On the issue of big stores: The lack of big stores in Denmark is by design as there are regulations making them very difficult to get planning permission for. The reason is that it is believed that allowing many big stores will make it more difficult to run small independent shops on the high street. So it is simply a political priority
Also the really big stores are required to be closed on public holidays, I'd their flow is too big. It's an attempt to keep the smaller shops alive. Now that ALDI has left the country, there's basically only SPAR/Min Købmand and Coop365 (formerly known as Fakta) and 7-Eleven that insists on being open on public holidays. About opening hours on regular days, I think it's more about how expensive it is to have employees vs. how many customers actually visit at 10pm. 7-Eleven works fine with 2-3 people at work, if it gets much larger you need more people to restock the shelves... that's not exactly cheap after 8pm here in Denmark.
Thanks for your video 🙏🏼 the late Night shopping in America, maybe is a must because How your work hours are, to shop to family when you are not at work. Very different here in Denmark as you know. They have tried many places to have open to midnight, and even some supermarket 24/7, but not enough customers. It have to be a good business, with Leeds me to, why don’t you import and sell good peanut butter. If it really a need here in DK, then you have a business 🙂 Our immigration are maybe the worst in the world. I know, as been married to an Australian. The Right wing politician have been so good to tell people how dangerous people from outside are( read Muslims) so if you are not from an EU country you are so fucked In immigration no matter how good you are. Hope Maya will find out. Denmark also have a big problem with helping people, special young people that have some mental problems. I work to help young people with that kind of problems. And it is not getting better. We have more and more, specially teenagers that have some kind of mentality issues. But instead of help when it’s not a huge issue yet, they cut down all the help where the teenagers could go, by them self to get some help. So now many af the young people have to wait to they get really sick, and then they need to go mental hospital. We have many great thing here in Denmark, but help to mental problems and immigration are not something to be proud of
@@johnnyszumlanski6882 In many cases I'm afraid the Danish system rely on our pedagogs and school psychologists to catch the kids with trouble. We have mental ER but it's not aimed at those between 16 and 18... most don't know it exists. We have børnetelefonen, but kids above 14 don't feel that it's suitable for their age. Anyway, our immigration policies could certainly use a proper review... companies (and public institutions like hospitals) are basically crying for educated staff. Make it easier for a certified doctor from India or Pakistan to fill the job... it might need a translator but both the translator and the doctor could have a decent income, compared to what we usually pay a doctor... it's silly to have doctors driving taxis because they don't know the language "well enough". Sorry, didn't mean to get railed up. It's just frustrating to look at... We're so good at medical research, but we're failing at the basics. Let them in, and treat their children like our own.. is that too much to ask?
I am from Denmark but have lived on and off in Kenya for 12 years. We have supermarkets here but not really super stores. It used to annoy me somewhat until I realized that we have plenty of life and lots of puzzling in the streets at almost all times because we don't have the big stores. Reminds me a little of my childhood in Denmark ... before big supermarkets 😊
It directly stupid. I got it, that none educated refugees is a financial cost. We pay to educate young people and send them away for others to benefit! To make who happy? The Danish Nazist party named Dansk Folkeparti?
Emigration Rules has to be broad. If not then the groups singled out could claim they were the victims of racism and they would most likely win if they took the legislation to court
The Danish immigration laws are flat out ridiculous in many aspects. I met my Japanese wife in Denmark 25 years ago, when she came to do her masters. She had a educational visa for the period of her education - but once she completed that so did the visa. We got married to counter that - but then I had to be able to support her by law - which I could not because I had limited income as I was a University student myself at the time. Turned out there was some loopholes for that, and because she started her second masters. Still we had to renew her residence permit every year for 5 years until we could get a permanent one. Processing time for reissues were 7-8 months which meant as soon as we got the extension we were prepping for the next one. What a disaster. My wife since graduated as a Ph.D from Aalborg University and we have a son who is now 16years old. My Wife is fluent in Danish, French, English, Japanese and mandarin. She is and was a teacher at the University level. But what happens when we move to Japan, well they revoke it all after 2 years. I understand Maia's frustrations. The laws are there because of the right wing and some ethnic minorities that some people dislike because they "feed" on the system allegedly. But like Miranda says most Danes are rational and but not necessarily aware of these problems and so the right wing does all the talking and as a result Denmark misses out on a lot of skilled labor which they desperately need. In addition if your do the math. Say Josh who I reckon has a degree communication, comes over from America with education payed for - This is found money. To educate a master after senior high alone costs society at least 70.000usd for education alone plus SU for 5 years. The savings are HUGE, and so why would you not structure your immigration laws after that. Anyways all your points are valid and then some -except peanut butter it is disgusting. Thinking about unsubbing now 🤣🤣 Keep up the good work guys. All the best from a Dane in Japan
It is so ridiculous, basically designed to scare people away from trying. My ex is Chinese so I know the whole mill. Luckily we "tricked the system" by having kids born in Denmark, so when the oldest turned 7, going to public school etc. That gave my ex enough attachment to DK that she could obtain permanent residency, even without me having to deposit money. But the whole immigration system is a circus, because some politicians panicked about middle eastern refugees. It's not very friendly to those that come here for a highly qualified job they basically have already. And apparently not their children either.
If you have permanent residents, you can go out of Denmark for one year, if it's longer you have to apply for that, then it can be 2 years or more, you apply for the approx time
@@finnskrydstrup1850 is it a whole year now? I think it used to be 6 months. Anyway, yeah, if you have a valid reason, if your employer stations you somewhere for instance, you can get permission to be out for longer. On the other hand, having to touch base once a year doesn't sound too stressful.. but it would be a pity to lose permanent residency, considering how difficult and longwinded it is.
I think access to mental healthcare for teenagers has been a problem for a while now. Sadly mental healthcare in general has been insufficient for a long time now. To my knowledge. People have big problems they need help with. Like cold pasta in their salads :p
Once again a eye-opening video, Thank you for the comments, and as a native I agree on most ( apart from Peanut butter 😖). Healthcare is difficult as the rising costs (of medicine) and the principle of free healthcare creates issues like you mention. ESPECIALLY the part about immigration and children is a huge problem for US citicens and many more. Any ressourcefull and well integrated person should not have any roadblocks on the way to staying or permanent citicenship. In contrast to the present system it was suggested some years ago, to consider the education as a loan, that could be paid back by staying a number of years (as taxpayer) after graduating in order to “pay back” the cost of education. One reason for this was at that time that non-danes “took advantage” of the free University education (examble Norwegians) and came to Denmark to study Medicine, Psycology et cetera due to limits in their own education system. This still applies, and after graduating they go back to the home country to practice. No offense to Norwegians, just used as a still relevant example. The real problem (not Issue😉) is that (extreme) right wing rethoric against immigration prevents reasonable legislation on the topic. 🤷🏻♂️
You make some really good points. On the notion of healthcare at 10:45, I know that some kommuner have special programs. My sister was in a situation where she wanted to talk to someone during her teenage years, and Aalborg had a free healthcare program called 'Ungerådgivning' where people from the age(s) between 14 - 25 can get free therapy. It's probably not available in every kommune but I figured it might be worth mentioning :)
They are absolutely right! And so are you 🙂 We feel fortunate that my son only had to wait for 3 weeks to see a psyciatrist (we live on Fyn) Also Nyborg Kommune has expanded psycological help for young people (forget the details), and a couple of millions actually goes a far way in a small town But there's a desperate need out there!! Where are all the school psycologist? Every single child should see one once a year - and then the psycologist should take it from there. PS: DR was making a programme about this problem, eyes were on my son, but he got discarded. "It wasn't my kind of experience they were looking for", he explained.
sadly you are right on, the mental health access. The goverment have not prioritized that sector for many years. in fact they cut the funding. Even getting help from a private actor can easily have 1,5 years wait queue, and it will cost a relative large sum. I know that as a parent of two children with problems. Not every family have the economic and mental resources like your family. It make me happy to see its going well for your family :)
I don't know guys, you are starting to sound very unamerican when you say you don't like pasta! Where we in Denmark use potatoes Americans notoriously use pasta. For example, Beef Stroganoff is served with pasta in the US but potato mash in Denmark. Just saying!
Trust me I've had long discussions about this with my american wife, all I want is to make mashed potatoes and add some food coloring, then again I found out its us Danes that are wrong, the rest of the world (maybe except germany) eats it with Pasta. When in Rome.....
Pasta is more of an Italian-American diet staple and more in the urban palate than not. Proper Stroganoff (a Russian dish) uses German-style egg noodles, not pasta macaroni. Danes really have a limited palate and imagination when it comes to cooking.
@@aion5386 Actually I learned to make spuds Danish style with raw egg and cream mixed in, however I find the Danish penchant for adding nutmeg spice revolting. I also stir-in a little cheese to my mashed potatoes (helps to firm-up the mash after adding cream).
The immigration laws are weird… My husband was born here in Denmark to a Danish mother and an Irish father. He’s been living here all of his life, but since he was given Irish citizenship at birth, he had to go through the entire citizenship process and test as if he came from another country. That took like 3 years during which he was sooooo stressed out and really afraid of being denied the Danish citizenship. Today he holds dual citizenship.
You can just buy a fridge that can make cubes. You can buy them here.. Alot of ppl just dont use them so they save money on them. Iv seen many fridges in denmark that can make ice cubes.
02:45 - On the ice dispenser thing, it depends on the fridge - many come with an integrated ice dispenser, some don't. They are readily available, so why make it a caveat.
Thank you for sharing your views. I love to hear the views of people who are not originally from Denmark because how can you ever improve as a country if you don't get inputs from the outside? Keep up the good work :)
If the legislation was tailored towards the immigrants who choose to segregate themselves from the rest of the society Denmark would most likely lose if that legislation was brought in front of an human rights court. The legislation would thus have to be broad and thus also target people who do want to contribute for it not to be considered an act of racism
I have to disagree so much with your idea of larger grocery stores. A larger store does not necessarily lead to better variety. As a Dane living here in the US, who frequently is in large grocery stores, the variety is NOT better than anywhere else. This is especially apparent as someone with a limited diet. I'm a vegetarian and I can find more options in REMA 1000 in Denmark than a large Kroger or WALMART over here. It's pointless to have a larger store with more facings If all your options are the same (I don't really need access to 15 types of Veggie Burgers. I would appreciate more options for lunch protein or different types of dinner substitute instead). This is something I hear frequently from Americans moving to Denmark but I think you're all remembering the stores back home with rose-tinted glasses Other than that, i completely agree with all your other points. Especially the last one.
Ice machines have become more visible here, with the hot summers, you see a smaller version for the desk and I see more friends with a fridge that has it built in, but often our kitchens do not have room for that large fridge, so you won't consider one before you get a new kitchen.
there are many people coming from abroad who do not want Denmark and it should probably be those who should be excluded from some things, but people who want us to be welcome in Denmark
It used to be different with mental healthcare. When I lived there (and worked in the school system) there were all kinds of mechanisms, like PPR, school psychologist, special needs classes and such. Of course, when you turned 18 you transferred over into the adult system, and it became more of a healthcare oriented issue, with referral from the primary care doctor and so on. It seems to me the visa rules in Denmark change as often as the weather these days.... Nice to see a video from you guys again!
06:20 - Opening hours are largely dictated by where you live and what larger grocery chains are available in the area. Larger grocery chains are usually open 07-23, while corner stores might be open 09-21. There will also be smaller 24hr stores with basic staples in some areas. For mom-and-dad shops, it is usually a financial trade-off in large part dictated by societal norms and policies.
Sadly, immigration laws are very strict. Although immigration is no picnic in most places, Denmark probably has the harshest immigration laws in the EU at this point. It's a complicated issue though and many countries are looking at Denmark as inspiration for solving their own immigration problems (though calling it a solution might be stretching the word to breaking point). Denmark used to be less strict but integration is very difficult, especially when many people are displaced by wars or civil unrest. This results in many immigrants not being able (or in some cases willing) to contribute to the economy in a way that meaningfully offsets the added strain on public offerings, such as health services. The long wait times for mental health professionals that you mentioned is potentially tied to poor integration in the past to some extent (NOT fully - to an extent). Many people who immigrated are fully integrated and contributing members of danish society but it's undeniable that others got stuck at the halfway point and it's costing a lot of money to deal with that situation. As I said, immigration is a complicated issue and while it seems heartless to make stricter immigration laws, piling more people into the country before figuring out a better approach to integration is also not a great solution. I hope your situation around immigration improves though, as you've clearly done everything we asked of you and deserve a more permanent status for your efforts.
If you want wider variety in the stores shop in Brugsen and Meny. Their discount stuff is as cheap as Netto, Rema 1000 and the other discount stores, but they have more special goods. As for peanutbutter. Aldi had a good one. I don't go to Lidl often so i dont know about them. But Føtex or Bilka might have some.
Honestly, I've almost always been able to find what I need for daily living at the stores so I differ feom Josh and Maya on that front. The only time I've found it to be challenging is if Im making an ethnic dish that require particular vegetables or spices. Also sometimes it's hard to find gluten free alternatives to things (like tamari instead of soy sauce). But, eh, I actually think the store sizes are fine. Whether or not they are stocked with what they normally have is another story 😂 - M
I'm American, lived here in Denmark since 1972 a young single mom hippie. I've taught refugees and immigrants, I know what it's like to ĺearn Danish and the Danish culture!I I am very sad to see the way the society has become 😢 If you are near North Djursland, you are welcome! We have 2 double guest rooms and bath!
I think you have some good points - except for the peanutbutter 😂 And as you also say in the video it's probably (also) a question of many Danes not knowing these things about their own country. About the health care situation you describe (waiting for way too long) that's, unfortunately, true for everyone and quite ironic (you being American) the reason for th is (many of) our politicians wanting what here often is seen as "how it is in The US, namely a society with low taxes where you need to be heavily insured to get the help that years ago was an "of course you should have that help"-kind of thing. Also the same politicians want to use taxes for heavily supporting private businesses including private hospitals.
Congratulations, you can now call yourselves well-integrated, because you have understood that as a Danes we complain about all sorts of small inequities, instead of focusing on the bigger picture 🙃
You are indeed correct that many Danes don't know about this. I consider myself pretty interested in politics in general but I had no idea of the struggle of teenagers converting their status as accompaning family members to being eligible for their own visa and eventually permanent residency. It is definitely something that should change. Especially for Maya in particular (we should count ourselves lucky that she wants to stay here) but also for the general reasons you mentioned. A bit of an eye-opener
The Danish immigration laws are insane and unfair, I am a Dane born and raised, me and my wife went traveling in 2016 for 15 months. We were going to stay in Australia for 1 year so we moved our address there without considering if this could have any consequences. When we returned to Denmark in February 2018 we found out that we had lost some of our privileges. We were unable to get any financial support that we would usually have been eligible for like "kontanthjælp" we were only able to get immigration benefits. Due to the insanely strict laws we are still not eligible to any of the public financial support until 2025 since you need to have lived in Denmark (had your address registered) for 7 out of the past 8 years even though we are both born and raised in Denmark, so were our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.
@@blueeyedpunk That rule was allso made so that you can not move to a low tax country live there for most of your life and then if you get sick or old then move back to Denmark and be a burden on the rest that stayed. But it could be more like if you are born here or lived here for 15+ years then you can move to an other country for 5 years and then come back with no problems
@@KurtFrederiksenhaving worked in areas involving many immigrants and grown up in an area with many immigrants, i can guarantee the parties advocating for really strict immigration laws generally make things a lot worse. They might speak in favor of immigrants from western countries from time to time, but the policies they push for are so square and deliberately made to make it difficult for anyone, even affecting ethnic Danes that were born here
@@KurtFrederiksen we hardly have any ultra left and people don't really flock to enhedslisten because of immigration, but because of general treatment of the average citizens Also the center parties have been very focused on immigration for years. It sometimes look like they are battling over who can be the most intolerant and it's lead to some policies that often make it harder for good citizens that really want the country
Interesting list of topics. Special thanks to Maya for speaking up and ignoring the taboo sometimes related to mental health. The more people having the guts to speak openly about this topic the better. And yes, the mental health care system is currently far from the standard you would expect from our highly praised welfare system. Waiting times are appaling and have been for way for too long. However, these problems have gained more attention from politicians in recent years and an additional 400 million DKK was allocated for psychiatry under the Finance Act for 2024 for example. The agreement has a special focus on children and young people. I don't believe that 400 million DKK is nearly enough to solve the problem in the short term but at least steps are finally being taken to improve the situation going forward. Immigration politics is probably still the most divisive topic in Danish politics and has been for at least three decades. The ruling parties seem to agree on what they sometimes refer to as a "firm but not crazy" political line. Whether they have managed to iron out all of the crazy bits is highly debatable. Absurd stories still pop up from time to time where even model citizens like yourselves are seemingly falling victim to nonsensical rules. I agree that we need to improve the situation there too. On the typic of ice cubes it is possible to get an "American" fridge with that feature here so you should be able to solve that situation (at home at least). The issue might be that these fridges are often wider than a standard fridge so it might not fit easily into an existing kitchen. They also tend to be more expensive.
LOL on the peanutbutter - the fridge with the ice cube function is already available even locally - just buy the thing. More hypermarkets... well, this country just can't produce enough customers for that. The mental health thing... yeah, that sucks, but I believe it's being addressed. The immigration thing - sucks big time! The system needs more flexibility and each case should be evaluated carefully - in a perfect world. What would *I* change? Definitely the health system waiting lists. I had to wait two years before I was finally treated for chronic migraines. The system could have saved so much money if I had had access to the treatment sooner. The Danish health system may be free, but it's also heavily flawed. Next thing is the customer hotline - WAITING FORVEVER AND WASTING TOO MUCH TIME PUNCHING YOUR WAY THROUGH A MILL OPTIONS! And afterwards, when you realise it was all in vain, you are ripe for the mental health care... which only will make things worse. 😕 And there are a gazillion things more, but too little space to mention them all.
Mental health is definitely the biggest issue we have in Denmark, at least in my opinion. Just about every political party, to some extent, has it as a certain priority but nothing ever gets done besides funds being cut. It's such a complete letdown by our system.. all of the politicians should be ashamed.
Good points all of them haha! My partners brother, got himself a little ice-cube machine because he makes a lot of drinks, and he loves getting ice in his water or cola.. I hate "pasta salads" they are everywhere and the pasta is often overcooked.. We live right besides a Føtex and i think we generally don't have the big stores because most people live in apartments, and can't bulk buy, while people who live in houses and my have an extra freezer is fine with Føtex or the longer trip to Bilka haha! I have never personally used a Bilka its too big and noisy, but i see your point :) It's sad that Netto and such had to stop with their late hours shops, it was so nice as you say to be able to go 22 in the evening and just get some cravings after a concert or something! Unfortunately it cost them more to have open then they earn from it, and they experienced so much more crime in the weekends and evenings/nights :( -We are so bad at integrating the workforce we import its ridiculous! I have heard that from so many, and it makes me so sad that people coming to work have to "find" their own communities where they can help each other learn the culture! A person like me, that cant work at all, could be a volunteer at the town hall once a week where i could interact with and help people that needs or wants to learn more about the culture what is expected of you and so on! But no, we don't want to actually use money on the things we think are really important for our society, no.. 🙄 -The Mental Health care in Denmark over all is shit.. Nothing more nothing less. I would recommend everybody who has the money to go private, and those who can, to save up the money to go private.. I'm 28, and for the first time since i was 8 i am going to get actual help soon - i have been tossed around in the system, been in and out for years since i was around 15, and now when im lucky enough to have a partner that can pay for it, i can actually get real help. I am very much pro better mental health treatments for all!
Maya’s immigration issues is just such an embarrassment for Denmark. I would change the immigration laws in a minute if I had the chance. I wish you the best of luck and hope that everything works out for you.
05:40 - Order from any larger chain over the internet and have your groceries delivered to your door (often free of charge) - especially for specialty or hard-to-find items on which you want to stock up. Pasta in ALL prepacked salads? I would have thought pasta would only be in a minority.
Well... I think that even after 6 years, there's still things that you need to accommodate to the Danish way:.... stores closing early and closed over the weekend: workers also have a family and also need to rest... but that basic stuff, like something to eat, toilet paper or diapers, you can still find those urgent things at a gas station like Circle K, K8 or Shell (of course, don't expect to have your brand or everything... you'll find it in your store, the next day) .... and regarding calling your doctor, if it's urgent, call 1813 (if Sealand) and they will guide you depending on the case: if it's an emergency they will forward you to one and to which hospital, if it's not a emergency, take a panodill, a glass of water and call you doctor on the following morning.
Absolutely agree with your peanut butter case!! The organic stuff is awful 😅 So far the "Mississippi Belle" I bought from Bilka is best I've tried - but MOOOAR pls haha I found what you said about integrating into the work place really interesting. What kind of support would you have preferred? Like written stuff? A specialised mentor? Something else? Just curious 😊
Here is where I have found easier access to mental healthcare where I live: I could access it through my Gymnasium that had some employed(but it was a big gymnasium) or my father/sister that at some point got the opportunity for en a short period meeting a psykiatrist for awhile, I think my father got it because of stress and my sister because of ADHD and because she was young(maybe also because she was a member of the insurance called Danmark). But from my understanding access to mental healthcare heavily depend on where you live. Fx in Aarhus(not where I live, so maybe it have changed, since I heard about it) you get access to a psykiatrist if your spouse dies, but your kids doesn't get the same access through the kommune(municipality?), which is just so weird.
Miranda, you didn't bring up the chalky water 🙁 You mentioned it in one of your first video, and ever since I've hated it more "passionately" I've lived abroad, so I know there's chalk free water out there, and it was like you gave me green light to complain 🥰 - and the Danes have NO come back 🤣🤣 Besides that, I'm with you almost all of the way. Buy an ice machine, Josh 😉 Peace, love ... and nice spring weather🥰
Im very surprised at how maya is treated in terms of her visa.. i had no idea you would have to live up to all those things at that age.. thats not fair at all. Also, About the supermarkets closing early.. i sometimes see you guys when im out shopping, and our netto once had open 24 hours.. As a dane, that was very odd to experience.. I actually went shopping at around 4 at night.. the city was completely dark and still, the netto was lit up, and inside, there were other people shopping at the same time at night.. it felt so strange.. They eventually changed the opening hours back to closing at 22, since there was not enough people shopping at night.
Born, raised and still living Dane here: pasta salat is salat with pasta and meat, of course understandable if you don't like it or cant have it, that of course sucks. the doctor calling thing i will have to agree, it sucks and have always sucked that i have to get up earlier then i need to, just to call the doctor, i will agree with that for sure :D :P mental health care is so hard to get help with, i have been trying since i was 18 to find out what is wrong with my head (i am 31 and still have no idea) sadly it is very hard actually finding out what is wrong or getting help, most of the time they will give you some sort of medicine to test if it works, or that is at least my experience so far :S immigration wise: i think the government thinks they need to keep out people that want to move here for some reason, but they take in alot of refugees without putting restrictions on them it seems, i really do not understand the system, which sucks since i actually date outside of Denmark more then inside, so yeah :S
6:00 ohh you are so spoiled, if you came 25 years earlier, there would hardly be anything open after 12pm on a Saturday and everything but a few service stations and kiosks would be closed on Sunday, grocery stores would close around 18 on a workday. It is simply down to it is not profitable to be open that long, there is not enough people in the stores. If you want the bigger stores, you would have those 45-60 min. drives to get there, probably longer on public transportation for some, so this one I am happy isn't going to change :)
I'm totally with you on the ice cube thing. But why don't you just buy a fridge/freezer with an ice cube maker? It's not like they don't exist in Denmark... 🤭
11:20 - All schools (at any level) would have ready access to on-site mental health professionals/services and if necessary book an appointment with a specialist.
Regarding peanut butter, I can ask my wife bring some back from the US. She will be traveling back to DK on Sunday April 14th. Hereafter I can sent it over to you... Merinda can email me information about what brand etc. ;-) I think the immigrations rules are totally crazy.. Hopefully they will be changed to the better. DK needs people like you guys!
I dont understand the ice problem, 3 out of 4 stores near me sell big bags of icecubes, maybe that isent normal everywhere but I live in a small'is town in jylland so would think its pretty common.
I don't know how old Maya was when you moved to Denmark. But if she was under 15, she should be able to apply for Danish citizenship. If she was under 15 I would start applying for citizenship right away. You must get a lawyer with special skills in citizenship and get help. If she has American and Danish/EU citizenship, she is quite well off. You will legally have a greater connection to Denmark if your daughter has citizenship.
You’re so right about mental healthcare in DK. I talked to a danish friend who lives in New Hampshire and she praised the American health system a lot. But guess it depends on your insurance situation.
Changing the immigration policies or building a chain of Bilka competitors is unfortunately beyond my powers, but what I can tell you, is that my fridge makes ice cubes right here in Copenhagen... And a number of our friends have ice-making fridges as well. So at least there's en easy fix for that. ☝😃 I believe most of the larger electronic stores, like Elgiganten and Power sell those. You just have to ask for an "American fridge" 😎🇺🇸 PS: Thank you for another great video! We'll keep our fingers crossed that someone at Christiansborg wakes up and decides to make it way easier for young people like Maya to stick around 🙏🤞😊
Regarding big stores you have a fairly big Føtex pretty close. Also the Netto in Lyngby is open until 23. I assume the salad problem is about the precut lunch-salads that are sold in stores, kiosks and gas stations - these are fairly new in Denmark since most used to prefer raw salads that you mixed and cut yourself. I have seen some without pasta (coleslaw or just mixed salad without any extras or sliced carrots), but yes there are a lot with either pasta or croutons. (Det sunde køkken take-out in Lyngby has a big selection - I think only 2 out of 20 are with pasta). As for Maya's constant woes about residential status, we all know what this is about - This pertains to the fact that it is illegal (according to EU and human rights conventions) to block people from MENAP, so we have to make it difficult. There are ways around it, but you have to know the kinks in the armour.
I live in Denmark as well. I’d like to try and live in Norway. They seem to do better in many ways. However, Denmark isn’t bad, but it’s going the wrong way in a lot of ways. Nevertheless, I really like you guys and kudos to Maya for being so cool and doing so well in school, it really takes a lot to move to a new country and do that🙌 Best luck to all of you😊
Guys, you are dead on right. Regarding immigration it is ludicrous. Danes (like myself) who have kids born outside Denmark by a Dane and another nationality are therefore "entitled" to citizenship of the parents. No problem in the US but in Denmark they will get a social security number(their birth date but not the last 4 digits). To obtain full citizenship they will have to go there and either spend one year total before they are 21 yrs old or be registered in the social security system for min.93 days (not leaving the country) AND THEN will have to re-apply for full citizenship between their 21st-22nd birthday. Then a government employee will validate their status.....WTF!!! It's insane and a lot of cases are going on. Danes Worldwide organisation helps a lot but it is the attitude of the system that needs to change. The system got more strict a few years ago due to refugees from certain areas. But it is the "wrong" people it hurts. Anyway, just to let you know the system is also crazy towards Danes living outside the country ;).
Yup. A lot of Danes with you on most issues as well. I don't know that peanutbutter and midnight shopping with 27 flavors of whatever would qualify as the most important, but legislation and mental healthcare are issues for sure, not just for immigrants. One could speculate that pulling funding out of the public healthcare system for private service providers basically in competition on very uneven terms, has hollowed out the system, and made things go from bad to worse, as just one point - there are several others, but something definitely needs to be done.
On the mental health situation, unfortunately the only way to get into something fast is in the private sector. I hear that in a lot of countries though
The situation for Maya sounds horrible, that has to be so frustrating, not only for her citizen status, but that will probably affect her scholarship/ stipend for university.Hope things work out for her fast! I am in Norway/ Norwegian and the problem with mental health accessibility are here too. And I am very for public health, but as an adult you need to almost be( in an emergency) before getting referred by ones doctor. They have psychologist though the municipality for kids and adolescents, but it is rare one goes there without child protective services involved. I had some counseling around 16 because of some specific issues, but it was very inefficient and it seemed that they used those departments mostly for research and educational purposes. I have invested about 3000 ish danish kroner last couple years(each month!!) with a private psychologist, and he is great and it is so worth it, but agree with Maya, it should be much easier, it should not be a privilege or a luxury.
About opeenings hours in Denmark i know that Bilka have tryed it years back, about the icecubes you buy can also buy refrigeator with icecubemachine, I agree about much off the immegrant issue
I love to see your point of view. After visiting the States, I see what you mean. We want the large grocery stores. 1. The variety 2. We hate to go to 3 different stores to get what we need. I wanna change our health care for mental health, and the large use of happy pills. I want to change Danes beleive about Denmark. There is a narative thats not true. Denmark is not as good as the majority think. It is not the best country. We are not the happiest country without out happy pills. Thats my point of view. I am not in a possition where I can change it, so i want to leave Denmark, and i am trying. My girlfriend and I want to move to the States (it's our dream), but it is very difficult without a job and a work visa. So we've tried the dv lottery. We are now waiting for the result next month. After waiting 7 months since we applied.
Bilka is open until 23:00 and some Netto until 22:00 at least, that must be long enough. Otherwise, you must buy toilet paper before crap in the evening, ha ha so funny. But honestly, just think of the people who have to work late into the night just because you think you're short of toilet paper. Isn't it about adapting your habits so that you don't run out of toiletpaper or what ever in the middle of the night . And regarding the ice cubes, you can buy an American refrigerator that makes ice cubes. And they can be bought in most hardware stores in Denmark.
It is a good point you bring up there. I think though, there are one side of the whole population where it's 'oh no, new people coming in from the outside world, they will take over Denmark'. I can't tell for sure, but I have a feeling that some Danes will feel that way. But I agree with you lot so far, that yes, we do need more teachers, doctors, educated specilalists. Our system has really gone down hill over the past few years. It's not working optimal anymore.
You guys must realize that the main reason the shops in Demmark are not open all night or even 24 hour is because that most people do not shop at night and so it makes no economic sense to keep the stores open. The only reason they can keep extreme opening hours in the US is because they pay their employees a very low wage, not a living wage. Also, sensible working hours makes for a better life for the employees.
@@user-ty8so2dq7i Oh, I'm sure they do. It's just that they come from a society more focused on individualism and sometimes it can be hard to change your immediate way of thinking. In Scandinavia we have highly successful societies exactly because of our higher focus on the people as a whole - also known as "solidarity".
@@hellebachmann8260 yes and Danes has to suffer a little bit everyday, that's what my american wife says when were in Denmark, why are you riding your bike in the rain when you have two cars? Or why do you hang your clothes to dry when you have a dryer? And why do you not use softeners so your towels are not like sandpaper? My response is we have to, it makes us feel better.
@@hellebachmann8260 Ja, jeg tænkte det samme - som om de forventer at alt er service hele døgnet. Åbningstider er også indrettet efter, hvad butikker mener er rentabelt mht. mængden af kunder - og det er det ikke sidst på aftenen. Man må strukturere sine indkøb nogle dage frem, ellers har man selv skabt sine problemer.
I think talking to a professional is a very good idea, even if you "don't need to" You are always welcome to go to a psychiatric clinic and it's free just to talk. I unfortunately had to do so and I was so afraid because of what you see happening in movies thinking they wouldn't let me leave.
About the opening hours.. you have to remember that a lot of the danish philosophy, is about: you can't get everything you want, when you want it!! Because that's not how the world works. + bigger stores = more waste! 🌎 and Danes makes they're food themselves, so if you need something, work for it, make it at home 🌮 ❤🤗
Mental health care is not good, it has not been for a long time, but if you have a private healthcare insurance through work or just buy one, those I had, have all covered family both kids and partners and, you can get to a specialist within days. The public one can have a long waiting list, unless you are suicidal you can get there faster.
I'm danish. When I got my first jobs, I didn't know how either. You just have to make a fool out of yourself and learn when the others make fun of you.
On the issue of big stores: The lack of big stores in Denmark is by design as there are regulations making them very difficult to get planning permission for. The reason is that it is believed that allowing many big stores will make it more difficult to run small independent shops on the high street. So it is simply a political priority
Also the really big stores are required to be closed on public holidays, I'd their flow is too big.
It's an attempt to keep the smaller shops alive.
Now that ALDI has left the country, there's basically only SPAR/Min Købmand and Coop365 (formerly known as Fakta) and 7-Eleven that insists on being open on public holidays.
About opening hours on regular days, I think it's more about how expensive it is to have employees vs. how many customers actually visit at 10pm. 7-Eleven works fine with 2-3 people at work, if it gets much larger you need more people to restock the shelves... that's not exactly cheap after 8pm here in Denmark.
Thanks for your video 🙏🏼 the late Night shopping in America, maybe is a must because How your work hours are, to shop to family when you are not at work. Very different here in Denmark as you know. They have tried many places to have open to midnight, and even some supermarket 24/7, but not enough customers. It have to be a good business, with Leeds me to, why don’t you import and sell good peanut butter. If it really a need here in DK, then you have a business 🙂 Our immigration are maybe the worst in the world. I know, as been married to an Australian. The Right wing politician have been so good to tell people how dangerous people from outside are( read Muslims) so if you are not from an EU country you are so fucked In immigration no matter how good you are.
Hope Maya will find out. Denmark also have a big problem with helping people, special young people that have some mental problems. I work to help young people with that kind of problems. And it is not getting better. We have more and more, specially teenagers that have some kind of mentality issues. But instead of help when it’s not a huge issue yet, they cut down all the help where the teenagers could go, by them self to get some help. So now many af the young people have to wait to they get really sick, and then they need to go mental hospital. We have many great thing here in Denmark, but help to mental problems and immigration are not something to be proud of
@@johnnyszumlanski6882 In many cases I'm afraid the Danish system rely on our pedagogs and school psychologists to catch the kids with trouble.
We have mental ER but it's not aimed at those between 16 and 18... most don't know it exists. We have børnetelefonen, but kids above 14 don't feel that it's suitable for their age.
Anyway, our immigration policies could certainly use a proper review... companies (and public institutions like hospitals) are basically crying for educated staff.
Make it easier for a certified doctor from India or Pakistan to fill the job... it might need a translator but both the translator and the doctor could have a decent income, compared to what we usually pay a doctor... it's silly to have doctors driving taxis because they don't know the language "well enough".
Sorry, didn't mean to get railed up. It's just frustrating to look at... We're so good at medical research, but we're failing at the basics. Let them in, and treat their children like our own.. is that too much to ask?
I am from Denmark but have lived on and off in Kenya for 12 years.
We have supermarkets here but not really super stores.
It used to annoy me somewhat until I realized that we have plenty of life and lots of puzzling in the streets at almost all times because we don't have the big stores.
Reminds me a little of my childhood in Denmark ... before big supermarkets 😊
Maya's immigration situation is clearly not fair. That absolutely needs to change
Immigration rules in Denmark is fuckin stupid..
It directly stupid. I got it, that none educated refugees is a financial cost.
We pay to educate young people and send them away for others to benefit! To make who happy? The Danish Nazist party named Dansk Folkeparti?
All thanks to Dansk Folkeparti and their quest in keeping Denmark white and pure. 🤦♂️
@@kasperkjrsgaard1447 A bit reductive ...
Emigration Rules has to be broad. If not then the groups singled out could claim they were the victims of racism and they would most likely win if they took the legislation to court
The Danish immigration laws are flat out ridiculous in many aspects. I met my Japanese wife in Denmark 25 years ago, when she came to do her masters. She had a educational visa for the period of her education - but once she completed that so did the visa. We got married to counter that - but then I had to be able to support her by law - which I could not because I had limited income as I was a University student myself at the time. Turned out there was some loopholes for that, and because she started her second masters. Still we had to renew her residence permit every year for 5 years until we could get a permanent one. Processing time for reissues were 7-8 months which meant as soon as we got the extension we were prepping for the next one. What a disaster. My wife since graduated as a Ph.D from Aalborg University and we have a son who is now 16years old. My Wife is fluent in Danish, French, English, Japanese and mandarin. She is and was a teacher at the University level. But what happens when we move to Japan, well they revoke it all after 2 years. I understand Maia's frustrations. The laws are there because of the right wing and some ethnic minorities that some people dislike because they "feed" on the system allegedly. But like Miranda says most Danes are rational and but not necessarily aware of these problems and so the right wing does all the talking and as a result Denmark misses out on a lot of skilled labor which they desperately need. In addition if your do the math. Say Josh who I reckon has a degree communication, comes over from America with education payed for - This is found money. To educate a master after senior high alone costs society at least 70.000usd for education alone plus SU for 5 years. The savings are HUGE, and so why would you not structure your immigration laws after that. Anyways all your points are valid and then some -except peanut butter it is disgusting. Thinking about unsubbing now 🤣🤣 Keep up the good work guys. All the best from a Dane in Japan
It is so ridiculous, basically designed to scare people away from trying. My ex is Chinese so I know the whole mill.
Luckily we "tricked the system" by having kids born in Denmark, so when the oldest turned 7, going to public school etc. That gave my ex enough attachment to DK that she could obtain permanent residency, even without me having to deposit money.
But the whole immigration system is a circus, because some politicians panicked about middle eastern refugees. It's not very friendly to those that come here for a highly qualified job they basically have already. And apparently not their children either.
It's because the so called left won't make the system better. Make it dependent on where people are from
If you have permanent residents, you can go out of Denmark for one year, if it's longer you have to apply for that, then it can be 2 years or more, you apply for the approx time
@@finnskrydstrup1850 is it a whole year now? I think it used to be 6 months.
Anyway, yeah, if you have a valid reason, if your employer stations you somewhere for instance, you can get permission to be out for longer.
On the other hand, having to touch base once a year doesn't sound too stressful.. but it would be a pity to lose permanent residency, considering how difficult and longwinded it is.
I think access to mental healthcare for teenagers has been a problem for a while now.
Sadly mental healthcare in general has been insufficient for a long time now.
To my knowledge.
People have big problems they need help with.
Like cold pasta in their salads :p
It is not that many years ago that the shops closed at 5.30 pm, 2 pm on Saturdays, and completely closed on Sundays.
Yes, and it is pretty damn common in Norway and Sweden still
I prefered the old ways. The weekends felt more calm.
Must be atleast 20 years ago then, I dont remember the shops close that early, since the 90s
Glad to have you back! Great observations and really enjoyed your thoughts on things you would change and most importantly why.
Thank you
Once again a eye-opening video, Thank you for the comments, and as a native I agree on most ( apart from Peanut butter 😖).
Healthcare is difficult as the rising costs (of medicine) and the principle of free healthcare creates issues like you mention.
ESPECIALLY the part about immigration and children is a huge problem for US citicens and many more.
Any ressourcefull and well integrated person should not have any roadblocks on the way to staying or permanent citicenship.
In contrast to the present system it was suggested some years ago, to consider the education as a loan, that could be paid back by staying a number of years (as taxpayer) after graduating in order to “pay back” the cost of education. One reason for this was at that time that non-danes “took advantage” of the free University education (examble Norwegians) and came to Denmark to study Medicine, Psycology et cetera due to limits in their own education system. This still applies, and after graduating they go back to the home country to practice. No offense to Norwegians, just used as a still relevant example.
The real problem (not Issue😉) is that (extreme) right wing rethoric against immigration prevents reasonable legislation on the topic. 🤷🏻♂️
You make some really good points.
On the notion of healthcare at 10:45, I know that some kommuner have special programs. My sister was in a situation where she wanted to talk to someone during her teenage years, and Aalborg had a free healthcare program called 'Ungerådgivning' where people from the age(s) between 14 - 25 can get free therapy. It's probably not available in every kommune but I figured it might be worth mentioning :)
They are absolutely right! And so are you 🙂
We feel fortunate that my son only had to wait for 3 weeks to see a psyciatrist (we live on Fyn)
Also Nyborg Kommune has expanded psycological help for young people (forget the details), and a couple of millions actually goes a far way in a small town
But there's a desperate need out there!! Where are all the school psycologist?
Every single child should see one once a year - and then the psycologist should take it from there.
PS: DR was making a programme about this problem, eyes were on my son, but he got discarded. "It wasn't my kind of experience they were looking for", he explained.
sadly you are right on, the mental health access. The goverment have not prioritized that sector for many years. in fact they cut the funding. Even getting help from a private actor can easily have 1,5 years wait queue, and it will cost a relative large sum. I know that as a parent of two children with problems. Not every family have the economic and mental resources like your family. It make me happy to see its going well for your family :)
I don't know guys, you are starting to sound very unamerican when you say you don't like pasta! Where we in Denmark use potatoes Americans notoriously use pasta. For example, Beef Stroganoff is served with pasta in the US but potato mash in Denmark. Just saying!
Trust me I've had long discussions about this with my american wife, all I want is to make mashed potatoes and add some food coloring, then again I found out its us Danes that are wrong, the rest of the world (maybe except germany) eats it with Pasta.
When in Rome.....
Pasta is more of an Italian-American diet staple and more in the urban palate than not. Proper Stroganoff (a Russian dish) uses German-style egg noodles, not pasta macaroni. Danes really have a limited palate and imagination when it comes to cooking.
@@williamjones4716sounds like you never had good mashed potatoes. Well spiced mashed potatoes can beat any pasta easily
@@aion5386 Actually I learned to make spuds Danish style with raw egg and cream mixed in, however I find the Danish penchant for adding nutmeg spice revolting. I also stir-in a little cheese to my mashed potatoes (helps to firm-up the mash after adding cream).
Excellent advice!
The immigration laws are weird… My husband was born here in Denmark to a Danish mother and an Irish father. He’s been living here all of his life, but since he was given Irish citizenship at birth, he had to go through the entire citizenship process and test as if he came from another country. That took like 3 years during which he was sooooo stressed out and really afraid of being denied the Danish citizenship. Today he holds dual citizenship.
You can just buy a fridge that can make cubes. You can buy them here.. Alot of ppl just dont use them so they save money on them. Iv seen many fridges in denmark that can make ice cubes.
Love watching your videos. You have made very good observations. Especially points about mental health and immigration laws are spot on
Good points - some are even hot topics in the Danish society and parlament… and Im not talking about automatic icecubes and peanutbutter! 😊
02:45 -
On the ice dispenser thing, it depends on the fridge - many come with an integrated ice dispenser, some don't.
They are readily available, so why make it a caveat.
“I cannot understand why a government should do good if it is not to help the weak. The strong will probably manage.”
- R.I.P. Kim Larsen, 1945-2018.
Also, wanted to add that you are such a nice family and I really hope you will stay
Netto at Vesterbrogade closes at 23:00.
Netto had 24-hours stores a few years ago, but they closed - so it probaly wasn’t a good business case
Did they? There were some stores called døgn-Netto, but those known to me were not open around the clock.
Oddly, there's still a 24-hour Netto in Nykøbing Falster ...
A lot of the immigration laws regarding Young adults / adolescents were changed (to more strict) to prevent child brides.
15:00 could not agree more... sadly the rules comes down to ethnicity and in attempt to keep some out, the rules keep all out.
I hope the SRP went well. It was fun to see you, Maya at the station 🙂
Yes thank you so much! It went great!
Thank you for sharing your views. I love to hear the views of people who are not originally from Denmark because how can you ever improve as a country if you don't get inputs from the outside? Keep up the good work :)
most danes do want to change the system so people like maya can stay here because she wants to be a part of society and contribuate
If the legislation was tailored towards the immigrants who choose to segregate themselves from the rest of the society Denmark would most likely lose if that legislation was brought in front of an human rights court. The legislation would thus have to be broad and thus also target people who do want to contribute for it not to be considered an act of racism
Blame the far right, not us.
I have to disagree so much with your idea of larger grocery stores. A larger store does not necessarily lead to better variety. As a Dane living here in the US, who frequently is in large grocery stores, the variety is NOT better than anywhere else. This is especially apparent as someone with a limited diet. I'm a vegetarian and I can find more options in REMA 1000 in Denmark than a large Kroger or WALMART over here. It's pointless to have a larger store with more facings If all your options are the same (I don't really need access to 15 types of Veggie Burgers. I would appreciate more options for lunch protein or different types of dinner substitute instead). This is something I hear frequently from Americans moving to Denmark but I think you're all remembering the stores back home with rose-tinted glasses
Other than that, i completely agree with all your other points. Especially the last one.
A friend of mine has a huge "American" refrigerator, that also makes icecubes.
But that is probably a bit of an expensive option.
Plenty of non-american versions of that, Samsung makes a lot for instance.
Ice machines have become more visible here, with the hot summers, you see a smaller version for the desk and I see more friends with a fridge that has it built in, but often our kitchens do not have room for that large fridge, so you won't consider one before you get a new kitchen.
there are many people coming from abroad who do not want Denmark and it should probably be those who should be excluded from some things, but people who want us to be welcome in Denmark
It used to be different with mental healthcare. When I lived there (and worked in the school system) there were all kinds of mechanisms, like PPR, school psychologist, special needs classes and such. Of course, when you turned 18 you transferred over into the adult system, and it became more of a healthcare oriented issue, with referral from the primary care doctor and so on.
It seems to me the visa rules in Denmark change as often as the weather these days....
Nice to see a video from you guys again!
Get access to a schrink in Denmark is uphill. Especially when you need one🥺🥺🥺
06:20 -
Opening hours are largely dictated by where you live and what larger grocery chains are available in the area.
Larger grocery chains are usually open 07-23, while corner stores might be open 09-21.
There will also be smaller 24hr stores with basic staples in some areas.
For mom-and-dad shops, it is usually a financial trade-off in large part dictated by societal norms and policies.
Sadly, immigration laws are very strict. Although immigration is no picnic in most places, Denmark probably has the harshest immigration laws in the EU at this point. It's a complicated issue though and many countries are looking at Denmark as inspiration for solving their own immigration problems (though calling it a solution might be stretching the word to breaking point). Denmark used to be less strict but integration is very difficult, especially when many people are displaced by wars or civil unrest. This results in many immigrants not being able (or in some cases willing) to contribute to the economy in a way that meaningfully offsets the added strain on public offerings, such as health services. The long wait times for mental health professionals that you mentioned is potentially tied to poor integration in the past to some extent (NOT fully - to an extent). Many people who immigrated are fully integrated and contributing members of danish society but it's undeniable that others got stuck at the halfway point and it's costing a lot of money to deal with that situation.
As I said, immigration is a complicated issue and while it seems heartless to make stricter immigration laws, piling more people into the country before figuring out a better approach to integration is also not a great solution. I hope your situation around immigration improves though, as you've clearly done everything we asked of you and deserve a more permanent status for your efforts.
Agree completely with you!
If you want wider variety in the stores shop in Brugsen and Meny. Their discount stuff is as cheap as Netto, Rema 1000 and the other discount stores, but they have more special goods. As for peanutbutter. Aldi had a good one. I don't go to Lidl often so i dont know about them. But Føtex or Bilka might have some.
Honestly, I've almost always been able to find what I need for daily living at the stores so I differ feom Josh and Maya on that front. The only time I've found it to be challenging is if Im making an ethnic dish that require particular vegetables or spices. Also sometimes it's hard to find gluten free alternatives to things (like tamari instead of soy sauce). But, eh, I actually think the store sizes are fine. Whether or not they are stocked with what they normally have is another story 😂 - M
I'm American, lived here in Denmark since 1972 a young single mom hippie. I've taught refugees and immigrants, I know what it's like to ĺearn Danish and the Danish culture!I I am very sad to see the way the society has become 😢 If you are near North Djursland, you are welcome! We have 2 double guest rooms and bath!
As our guests of couse❤
I think you have some good points - except for the peanutbutter 😂
And as you also say in the video it's probably (also) a question of many Danes not knowing these things about their own country.
About the health care situation you describe (waiting for way too long) that's, unfortunately, true for everyone and quite ironic (you being American) the reason for th is (many of) our politicians wanting what here often is seen as "how it is in The US, namely a society with low taxes where you need to be heavily insured to get the help that years ago was an "of course you should have that help"-kind of thing.
Also the same politicians want to use taxes for heavily supporting private businesses including private hospitals.
Congratulations, you can now call yourselves well-integrated, because you have understood that as a Danes we complain about all sorts of small inequities, instead of focusing on the bigger picture 🙃
You are indeed correct that many Danes don't know about this. I consider myself pretty interested in politics in general but I had no idea of the struggle of teenagers converting their status as accompaning family members to being eligible for their own visa and eventually permanent residency. It is definitely something that should change. Especially for Maya in particular (we should count ourselves lucky that she wants to stay here) but also for the general reasons you mentioned. A bit of an eye-opener
The Danish immigration laws are insane and unfair, I am a Dane born and raised, me and my wife went traveling in 2016 for 15 months. We were going to stay in Australia for 1 year so we moved our address there without considering if this could have any consequences. When we returned to Denmark in February 2018 we found out that we had lost some of our privileges. We were unable to get any financial support that we would usually have been eligible for like "kontanthjælp" we were only able to get immigration benefits. Due to the insanely strict laws we are still not eligible to any of the public financial support until 2025 since you need to have lived in Denmark (had your address registered) for 7 out of the past 8 years even though we are both born and raised in Denmark, so were our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.
As unfair as they are, it is by design, we voted for that the last 30 years.
Easy solution is only allow danish citizens to get benefits
@@blueeyedpunk That rule was allso made so that you can not move to a low tax country live there for most of your life and then if you get sick or old then move back to Denmark and be a burden on the rest that stayed. But it could be more like if you are born here or lived here for 15+ years then you can move to an other country for 5 years and then come back with no problems
@@KurtFrederiksenhaving worked in areas involving many immigrants and grown up in an area with many immigrants, i can guarantee the parties advocating for really strict immigration laws generally make things a lot worse. They might speak in favor of immigrants from western countries from time to time, but the policies they push for are so square and deliberately made to make it difficult for anyone, even affecting ethnic Danes that were born here
@@KurtFrederiksen we hardly have any ultra left and people don't really flock to enhedslisten because of immigration, but because of general treatment of the average citizens
Also the center parties have been very focused on immigration for years. It sometimes look like they are battling over who can be the most intolerant and it's lead to some policies that often make it harder for good citizens that really want the country
Interesting list of topics. Special thanks to Maya for speaking up and ignoring the taboo sometimes related to mental health. The more people having the guts to speak openly about this topic the better. And yes, the mental health care system is currently far from the standard you would expect from our highly praised welfare system. Waiting times are appaling and have been for way for too long. However, these problems have gained more attention from politicians in recent years and an additional 400 million DKK was allocated for psychiatry under the Finance Act for 2024 for example. The agreement has a special focus on children and young people. I don't believe that 400 million DKK is nearly enough to solve the problem in the short term but at least steps are finally being taken to improve the situation going forward.
Immigration politics is probably still the most divisive topic in Danish politics and has been for at least three decades. The ruling parties seem to agree on what they sometimes refer to as a "firm but not crazy" political line. Whether they have managed to iron out all of the crazy bits is highly debatable. Absurd stories still pop up from time to time where even model citizens like yourselves are seemingly falling victim to nonsensical rules. I agree that we need to improve the situation there too.
On the typic of ice cubes it is possible to get an "American" fridge with that feature here so you should be able to solve that situation (at home at least). The issue might be that these fridges are often wider than a standard fridge so it might not fit easily into an existing kitchen. They also tend to be more expensive.
LOL on the peanutbutter - the fridge with the ice cube function is already available even locally - just buy the thing. More hypermarkets... well, this country just can't produce enough customers for that. The mental health thing... yeah, that sucks, but I believe it's being addressed. The immigration thing - sucks big time! The system needs more flexibility and each case should be evaluated carefully - in a perfect world. What would *I* change? Definitely the health system waiting lists. I had to wait two years before I was finally treated for chronic migraines. The system could have saved so much money if I had had access to the treatment sooner. The Danish health system may be free, but it's also heavily flawed. Next thing is the customer hotline - WAITING FORVEVER AND WASTING TOO MUCH TIME PUNCHING YOUR WAY THROUGH A MILL OPTIONS! And afterwards, when you realise it was all in vain, you are ripe for the mental health care... which only will make things worse. 😕 And there are a gazillion things more, but too little space to mention them all.
I am totally with you on the pasta thing😀
08:35 -
Take it up with HR or your supervisor - some programs will always need amending to fit a changing and diverse workforce.
Mental health is definitely the biggest issue we have in Denmark, at least in my opinion. Just about every political party, to some extent, has it as a certain priority but nothing ever gets done besides funds being cut. It's such a complete letdown by our system.. all of the politicians should be ashamed.
Good points all of them haha!
My partners brother, got himself a little ice-cube machine because he makes a lot of drinks, and he loves getting ice in his water or cola..
I hate "pasta salads" they are everywhere and the pasta is often overcooked..
We live right besides a Føtex and i think we generally don't have the big stores because most people live in apartments, and can't bulk buy, while people who live in houses and my have an extra freezer is fine with Føtex or the longer trip to Bilka haha! I have never personally used a Bilka its too big and noisy, but i see your point :)
It's sad that Netto and such had to stop with their late hours shops, it was so nice as you say to be able to go 22 in the evening and just get some cravings after a concert or something! Unfortunately it cost them more to have open then they earn from it, and they experienced so much more crime in the weekends and evenings/nights :(
-We are so bad at integrating the workforce we import its ridiculous! I have heard that from so many, and it makes me so sad that people coming to work have to "find" their own communities where they can help each other learn the culture! A person like me, that cant work at all, could be a volunteer at the town hall once a week where i could interact with and help people that needs or wants to learn more about the culture what is expected of you and so on! But no, we don't want to actually use money on the things we think are really important for our society, no.. 🙄
-The Mental Health care in Denmark over all is shit.. Nothing more nothing less. I would recommend everybody who has the money to go private, and those who can, to save up the money to go private.. I'm 28, and for the first time since i was 8 i am going to get actual help soon - i have been tossed around in the system, been in and out for years since i was around 15, and now when im lucky enough to have a partner that can pay for it, i can actually get real help. I am very much pro better mental health treatments for all!
Maya’s immigration issues is just such an embarrassment for Denmark. I would change the immigration laws in a minute if I had the chance. I wish you the best of luck and hope that everything works out for you.
SWEDEN ????????
I agree with all your points. Nice with an outside perspective.
05:40 -
Order from any larger chain over the internet and have your groceries delivered to your door (often free of charge) - especially for specialty or hard-to-find items on which you want to stock up.
Pasta in ALL prepacked salads? I would have thought pasta would only be in a minority.
Well... I think that even after 6 years, there's still things that you need to accommodate to the Danish way:.... stores closing early and closed over the weekend: workers also have a family and also need to rest... but that basic stuff, like something to eat, toilet paper or diapers, you can still find those urgent things at a gas station like Circle K, K8 or Shell (of course, don't expect to have your brand or everything... you'll find it in your store, the next day) .... and regarding calling your doctor, if it's urgent, call 1813 (if Sealand) and they will guide you depending on the case: if it's an emergency they will forward you to one and to which hospital, if it's not a emergency, take a panodill, a glass of water and call you doctor on the following morning.
Absolutely agree with your peanut butter case!! The organic stuff is awful 😅 So far the "Mississippi Belle" I bought from Bilka is best I've tried - but MOOOAR pls haha
I found what you said about integrating into the work place really interesting. What kind of support would you have preferred? Like written stuff? A specialised mentor? Something else? Just curious 😊
Here is where I have found easier access to mental healthcare where I live: I could access it through my Gymnasium that had some employed(but it was a big gymnasium) or my father/sister that at some point got the opportunity for en a short period meeting a psykiatrist for awhile, I think my father got it because of stress and my sister because of ADHD and because she was young(maybe also because she was a member of the insurance called Danmark).
But from my understanding access to mental healthcare heavily depend on where you live. Fx in Aarhus(not where I live, so maybe it have changed, since I heard about it) you get access to a psykiatrist if your spouse dies, but your kids doesn't get the same access through the kommune(municipality?), which is just so weird.
Miranda, you didn't bring up the chalky water 🙁 You mentioned it in one of your first video, and ever since I've hated it more "passionately"
I've lived abroad, so I know there's chalk free water out there, and it was like you gave me green light to complain 🥰 - and the Danes have NO come back 🤣🤣
Besides that, I'm with you almost all of the way. Buy an ice machine, Josh 😉
Peace, love ... and nice spring weather🥰
Im very surprised at how maya is treated in terms of her visa.. i had no idea you would have to live up to all those things at that age.. thats not fair at all. Also, About the supermarkets closing early.. i sometimes see you guys when im out shopping, and our netto once had open 24 hours.. As a dane, that was very odd to experience.. I actually went shopping at around 4 at night.. the city was completely dark and still, the netto was lit up, and inside, there were other people shopping at the same time at night.. it felt so strange.. They eventually changed the opening hours back to closing at 22, since there was not enough people shopping at night.
the integration in Denmark is not that great, not only in the work culture.
it sometimes seems like someone though "lets make this as hard as posible"
Born, raised and still living Dane here:
pasta salat is salat with pasta and meat, of course understandable if you don't like it or cant have it, that of course sucks.
the doctor calling thing i will have to agree, it sucks and have always sucked that i have to get up earlier then i need to, just to call the doctor, i will agree with that for sure :D :P
mental health care is so hard to get help with, i have been trying since i was 18 to find out what is wrong with my head (i am 31 and still have no idea) sadly it is very hard actually finding out what is wrong or getting help, most of the time they will give you some sort of medicine to test if it works, or that is at least my experience so far :S
immigration wise: i think the government thinks they need to keep out people that want to move here for some reason, but they take in alot of refugees without putting restrictions on them it seems, i really do not understand the system, which sucks since i actually date outside of Denmark more then inside, so yeah :S
About the doctors call-in times, that annoys us as well, that is just ridiculous :)
6:00 ohh you are so spoiled, if you came 25 years earlier, there would hardly be anything open after 12pm on a Saturday and everything but a few service stations and kiosks would be closed on Sunday, grocery stores would close around 18 on a workday. It is simply down to it is not profitable to be open that long, there is not enough people in the stores. If you want the bigger stores, you would have those 45-60 min. drives to get there, probably longer on public transportation for some, so this one I am happy isn't going to change :)
I'm totally with you on the ice cube thing. But why don't you just buy a fridge/freezer with an ice cube maker? It's not like they don't exist in Denmark... 🤭
11:20 -
All schools (at any level) would have ready access to on-site mental health professionals/services and if necessary book an appointment with a specialist.
Regarding peanut butter, I can ask my wife bring some back from the US. She will be traveling back to DK on Sunday April 14th.
Hereafter I can sent it over to you... Merinda can email me information about what brand etc. ;-)
I think the immigrations rules are totally crazy.. Hopefully they will be changed to the better. DK needs people like you guys!
I dont understand the ice problem, 3 out of 4 stores near me sell big bags of icecubes, maybe that isent normal everywhere but I live in a small'is town in jylland so would think its pretty common.
I don't know how old Maya was when you moved to Denmark. But if she was under 15, she should be able to apply for Danish citizenship. If she was under 15 I would start applying for citizenship right away. You must get a lawyer with special skills in citizenship and get help. If she has American and Danish/EU citizenship, she is quite well off. You will legally have a greater connection to Denmark if your daughter has citizenship.
You’re so right about mental healthcare in DK. I talked to a danish friend who lives in New Hampshire and she praised the American health system a lot. But guess it depends on your insurance situation.
Changing the immigration policies or building a chain of Bilka competitors is unfortunately beyond my powers, but what I can tell you, is that my fridge makes ice cubes right here in Copenhagen... And a number of our friends have ice-making fridges as well. So at least there's en easy fix for that. ☝😃 I believe most of the larger electronic stores, like Elgiganten and Power sell those. You just have to ask for an "American fridge" 😎🇺🇸
PS: Thank you for another great video! We'll keep our fingers crossed that someone at Christiansborg wakes up and decides to make it way easier for young people like Maya to stick around 🙏🤞😊
Finding stuff goes the other way too, try making Flæskesteg with all the condiments over here, been there done that, yikes...
Or frikadeller. Ground pork is so difficult to find in US stores.
Regarding big stores you have a fairly big Føtex pretty close. Also the Netto in Lyngby is open until 23.
I assume the salad problem is about the precut lunch-salads that are sold in stores, kiosks and gas stations - these are fairly new in Denmark since most used to prefer raw salads that you mixed and cut yourself. I have seen some without pasta (coleslaw or just mixed salad without any extras or sliced carrots), but yes there are a lot with either pasta or croutons. (Det sunde køkken take-out in Lyngby has a big selection - I think only 2 out of 20 are with pasta).
As for Maya's constant woes about residential status, we all know what this is about - This pertains to the fact that it is illegal (according to EU and human rights conventions) to block people from MENAP, so we have to make it difficult. There are ways around it, but you have to know the kinks in the armour.
I live in Denmark as well. I’d like to try and live in Norway. They seem to do better in many ways. However, Denmark isn’t bad, but it’s going the wrong way in a lot of ways.
Nevertheless, I really like you guys and kudos to Maya for being so cool and doing so well in school, it really takes a lot to move to a new country and do that🙌 Best luck to all of you😊
What ways are wrong?.
@@olexxr8503 Den danske velfærd er kun på vej ned... Folk kan ikke betale for noget længere, kommuner skider på børn og unge.. and so on
Try " Peanut Butter Pusheren" on line. It is in Denmark. It is not oily!! You will be very happy.
Have you not heard about icecube bags? Fill them up with water and stick them in the freezer.
And the ice cube bags is a Danish invention 😊
But who's gonna fill them? 🤣 THAT's the problem!
American lazyness
This is funny, well done.
And these answers are what I absolutely hate about Dane’s. Such arrogance is something I’ve only experienced in Denmark.
Guys, you are dead on right. Regarding immigration it is ludicrous. Danes (like myself) who have kids born outside Denmark by a Dane and another nationality are therefore "entitled" to citizenship of the parents. No problem in the US but in Denmark they will get a social security number(their birth date but not the last 4 digits). To obtain full citizenship they will have to go there and either spend one year total before they are 21 yrs old or be registered in the social security system for min.93 days (not leaving the country) AND THEN will have to re-apply for full citizenship between their 21st-22nd birthday. Then a government employee will validate their status.....WTF!!! It's insane and a lot of cases are going on. Danes Worldwide organisation helps a lot but it is the attitude of the system that needs to change. The system got more strict a few years ago due to refugees from certain areas. But it is the "wrong" people it hurts. Anyway, just to let you know the system is also crazy towards Danes living outside the country ;).
Yup. A lot of Danes with you on most issues as well. I don't know that peanutbutter and midnight shopping with 27 flavors of whatever would qualify as the most important, but legislation and mental healthcare are issues for sure, not just for immigrants. One could speculate that pulling funding out of the public healthcare system for private service providers basically in competition on very uneven terms, has hollowed out the system, and made things go from bad to worse, as just one point - there are several others, but something definitely needs to be done.
On the mental health situation, unfortunately the only way to get into something fast is in the private sector.
I hear that in a lot of countries though
Which is undermining our taxpaid system altogether.
Re ice..... Not all freezers come with ice trays or even the possibility to make ice cubes! Whaaaa!? 😵💫🤐
Often people have extra health-insurance through the pension provider, and they might also assist your children. Maybe Josh have that.
The situation for Maya sounds horrible, that has to be so frustrating, not only for her citizen status, but that will probably affect her scholarship/ stipend for university.Hope things work out for her fast! I am in Norway/ Norwegian and the problem with mental health accessibility are here too. And I am very for public health, but as an adult you need to almost be( in an emergency) before getting referred by ones doctor. They have psychologist though the municipality for kids and adolescents, but it is rare one goes there without child protective services involved. I had some counseling around 16 because of some specific issues, but it was very inefficient and it seemed that they used those departments mostly for research and educational purposes. I have invested about 3000 ish danish kroner last couple years(each month!!) with a private psychologist, and he is great and it is so worth it, but agree with Maya, it should be much easier, it should not be a privilege or a luxury.
About opeenings hours in Denmark i know that Bilka have tryed it years back, about the icecubes you buy can also buy refrigeator with icecubemachine, I agree about much off the immegrant issue
You need to shop more at meny, Bilka mostly just have mega sizes, not special foods.
I do love meny! I just wish there was one a little closer. But meny definitely has great options
👍🏻
Buy the American fridge they have the icecube thing and salats Can be bought without pasta
LIDL just changed their closing hours from 22.00 to 21.30, because there aren't enough of us Nightowls...
Oh and LET'S SEE MORE OF THE CAT! 😀
🎉
Finally, the sun is back....
Aldi has good peanut butter, if you can still find a store. Otherwise you'll have to make a trip to Germany.
I love to see your point of view. After visiting the States, I see what you mean.
We want the large grocery stores. 1. The variety 2. We hate to go to 3 different stores to get what we need.
I wanna change our health care for mental health, and the large use of happy pills.
I want to change Danes beleive about Denmark. There is a narative thats not true. Denmark is not as good as the majority think. It is not the best country. We are not the happiest country without out happy pills.
Thats my point of view.
I am not in a possition where I can change it, so i want to leave Denmark, and i am trying.
My girlfriend and I want to move to the States (it's our dream), but it is very difficult without a job and a work visa. So we've tried the dv lottery. We are now waiting for the result next month. After waiting 7 months since we applied.
Bilka is open until 23:00 and some Netto until 22:00 at least, that must be long enough. Otherwise, you must buy toilet paper before crap in the evening, ha ha so funny. But honestly, just think of the people who have to work late into the night just because you think you're short of toilet paper. Isn't it about adapting your habits so that you don't run out of toiletpaper or what ever in the middle of the night . And regarding the ice cubes, you can buy an American refrigerator that makes ice cubes. And they can be bought in most hardware stores in Denmark.
It is a good point you bring up there. I think though, there are one side of the whole population where it's 'oh no, new people coming in from the outside world, they will take over Denmark'. I can't tell for sure, but I have a feeling that some Danes will feel that way. But I agree with you lot so far, that yes, we do need more teachers, doctors, educated specilalists. Our system has really gone down hill over the past few years. It's not working optimal anymore.
How can peanut butter be made in several variants? The peanut butter I know is 99% peanuts and 1% salt (Danish person here)
@Dad Young, why don't you just buy a freezer that has an ice cube maker? You not having one isn't exactly a Denmark-problem.
You guys must realize that the main reason the shops in Demmark are not open all night or even 24 hour is because that most people do not shop at night and so it makes no economic sense to keep the stores open. The only reason they can keep extreme opening hours in the US is because they pay their employees a very low wage, not a living wage. Also, sensible working hours makes for a better life for the employees.
I am afraid they do not understand that!
@@user-ty8so2dq7i Oh, I'm sure they do. It's just that they come from a society more focused on individualism and sometimes it can be hard to change your immediate way of thinking. In Scandinavia we have highly successful societies exactly because of our higher focus on the people as a whole - also known as "solidarity".
Everything need to be ‘convenient’ acording to American standard.
@@hellebachmann8260 yes and Danes has to suffer a little bit everyday, that's what my american wife says when were in Denmark, why are you riding your bike in the rain when you have two cars? Or why do you hang your clothes to dry when you have a dryer? And why do you not use softeners so your towels are not like sandpaper? My response is we have to, it makes us feel better.
@@hellebachmann8260 Ja, jeg tænkte det samme - som om de forventer at alt er service hele døgnet. Åbningstider er også indrettet efter, hvad butikker mener er rentabelt mht. mængden af kunder - og det er det ikke sidst på aftenen. Man må strukturere sine indkøb nogle dage frem, ellers har man selv skabt sine problemer.
I think talking to a professional is a very good idea, even if you "don't need to"
You are always welcome to go to a psychiatric clinic and it's free just to talk.
I unfortunately had to do so and I was so afraid because of what you see happening in movies thinking they wouldn't let me leave.
About the opening hours.. you have to remember that a lot of the danish philosophy, is about: you can't get everything you want, when you want it!! Because that's not how the world works. + bigger stores = more waste! 🌎 and Danes makes they're food themselves, so if you need something, work for it, make it at home 🌮 ❤🤗
if i could choose something that should b differnet. all cakes should be free of charge. just all day, everyday
Mental health care is not good, it has not been for a long time, but if you have a private healthcare insurance through work or just buy one, those I had, have all covered family both kids and partners and, you can get to a specialist within days. The public one can have a long waiting list, unless you are suicidal you can get there faster.
Just make your own salat 😊
Josh you did not even mention the neightmare bridge...?
Peanutbutter? try leverpostej, much better. Opening hours are very liberal in Denmark, in Germany everything is closed all Sunday.
Prepandemic Bilka in Sønderborg was open 24/7
I would have thought that bridges higher than 2 meters should be forbidden would have be first on the list ;)
I'm danish. When I got my first jobs, I didn't know how either. You just have to make a fool out of yourself and learn when the others make fun of you.
well i cant get remulade in USA or good bread . But you can learn to make it yourself.