• Trying to move to Denmark, what are my options?
    45 replies, posted
[QUOTE=h2ooooooo;41017917]As far as I've researched, _Denmark_ will make you give up your previous citizenship to become a Danish citizen. I don't know exactly how it works (do they rip your passport or contact the US government?)[/QUOTE] Indeed, they have talked about changing that but nothing has happened so far. I am not comfortable with giving up my UK citizenship so I'll never be a citizen here. I think it's wrong that one can be made to renounce their birth citizenship. OP, good luck. I am from the UK and it was still as confusing as hell to move to Denmark. It's hard to find work (I only work part time while I do Danish classes) because while everyone speaks English they want you to speak Danish too for most jobs. A marriage citizenship only is an option if *both* people are over 25 and from what I hear that still isn't always enough. I have heard of Americans being deported despite having a Danish husband/wife. It is possible to move to Denmark, I know some Americans who managed it. Usually via studies or from acquiring a job before they arrive. Therefore this move will probably require time and patience, but if you're serious then keep trying.
[QUOTE=Crimor;41006058]Be prepared for the nutcases that drive around here, friend of mine had some family from the US over a few years back and they said we all drive like american cab drivers :v:[/QUOTE] Green light means go Red light means stop yellow light means [I]HOLY SHIT, GOTTA GO FAST[/I]
[QUOTE=h2ooooooo;41017917]As far as I've researched, _Denmark_ will make you give up your previous citizenship to become a Danish citizen. I don't know exactly how it works (do they rip your passport or contact the US government?)[/QUOTE] I have a dual Israeli-American citizenship and I'm pretty sure the US usually makes you give up the other country's citizenship. I might be extremely wrong, but I'm pretty sure that you can have dual citizenship with allies. Might be the same case in Denmark.
[QUOTE=Ferosso;40999605]Gladly! As a matter of fact I live in Copenhagen. Denmark can be a very boring (in lack of better words) place to be, at times. The greatness of everything in the states is what appeals to me. I want to go to a warm state, like CA, because of the weather, the culture, the scenery and many other things. It just appeals to me, as Denmark is a very small country with a lot of things made (if it's even being done) in a very small scale. Don't get me wrong, it's a great country. In the summer. The winter here kills me. What are you expecting to experience/do here? If you eventually end up going here, I'd gladly give you a tour.[/QUOTE] Just watch out, the cost of living is high as hell in CA. Might want to check out Arizona as well if you are ok with perfect summer weather in the winter, and asphalt melting in the summer.
Your options are pretty simple, but if you want my opinion; Don't. It's not fun here, everyone likes soccer and everything sells booze.
Without going into the details, it works like this: The US allows dual citizenship but taxes based on citizenship and not residence. [I]Most[/I] other developed countries do not allow dual citizenship through naturalization; if you naturalize, it's [I]usually[/I] [B]your duty[/B] by law to renounce your prior citizenship(s). However, as it is your duty, it is not easily enforceable and the result is that it's virtually never enforced (sometimes happens in high-profile cases). As a result, there are many dual-citizenship citizens in these countries too. Although probably not relevant in this thread: in the previously mentioned system there are two major trends when it comes to dual citizenship by birth. One trend is to allow dual citizenship until the citizen reaches a certain age (usually about 20 years old), then applying the above-mentioned duty to renounce the other citizenship. The other trend is to simply allow dual citizenship by birth outright.
[QUOTE=Bonde;41005341]you should expect to pay at least 3000DKK/334USD a month per person for a rented flat in a proper location.[/QUOTE] Wait, $334 per person is expensive?!?!? In southern California you would have to rent out a house with 4-5 roommates, sharing bedrooms, to get a price that cheap. Most people pay $500-1000 around here per month to live with a single roommate or alone... and this isn't even in a nice location.
[QUOTE=Bonde;41005341]Have you ever been to Denmark? Because then there is a few things that you should consider before moving here: The winter is long and depressing and our nature is not very impressive at all. The country is very flat, and most of it have been farmland for centuries. Taxes are high and cars are extremely expensive, so it is ridiculously expensive moving here. Living in Copenhagen or Aarhus is equally expensive, you should expect to pay at least 3000DKK/334USD a month per person for a rented flat in a proper location. If you want to live cheaper you can get student housing further away from the city centre. You should get a job or a study job right away to help you out, because our minimum wage is very high. People are very informal, open minded and friendly, and generally like to drink alot, especially students. You can joke about [I]everything.[/I] Danes are very good at english, but if you want to live here and get a citizenship, you are litterately forced to learn the language. Denmark is a very small country, so many of the stores, shops and items you can find in the regular towns in the States can only be found in copenhagen or not at all, because we have stricter regulations on what can be put in food and so on. [editline]12th June 2013[/editline] Owning a bike is a must if you live in any of the larger cities.[/QUOTE] That's extremely misleading. You won't get an apartment for under the double, if you wanna live in Copenhagen, and then you're gonna get a small one. If you wanna live in the city, calculate with atleast 1200USD a month. My last apartment was really cheap, 20 minutes outside Copenhagen, and I'm not gonna convert it into imperial units, but it was 65 square meters big, and I paid 4050 DKK a moth, which was very cheap. An apartment like that one would've costed around 8000 a month if not more, inside Copenhagen. So yeah, 3000 might be enough for you to live in a apartment if you're atleast 3 guys sharing rent.
[QUOTE=Ferosso;41045822]That's extremely misleading. You won't get an apartment for under the double, if you wanna live in Copenhagen, and then you're gonna get a small one. If you wanna live in the city, calculate with atleast 1200USD a month. My last apartment was really cheap, 20 minutes outside Copenhagen, and I'm not gonna convert it into imperial units, but it was 65 square meters big, and I paid 4050 DKK a moth, which was very cheap. An apartment like that one would've costed around 8000 a month if not more, inside Copenhagen. So yeah, 3000 might be enough for you to live in a apartment if you're atleast 3 guys sharing rent.[/QUOTE] Phh, who wanna live in Copenhagen anyway :v:
[QUOTE=Ferosso;41045822]That's extremely misleading. You won't get an apartment for under the double, if you wanna live in Copenhagen, and then you're gonna get a small one. If you wanna live in the city, calculate with atleast 1200USD a month. My last apartment was really cheap, 20 minutes outside Copenhagen, and I'm not gonna convert it into imperial units, but it was 65 square meters big, and I paid 4050 DKK a moth, which was very cheap. An apartment like that one would've costed around 8000 a month if not more, inside Copenhagen. So yeah, 3000 might be enough for you to live in a apartment if you're atleast 3 guys sharing rent.[/QUOTE] Oh, I honestly thought that Aarhus was just as expensive as Copenhagen because of the many students. I'm sorry for being uninformed, I corrected my earlier post.
[QUOTE=sgman91;41037169]Wait, $334 per person is expensive?!?!? In southern California you would have to rent out a house with 4-5 roommates, sharing bedrooms, to get a price that cheap. Most people pay $500-1000 around here per month to live with a single roommate or alone... and this isn't even in a nice location.[/QUOTE] Yeah I live in a remote town of less than 10k people and 350/month is standard for a below-average apartment. In any Canadian city in a "proper location" expect 750/month + utilities if you want to live alone.
[QUOTE=Svinnik;40996565]Correct me if I'm wrong, but if he is a dual citizen of Denmark and the USA, wouldn't he have to pay taxes to the Danes and the US?[/QUOTE] I don't know the tax treaty between Denmark in the US, but it depends. If he's earned money in Denmark, odds are it'll be taxable in Denmark, the whole idea is that both countries are going to want to tax you, it's just a matter of deciding who gets taxing authority over what. I work in Germany but am a citizen of the US, so I pay taxes on my income in Germany, and will claim a foreign tax credit on my US return to prevent double taxation. But then if what everyone says about having to give up his US citizenship to become a full Danish citizen, that changes shit too. I don't really know about Denmark specifically, I've never dealt with their tax system.
Reading this thread as a Dane, kind of makes me sad :v:
[QUOTE=Stoffy;41023598]Your options are pretty simple, but if you want my opinion; Don't. It's not fun here, everyone likes soccer and everything sells booze.[/QUOTE] People always say this, "my country is boring because x". You fail to realise that everyone becomes acclimatized to the place they live. I think Sweden/Denmark is pretty boring because I've spent my whole life here; that doesn't mean someone moving here from some entirely different place will think the same. In fact Scandinavia as a whole is a pretty damn exciting and beautiful part of the world.
Well, if I were you, I would finish any school program I could since it's gonna be hard for you to get any chance for education over here with no dosh. Also, if you manage to come over here, I would be happy to help you out if you ever need help with anything. I know how it is to move to a different country and having to adapt... It can be tough.
Be aware of Scandinavian Breezing !
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