I wish I would have known...
... to consider the weight of the bike you choose against the amount of hills you will need to climb on that bike. The hills wouldn’t be so tough if my bike were lighter, more like a racing bike.... that cheaper train tickets for DSB, called Orange billet, are available for purchase two months prior to your travel date - this makes it about the same price as a Flixbus and the train is much more comfortable.
... to buy an e-sim rather than a sim card so I could easily switch between my Danish and home phone numbers for verification purposes.
... that PayPal is the easiest and cheapest way to move money between non-EU and Danish bank accounts. I could have saved hundreds of euros on transfer fees had I known this sooner.
... Danish. There are many more job opportunitites for those who know it.
... about pant. You pay extra kr for each pant bottle or can when you buy the drink, and then you can get it back by putting the bottles or cans in the pant machines.
... that Green Mobility can get expensive if you don’t buy a package - driving per minute adds up!
I wish I would have known...
... how insanely reliant the bureaucracy here is on technology. Newly arrived non-EU students should prepare to manually activate certain things (such as MitID) due to passports not possibly not having the chip in them to activiate it using the app at home.... when and how many hours I’m able to work part-time versus full-time as a non-EU student. Also, while applying to internships, knowing whether or not I would need an extra work permit during academic months so I can apply early enough for it.
... how cold it really gets (severely underestimated) and how colder months will inevitably affect the physical and mental health, especially if you’re not taking precautions like vitamin D pills and exercising/moving frequently.
... that community is everything. If it feels like you can’t get past something in Denmark, make sure you find your people and you will figure it out.
I wish I would have known...
... the limitations for non-EU students (no SU, no unemployment or housing benefits).... about the flexibility of the university when talking to the student counsellor regarding your studies.
I wish I would have known...
... about the necessity to have a Danish number (for things like MobilePay, for example).... how hard it is to find a job and how long it can take. It is what stressed me out the first few months and I would have had other expectations had I known before that it takes a lot of time to find something as a non-Danish speaker and with a lot of other students as competition (even for service jobs).
I wish I would have known...
... how strict the transport inspectors are. When I first moved in, I was using my home bank to pay for everything since I didn’t have a Danish bank account yet, and it takes around 2-5 minutes to process an online payment (especially if the internet is slow). The first week after I arrived, I was waiting for the payment of the ticket to process when the letbane arrived. Since I had started the process way before the letbane’s arrival, I thought it was going to be okay. However, as soon as I got on the tram I was fined because the payment was still loading. I tried to explain the situation to the inspector but the only thing they said was that it had to be comeplete before going on any transport.From then on, I learned it is better to wait for the next bus or tram if your ticket is still processing. Also, it’s your responsibility to have enough battery on your phone to show your ticket. If your phone is dead and you don’t have a physical rejsekort, you’ll be fined.
I wish I would have known...
... if the apartment says it is unfurnished, there is literally NOTHING in it, which means not even lightbulbs or wires/outlets for hanging lights. You must get it done or do it yourself.I wish I would have known...
... Aarhus is not a flat city at all :-DAs you can see, we’ve all made a few (or many) mistakes throughout our moves to Denmark. We hope that by us learning things the hard way, your first few months on Denmark will be a LOT easier. Hej Hej!
Aarhus University
Nordre Ringgade 18000 Aarhus
8715 0000
CVR no: 31119103
EORI no: DK-31119103