Working in Denmark

steviec

Just wondering if anyone has any experiences to share?

A company in Copenhagen approached me during the week and after a good first interview there's a possible job offer in the works.

I'm just wondering if anyone had any advice because I know nothing about Denmark. I hear taxes are very high for example although when I tried to read up about their system it sounded incredibly complicated. I also know nothing about the cost of living there so I'm worried that I might completely misjudge these things and end up with a gross salary that looks good but less money in real terms than my current job.

There's also other issues like language. The company tells me they're 100% English speaking (it's a programming job) so I guess I should be ok there but am I likely to find things difficult outside work if I have no Danish?

The whole situation has come out of the blue (I applied to the company a long time ago when I was between jobs, I'd long since forgotten about it but they kept me on file), and I've no particular reason to leave my current job, yet I'm tempted by the possibility of an opportunity to spend some time living in Europe while I'm still relatively young.

Nody

English works fine in all nordic countries so no worries there. Copenhagen is expensive, no question about it though the prices has gone down a lot in the last six months and as I recall their public transport is actually reliable (at least by Dublin standards).

From an employee security point of view is it very easy to fire people in Denmark but they also got a good security net to retrain and move people into new positions so don't expect a redundancy package if they decide to let you go.

Taxes, well, yea, they are a nordic country so yes they are higher then Ireland, then again most countries in Europe has higher taxes. As everything else it depends on what you're looking for but the Danish in general like to drink beer and have a good time and Copenhagen is a nice city.

Do-more

Quite a few people who work in Copenhagen live in the South of Sweden (such as in Malmo) where the cost of accomodation is much cheaper and then commute by Train over the Oresund bridge. If you did loose your job in Copenhagen there are lots of programming jobs based around Lund just outside Malmo.

You can get by perfectly well with just English in Copenhagen or Malmo.

Oh and if your unattached the Danish women are jaw-dropping!

katnip

have you tried the workindenmark.dk website? it has a pretty good explanation of the tax system. But yeah, when you do the conversion your gross will always look inredible compared to Irish rates, because the tax man ends up getting so much of it here.

Normally, the minimum tax rate is 38% and then a compulsory 8% social contributions.
But you might qualify for this> http://www.taxindenmark.com/article.34.html

I moved to Denmark from Ireland two years ago and I haven't noticed that much of a price difference in the cost of living, except on cars - they have an insane 180% car tax

The language is a mouthful - try speaking like you have a bunch of potatoes shoved in your mouth. Copenhagen is international enough that you can get by with just English, plenty of my collegues have been there for 5-6 years and never learned the language. ALthough it's nice to be able to recognise a few words - it makes doing the shopping so much easier.

I'm sure the employer will help you find an apartment, but just bear in mind that many of Danish landlords expect a security deposit of 3 months worth of rent, plus the first months rent in advance. It was an unexpected and slightly crippling fee when I was still waiting on my first paycheck.

damnyanks

I had an offer near coprenhagan (spelling) last year. I didnt take it because the area seemed very eerie and like something from a horror film (Silent but deadly).

Everything seems to shut at 5pm. Other then that the tax rate was meant to be seemingly high. Its probably a great place to raise a family.

taram

Would love to be in your position now! I have a lot of Danish friends, all Danish people I've talked to have excellent English, very friendly, love the beer and having a laugh, but also happy to work hard so they can play hard. Cost of living as far as I could see is pretty much on par, found alcohol a bit pricy, but my friends go to Germany to stock up for about 70% the cost of Irish prices. I'm sure like living anywhere you'll get used to the language, even if it's only to ask for a return train ticket/pint of beer etc.