Tips for Living with a Danish Family

Tips for Living with a Danish Family

Author: Kay Xander Mellish January 9, 2019 Duration: 7:56

As the new academic semester starts up, some of you may be planning to live in a Danish home. It could be you'll rent a room in a household, maybe you'll be part of a Danish host family, or maybe you'll just be staying with Danish friends.

I thought it might be useful to have some tips on living with a Danish family.

First of all, if you're used to having your parents or domestic workers do most of the household chores – things are about to change.

Danish families generally don't have live-in domestic workers. A few wealthy families with small children have au pairs, and it's common to have a weekly cleaning person, but on a day-to-day basis, household chores are done by all the members of the family.

Male, female, young, old, everybody does their part. (In fact, statistics show that Danish men do more household chores than any other men in Europe.)


So, if you're going to live as part of a Danish family, there will probably be household chores for you, too. If you don't know how to wash dishes, or clean a floor, or do laundry, have somebody teach you before you leave home.


For anyone curious about or currently navigating Danish life from the outside, How to Live in Denmark serves as an essential, on-the-ground guide. Hosted by Kay Xander Mellish, an American writer who has made Denmark her home for over ten years, this conversation cuts straight to the heart of the everyday realities in one of the world's most homogenous-and often puzzling-societies. Rather than lengthy lectures, you'll find concise, ten-minute episodes packed with practical advice and cultural translation. This isn't just about travel tips; it's a deep dive into the unspoken rules of Danish social etiquette, the nuances of the local workplace, and the sometimes surprising path to feeling at home in a country frequently labeled the world's happiest. Mellish draws from her own long-term experience to explain everything from navigating the infamous Jantelov to understanding the Danish approach to business meetings and casual Friday night hygge. As Denmark's longest-running English-language podcast, it has become a trusted resource for internationals, whether they are planning a move, newly arrived, or have been settled for years but still occasionally find themselves wondering, "Why do Danes do it that way?" Each episode feels like a chat with a well-informed friend who helps decode the complexities of a fascinating culture, making your time there richer and a lot less confusing.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

How to Live in Denmark
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