cphhell

If I was moving to Ukraine, Cambodia or Somalia, for one thing I would have done my homework (and vaccines) beforehand, and for second and I wouldn't have first-world expectations. But here we're talking about friggin' Denmark, the happiest (allegedly) country in the world and among the top in quality of life, so forgive me for taking sanitation, drinkable water and, yes, bathtubs for granted. New Jersey, Athens or Madrid are not exactly famous for their prosperity and yet finding half-decent accommodation there within a week and without a "network" (yet another ugly danish surprise that was brought to my attention) was a breeze in comparison.

I'm glad that not all Copenhagen buildings are moldy smelling dumps. I will be even more glad if I was unlucky to see one of the few exceptions and the majority are actually decent but I'm not holding my breath (no pun intended).

For starters, having a real bathroom with a bath tub, not these tiny solitary confinement cells.

This a typical mid/low end first-world bathroom: http://www.apollo-plus.co.uk/Design/Leigh.jpg

This isn't: http://images.travelpod.com/users/skylarking/1.1230340500.ds...

Edit: According to http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/111335, this "cute" style has its own name and history:

the type of bathroom typically referred to as a "Copenhagen bathroom". It basically means, that in the "old days", none of the working-class-apartments had showers. Eventually, this changed, but many of the apartments were so small, that it was almost impossible to fit in a big, modern bathroom. However, you get used to it very quickly and it is quite charming in its own way :)

Um, no, I'd rather not have to get used to it.

Not welcoming at all: http://universitypost.dk/article/new-internationals-angered-...

As I am not a student, my main problem is not so much the cost as (1) the scarcity and the inane "competition" it promotes and (2) the sad state of the apartments condition, at least compared to modern housing in other first-world countries.

The amount of discussing the messenger instead of the message in this thread is staggering but I'll bite anyway:

- Country, nationality and language are required fields in this site. Since leaving them blank was not an option, putting some blatantly bogus values was the second best.

- My nationality is besides the point but I'm not American. The "American" writing style may be thanks to watching too many American movies, frequenting too many American speaking forums or - guess what - living there as an expat for several years.

"I have been to copenhagen" meaning, you rode the roller coasters in Tivoli? I'm sure visiting as an (affluent) tourist would be a much more pleasant experience.

Is the 10% before or after taxes? Would love to get a sense of your rent (or equiv. wage) range if there are no privacy concerns.

The high taxes line was just a flippant remark, I can't really complain as I knew about it beforehand. Having said that, the perks that come from high taxes are of little value to an expat moving there for a 1-2 year gig.

Already replied on a sibling comment but once again, the $750/month was for a single room, no more than 15-20sqm, in a two-bedroom flat. If that's "on the cheaper end of the spectrum", I might have to negotiate a raise.

The "Copenhagen bathroom" was the single worst turn off in the whole deal. Glad to know it's not like this everywhere in the city.

I've always picked my location so that I don't have to commute more than half an hour each way but if that's what it takes to find a modern half-decent place in this city, I may consider living further.

Suffice to say that one of them was Spain, a country with one of the lowest percentages of English speakers in Europe, and me not speaking a word in Spanish at the time.

Language is not the (main) issue.

Sage advice, I'll probably try it. Still, this may fix my immediate problem but it doesn't do anything for the elephant in the room that, judging from the comments here, was hardly addressed:

she returned home to read her e-mail, which contained over 100 replies.

THIS is the real problem. At the end of the day (or the week) it doesn't matter how one out of the 100 candidates is selected; what matters is that 99 fools will have to keep looking. Finding housing shouldn't be like applying to Google.

Single guy, usually house sharing. Never paid more than 650/mo in the states for better living conditions.

The 750/mo price was for a single room in a two bedroom apartment.

> managed to reinforce just about any stereotype of an ignorant, unprepared American

Thanks for the compliment but I'm a fellow European, not American.

> who shouldn't even be trying to live abroad.

Too bad I've tried it successfully three times already, one being in America.

> then emigration is probably not for you.

I'd probably think the same if I hadn't done this exact same thing on three different countries already without breaking a sweat (relatively speaking).

Posting this from a throwaway account for obvious reasons, feel free to include same/different experiences or offer suggestions.