The good life: 5 things you should know about Copenhagen

By Marie Ebenezer
After a busy summer working and writing papers, my boyfriend Lukas and I decided to go on a short trip to Copenhagen. The reason why we chose the city is because Lukas’ sister lives there, and other than buying the plane tickets, we hadn’t really planned our stay.
I left Freiburg, Germany, with no expectations, and although Denmark is a neighboring country, I was quite surprised with the differences between the two. Not only on a private level, but also from a business-to-business point of view, Copenhagen seems to be very forward thinking.
Here’s what you should know about Denmark’s capital:

• Copenhagen is a green city
  Coming from Germany’s greenest city myself, I was astonished by how ecologically worthwhile Copenhagen is. One main reason for this is that everybody — CEOs, stay-at-home moms, students and more — rides their bike. The bike lanes in this city are extremely well made, and the network is huge. It is much faster to cycle to work than to be stuck in traffic, even if you live on the outskirts. I also found out that cars are a luxury item in Denmark, and therefore they have a 60 percent tax which would be unthinkable in countries like the U.S. or Germany. The number of Danes who own a car is very limited, and the amount of sustainable energy made is so high that Copenhagen is expecting to be carbon neutral within the next two years. Isn’t that amazing?
• Copenhagen is wealthy
  As I’ve mentioned in one of my previous blog posts, Germany is quite cheap. Denmark, however, is not. The price of a coffee to go would be around $5, and a large beer approximately $10. Clothing, groceries and rent are all fairly pricey in Copenhagen. This is not a problem for the residents of Denmark though because they are a quite wealthy people. Minimum wage in Denmark is close to $20. In the end, Copenhagen is probably not more expensive to live in than Los Angeles or New York City.
• Copenhagen is modern
  Everything in this city seems to be state-of-the-art. The infrastructure is very modern, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a subway system this new. Here’s another example: I went to the national museum of Denmark and visited an exhibition which featured magnetic key pads that enabled you to log into computers as you went along. This exhibition also had touchscreens next to every display window where you could switch the languages and scroll up and down to read the description of the different items displayed. It was very cool.
• Copenhagen is international
  As it is the case in many Scandinavian countries, almost everybody in Denmark speaks English — even the guy at the hot dog stand. This is probably one of the reasons why Copenhagen is so popular among young professionals and students. There are numerous masters programs taught in English in Copenhagen — with no tuition fees — so the city attracts more and more young, smart and internationally oriented people. I visited an architecture firm, for example, where the newer staff consisted of Germans, Danes, Americans, Koreans and Slovaks. By now, many international companies have opened offices in Copenhagen, so business-to-business communications is becoming more and more important. I think that this city is full of possibilities for PR professionals, and I’m curious to see how it develops in the next few years.
• The good life
  In the end, I was truly amazed by Copenhagen. Culturally, professionally and ecologically, this city seems to be  very future oriented and forward thinking. I recently read a survey stating that the Danes are the happiest people in the world, and I am not surprised. Denmark is one of the countries that were not as badly affected  by the economic crisis as others, and the standard of living is great. Mothers get a full year of maternity leave when they give birth. The people in Copenhagen did not seem to be stressed and in general, the Danes are very friendly. Finally, one thing I have not yet mentioned are the beautiful sites Copenhagen has to offer and the gorgeous Scandinavian countryside surrounding it. Copenhagen is really worth a trip.

Ebenezer is a former intern at Olmstead Williams Communications. She lives in Freiburg, Germany.