Denmark Diaries: Do's and Don’ts of the First Month of Living Abroad

HARD
Sep 25, 2025
4 min read

16/09/2025 - written on a flight somewhere between Copenhagen and Budapest

As of this weekend, I have somewhat successfully survived my first month living abroad. Now I say somewhat successfully because these weeks have, though for the most part gone smoothly, have also had their fair share of embarrassing, regrettably aura losing and deeply amusing moments (the amusement found more in hindsight I may add).

Flashback to August: after a frantic few weeks working in York, packing up my student room, returning home to Devon and just as quickly having to say goodbye again, I found myself sleep deprived and without a singular processed thought boarding a flight to Aarhus.

My sister, with a one-way ticket to Ibiza in her hand, had walked me to my gate and upon her leaving, I stood there with a sense of apprehension, excitement and more than anything, a fair bit of nausea. Everything had gone well so far: the 3am get up and drive to London went smoothly (many thanks to my sleep mask and her Hello Kitty pjs), my 19.7kg suitcase had made it through (just about), I had all my documents with me (touch wood I never have to step foot in the Manchester Embassy again) and my Spotify playlist was queued with ‘Our House’ by Madness (though the reference did get significantly less funny after the fifth person felt the need to inform me of its existence). The flight itself was only just over an hour and to be honest, I don’t massively remember much of it.

The weeks since then have, excusing the horrific pun, flown by themselves. In summary and perhaps in necessary personal reflection, I have comprised a list of things I have learnt so far and would advise anyone moving away either to do or very much not do:

Do: Keep a record of how it’s going either through journaling or writing a letter to your future self as both a wholesome and productive way to reflect on the entire experience.

Don’t: Once arriving, forget to journal every day as you normally do, complain about being behind for weeks and dedicate 4 hours one day to catching up on what was a whirlwind of a month.

Do: Get a bike as early as possible, especially if you are in Denmark! It’s a life and time saver.

Don’t: Cycle the wrong way home in torrential rain, lose all access to any form of a map and make a 15 minute cycle 45 minutes instead. Also, if you are used to the UK, don’t by any means cycle on the wrong side of the road.

Do: Make the most of every opportunity regardless of the weather or temperature. The ocean will remain pretty damn freezing whether it’s on a late summer’s day in Cornwall or a Nordic Dip in Denmark, however the views and sheer shock of the water will always do you some good.

Don’t: Go on a sailing trip with your housemates, fall off the side of a boat at night fully clothed, rucksack on your back and phone in your hand, and regrettably drag your landlord in with you. It goes without saying really.

Do: Maintain good routines, and try to look after yourself whilst settling into a new country and its systems, whether it be with something as simple as good sleep or a healthy diet.

Don’t: Wake up 3 hours late for an 8am class to catch up on a lot of missed sleep (if you ask anyone sane, 8ams should be illegal). Or, eat a giant (I’m telling you, giant) slice of pizza from Ali Baba’s Grill on a night out and return the very next day to once again consume the biggest pizza known to man because it was just that good.

Do: Take advantage of the International Social Events the university puts in place for the first few weeks – they can be a lot of fun and, in a year 6 disco type way, a good opportunity to make friends in the initial period of moving away.

Don’t: Drink 3 Long Island ice teas at the Student Quiz before you even get to a proper bar. Not the most dignified move one might argue.

Do: Enjoy the freedom you have, make the most of all the beauty around you, spend time with people you meet from all over the world and try to be as spontaneous as possible. Who knows? You might just end up on a flight to Budapest with 3 incredible girls you met only a few weeks ago...

Don’t: Waste time overthinking or dwelling on what you haven’t yet done or are missing out on back home. There’s still a lot more time to learn, to make many more mistakes and better yet, so many more memories too!