Tips for living in Copenhagen

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Hello, my name is Rebecca, I am currently a third year Language, Culture and Communications student studying at Copenhagen University, Denmark.

Why Copenhagen?

I chose Copenhagen University given that it had a wide range of modules that suited my degree and was highly ranked on the European University Times Education list. Wishing to visit and explore other Scandinavian countries, I thought Copenhagen would be a good base. Whilst I intended to immerse myself in the culture and learn some of the Danish language, at the same time, I preferred to live where English is easily understood.

Meeting new people.

Firstly, I suggest you go to the induction day for your campus, as that is where I met the majority of my friends. Also, investigate the buddy schemes that most campuses have. For my campus buddy scheme, I went bowling and joined in a treasure hunt around Reffen (a street food market). This helped people relax, get to know each other, and have a laugh. I would also join ESN Copenhagen, who arrange events throughout the year. I have taken part in speed friending (like speed dating but with the intention of making friends), pumpkin carving, a pub crawl with free shots and learnt Salsa dancing.

Accommodation

Unfortunately, Copenhagen is known for a lack of student budget friendly accommodation.

When trying to find accommodation that works for you, I would first visit the Housing Foundation website. Here you can explore how much the rent is, what type of rooms are available and how far they are from each campus. It also tells you how long it takes on foot, bike, or public transport.

At some point (the date is different every year) you will receive an email of when the bookings for accommodation will be released. I strongly recommend you know what you want, have everything set up and hit on the link as soon as the site opens. Accommodation goes fast and not everyone is guaranteed a booking. If you are unfortunate not to get the accommodation you wanted or feel the ones left are too expensive, you can find alternative accommodation through sites like Facebook but be wary of scammers. There is a guide on how best not to get scammed on the Absalon site, which is the Danish version of Blackboard. This is shared a month or two before you start university.  

Cheap living hacks

1. Rent or buy a bicycle. You can rent a bike from Swapfiets or buy one from the many stores across Copenhagen. It is much cheaper than public transport and can sometimes be easier to get around, especially in rush hour. Also, it allows you to explore the city at your own pace and feel part of the cycling culture which is a popular mode of transport for most people. The cycle lanes are wide and safe.
2. Buy your food from Netto or 365 discount. I have found that these are the cheapest supermarkets in Copenhagen. Both supermarkets produce brochures and a website that tell you about the offers they have on each week.
3. Visit Folkhuset Absalon which is a communal dining experience where you can have breakfast, lunch or dinner at a reasonable price- for Denmark anyway. This is a great way to have a meal with friends without breaking the bank. Every night they serve main meals, and on Thursday and Fridays they also serve desserts.

Navigating University Life- the assignment system

For assignments the question or topic is only released with a specific time allocated to research and write up. For example, for one of my essays I had a week to write it.

When the assignments are marked the university uses a 7-point grading system. This system starts with-3 then 0, 2, 4, 7, 10 and finally 12. If you receive a -3 or 0 it means that you have sadly failed.

When writing your assignments, be careful to check the requirements as there are no word counts here, only standardised pages. For example, if you had a five-page assignment this would equate to 12,000 characters with spaces.

Last but by no means least, night club and bar recommendations

My choices for bars:

• Barkowski
• Leanowski- does a quiz on a Monday with fun prizes.
• Studenterhuset- is a café in the day where you can study, then holds music events at night.
• Jojo- cheap drinks.
• The Dubliner
• The Old Irish pub

If you want a good club:

• Culture box
• Proud Mary

My year abroad in Copenhagen, so far has been amazing. I’ve made some great friends and can’t wait to see what the next three months will bring.

Pictures of my time in Denmark

Christiana Freetown

Nyhavn 

Tivoli