Dr. Gordon Seagrave in Burma.  Although he was a qualified MD from a US medical school (Johns Hopkins, to be specific), he had no qualms about manual labor (in fact he built a hospital by hand in Burma by hauling rocks out of a river).  You are young, and presumably strong.  Take your initiative, and if you really want to live in Denmark, figure out what you must do to survive, even if it takes you several years of performing demeaning manual labor before you can practice medicine.

Best regards,

Andrea

hey thanks..I just started to learn danish as well as Swedish...Thanx again

Conversion rates change all the time , try www.xe.com

There you can convert them, but last I checked , which was long ago by the way, I think 1 dollar = 5 or 6 danish kroners

If you live in Seoul, South Korea then you surely must be living in one of the safest places in the world ... especially if you are Korean then you blend in also.

Aarhus is a good town, with many students so perhaps this makes Aarhus more open & tolerant, but at the same time perhaps a bit wild in the nights, so you will find drunks and some trouble makers etc out in the night - I dont know if you also have that in East Asia.

6000 USD you mention - I dont know about salaries etc, so you need to check with Aarhus University, but you must remember that the tax rate is high - 50% or so, so much of the salary goes to tax - although I heard that foreigners might get somewhat of a refound when they leave, but I am not sure.

Hi Med.

Have a look at this: http://phd.au.dk/fileadmin/www.phdporta … _AU_HR.pdf

It'll give you a rough estimate of what you can earn at Aarhus University. Before taxes and including pension you will get roughly 37,000 DKK which is a bit more than 6,300 USD with today's rate.

Unless you get an exemption as a skilled worker (usually only applies to professors) you'll have to pay something like a third of that in tax (exact numbers can be found on moving to denmark websites).

Hope the information is useful.