Browsing Tag

immigration

October, Democracy in Denmark, and competitive poster hanging: The Danish Year Part 10

I’ve referred to “The Danish Year” before on How to Live in Denmark. It’s a series of events that are simply expected to happen every year in Denmark, even if they aren’t formal holidays. In 2025 I’m going to try to do a podcast every month about aspects of the Danish year, and how they fit into the overall context of where Denmark is coming from, and where it’s going.

I travel a lot around Denmark, giving speeches in various cities and towns, and I usally travel on the on the Danish train network, DSB. Danes love to hate DSB, but I kind of like it. The trains are clean, generally on time, and you even get frequent traveler miles for your trips that you can use to buy ice cream or other snacks. And the trains have big windows that you can look out and see this lovely, flat country roll by.

The name of this podcast is How to Live in Denmark, but Denmark is not a uniform thing. The landscape differs – a few hills in some places, forests in some places, water to cross over – and the government differs. While the Parliament in Copenhagen decides on big issues like defense and immigration, local authorities are in control of things that really matter to everyday life.

October 13, 2025 by Kay Xander Mellish

Stories about life in Denmark

Welcome to Denmark: This comic drawing shows how Denmark has changed over the past 25 years

To celebrate the anniversary of the “How to Live in Denmark Podcast” – which launched in summer 2013 and has since racked up more than a million downloads – I wanted something special and memorable. This new Welcome to Denmark drawing is it.

I have long been a fan of Danish cartoonist Claus Deleuran’s 1992 image, “Danes, Danish, More Danish”, done for an exhibit at the Nikolaj Kunsthal, but had always been frustrated that it only seems to exist online small, low-res versions.

I thought it would be fun to recreate it – and as long as I was redrawing it – to reflect the Denmark of today.

Although I have drawn cartoons in the past, this particular image is not drawn by me. I commissioned Polish graphic artist Karolina Kara to help me to create it, explaining to her exactly how I wanted each of the characters to appear.

I also gave her photos to work with, such as a picture of the trademark “Copenhagen bench” the beer drinkers are sitting on in the foreground to the right.

May 8, 2021 by Kay Xander Mellish

Podcasts, Stories about life in Denmark

What I say when I’m welcoming newcomers to Denmark

Fall is one of my favorite times of year, because it is time for one of my favorite types of speaking engagement – introducing Denmark to some of the smart, motivated young people arriving from around the world to study at Danish universities.

The university people have wisely decided that another foreigner might be best suited to explain some of the quirks of Danish culture when welcoming newcomers to Denmark.

So since the publication of my first book, How to Live in Denmark, I’ve been speaking regularly to audiences of new arrivals, and I probably learn as much from them as they learn from me.

What Danes are most proud of

One of the things I’ve learned is that the aspects of Danish culture that the Danes are most proud of can be troublesome for newcomers.

September 1, 2019 by Kay Xander Mellish

In the Media

Denmark vs NYC: Kay’s interview with the Danish Consulate in New York’s blog

Denmark vs NYC – what’s the difference in working in Copenhagen vs. Manhattan?

#DenmarkinNY – the Danish Consulate in New York’s blog – recently took time out to chat with Kay Xander Mellish, a longtime New Yorker who now lives and works in Copenhagen.

June 5, 2018 by Kay Xander Mellish

In the Media

The Privileged Immigrant: Kay Xander Mellish’s TEDx Talk

Kay Xander Mellish’s TEDx Talk “The Privileged Immigrant” looks at highly-educated immigrants who choose to relocate for professional or personal reasons.

What responsibilities do these privileged immigrants have to the places where they’ve chosen to live?

In the talk, which was delivered April 14, 2018 at TEDx Odense, Kay suggests that immigrants with options need to research the basic values of the place where they intend to move in order to make sure that their own values are in line with the people who already live there.

April 27, 2018 by Kay Xander Mellish

Stories about life in Denmark

Welcome to Denmark: This comic drawing shows how Denmark has changed over the past 25 years

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the “How to Live in Denmark Podcast” – which launched in summer 2013 and has since racked up more than a million downloads – I wanted something special and memorable.

I had long been a fan of Danish cartoonist Claus Deleuran’s 1992 image, “Danes, Danish, More Danish”, done for an exhibit at the Nikolaj Kunsthal, but had always been frustrated that it only seems to exist online small, low-res versions.

I thought it would be fun to recreate it – and as long as I was redrawing it – to reflect the Denmark of today.

I also gave her photos to work with, such as a picture of the trademark “Copenhagen bench” the beer drinkers are sitting on in the foreground to the right.

February 24, 2018 by Kay Xander Mellish

Kay Xander Mellish is a US-DK dual citizen. She grew up in Wisconsin, USA, but has lived in Denmark for more than a decade. Kay is a popular keynote speaker on Danish working culture and offers practical advice to international professionals navigating Danish work environments.

In addition, she helps Americans and Danes avoid misunderstandings and improve their cross-cultural teamwork.

Kay is the author of "How to Work in Denmark" (2022 and 2018), "How to Live in Denmark" (2017 and 2014), "Top 35 Mistakes Danes Make in English" (2016), "Working with Americans: Tips for Danes" (2019), and "Working with Danes: Tips for Americans" (2020). All of her books are also available in audio format.